SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets : report June 2024.
Date: 2025-02-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
Subjects: administrative formalities, competitiveness, ecological footprint, economic growth, environmental economics, environmental impact, environmental protection, environmental risk prevention, exploitation of resources, green economy, job creation, production cost, report, small and medium-sized enterprises

© European Union, Bogdan Hoyaux 

FLASH EUROBAROMETER  549 

SMEs, resource 
eﬃciency and 
green markets 

E U R O B A R O M E T E R   R E P O R T  
J U N E   2 0 2 4  

 
 
 
 
  
  
  
Survey  conducted  by  Ipsos  European  Public  Aﬀairs  at  the  request  of  the  European  Commission, 
Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs  

Survey  coordinated  by 
(DG COMM “Media Monitoring and Eurobarometer” Unit) 

the  European  Commission,  Directorate-General 

for  Communication  

This document does not represent the point of view of the European Commission. The interpretations and 
opinions contained in it are solely those of the authors. 

Project title 

Catalogue number 
ISBN 

© European Union, 2024 

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource 
eﬃciency and green markets 
Report 
EN 
ET-01-24-009-EN-N 
978-92-68-21321-6 
doi:10.2873/6359740 

https://europa.eu/eurobarometer  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Table of contents 

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................................1 

Main ﬁndings ......................................................................................................................................................................................................4 

1.  Going green and resource eﬃcient ............................................................................................................................................7 

1.1. 

1.2. 

1.3. 

1.4. 

1.5. 

Resource eﬃciency actions taken by SMEs ...............................................................................................................7 

Resource eﬃciency actions planned for the next two years ........................................................................20 

Using renewable energy ...................................................................................................................................................31 

Investment in resource eﬃciency ................................................................................................................................38 

Strategy to become climate neutral or negative ................................................................................................48 

2. 

Barriers to and support for going green ..............................................................................................................................57 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.3. 

2.4. 

Diﬃculties setting up resource eﬃciency actions ..............................................................................................57 

Impact of resource eﬃciency actions on production costs ...........................................................................67 

Support to go green and resource eﬃcient ...........................................................................................................76 

What would help SMEs most to go green and resource eﬃcient? ............................................................89 

3.  Green markets ....................................................................................................................................................................................98 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4. 

SMEs oﬀering green products or services ..............................................................................................................98 

Turnover attributed to green products and services ......................................................................................106 

Share of recycled material in products .................................................................................................................111 

Life span of products .......................................................................................................................................................116 

4. 

Supporting SMEs with their green oﬀer ............................................................................................................................121 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

Type of support for the production of green products and services ....................................................121 

Support to expand green oﬀer ...................................................................................................................................128 

Support to launch green oﬀer .....................................................................................................................................135 

5.  Green jobs ..........................................................................................................................................................................................141 

A note about by industrial ecosystems .........................................................................................................................................148 

Technical speciﬁcations .........................................................................................................................................................................149 

Questionnaire ..............................................................................................................................................................................................152 

Data annex ....................................................................................................................................................................................................159 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Introduction

The  EU’s  25.8  million  small  and  medium 
enterprises (SMEs)1 are the backbone of the EU 
economy.  Employing  88.7  million  people,  they 
contributed  signiﬁcantly  to  the  EU  employment 
and value added.2  

As  well  as  being  economically  important,  SMEs 
are  environmentally  important:  although  their 
individual  impact  is  small,  their  cumulative 
impact on the environment is signiﬁcant. With 67 
tons,  the  average  SME  emits  very  little  CO2, 
especially  if  compared  to  emissions  of  20 027 
tons for the average large company (with 250 or 
more  employees).  Due  to  the  large  number  of 
SMEs,  however,  their  collective  share  in  total 
emissions is high, at 63% of all CO2 emissions by 
companies.3 

Climate  change  and  environmental  degradation 
are an existential threat to Europe and the world. 
To  overcome  these  challenges,  the  European 
Green Deal will transform the EU into a modern, 
resource-eﬃcient and competitive economy. 

The  European  SME  Strategy4  was  announced 
on 10 March 2020 and aims to contribute to the 
objectives of the European Green Deal and other 
EU  actions  launched  in  the  context  of  the  twin 
digital and green transition, namely achieving a 
climate-neutral, 
resource-eﬃcient,  and 
agile  digital  economy,  by  mobilising 
European SMEs across industrial sectors. 

1  The  category  of  micro,  small  and  medium-sized 
enterprises  (SMEs)  is  made  up  of  enterprises  that 
employ  fewer  than  250  persons  and  that  have  an 
annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million, and/or 
an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 
million.  (Extract  of  Article  2  of  the  annex  to 
Recommendation 2003/361/EC) 
2 Source: European Commission: Directorate-General 
for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and 
SMEs, Joint Research Centre, Katsinis, A., Lagüera-
González, J., Di Bella, L. et al., Annual report on 
European SMEs 2023/2024 – SME performance 
review 2023/2024, Publications Oﬃce of the 
European Union, 
2024, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2826/355464 
3 Source: European Commission: Directorate-General 
for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and 

1 

In the context of the European SME Strategy, the 
Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, 
Entrepreneurship  and  SMEs  commissioned  a 
Flash  Eurobarometer  survey  to  evaluate  the 
current levels of resource eﬃciency actions  and 
the  state  of  the  green  market  among  Europe’s 
SMEs, as well as in neighbouring countries and in 
the US. This survey builds on the work of previous 
Flash  Eurobarometer  surveys  (FL342  in  2012, 
FL381 in 2013, FL426 in 2015, FL456 in 2017 
and  FL498  in  2021).5  Speciﬁcally,  the  survey 
covers the following topics: 

  Actions 

currently 
that  SMEs  are 
undertaking  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient, 
as  well  as  additional  actions  that  SMEs 
plan to implement over the next two years 

  SMEs’ use of renewable energy 

  SMEs’  level  of  investment  in  resource 

eﬃciency  

  Measures 

in  place 

to  reduce  carbon 
footprint  and  become  climate  neutral  or 
negative 

  Barriers  to  going  green  and  resource 
eﬃcient,  such  as  complex  administrative 
procedures  or  an  increase  in  production 
costs 

SMEs, Gorgels, S., Priem, M., Blagoeva, T., Martinelle, 
A. et al., Annual report on European SMEs 2021/2022 
– SMEs and environmental sustainability – 
Background document, Publications Oﬃce of the 
European Union, 2022, 
https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2826/164089 
4  Communication  from  the  European  Commission  to 
the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of 
the  Regions.  An  SME  Strategy  for  a  sustainable 
ﬁnal 
and 
(https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/ﬁles/communic
ation-sme-strategy-march-2020_en.pdf) 
5 For more information: 
https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/browse/all/s
eries/17833  

COM/2020/103 

Europe. 

digital 

 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Moldova,  North  Macedonia,  Albania,  Serbia, 
Türkiye and the United States. Between 3 and 28 
June  2024,  18 160  enterprises  (both  SMEs  and 
large companies, in the EU and non-EU countries) 
were interviewed via telephone. The methodology 
used is that of Eurobarometer surveys as carried 
out 
for 
Communication (“Media monitoring and analysis” 
Unit). 

Directorate-General 

the 

by 

(10 

The  main  analysis  presented  in  this  report 
focuses  on  SMEs  in  the  EU  (13 124  interviews). 
SMEs are subdivided into micro companies (<10 
employees),  small  companies 
to  49 
employees) and medium-sized companies (50 to 
249 employees). Across the EU, 94% of SMEs are 
micro  companies.  The  strong  presence  of  micro 
companies  is  observed  across  all  EU  Member 
States. As such, the average results presented in 
this  report  –  where  each  type  of  SME  is 
represented  based  on  their  share  in  the  total 
population  of  SMEs  –  are  driven  by  the  survey 
observations  made 
In 
addition  to  average  results,  the  survey  ﬁndings 
are  presented  by  size  of  the  SME,  so  that 
diﬀerences  in  uptake  of  resource  eﬃciency 
actions, barriers to going green etc. across SMEs 
of  diﬀerent  sizes  become  visible.  Moreover,  the 
survey ﬁndings for SMEs are compared to those 
for 
large  companies,  with  250  or  more 
employees,  surveyed  in  the  EU  (589  interviews 
with  companies  with  250-499  employees  and 
interviews  with  companies  with  500+ 
328 
employees) and to those for SMEs in a selection 
of non-EU countries (3 783 interviews).

in  micro  companies. 

