UCL Centre for Sustainable Business Co-Director Professor Paolo Taticchi’s latest white paper explores how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can become strategic leaders in sustainability through tailored, data-driven approaches.
From Insight to Impact: The Future of Sustainability for SMEs introduces “Impact Accounting”, a new methodology that translates environmental, social and customer-related impacts into monetary values.
This approach enables SMEs to assess and communicate their sustainability performance using familiar accounting principles and avoids the issues of more complex ESG frameworks.
Developed in collaboration with Tecno International and Richmond Global Sciences (RGS), the paper draws on a cross-sector pilot involving over 20 European SMEs.
The study compares SME performance with public companies across three key areas: environmental footprint, employment practices and customer impact, with the findings revealing that SMEs often outperform larger firms in environmental efficiency but face challenges with employment metrics and data infrastructure.
The paper positions sustainability not as a compliance burden but as a strategic lever for growth, resilience, and innovation. It outlines a roadmap for SMEs to enhance reporting systems, invest in proactive environmental strategies, strengthen employment practices and communicate customer-centric sustainability more effectively.
Rather than prescribing one-size-fits-all solutions, the paper advocates for scalable, sector-specific models supported by digital tools and cross-industry collaboration.
It highlights the role of consultants, technology providers and capital partners in helping SMEs embed sustainability into their core operations.
This research contributes to the UCL Centre for Sustainable Business’s mission to advance inclusive and actionable sustainability strategies.
