A Perspective on Resilient and Sustainable Financial Strategies for SMEs

To reach the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and stopping global warming, a range of regulations have been enacted by the European Commission within the last years which set challenges for companies and have an impact on the reporting of their economic activities. The regulations are also addressed to financial institutions which lead to a stronger focus on sustainability issues. Consequently, sustainability issues will become more and more important for the availability of capital. Even SMEs that might not be addressed by the EU regulations are well advised to know the requirements and standards on reporting sustainable activities to maintain their chances to have access to bank finance. This is what is meant by sustainable financial resilience in the context of this article. It means the proactive and reactive adaptability and flexibility of companies to the challenges of sustainability and the associated impact on access to finance. This article highlights the most relevant regulations that may have an impact on SMEs and presents a checklist for practitioners to handle the discussed requirements to become resilient in the context of sustainability and the access to finance.