  Type  of  support  for  going  green  and 
resource  eﬃcient  – 
in-house 
resources and expertise to various types of 
external support  

from 

  Tools  and  forms  of  assistance  that 
would  help  most  to  go  green  and 
resource  eﬃcient  –  from  grants  or 
subsidies to demonstrations of technology 

  Green  markets  for  SMEs:  SMEs  oﬀering 
green  products  or  services  and  turnover 
attributed to these products and services 

  SMEs’  use  of  recycled  materials  in  their 

products 

  SMEs with an explicit policy to extend the 

life span of their products 

  Type  of  support  for  producing  green 

products or services 

  Forms of assistance that would help the 
most to launch or expand the production and 
sale of green products or services 

  SMEs  with  employees  in  green  jobs  (i.e. 
employees directly dealing with information, 
technologies  or  materials  that  preserves  or 
restores environmental quality) 

Flash  Eurobarometer 549 'SMEs, green  markets 
and resource eﬃciency' was conducted by Ipsos 
European Public Aﬀairs in the 27 Member States 
of  the  European  Union  (EU),  Iceland,  Norway, 
Switzerland,  the  United  Kingdom,  Montenegro, 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Notes 

  Survey  data  are  weighted  to  known 
population  proportions.  The  EU27  averages 
are weighted according to the size of the SME 
population of each EU Member State.  

time  may 

  Survey  results  are  subject  to  sampling 
tolerances  meaning  that  not  all  apparent 
diﬀerences  between  countries  or  groups,  or 
across 
statistically 
signiﬁcant.  Thus,  only  diﬀerences  that  are 
statistically signiﬁcant (at the 5% conﬁdence 
level) – i.e. where it can be reasonably certain 
that  they  are  unlikely  to  have  occurred  by 
chance – are highlighted in the text. 

be 

  The report looks at the most recent year-on-
year changes at EU and national level. The 
term  percentage  point 
is  used  when 
comparing  two  diﬀerent  percentages  (the 
abbreviation is pp). Year-on-year diﬀerences 
are  calculated  from  percentages  with  one 

decimal and are then rounded to the nearest 
integer.  

  Percentages  may  not  add  up  to  100%,  as 
they are rounded to the nearest percent. 
Due to rounding, it may also happen that the 
percentages  for  separate  response  options 
shown in the charts do not exactly add up to 
the  totals  mentioned  in  the  text.  Response 
percentages  exceed  100%  if  the  question 
to  select  multiple 
allowed 
responses. 

respondents 

  For  some  of  the  small  Member  States 
(Cyprus, Malta and Luxembourg) and some of 
the  non-EU  countries  surveyed  (Albania, 
Montenegro and Moldova), the sample size 
is  relatively  low,  and  results  should  be 
interpreted with caution as they carry a larger 
margin of error.  

 

In  this  report,  countries  are  referred  to  by 
their  oﬃcial  abbreviation.  The  abbreviations 
used in this report are indicated below.  

  BE  
  BG  
  CZ  
  DK  
  DE  
  EE  
IE  
  EL  
  ES  

  UK  
IS  
  NO  
  CH  

   Belgium 
   Bulgaria 
   Czechia 
   Denmark 
   Germany 
   Estonia 
Ireland 
   Greece 
   Spain 

   United Kingdom 

Iceland 

  Norway 

  Switzerland 

  FR  
  HR  
IT  
  CY  
  LV  
  LT  
  LU  
  HU  
  MT  

  ME  
  MD  
  MK  
  AL  

   France 
   Croatia 
Italy 

   Rep. of Cyprus* 
   Latvia 
   Lithuania 
   Luxembourg 
   Hungary 
   Malta 

Iceland 
   Moldova 
   North Macedonia 
   Albania 

  NL  
  AT  
  PL  
  PT  
  RO  
  SI  
  SK  
  FI  
  SE  

  RS  
  TR  
  US  

   Netherlands 
   Austria 
   Poland 
   Portugal 
   Romania 
   Slovenia 
   Slovakia 
   Finland 
   Sweden 

   Serbia 
   Türkiye 
   United States 

* Cyprus as a whole is one of the 27 EU Member States. For practical reasons, interviews are only carried 
out in the part of the country controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus. 

3 

 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Main ﬁndings 

Going green and resource eﬃcient 

Using renewable energy 

  The  most  common  resource  eﬃciency 
actions  undertaken  by  EU  SMEs  are 
minimising  waste  and  saving  energy 
(both mentioned by 66%). These are followed 
by  saving  materials  (mentioned  by  57%), 
saving  water  (49%)  and  recycling  by 
reusing  material  or  waste  within  their 
company (48%). 

  Most  SMEs  surveyed  are  undertaking  a 
range  of  resource  eﬃciency  measures. 
More speciﬁcally, 42% of EU SMEs report that 
they  are  undertaking  ﬁve  or  more  of  the 
resource  eﬃciency  actions  listed  in  the 
survey,  31%  are  undertaking  three  or  four 
actions  and  20%  one  or  two  actions;  the 
remaining 6% of EU SMEs are not taking any 
action. 

  Compared  to  2021,  SMEs  are  now  more 
likely  to  save  energy  (66%,  +5  pp),  save 
water (49%, +3 pp), design products that are 
easier to maintain, repair or reuse (29%, +3 
pp) and use predominantly renewable energy 
sources (e.g. including own production trough 
solar panels, etc.) (24%, +5 pp). In the period 
from  2015  to  2024,  the  proportion  of  EU 
SMEs using predominantly renewable energy 
has more than doubled (from 11% to 24%). 

  About eight in ten (81%) SMEs surveyed plan 
to  implement  at  least  one  (additional) 
resource eﬃciency action in the next two 
years (+4 pp compared to 2021). 

  A majority of SMEs (58%) plan to implement 
(further)  energy  savings  in  the  next  two 
years and 34% are looking to switch to use 
energy 
predominantly 
renewable 
(including  e.g.  own  production 
sources 
trough  solar  panels).  Over  one  in  two  SMEs 
(53%)  will  implement  (further)  measures  to 
reduce  waste,  47%  will  do  so  to  save 
materials and 45% to save water.  

  Somewhat more than one in ten SMEs (12%) 
generate  renewable  energy  onsite  (e.g. 
solar panels, wind power) and 23% report 
to purchase energy from a renewable energy 
supplier  (but  do  not  generate  renewable 
energy onsite).  

  32%  of  SMEs  generating  renewable  energy 
onsite 
the  on-site  energy 
production  accounts  for  at  least  50%  of 
their energy consumption. 

report 

that 

Investment in resource eﬃciency 

investment 

  A  vast  majority  of  SMEs  across  the  EU  are 
taking  resource  eﬃciency  measures,  but 
actual 
in  resource  eﬃciency 
remains  low  –  38%  of  SMEs  surveyed 
invested 1% or more of their turnover in 
this  area  in  the  past  two  years  (+3  pp 
compared to 2021).  

  13%  of  SMEs  have  invested,  on  average, 
more than 5% of their annual turnover over 
the past two years to become more resource 
eﬃcient  and  25%  say  that  the  investment 
amounted  to  between  1%  and  5%,  on 
average, of their annual turnover. 

Carbon reduction strategy 

  21% of SMEs have a concrete strategy in 
place  to  reduce  their  carbon  footprint 
and become climate neutral or negative and 
4%  report  that  they  are  already  climate 
neutral. Another 19% of SMEs reply that they 
do  not  have  a  carbon  reduction  strategy  in 
place but are planning to deﬁne one. 

