A percentage 34% of the participants in a relevant survey did not know what ESG is, while a large percentage identify the concept of sustainability with the existence of environmental policies and not with social responsibility or corporate governance.
The survey “ESG and SMEs” was conducted by MRB Hellas on behalf of CPA Kudos Greece.
Despite the fact that SMEs are not aware of the definition of ESG, 68.3% of the participants recognized their necessity.
In the same context, the vast majority of businesses consider the implementation of ESG policies by companies, regardless of size, to be a positive development, at a rate greater than 60% of the responses. These percentages show that there is fertile ground for SMEs to comply with ESG criteria.
Gap between large and small businesses
32.5% of the businesses that participated in the survey stated that they implement ESG policies in the business, 24.3% stated that they do not implement but intend to do so at some point in the near future, while 38.4% stated that they do not implement and do not intend to do so immediately.
These numbers show the difficulty that small and medium-sized businesses face in their sustainable transition compared to large businesses in which the corresponding implementation rate is clearly higher (46%) compared to the entire sample.
At the same time, the study finds that the implementation of ESG by small and medium-sized businesses is mainly fragmented and does not concern the entire organization.
Specifically, 90% implement policies related to the Environment, 78.3% to Society and 63.2% to Governance. Only 10% of companies that implement Sustainability policies do these policies govern all of the company’s operations.
Which ESG programs small and medium-sized enterprises implement
Human resource development actions (brain-drain, training, inclusion, etc.) take the lead in program implementation at 70.2%.
Investments in the circular economy (recycling, resource reuse, waste reduction) follow at 69.6%.
The development of new “green” products and services takes third place at 62.4%.
Urgent need for measures
A portion of respondents expressed concern about the need to implement sustainability policies in small businesses.
The factors that inhibit the implementation of ESG by small and medium-sized businesses were the lack of information (70.9%), lack of know-how (50.5%) and increased costs (46.9%).
In a related question about the incentives that could enhance compliance with ESG criteria, 47.6% mentioned financial support/resources/financing and 18.8% mentioned tax incentives.
