According to the World Economic Forum, as stated in this article, about 90% of all companies on the planet are small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and of this group, two thirds are fighting for survival.
The article gives six major problems faced by SMEs.
To each we give a response.
Top challenges facing SMEs
- Problem – 67% are struggling with maintaining and growing the business, low margins, and unable to expand to new markets and new clients/customers.
- Solution – Companies certified sustainable under our standard are able to differentiate, are growing up to 20x faster than their non-certified peers, are generating 7x margins versus their non-certified competitive peers, and have 7 out of 10 consumers willing to move their business to them.
- Problem – 48% struggle with attracting and retaining talent.
- Solution – The majority of all workers want to work for certified sustainable companies; this allows certified sustainable companies to hire and retain better talent, at lower wages.
- Problem – 34% struggle with maintaining a strong culture with clear company purpose and value.
- Solution – If a company pursues, attains and maintains sustainability certification, this becomes core to its purpose and values….and 90% of the world support a SME being certified sustainable.
- Problem – 25% struggle with keeping up with technology demands from the market.
- Solution – Certified sustainable companies incorporate advanced technology as part of their energy reduction and operational efficiency projects.
- Problem – 24% struggle with access to affordable funding and access to capital.
- Solution – Certified sustainable companies receive more funding (both debt and equity) and at lower cost (on both debt and equity) than their non-certified competitors.
- Problem – 22% struggle with government policies and regulations.
- Solution – Companies certified under our program have, as part of their certification process, an analysis and alignment with government regulations.
While being certified sustainable does not solve every corporate problem; it can certainly contribute to helping solve many of the ones that keep SME leaders up at night.