Diﬃculties  setting  up  resource  eﬃciency 
actions 

  35% of SMEs undertaking resource eﬃciency 
actions  say  they  encountered  complex 
legal  procedures 
administrative  or 
setting up these actions and 26% refer to 
reporting 
environmental 
complex 

4 

 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

requirements.  The  cost  of  environment 
actions  is  mentioned  by  28%  of  SMEs  as  a 
barrier encountered trying to set up resource 
eﬃciency actions. 

  26% of SMEs undertaking resource eﬃciency 
actions  reply  that  they  did  not  encounter 
any  diﬃculties  when  setting  up  these 
actions. 

Impact  of 
production costs 

resource  eﬃciency  actions  on 

  Among  SMEs  taking  resource  eﬃciency 
actions,  4%  say 
these  actions  have 
signiﬁcantly decreased their production 
costs  over  the  past  two  years  and  26% 
that  there  was  a  slight  decrease 
in 
production costs. One in ﬁve SMEs (20%) say 
production  costs  have  slightly  increased 
and  16%  that  this 
increase  has  been 
signiﬁcant. About a quarter (24%) say there 
has been no change in production costs as a 
result of the resource eﬃciency actions.  

Support to go green and resource eﬃcient  

  Among  SMEs  that  have  taken  resource 
eﬃciency  actions,  61%  rely  on  their  own 
ﬁnancial resources and 50% on their own 
technical  expertise  in  their  eﬀorts  to  be 
more  resource  eﬃcient.  Comparatively  less 
SMEs (23%) rely on external support.  

What  would  help  SMEs  most  to  go  green  and 
resource eﬃcient? 

  37% of SMEs think that grants or subsidies 
would  help  their  company  the  most  to  be 
more resource eﬃcient; as in 2021, this is the 
most-mentioned form of assistance. 

  The other forms of assistance are selected 
by  between  15%  and  25%  of  respondents. 
For example, 22% of SMEs think that advice 
on  funding  possibilities  and  ﬁnancial 
planning 
eﬃciency 
investments would help their company the 
most  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient  (+3  pp 
compared to 2021). 

resource 

for 

SMEs oﬀering green products or services  

  32%  of  SMEs  oﬀer  green  products  or 
services, with a further 12% planning to do 
so in the next two years. A slim majority 
of SMEs (52%) do not oﬀer green products or 
services and have no plans to do so.  

  24%  of  SMEs  selling  green  products  and 
services  reply  that  these  products  and 
services  represent  more  than  50%  of 
their  turnover  of  the  latest  ﬁscal  year. 
For 44% of SMEs selling green products and 
services,  however, 
these  products  and 
services make up not more than 10% of their 
most recent annual turnover. 

Use of recycled materials 

  Among  SMEs  selling  products,  56%  report 
that they use recycled materials in their 
products. For about a quarter of these SMEs, 
the  share  of  recycled  materials  in  their 
products/production is at least 20%. 

Life span of products 

  About  half  of  SMEs  selling  products  answer 
that their company has an explicit policy to 
extend  the  life  span  of  their  products 
(e.g.  choosing  durable  materials,  dedicated 
repair services for customers etc.): 22% say 
they have such a policy for all their products 
and 25% for some of their products. 

Support  for  the  production  of  green 
products and services  

  Among  SMEs  oﬀering  green  products  and 
services,  60%  rely  on  their  own  ﬁnancial 
resources and 57% on their own technical 
expertise  for  the  production  of  these 
products and services. About a quarter (25%) 
of these SMEs rely on external support.  

What would help SMEs the most to expand green 
oﬀer? 

  42%  of  SMEs  selling  green  products  or 
services  say  that  ﬁnancial  incentives  for 
developing  products,  services  or  new 

5 

 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

production processes would help them the 
most to expand their green oﬀer.  

  Financial incentives are much more likely to 
be  mentioned 
than  other  form  of 
assistance, such as support with identifying 
potential markets or customers (29%). 

What  would  help  SMEs  the  most  to  launch  a 
green oﬀer? 

  Among  SMEs  not  currently  oﬀering  green 
products  or  services,  ﬁnancial  incentives 
for developing new products, services or 
production  processes  (34%)  are  also  the 
most-mentioned type of support that would 
help to launch a green oﬀer.  

  While 13% of SMEs currently oﬀering green 
products  or  services  reply  that  none  of  the 

types of support would help them to expand 
their  oﬀer,  among  SMEs  not  oﬀering  green 
products  or  services,  nearly  three  times  as 
many (36%) reply that none of the support 
measures  would  help  them  to  launch  a 
range of green products or services.  

Green jobs 

  A  ‘green  job’  is  one  that  directly  deals  with 
information,  technologies,  or  materials  that 
preserve  or  restore  environmental  quality. 
Just under four in ten SMEs have at least 
one  full-time  employee  working  in  a 
green job some or all the time: 34% say 
there  are  between  one  and  ﬁve  ‘green’ 
employees  in  their  SME  and  3%  report  that 
their number is higher than ﬁve.  

6 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

1.  Going green and resource eﬃcient 

The ﬁrst chapter looks at the actions that SMEs 
are currently undertaking to be more resource 
eﬃcient,  as  well  as  the  additional  measures 
SMEs plan to implement over the next two years. 
In this analysis, speciﬁc attention is being paid to 
renewable  energy  measures  (such  as  the 
generation of renewable energy). This is followed 
by an analysis of SMEs’ level of investment in 
resource  eﬃciency  and  a  discussion  whether 
SMEs  have 
reduction 
strategies in place.  

concrete 

carbon 

For the purpose of this survey, resource eﬃciency 
was  deﬁned  as  using  natural  resources  in  a 
sustainable  and  environmentally  friendly 
manner,  and  this  at  diﬀerent  stages,  from 
supply  and  production  to,  for  example, 
waste management.  

1.1.  Resource eﬃciency actions taken 

by SMEs 

Companies  participating  in  this  survey  were 
presented with a list of nine actions that can be 
taken  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient.  Most  SMEs 
surveyed  are  taking  measures  to  be  more 
resource eﬃcient: 93% of EU SMEs are taking 
at  least  one  of  the  actions  listed  in  the 
survey  (+3  pp  compared  to  2021,  Flash 
Eurobarometer 498),6 while 6% are not taking 
any action. A handful of respondents (1%) report 
that they ‘do not know’ if actions are being taken 
in their SME. 

Most SMEs are also undertaking a range of 
eﬃciency  measures.  More 
resource 
speciﬁcally, 42% of EU SMEs report that they are 
undertaking  ﬁve  or  more  of  the  resource 
eﬃciency  actions  listed  in  the  survey,  31%  are 
undertaking three or four actions and 20% one or 
two actions. As already mentioned, the remaining 
6% of EU SMEs are not taking any action.  

Q1

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient?
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

66%

66%

57%

49%

48%

33%

29%

24%

22%

2%

6%

1%

Evolution
2024-2021
▲5

▲2

=

▲3

▲1

=

▲3

▲5

▼-2

=

▼-3

=

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

6 Source: 
https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2287  

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

The  chart  on  the  previous  page  shows  that  the 
most  common  resource  eﬃciency  actions 
undertaken  by  EU  SMEs  are  minimising 
waste  and  saving  energy  (both  mentioned  by 
66%). These are followed by saving materials 
(mentioned  by  57%),  saving  water  (49%)  and 
recycling  by  reusing  material  or  waste 
within their company (48%). 

Compared to 2021, SMEs are now more likely 
to save energy (66%, +5 pp), save water (49%, 
+3  pp),  design  products  that  are  easier  to 
maintain,  repair  or  reuse  (29%,  +3  pp)  and  use 

predominantly  renewable  energy  sources  (e.g. 
including  own  production  trough  solar  panels, 
etc.) (24%, +5 pp).7 

EU  SMEs’  uptake  of  various  resource  eﬃciency 
measures has been measured across time.8 The 
trend  chart  below  shows  that,  for  many  actions 
listed in the survey, an increasing trend in uptake 
can  be  observed  from  2015  to  2024.  For 
example,  the  proportion  of  EU  SMEs  reporting 
that  they  are  using  predominantly  renewable 
energy has more than doubled in the period from 
2015 to 2024 (from 11% to 24%).

