SMEs are the backbone of the economy and central to the nation’ s low-carbon transition. Despite this, the Barometer found that three in four SMEs had yet to commence their sustainability journeys, citing constraints in money, skills and time as the top barriers:

• Money: More than half of SMEs studied viewed sustainability as hard to justify in view of tight operating margins and more pressing business needs, with four in five citing a lack of clarity on the tangible returns from their investments

• Skills: Three in four SMEs lack the technical know-how needed to translate sustainability into concrete action plans and demonstrable outcomes

• Time: Over 40 % of SMEs cited limited availability of time and resources, compounded by rising economic pressures stemming from geopolitical tensions. This leaves little bandwidth to properly explore the range of available programmes and opportunities

Over 70 % of SMEs have not accessed any form of government assistance or available support despite the availability of various schemes, which suggests persistent challenges in awareness, accessibility and perceived relevance of such schemes. These findings highlight the need for stronger public-private collaboration to help SMEs get started on and stay engaged in sustainability. As an immediate step, the Barometer features‘ tear sheets’ that point SMEs to readily available resources, with future editions set to broaden and consolidate more assistance from across the local ecosystem.

“ We must enable SMEs to view sustainability not as a cost to bear, but as a business strategy for securing their place in the carbon constrained economy of the future,” said Ravi Menon, Singapore’ s Ambassador for Climate Action.“ Environmental sustainability will become an increasingly important driver of competitiveness and new growth, as climate change intensifies in the years and decades ahead. Supply chains and customers have begun to prioritise companies that demonstrate credible climate action and will increasingly do so. Going green is not about compliance – it is about staying relevant and resilient.”

“ When SMEs go green, they don’ t act alone. They lift the networks around them – buyers, suppliers, customers and financiers. They green the value chains they power, and in doing so generate high-quality data from the ground up,” said Lionel Wong, Gprnt’ s Chief Executive Officer. �

Intelligent SME. tech

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