In a world increasingly attentive to sustainability, small and medium-sized businesses they find themselves having to navigate a sea of requests on temi environmental, social and governance (ESG). The objective of the Document for the sustainability dialogue between SMEs and Banks, elaborated by Sustainable Finance Table, chaired by Ministry of Economy and Finance (Mef) with the participation of numerous bodies, (Ministry of the Environment, Mimit, Bankitalia, Consob, Ivass, Covip) is precisely to provide SMEs with the tools needed to face this challenge. But not only that: it also wants to create a more direct and simplified channel with banks, facilitating access to funding private and public for businesses.
The document comes at a crucial time, with Europe having placed a strong push towards sustainability at the centre of its policies. While large companies are already obliged to provide clear and verified ESG information, small and medium-sized unlisted companies are not subject to the same obligations. Yet, even these companies find themselves having to respond to requests from large clients and, above all, from banks and financial institutions, which are increasingly interested in assessing the social and environmental impact of their activities.
A document that simplifies, but not too much
The new document comes after a public consultation process involving numerous experts and 61 stakeholders. The result is a simplified version compared to the initial proposal, which saw the number of indicators to be monitored reduced from 45 to 40 and introduced qualitative estimates for some information. Some complex data, such as those relating to greenhouse gas emissions, were delegated to banks, thus lightening the information burden for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Despite these simplifications, the document maintains a certain complexity. Some information, such as that relating to transition risk, has been removed, but there are still other aspects that could be difficult for less structured SMEs, such as managing the European Taxonomy and corporate environmental policies.
Concrete help for the future of SMEs
This document therefore aims to provide a real "instruction manual" to SMEs to better position themselves in the sustainability landscape and improve their economic and environmental resilience. Not only businesses will benefit from this, but also the banking system, which will find standardized and easier to evaluate requests. An advantage that, according to the Mef, could translate into a faster and more convenient access to finance, both private and public, including funds and guarantees made available by the Italian government. And who knows, perhaps in the future Italian SMEs will be ready to respond to global challenges with an extra edge: that of sustainability.