Q1

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient?
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

To what extent do you feel informed about the euro? Do you feel:

Q5
(SMEs, EU27)

60
59
54

44
40

25
22

11

65
63

57

47

42

25
21

14

64
61
57

47
46

33

26
24
19

66
66

57

49
48

33
29

24
22

Saving energy
Minimising waste

Saving materials

Saving water
Recycling, by reusing material or waste
within the company

Switching to greener suppliers of materials
Designing products that are easier to maintain, repair or reuse
Using predominantly renewable energy
(e.g. incl. own production through solar panels, etc.)
Selling your residues and waste to another company

2015

2017

2021

2024

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2015-2024

7  Survey  results  are  subject  to  sampling  tolerances. 
Only diﬀerences that are statistically signiﬁcant (at the 
5% conﬁdence level) are highlighted in the text. 

8 For more information: 
https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/browse/all/s
eries/17833  

8 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

SMEs vs large companies 

As part of this survey, in addition to the 13 124 
interviews  across  the  EU  with  SMEs,  917 
interviews were conducted with large companies 
(with  250  or  more  employees)  across  the  EU. 
Comparing SMEs to large companies shows that 
large  companies  are  more  likely  to  report 
that  they  are  undertaking  the  resource 

eﬃciency  actions  listed  in  the  survey.  For 
example,  while  66%  of  SMEs  report  saving 
energy,  this  ﬁgure  increases  to  77%  for  large 
companies.  The  biggest  diﬀerences  between 
SMEs and large companies are found for selling 
of residues and waste to another company (22% 
for SMEs vs 41% for large companies) and using 
of  predominantly  renewable  energy  (24%  vs 
42%, respectively). 

Q1

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

66%

66%

57%

49%

48%

33%

29%

24%

22%

2%

6%

1%

Large companies

Saving energy

Minimising waste

Saving materials

Saving water
Recycling, by reusing material or waste
within the company
Switching to greener suppliers of materials
Designing products that are easier to
maintain, repair or reuse
Using predominantly renewable energy (e.g.
incl. own production through solar panels, etc.)
Selling your residues and waste to
another company
Other (spontaneous)

None (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answer

77%

75%

64%

61%

60%

50%

36%

42%

41%

1%

3%

0%

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies)

9 

 
 
  
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

industrial  ecosystems,9  a  large 
Across  all 
majority of EU SMEs are taking measures to 
be  more  resource  eﬃcient  and  few  are  not 
taking any action. The proportion of SMEs not 
taking  action  ranges  from  2%  in  ‘Electronics’ 
and  ‘Energy  -  renewables’  to  10%  in  ‘Energy 
intensive industries’ and ‘Health’. 

Across  most  industrial  ecosystems,  the  most 
actions 
common 
undertaken are saving energy, minimising waste 

eﬃciency 

resource 

and  saving  materials.  There  are,  however,  also 
some 
important  diﬀerences  across  the 
industrial ecosystems in terms of uptake of 
certain  measures.  For  example,  60%  of  SMEs 
in ‘Electronics’ and 63% in ‘Energy – renewables’ 
reply that they are recycling, by reusing material 
or waste within the company; this ﬁgure is 31% 
in the industrial ecosystem of ‘Health’. Similarly, 
while 49% of SMEs in ‘Textile’ answer that they 
are  switching  to  greener  suppliers  of  materials, 
this proportion is 21% in the industrial ecosystem 
of ‘Energy intensive industries’. 

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

Q1 
(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27) 

y
g
r
e
n
e

i

g
n
v
a
S

75 

65 

61 

58 

65 

79 

76 

57 

61 

69 

73 

66 

66 

72 

Aerospace and defence 

Agri-food 

Construction 

Cultural and creative 
industries 

Digital 

Electronics 

Energy - renewables 

Energy intensive 
industries 

Health 

Mobility - Transport - 
Automotive 
Proximity, social economy 
and civil security 

Retail 

Textile 

Tourism 

e
t
s
a
w
g
n
i
s
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m
n
M

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63 

61 

70 

65 

55 

49 

64 

69 

61 

64 

70 

63 

72 

73 

s
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60 

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35 

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26 

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31 

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4 

Note:  The  higher  the  proportion  selecting  a  response,  the  darker  green/red  the  cell.  The  highest-ranking  measure  for  each 
ecosystem is shown in dark green and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) 

9  For  more  information  about  industrial  ecosystems 
and their deﬁnition, see the Technical speciﬁcation at 
the end of the report. 

10 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, green markets and resource eﬃciency 

SMEs in ‘Energy - renewables’ (68%) are the most 
likely to report undertaking ﬁve or more of the 
resource eﬃciency actions listed in the survey. 
In sharp contrast, in ‘Digital’ (31%) and ‘Cultural 
and Creative Industries’ (32%), less than half as 
many SMEs are undertaking at least ﬁve actions. 

The share of SMEs undertaking just one or two 
actions is highest in ‘Digital’, followed by ‘Health’ 
(25%) and Agri-food’ (22%). As noted above, 10% 
of  SMEs  in  ‘Energy  intensive  industries’  and 
‘Health’  report  taking  no  actions  at  all  to  be 
more resource eﬃcient. 

Q1

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient?

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27)

5 or more actions

3 or 4 actions

1 or 2 actions

No actions

Don't know/No answer

2
2

16

13

68

l

s
e
b
a
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-

y
g
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E

0
3

13

26

58

4

3

10

33

1
5

19

26

1
8

14

32

1
7

18

29

1
6

20

31

1
10

25

23

1
6

20

32

0
10

17

32

1
4

22

35

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14

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3

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34

27

50

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46

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42

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39

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32

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(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

It was noted above that, compared to SMEs, large 
companies (250+ employees) are more likely to 
report  that  they  are  undertaking  the  resource 
eﬃciency  actions  listed  in  the  survey.  It  is 
important to note here that, in this comparison, 
the results for SMEs are mainly driven by those 
for  micro  companies 
less  than  ten 
employees) – this is because the vast majority of 
SMEs  are  micro  companies.  The  analysis 
presented  in  the  table  on  the  next  page  shows 
that  the  diﬀerence  between  large  companies 
(250-499  employees  or  500+  employees)  and 
medium-sized SMEs (with between 50 and 249 
employees) is smaller for many of the resource 
eﬃciency actions considered in the survey. 

(with 

The larger the SME in terms of employees, the 
more likely it is to be implementing most of the 
resource  eﬃciency  measures  included  in  the 
survey.  For  example,  while  66%  of  micro 
companies  have  taken  actions  to  save  energy, 
this  proportion  increases  to  74%  for  medium-
sized  companies.  Similarly,  24%  of  micro 
companies use predominantly renewable energy, 
in 
contrast  with  41%  of  medium-sized 
companies.  

Comparing smaller and larger SMEs in terms of 
turnover  in  2023,  a  similar  trend  is  seen  for 
using  predominantly  renewable  energy  (e.g. 
including  own  production  through  solar  panels, 
etc.)  (from  18%  for  SMEs  with  up  to  €100 000 
turnover in 2023 to 38% for SMEs with more than 
€10 000 000  in  turnover)  and  selling  residues 
and  waste  to  another  company  (from  15%  for 
SMEs  with  up  to  €100 000  turnover  in  2023  to 
27%  for  SMEs  with  more  than  €2 000 000  or 

more than €10 000 000 in turnover). Focusing on 
the  proportion  of  SMEs  that  are  not  taking  any 
action  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient,  this 
proportion is 9% for SMEs with up to €100 000 
turnover in 2023 and decreases to 3% for SMEs 
with more than €10 000 000 in turnover). 

