New proposal aims to unlock green finance for SMEs
The Platform on Sustainable Finance, which advises the European Commission, has published a report proposing a voluntary “SME sustainable finance standard” to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access sustainable finance and demonstrate environmental performance.
The report highlights the pivotal role SMEs play in Europe’s green transition, contributing over 50% of GDP and a large share of emissions. Yet, they face steep barriers to green finance such as complex regulation, high loan thresholds, and limited resources for disclosure. The current EU Taxonomy was not designed with SMEs in mind, further widening the access gap.
To address this, the Platform proposes a simplified framework allowing financial institutions to classify SME financing as sustainable. The standard would support voluntary disclosure of key climate indicators, backed by an SME-friendly online tool. The initial focus is climate, but future expansions will cover broader environmental goals.
This is an opportunity to ensure structured, scalable, and cost-effective reporting reaches SMEs too. Simpler tools, common data models, and digital tagging can help SMEs engage meaningfully in the sustainable finance ecosystem without drowning in bureaucracy.
Join the upcoming webinar to learn more about the proposal here.
