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Connecting the dots for SMEs’ net zero journey
5/11/2025
8 min read
Feature
Where do I start? This is the question most small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) ask themselves as they try to respond to increasingly ambitious sustainability and net zero goals, reports Michelle Meineke.
There are 5.5 million such companies in the UK, according to the government, accounting for one third of the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and half of all business emissions, says the British Business Bank. SMEs also represent 52% of national turnover and 60% of employment, shows data from Barclays. Put another way, the government says SMEs are the ‘nation’s dreamers and doers, innovators, the beating heart of communities and the backbone of the economy’.
Clearly then SMEs’ confidence and effectiveness in their sustainability journey is extremely pertinent as the UK strives to be net zero by 2050 – it was the world’s first major economy to create a legally binding target. Without SMEs’ buy-in and success, the national goal crumbles and with it, environmental strife and reputational damage worldwide follow.
A net zero journey is not a ‘nice to have’ for some eager SMEs, but a business necessity and commercial opportunity that will pay off in the long-term, especially for those able to absorb the adaption and adoption costs now. Accelerating SME growth by just one percentage point a year could deliver £320bn to the UK’s economy by 2030, according to the Office for National Statistics. But such growth will be hamstrung if net zero is not factored in; it is non-negotiable.