SMEs  are  also  categorised  in  terms  of  recent 
growth, paying speciﬁc attention to high-growth 
SMEs  (including  gazelles).  For  many  of  the 
resource eﬃciency actions covered in the survey, 
there  is  no  statistically  signiﬁcant  diﬀerence  in 
uptake  by  company  growth.  However,  it  can  be 
noted, for example, that gazelles (i.e. young high-
growth  companies)  are  more  likely  than  their 
counterparts  to  report  designing  products  that 
are  easier  to  maintain,  repair  or  reuse  (39%  vs 
28%-31%).  

The results by NACE sector show that uptake of 
the  various  measures  to  be  more  resource 
eﬃcient tends to be lowest in the services sector. 
For  example,  35%  of  SMEs  in  manufacturing, 
compared  to  17%  in  services  are  selling  their 
residues  and  waste  to  another  company;  the 
corresponding ﬁgure for SMEs in industry is 28% 
and it is 26% for those in retail. 

In  line  with  the  diﬀerences  observed  by  NACE 
sector, SMEs that are only selling services are 
slightly more likely than those selling products 
(or both products and services) not to be taking 
action to be more resource eﬃcient (8% vs 4%-
5%). The proportion having taken a speciﬁc action 
is  highest  for  SMEs  that  sell  both  products  and 
services for many of the measures listed in the 
survey.  

12 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

Q1 
(SMEs, EU27) 

e
t
s
a
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g
n
i
s
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n
M

i

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EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 
Company growth1 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE)2 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

66 

66 

57 

49 

48 

33 

29 

24 

22 

66 

69 

74 

72 

86 

66 

66 

70 

66 

63 

62 

71 

65 

68 

66 

62 

69 

66 

67 

66 

66 

65 

71 

70 

71 

81 

60 

68 

68 

73 

65 

62 

65 

67 

60 

72 

71 

67 

62 

64 

63 

71 

56 

60 

61 

62 

67 

55 

59 

57 

57 

55 

53 

57 

57 

57 

64 

61 

57 

53 

52 

57 

60 

49 

50 

53 

59 

64 

50 

50 

48 

46 

48 

50 

48 

49 

47 

53 

46 

52 

47 

50 

47 

50 

48 

51 

51 

60 

60 

45 

49 

49 

50 

44 

47 

50 

48 

46 

51 

51 

52 

44 

54 

42 

53 

33 

38 

42 

46 

56 

30 

36 

35 

36 

26 

43 

36 

31 

41 

36 

32 

37 

32 

32 

30 

39 

29 

31 

31 

33 

41 

26 

30 

33 

31 

20 

39 

28 

29 

31 

35 

37 

30 

25 

25 

25 

39 

24 

32 

41 

41 

43 

18 

23 

25 

37 

38 

17 

28 

24 

24 

25 

27 

24 

23 

22 

23 

28 

22 

33 

39 

39 

44 

15 

21 

32 

27 

27 

21 

26 

22 

20 

35 

28 

26 

17 

25 

17 

29 

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2 

1 

)
s
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6 

6 

4 

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6 

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8 

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1 

2 

1 

1 

2 

1 

2 

1 

Notes: (1) High-growth is deﬁned as growth of 10% or more annually over the past three years in terms of employees and/or 
turnover (growth in terms of employees is only considered from companies with 10 or more employees); categories: Gazelles 
(max 5.5 year-old, high-growth companies); High-growth companies (excl. gazelles); Weak/no-growth companies (incl. <1.5 year-
old companies); and Negative-growth companies (companies having decreased both in number of employees and turnover). 
(2)  Four  large  NACE  sector  groupings:  Manufacturing  (companies  engaged  in  the  transformation  of  materials,  substances  or 
components into new products); Industry (companies in (1) mining and quarrying, (2) electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning 
supply, (3) water supply; sewerage, waste and remediation, and (4) construction); Retail (companies in the wholesale and retail 
trade (incl. repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles)); Services (the service sector produces services (instead of goods), such as 
maintenance and repairs, training and consulting etc.). For more information about NACE (Statistical classiﬁcation of economic 
activities in the European Community), see: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nacerev2/overview  
(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies) 

13 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

About three-quarters – or more – of respondents 
in Denmark (76%), France (76%), Belgium (77%), 
Slovakia (82%) and Spain (84%) report that they 
are saving energy to be more resource eﬃcient. 
In  another  18  Member  States,  at  least  a  slim 
majority  of  SMEs  report  the  same.  SMEs  in  the 
Netherlands  (41%)  and  Sweden  (42%)  are  the 
most  likely  in  the  EU  to  use  predominantly 
renewable  energy. 
In  Denmark,  Austria, 
Germany and Belgium, between 34% and 38% of 
SMEs  use  predominantly  renewable  energy.    In 
most  other  Member  States,  however, 
the 
proportion  of  SMEs  using  predominantly 
renewable energy remains below a quarter. 

More  than  eight  in  ten  SMEs  in  Belgium  (83%) 
Slovakia (82%) and Spain (82%) report that they 
are  minimising  waste.  In  another  15  Member 
States,  more  than  half  of  respondents  say  the 
same.  The  proportion  of  SMEs  that  are  selling 
their residues and waste to another company 
ranges from 8% in Cyprus and Ireland to 31% in 
Luxembourg and the Netherlands. 

Respondents in Lithuania (78%) and Spain (79%) 
are overall the most likely to say that their SME 
is  saving  materials;  in  Sweden  (76%)  and 
three-quarters  of 
Slovakia 
respondents say the same. In another 12 Member 
States, at least half of SMEs are saving materials. 

(74%),  about 

A  majority  of  SMEs  in  Spain  are  switching  to 
greener  suppliers  of  materials (53%); in the 
other  Member  States,  this  proportion  varies 
between  14%  in  Portugal  and  44%  in  Belgium. 
The  proportion  of  SMEs  that  are  recycling  by 
reusing  material  and  waste  within  their 
company  remains  below  50%  in  17  Member 
States;  in  the  other  Member  States,  this  ﬁgure 
ranges from 50% in Finland and Cyprus to 77% 
in Spain. 

More than seven in ten SMEs in Spain (73%) and 
Slovakia  (78%)  report  that  they  are  saving 
water;  this  proportion  is  close  to  two-thirds  in 
France (65%) and Lithuania (64%). In most other 
Member  States,  less  than  half  of  SMEs  report 
saving water to be more resource eﬃcient. 

the  proportion  of  SMEs 

that  are 
Finally, 
designing  products  that  are  easier  to 
maintain, repair or reuse varies between 10% 
in Portugal and 45% in Spain. 

The  proportion  of  SMEs  that  report  not  taking 
any  action  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient 
remains low in most Member States (e.g. 1% in 
Italy  and  2%  in  Austria,  the  Netherlands  and 
Spain). In nine Member States, there are at least 
10% of SMEs that are not (yet) taking action; with 
the overall highest proportion observed in Latvia 
(25%),  followed  by  Slovenia  (18%),  Hungary 
(17%), Estonia (17%) and Romania (16%). 

