Sustainability is no longer just about compliance – it’s an opportunity. SMEs are facing pressure from their customers, regulators and supply chains to step up their sustainability actions – and given the size of the SME community worldwide, their collective impact can be significant. Professional accountants are perfectly positioned to help them navigate this landscape.

Getting started

The introduction of mandatory sustainability reporting through the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) has been a major catalyst for many organisations to ramp up their compliance, particularly SMEs in the supply chain. Even so, smaller businesses – and especially family businesses that are focused on the next generation – have long held an interest in sustainability. 

This is a significant opportunity for professional accountants, and increasingly for accountancy practices that advise SMEs. But where is the best place to start with such a wide-ranging topic?

The first step is understanding what sustainability means in the context of business of all sizes – and that means reading around the subject, from the requirements of sustainability reporting standards to the sustainability reports of large companies, to articles, peer and community discussions, and podcasts. ACCA has an extensive collection of resources and CPD material available in the Sustainability Hub.

The panel makes the important point that offering sustainability services to clients will be much more effective if you have already implemented the work in your own practice. In other words, put on your own mask first before helping others.

Building sustainability services

Sustainability means different things to different people. The reality is that businesses will already be making decisions that are – or should be – sustainable but are not necessarily recognising them as such.

The sustainability trigger for clients is often external, such as procurement demands, or sustainability reporting requirements in their supply chain. The aim for practices is to translate an awareness of sustainability into a strong business case. Moving on from pure compliance – which is seen as a burden – to help clients understand that sustainability is essential in terms of risk management, but also business opportunity. And to build services that will be impactful and attractive to clients. 

Key takeaways 

What are the main lessons for smaller practices who want to build sustainability services for their clients?

Start with the basics. The first step with many clients will be straightforward education – explaining what sustainability means for them in practice. Practices can make use of the extensive volume of resources available, curating and packaging the information for specific clients.

Leverage existing data. Sustainability itself is not a standalone offering – it enriches services that practices already provide to clients. Client data can be flushed through a carbon accounting tool, for example, to illustrate what the impact of carbon reduction actions might be on costs or future supply chain demand.  

Highlight the sustainability implications of business decisions. Businesses will need to understand the business drivers of sustainability actions. What is the financial impact of doing something – and of not doing it – and how do you provide evidence of that to the client?  

Work back from the business outcome. Where is the client most exposed in terms of sustainability? Are they vulnerable to the impact of climate change? How resilient is the business physically, and in terms of its supply chain? Sustainability is always a work in progress, but working back from the business outcome helps to bring it into the present. 

Tell a positive story. Make a reputation-based business case for sustainability. How does the business compare against SMEs in different categories? Where are the risks and opportunities? What is the story that the business wants to tell, beyond its product offering? Narrative can be as important as numbers.   

Keep the topic on the agenda. Keep talking about sustainability – it is not a one-off service offering. 

Take a long-term view. The connection between sustainability and profitability is strong but it will take time. Clients will not see financial benefits straight away but the long-term benefits in terms of brand, and talent acquisition and retention are clear – a sustainable business is a strong business. But clients will need to be comfortable with a level of uncertainty, in the short term at least.