SMEs form the backbone of both Aotearoa New Zealand and EU economies. They are indispensable to the sustainable transition because of their collective influence and ability to drive innovation, adapt quickly, and foster change. Yet with growing sustainability reporting requirements/expectations, many SMEs may struggle to keep up—creating barriers to sharing their progress and accessing green finance.
To support SMEs in NZ, KPMG, and the Centre for Sustainable Finance, developed the Starter for 10 – simplified reporting metrics for SMEs. The EU has similarly developed simplified guidance for SMEs. These guides are designed to support better sustainability reporting and, ultimately, make it easier for SMEs to access green finance (and in NZ’s case, also transition finance).
Watch this video to hear Nicholas Swallow, KPMG and Renzhu Zhang, CSF, explain the content of these guides and answer questions.
Presentation slides can be found here.
Useful links:
- CSFs quick comparison of NZ and EU’s SME sustainability guides: Here.
- The ‘Starter for Ten: 10 topics for SMEs to start sustainability reporting’ guide: Here.
- EU Platform on Sustainable Finance (PSF) streamlining sustainable Finance for SMEs standard: Here.
- European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) European Sustainability Reporting Standard (ESRS) for listed SMEs (LSME): Here.
- EFRAG voluntary reporting standard for SMEs (VSME): Here.
- Malaysian simplified ESG disclosure guide (SEDG) for SMEs in the supply chain: Here.
