The UK has 6 million small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – businesses with fewer than 250 employees. 99% of all UK businesses are SMEs, and the vast majority of those are micro-enterprises with fewer than 10 employees. Collectively, SMEs are responsible for 52% of the turnover of UK plc and they employ more than 16.5 million people – a quarter of the total population. SMEs need to be supported in their translation to net zero, otherwise we risk leaving a core component of our economy behind as we turn green.

To ensure SMEs are not left behind or forgotten in this transition, B4NZ currently have two active programmes of works to identify current barriers and challenges and push for feasible yet effective policy options.

1. Project Perseus

B4NZ, alongside Icebreaker One, are developing Project Perseus, a pragmatic whole-of-market solution to create rapidly scalable, low-effort, low-friction sustainability reporting. This aims to help unlock access to capital by automating GHG reporting for every SME in the country.

2. SME Sustainability Data Taskforce

In the UK, there are over 270 different carbon accounting tools for SMEs, leading to fragmented and inconsistent data reporting. This creates problems as SMEs are faced with numerous, varied data requests from large corporates and financial institutions, and the lack of standardisation undermines the reliability and comparability of their data. Without an agreed process for reporting GHG emissions and sustainability impacts, SMEs find it difficult to meet corporate and regulatory requirements, limiting their involvement in sustainability and green finance initiatives. A consensus on SME sustainability attributes is crucial to improve data quality and alignment.

Therefore, B4NZ is spearheading a workstream in partnership with industry leaders to develop a sustainability data reporting framework that is proportionate, comparable, and interoperable, with a focus on emissions. The initiative aims to establish standard rules and guidelines tailored to SMEs, including a quality framework. Using a bottom-up approach, the team will identify additional reporting needs based on company size and sector, while ensuring alignment with international standards for larger corporations.