14 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

Q1 
(SMEs, EU27) 

r
o

l

a
i
r
e
t
a
m
g
n
i
s
u
e
r

y
b

,

g
n

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l
c
y
c
e
R

y
n
a
p
m
o
c

e
h
t

i

n
h
t
i

w
e
t
s
a
w

48 

48 

27 

47 

42 

39 

36 

55 

33 

77 

51 

32 

48 

50 

15 

33 

53 

23 

45 

56 

47 

37 

55 

34 

37 

51 

50 

57 

s
l
a
i
r
e
t
a
m
g
n
v
a
S

i

57 

65 

50 

61 

56 

52 

39 

24 

56 

79 

51 

41 

56 

39 

47 

78 

49 

45 

39 

61 

55 

53 

30 

45 

38 

74 

63 

76 

r
e
t
a
w
g
n
v
a
S

i

49 

55 

50 

51 

49 

35 

33 

29 

48 

73 

65 

34 

38 

32 

39 

64 

44 

46 

49 

32 

44 

48 

35 

42 

28 

78 

38 

39 

f
o

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23 

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21 

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17 

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l

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b
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15 

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42 

y
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66 

77 

61 

65 

76 

66 

52 

40 

67 

84 

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52 

58 

57 

52 

72 

57 

66 

36 

58 

63 

64 

42 

54 

43 

82 

65 

69 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

HR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

e
t
s
a
w
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n
M

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66 

83 

60 

75 

63 

59 

46 

49 

52 

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41 

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63 

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54 

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82 

63 

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Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green/red the cell. The highest-ranking measure for each country 
is shown in dark green and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, green markets and resource eﬃciency 

It  was  noted  earlier  that  42%  of  EU  SMEs  are 
undertaking  ﬁve  or  more  of  the  resource 
eﬃciency  actions  listed  in  the  survey.  At  the 
individual  country  level,  this  share  ranges  from 
just 4% in Ireland and Portugal to 71% in Spain. 
Spain is joined at the higher end of the country 
ranking by Lithuania (52% ‘ﬁve or more actions’), 
Sweden  (54%),  Slovakia  (57%)  and  Belgium 
(59%). In Ireland and Portugal, on the other hand, 

about  half  of  SMEs  (50%-51%)  report  to  be 
undertaking three or four resource eﬃciency 
measures and close to four in ten SMEs (37%-
39%) are undertaking one or two actions. The 
share  of  SMEs  undertaking  just  one  or  two 
actions  is  also  high  in  Cyprus  (38%),  Croatia 
(38%) and Estonia (39%). The share of SMEs not 
undertaking  any  actions,  however,  is  overall  the 
highest in Latvia (25%).

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient?

Q1
(SMEs, EU27)

5 or more actions

3 or 4 actions

1 or 2 actions

No actions

Don't know/No answer

0
5

0
4

13

11

23

27

0
2

9

18

71

0
8

0
8

15

14

0
6

22

0
8

1

7

1

6

1

6

18

22

26

20

23

25

24

27

23

23

31

0
4

9

47

1
10

23

26

0
13

25

23

59

57

54

52

49

48

47

4

1
11

47

1
2

10

50

0
2

7

2

16

0
17

2

7

2

8

29

31

56

30

26

0
25

29

0
18

34

0
13

38

2

14

0
17

0
5

3

3

21

39

38

39

5

4

37

32

32

25

20

24

25

19

24

23

59

51

50

43

42

41

40

39

37

37

35

32

32

31

27

26

25

24

21

20

15

4

4

ES

BE

SK

SE

LT

FR

CZ

DK

FI EU27 DE

LU

EL

IT

NL

AT

RO HU

BG

PL

LV

SI

CY

HR

EE MT

IE

PT

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

16 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

in 

largest  share  of  SMEs 

The 
Iceland, 
Montenegro,  Norway,  Türkiye,  Switzerland, 
the  UK  and  the  US  report  that  they  are 
minimising waste (between 48% in  Montenegro 
and 78% in the US). The largest share of SMEs in 
(40%),  North 
Moldova 
Macedonia (22%) and Albania (21%) are saving 
energy and the largest share of SMEs in Türkiye 
(59%) report that they are saving materials.  

(60%),  Serbia 

In  ﬁve  of  the  non-EU  countries  surveyed,  less 
than 10% of SMEs are not taking any action to be 
more  resource  eﬃcient.  In  North  Macedonia 
and, even more so, in Albania, this proportion is 
much higher (35% and 53%, respectively).  

Caution  should,  however,  be  exercised  when 
interpreting the results of Albania, Moldova and 
Montenegro,  due  to  the  smaller  number  of 
interviews  having  been  conducted  in  these 
countries (between 93 and 105 per country). 

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

Q1 
(SMEs, non-EU countries) 

r
o

l

a
i
r
e
t
a
m
g
n
i
s
u
e
r

y
b

,

g
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l
c
y
c
e
R

y
n
a
p
m
o
c

e
h
t

i

n
h
t
i

w
e
t
s
a
w

48 

68 

34 

53 

54 

16 

16 

14 

16 

21 

43 

68 

s
l
a
i
r
e
t
a
m
g
n
v
a
S

i

57 

49 

41 

48 

53 

28 

33 

19 

19 

39 

59 

67 

r
e
t
a
w
g
n
v
a
S

i

49 

46 

18 

28 

40 

35 

39 

12 

16 

28 

53 

61 

y
g
r
e
n
e

i

g
n
v
a
S

66 

53 

35 

55 

69 

38 

60 

22 

21 

40 

54 

68 

EU27 

UK 

IS 

NO 

CH 

ME 

MD 

MK 

AL 

RS 

TR 

US 

e
t
s
a
w
g
n
i
s
i
m
n
M

i

i

66 

73 

55 

75 

71 

48 

19 

20 

9 

35 

57 

78 

f
o

s
r
e

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30 

4 

6 

7 

6 

11 

36 

46 

l

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a

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22 

16 

18 

19 

25 

17 

7 

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6 

22 

23 

25 

)
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Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green/red the cell. The highest-ranking measure for each country 
is shown in dark green and white font. 
(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=3 783 (SMEs) 

17 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Trend compared to 2021 

The  table  on  the  next  page  shows  the  trend 
compared to 2021, at a country-by-country 
basis. Green values indicate a positive trend – i.e. 
an increase in the proportion of SMEs undertaking 
the  action  (or  a  decrease  in  the  proportion  of 
SMEs not undertaking any actions – last column 
in the table). Red values indicate a negative trend 
–  i.e.  a  decrease  in  the  proportion  of  SMEs 
undertaking  the  action  (or  an  increase  in  the 
proportion of SMEs not undertaking any actions).   

As noted at the start of this chapter, 93% of EU 
SMEs  report  that  they  are  undertaking  one  or 
more resource eﬃciency measures, compared to 
6%  that  are  not  undertaking  any  action  in  this 
regard. Compared to 2021, there is a small, but 
signiﬁcant,  decrease  in  the  proportion  of  SMEs 
across the EU that are not taking any action to be 
more resource eﬃcient (from 9% to 6%, -3 pp).  

A  decrease  in  the  proportion  of  SMEs  not 
taking  any  resource  eﬃciency  measures  is 
also  seen  about  half  of  the  individual  Member 
States.  The  largest  decreases  in  this  proportion 
are observed in Bulgaria (-13 pp, to 7%), Poland 
(-11 pp, to 8%) and Denmark (-9 pp, to 7%).  

An  opposite  trend  is  observed  in  Latvia  and 
Hungary;  in  these  two  countries,  a  signiﬁcant 
increase  is  seen  in  the  proportion  of  SMEs  that 

are not taking any measures to be more resource 
eﬃcient (+15 pp in Latvia and +10 pp in Hungary). 

The evolution since 2021 looking at uptake 
of each of the individual resource eﬃciency 
measures  shows  a  more  mixed  picture.  For  all 
measures,  there  are  both  countries  where  the 
proportion undertaking the action has increased 
and countries where an opposite trend is seen. In 
line with the EU average results, however, for the 
actions  of  saving  energy  and  using 
predominantly  renewable  energy  sources 
and, the trend in a majority of the Member States 
shows  an  increase  in  uptake.  For  example,  in 
15 Member States, the proportion of SMEs that 
are  using  predominantly  renewable  energy 
sources has increased by ﬁve or more percentage 
points  compared  to  2021.  The  largest  increase 
for this measure is observed in Denmark (+22 pp, 
to  34%),  followed  by  Luxembourg  (+13  pp,  to 
30%).  

In some Member States, for all resource eﬃciency 
measures  listed  in  the  survey,  the  proportion 
undertaking action has increased. This is the 
case,  for  example,  in  Bulgaria  and  Denmark.  In 
some  other  countries,  on  the  contrary,  a 
decrease in uptake of most of the measures 
listed  in  the  survey  is  seen;  this  applies,  for 
example,  to  Latvia  and  Hungary,  but  also 
Romania and Sweden. 

