The Four Strategies to Promote Sustainable Practices

Small and medium-sized enterprises play an important role in the context of the European sustainable transition, and are therefore at the center of the survey conducted by the Sustainability Lab of SDA Bocconi. The study data show that while on the one hand the last two years have pushed SMEs to adopt an ESG strategy, on the other they have also led to an increase in the number of companies that have not yet adopted such an action plan and are not considering it for the future. The interest and commitment of businesses to ESG themes are related to a rather broad range of economic benefits relating to business performance: customer satisfaction, good reputation, better productivity, larger market shares, competitive advantage, etc. The study outlines four drivers of action to support the sustainable transition of SMEs: improve the ESG strategy of enterprises that have already adopted it, support the companies that are implementing it, explain the benefits of adoption to those who are still considering it, and convince those who have not yet taken it into consideration.