New Eurobarometer data shows that the overwhelming majority of SMEs in the EU are actively engaging in the transition to a green economy.
The European Commission’s 2024 Flash Eurobarometer study focusing on SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets showed that 93% of SMEs are taking action to become more resource efficient.
The data is based on 13,124 phone interviews conducted with SMEs across the EU in June 2024.
The headline figure represents a 4.5% increase in the number of businesses making the effort to go green compared to 2022.
According to the survey responses, almost half of the Bloc’s small businesses are reusing material or waste within the company and one third now either generate renewable energy on site or purchase power from a renewable energy supplier.
In another positive trend, the number of SMEs encountering difficulties when trying to set up resource efficiency actions has dropped by 6% compared to the previous round of data collection in 2021.
There are more than 26 million SMEs in the EU which employ around 90 million people and generate more than half of the region’s GDP.