18 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

Q1 
(SMEs, EU27) 

y
g
r
e
n
e

i

g
n
v
a
S

  ▲5 
  ▲8 
  ▲24 
  ▲9 
  ▲31 
  ▼-3 
  ▲6 
  ▲2 
  ▲15 
  ▲6 
  ▲35 
  ▲1 
  ▼-5 
= 

e
t
s
a
w
g
n
i
s
i
m
n
M

i

i

▲2 

▲4 

▲30 

▲4 

▲31 

▲2 

▲4 

= 

▲9 

= 

▲21 

▼-9 

▼-5 

▲7 

s
l
a
i
r
e
t
a
m
g
n
v
a
S

i

= 

▲4 

▲23 

▲10 

▲25 

▼-2 

▼-7 

▲3 

▲6 

▼-6 

▲11 

▼-6 

▼-3 

▼-5 

l

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FR 

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LU 

HU 

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NL 

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PL 

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▼-9  ▼-11  ▼-12  ▼-10  ▼-1 

Note: green cells indicate a positive trend (i.e. an increase in uptake for a speciﬁc measure or a decrease in the share of SMEs 
implementing ‘none’ of the measures); red cells represent a negative trend.  
(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) 
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

19 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

1.2.  Resource 

eﬃciency 

actions 

planned for the next two years 

As noted in the previous section, a large majority 
of  SMEs  are  already  implementing  a  range  of 
resource  eﬃciency  actions.  Respondents  in  this 
survey were next asked which additional resource 
eﬃciency  actions  their  SME  is  planning  to 
implement over the next two years.  

About  eight  in  ten  (81%)  SMEs  surveyed 
plan to implement at least one (additional) 
resource  eﬃciency  action  in  the  next  two 
years  (+4  pp  compared  to  2021,  Flash 
Eurobarometer  498),  while  17%  are  not 
planning  for  any  additional  resource  eﬃciency 
measures. A handful of respondents (3%) ‘do not 
know’  if  additional  actions  are  being  planned  in 
their SME. 

A  majority  of  SMEs  (58%)  plan  to  implement 
(further) energy savings in the next two years 
to  use 
and  34%  are 
predominantly  renewable  energy  sources 
(including  e.g.  own  production  trough  solar 
panels).  Over  one  in  two  SMEs  (53%)  will 

to  switch 

looking 

implement (further) measures to reduce waste 
and 22% of SMEs reply that they will sell their 
residues and waste to another company. Over 
four in ten SMEs (45%) plan to increase eﬀorts to 
save water. Almost one in two SMEs (47%) are 
looking  to  implement  (further)  actions  to  save 
materials  and  just  over  a  third  (35%)  want  to 
switch  to  greener  suppliers  of  materials. 
About  four  in  ten  SMEs  (41%)  are  planning  to 
recycle, by reusing material or waste within 
their  company.  Finally,  29%  of  SMEs  plan  to 
design products that are easier to maintain, 
repair or reuse. 

Compared  to  2021, and in line with  the  trend 
observed  for  resource  eﬃciency  actions  already 
undertaken,  there  are  now  signiﬁcantly  more 
(additional) 
SMEs  that  say  they  will  take 
measures in the next two years to save energy 
(+4 
pp),  use 
predominantly  renewable  energy  sources 
(+4  pp)  or  switch  to  greener  suppliers  of 
materials (+3 pp).  

save  water 

pp), 

(+4 

Q2

Over the next two years, what are the additional resource eﬃciency actions
that your company is planning to implement? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

Evolution
2024-2021

58%

53%

47%

45%

41%

35%

34%

29%

22%

2%

17%

3%

▲4

▲3

▼-1

▲4

▲2

▲3

▲4

▲1

▼-1

=

▼-4

=

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

20 

 
 
  
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

The  following  ﬁgure  compares  intentions  to 
implement  resource  eﬃciency  actions  over  the 
next  two  years  for  SMEs  that  are  not  yet 
undertaking such actions (6% of all SMEs –  see 
previous section) and those already undertaking 
resource eﬃciency actions (93% of SMEs). 

A large majority (85%) of SMEs that are already 
undertaking  resource  eﬃciency  actions  are 
planning to implement additional actions over the 
next  two  years  –  for  example,  56%  plan  to 
minimise  waste  and  24%  will  look  into  selling 
their  residues  and  waste  to  another  company. 

Among these SMEs, 13% reply that they are not 
planning  any  additional 
resource  eﬃciency 
actions in the next two years. 

Among  SMEs  not  yet  taking  resource 
eﬃciency actions, however, about seven in ten 
(69%)  say  that  they  also  do  not  plan  to 
implement any such actions in the next two years, 
while  30%  are  planning  to  start  with  the 
implementation  of  resource  eﬃciency  actions  – 
for  example,  12%  will  implement  measures  to 
save energy and 13% to minimise waste.   

Q2

Over the next two years, what are the additional resource eﬃciency actions that your
company is planning to implement? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

SMEs not (yet) undertaking
resource eﬃciency actions

12%

13%

7%

8%

7%

4%

10%

5%

5%

1%

69%

2%

Save energy

Minimise waste

Save materials

Save water

Recycle, by reusing material or waste within
the company
Switch to greener suppliers of materials

Use predominantly renewable energy ( e.g. incl.
own production through solar panels, etc.)
Designing products that are easier to
maintain, repair or reuse
Sell your residues and waste to another
company
Other (spontaneous)

None (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answer

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

SMEs already undertaking
resource eﬃciency actions
61%

56%

50%

47%

44%

37%

36%

30%

24%

2%

13%

3%

21 

 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, green markets and resource eﬃciency 

SMEs vs large companies 

Large  companies  (250+  employees)  are  not 
only more likely than SMEs to be undertaking the 
resource  eﬃciency  actions  listed  in  the  survey, 
but  they  are  also  more  likely  to  plan  to 
implement  additional  resource  eﬃciency 

actions. For example, while 58% of SMEs plan to 
implement (additional) measure to save energy, 
this ﬁgure increases to 70% for large companies. 
Similarly, while 34% of SMEs, compared to 55% 
of  large  companies,  plan  to  use  predominantly 
renewable energy in the next two years.  

Q2

Over the next two years, what are the additional resource eﬃciency actions that your company
is planning to implement? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

58%

53%

47%

45%

41%

35%

34%

29%

22%

2%

17%

3%

Large companies

Save energy

Minimise waste

Save materials

Save water
Recycle, by reusing material or waste within
the company
Switch to greener suppliers of materials
Use predominantly renewable energy ( e.g. incl.
own production through solar panels, etc.)
Designing products that are easier to
maintain, repair or reuse
Sell your residues and waste to another
company
Other (spontaneous)

None (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answer

70%

63%

60%

59%

50%

49%

55%

41%

38%

2%

9%

4%

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies)

22 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

The proportion of SMEs that will not undertake 
(additional) resource eﬃciency actions in the 
next  two  years  is  the  lowest  in  the  industrial 
ecosystem  of  ‘Energy  –  renewables’  (8%).  In 
contrast,  about  three 
in  the 
ecosystems  ‘Energy  intensive  industries’  (31%) 
and  ‘Health’  (30%)  reply  that  they  will  not 
undertake  any  additional  resource  eﬃciency 
actions in the next two years.  

in  ten  SMEs 

Across  most  industrial  ecosystems,  the  most 
common  resource  eﬃciency  actions  to  be 
implemented in the next two years is saving 
(more) energy (selected by between 49% of SMEs 
in ‘Health’ and 70% in ‘Proximity, social economy 
and  civil  security’;  this  action  is  followed  by 
minimising  waste  (selected  by  between  42%  of 
SMEs in ‘Energy intensive industries’ and 60% in 
both ‘Proximity, social economy and civil security’ 
and ‘Energy – renewables’. 

