Sustainability Meets Growth: A Roadmap for SMEs and Mid-Sized Manufacturers

The report argues that sustainability should be viewed as a strategic growth opportunity rather than a cost for SMEs and mid-sized manufacturers. It introduces a five-stage roadmap—building foundations, implementing quick wins, measurement and reporting, long-term planning, and cultural shift—to help these firms reduce emissions and costs. Based on a survey of 60 companies, the report identifies competing priorities, policy uncertainty, and financial constraints as primary barriers. It advocates for a collaborative ecosystem where governments provide tailored finance and clear policy, and large corporations support their smaller suppliers through knowledge transfer and training.

• SMEs and mid-sized manufacturers are critical to global climate goals because they represent 90% of all businesses, account for nearly 70% of global jobs, and are responsible for approximately 40% of industrial pollution in OECD countries.
• Sustainability can act as a business enabler by reducing operational costs, attracting talent, and creating new revenue streams. For example, the Yunzhibao Foodstuff Company's Jiangsu plant achieved a 10% increase in operational efficiency and a 5% decrease in production costs through digitalized automation.
• A global survey of 60 manufacturing SMEs and mid-sized companies revealed that while 68% have a positive perspective on sustainability, significant hurdles remain. The most prominent obstacle is competing priorities such as cost-cutting or business expansion, cited by 53% of respondents, followed by policy uncertainty (47%) and financial constraints (42%).
• The proposed five-stage roadmap for SMEs and mid-sized manufacturers consists of: 1) Building the foundations (assessment and goal setting), 2) Identifying and implementing quick wins (prioritizing high ROI and low complexity projects), 3) Measurement, reporting and improvement (using KPIs and digitalization), 4) Embedding sustainability into long-term planning (eco-design and procurement strategy), and 5) Driving a cultural shift and communicating achievements.

APA

World Economic Forum (2025). Sustainability Meets Growth: A Roadmap for SMEs and Mid-Sized Manufacturers. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Sustainability_Meets_Growth_2025.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Sustainability Meets Growth: A Roadmap for SMEs and Mid-Sized Manufacturers. 2025. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Sustainability_Meets_Growth_2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Sustainability Meets Growth: A Roadmap for SMEs and Mid-Sized Manufacturers |date=June 2025 |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Sustainability_Meets_Growth_2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2025sustainability, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Sustainability Meets Growth: A Roadmap for SMEs and Mid-Sized Manufacturers}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Sustainability_Meets_Growth_2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }