Scaling Green SME Support for 2030 I SEED

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adelphi research gGmbH

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This Sustainable SME Action Agenda outlines future pathways for critical actions to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is intended for key SME stakeholders, such as policy makers, intermediaries, financers and SMEs. Its main objective is to offer insights and critical next steps for action to scale the support to SMEs, a key stakeholder and driver of sustainable development and the Agenda 2030. To do so, it analyses the SME Ecosystem and – through an elaborate global consultation process with key SME stakeholders – develops concrete recommendations to close the gaps and maximise SME contributions to the SDGs.

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To overcome today‘s challenges – climate change, nature loss, pollution and the post-COVID-19 recovery – it is crucial to empower the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the gamechangers of the transition towards more sustainability and circularity.

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59%

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of the enterprises

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are youth-founded

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Small and powerful: green SMEs

Green SMEs are crucial ecosystem actors as they provide important services. They improve resource efficiency, drive climate adaptation and mitigation action on the ground, build resilience and contribute towards the triple bottom line of social, environmental and economic impact. Despite their contribution, they are frequently overlooked as actors who build forward better. Therefore, Green SMEs face major challenges in delivering their support, such as access to non-financial and financial support as well as in accessing markets and policy makers.

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57%

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of the enterprises

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are women-owned

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What are green SMEs?

As a smaller sub-segment of SMEs, Green SMEs differ from conventional ones as environmental and social impacts are embedded in their business models and strategies. By producing, distributing, applying and promoting green products and services, often using eco-innovation approaches, Green SMEs create additional social benefits. They frequently include low-income and vulnerable groups in their value chain as employees, suppliers, distributors and consumers, enabling deeper and wider social and environmental – or green – impacts. In so doing, Green SMEs offer various important ecosystem services, contributing to several SDGs.

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Contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

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Goal 1: No poverty

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Goal 5: Gender equality

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Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth

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Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities

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Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production

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Goal 13: Climate action

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Through the lens of five key action areas

To scale Green SME Support for 2030, SEED, GO4SDGs and UNEP jointly build on their collective experiences to formulate lessons learned and critical next steps to inform this Sustainable SME Action Agenda. This Action Agenda targets key SME Stakeholders from the public and private sector, including policy makers, financers, intermediaries and SMEs.

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The Action Agenda invites all stakeholders to contribute through their experiences to the process of further developing and implementing the proposed future-proof Green SME Support Actions. These concrete support actions are designed through the lens of five key action areas of Green SME support such as Innovation, Non-Financial Support, Finance, Policy and Market.

Coalition for Innovation, Circularity and Entrepreneurship (CICE)

The Sustainable SME Action Agenda marks the next step towards better tailored and more accessible Green SME Support for 2030. To realise this, SEED, GO4SDGs and UNEP move forward jointly with our partners to establish the Coalition for Innovation, Circularity and Entrepreneurship (CICE), a catalyst for collective action to empower SMEs everywhere. The Coalition aims to bring us one step closer to realising the promise of thinking globally, while acting locally.

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