Q2  Over the next two years, what are the additional resource eﬃciency actions that your company is 

planning to implement? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27) 

e
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Agri-food 

Construction 

Cultural and creative 
industries 

Digital 

Electronics 

Energy - renewables 

Energy intensive 
industries 

Health 

Mobility - Transport - 
Automotive 
Proximity, social economy 
and civil security 

Retail 

Textile 

Tourism 

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Note:  The  higher  the  proportion  selecting  a  response,  the  darker  green/red  the  cell.  The  highest-ranking  measure  for  each 
ecosystem is shown in dark green and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) 

23 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

As is the case for resource eﬃciency actions that 
SMEs  are  currently  undertaking,  medium-sized 
companies  are  more 
than  micro 
likely 
companies 
to  plan  undertaking  additional 
actions in the next two years. For example, 65% 
are planning to save energy, compared to 57% of 
micro  companies.  Similarly,  37%  of  medium-
sized  companies  are  planning  to  sell  their 
residues  and  waste 
to  another  company, 
compared to 22% of micro companies. 

The proportion of SMEs that are not planning to 
undertake  additional  resource  eﬃciency  actions 
in the next two years does not seem to vary much 
by SMEs’ turnover in 2023 – between 15% and 
21%  across  all  categories  are  not  planning 
additional actions. In terms of individual actions, 
the  largest  diﬀerences  are  seen  for  planning  to 
use predominantly renewable energy (from 30% 
for SMEs with up to €100 000 turnover in 2023 
to 43% for those with a turnover value in 2023 
of between €2 000 001 and €10 000 000).  

High-growth  SMEs  (including  gazelles)  tend 
to be more likely than weak/no growth SMEs to 
plan  to  undertake  additional  resource  eﬃciency 
actions in the next two years. For example, 32% 
of  weak/no-growth  companies  (and  35%  of 
negative-growth  companies)  plan  to  switch  to 
greener  suppliers  of  materials  in  the  next  two 

years, compared to 42% of gazelles and 46% of 
high-growth companies.   

The results by NACE sector show that not only 
uptake  of  many  of  the  measures  to  be  more 
resource  eﬃcient  is  the  lowest  in  the  services 
sector,  but  also  plans  to 
implement  more 
measures  is  the  lowest  in  this  sector.  For 
example, 18% of SMEs in services, compared to 
32%  of  SMEs  in  manufacturing  are  planning  to 
sell their residues and waste to another company; 
the  corresponding  ﬁgure  for  SMEs  in  industry is 
29% and it is 24% for those in retail. There are, 
however,  also  measures  where  there  is  no 
diﬀerence across the NACE sectors; for example, 
across all sectors, between 32% and 36% plan to 
use  predominantly  renewable  energy  sources  in 
the next two years. 

For  some  resource  eﬃciency  measures,  SMEs 
that are both selling products and services are 
somewhat  more  likely  than  those  selling  only 
products  or  only  services  to  plan  implementing 
the measure in the next two years. For example, 
40% of SMEs selling both products and services 
plan to switch to greener suppliers of materials in 
the  next  two  years,  compared  to  32%-33%  of 
SMEs that are selling only products or services. 

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q2  Over the next two years, what are the additional resource eﬃciency actions that your company is 

planning to implement? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(SMEs, EU27) 

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EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

58 

53 

47 

45 

41 

35 

34 

29 

22 

57 

62 

65 

64 

80 

57 

59 

60 

63 

50 

62 

64 

55 

62 

57 

58 

57 

58 

57 

60 

56 

53 

56 

57 

57 

73 

55 

54 

56 

54 

39 

57 

57 

52 

53 

54 

56 

56 

50 

50 

53 

56 

46 

52 

55 

55 

68 

48 

47 

48 

48 

39 

50 

49 

46 

53 

50 

51 

49 

44 

43 

47 

50 

45 

47 

48 

54 

68 

48 

49 

41 

43 

38 

53 

49 

43 

50 

44 

45 

46 

44 

39 

48 

45 

41 

43 

46 

49 

52 

40 

44 

40 

41 

31 

45 

45 

40 

42 

41 

44 

44 

39 

40 

41 

44 

34 

38 

39 

42 

59 

36 

35 

36 

38 

16 

46 

42 

32 

35 

31 

35 

37 

34 

32 

33 

40 

33 

44 

47 

50 

63 

30 

34 

36 

43 

36 

42 

40 

33 

31 

36 

36 

32 

34 

34 

33 

37 

28 

32 

32 

39 

45 

27 

30 

30 

30 

31 

32 

32 

28 

29 

34 

36 

31 

24 

27 

27 

33 

22 

33 

37 

37 

40 

19 

23 

27 

26 

18 

26 

26 

21 

23 

32 

29 

24 

18 

22 

18 

30 

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies) 

25 

)
s
u
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s
(

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2 

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1 

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17 

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14 

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17 

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6 

1 

2 

3 

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3 

2 

3 

3 

4 

2 

2 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

The  proportion  of  SMEs  that  plan  to  implement 
(further) energy savings in the next two years 
ranges from 14% in Malta to 84% in Spain. In 19 
Member  States,  this  action  is  the  (joint)  most-
frequently mentioned future action.  

Between  12%  of  SMEs  in  Ireland  and  85%  in 
Spain  will  implement  (further)  measures  to 
minimise  waste.  In seven Member States, this 
is  the  most-mentioned  future  measure;  this 
applies, for example, to Spain, but also Belgium 
(80%) and Czechia (65%).   

In  eight  Member  States,  at  least  half  of  SMEs 
report that they plan to take measures to save 
materials, with the highest share found in Spain 
(81%), followed by Lithuania (76%). Similarly, in 
seven  Member  States,  at  least  half  of  SMEs 
report that they plan to take measures to save 

water,  with  the  overall  highest  share  observed 
again in Spain (79%).  

It was noted in Section 1.1 that 71% of SMEs in 
Spain  are  undertaking  ﬁve  or  more  of  the 
resource  eﬃciency  actions  listed  in  the  survey. 
The  results  for  the  current  question  show  that 
SMEs in Spain are also among the most likely to 
plan  to  implement  (or  extend)  various  resource 
eﬃciency  measures  in  the  next  two  years.  As 
such,  the  proportion  of  SMEs  not  planning  to 
implement  additional  resource  eﬃciency 
measures in the next two years is the lowest in 
Spain (2%), followed by Slovakia (7%), Lithuania 
(8%) and Belgium (9%). In Slovenia, on the other 
hand,  41%  of  SMEs  are  not  planning  to 
implement 
eﬃciency 
measures;  this  ﬁgure  is  also  high  in  Finland 
(39%). 

additional 

resource 

26 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q2  Over the next two years, what are the additional resource eﬃciency actions that your company is 

planning to implement? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(SMEs, EU27) 

r
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41 

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31 

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34 

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34 

17 

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53 

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36 

28 

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38 

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17 

9 

13 

16 

24 

20 

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10 

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22 

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58 

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53 

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29 

68 

84 

66 

42 

50 

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44 

80 

33 

46 

14 

43 

50 

49 

18 

63 

22 

81 

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60 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

HR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

e
t
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M

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53 

80 

57 

65 

46 

43 

42 

12 

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85 

62 

43 

41 

37 

34 

73 

22 

39 

15 

43 

53 

44 

25 

55 

20 

79 

34 

59 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green/red the cell. The highest-ranking measure for each country 
is shown in dark green and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) 

27 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, green markets and resource eﬃciency 

Non-EU countries 

In  line  with  the  results  for  EU  Member  States, 
saving  energy  and  minimising  waste  are 
also the most-mentioned additional (future) 
resource  eﬃciency  actions  in  most  non-EU 
countries  surveyed.  For  example,  in  the  US, 
77% of SMEs plan to take (additional) measures 
to  reduce  waste  and  74%  to  save  energy, 
compared to, for example, 28% that plan to use 
predominantly renewable energy.  

On average, across the EU, 17% of SMEs report 
that  they  are  not  planning  to  take  any 
(additional) resource eﬃciency actions in the 
next  two  years.  A  similar  share  is  observed  in 
Iceland  (16%),  Norway  (16%)  and  Türkiye 
(19%). SMEs in the UK (9%) and the US (9%), on 

the other hand, are less likely than EU SMEs (on 
average) to not be planning (additional) resource 
eﬃciency actions in the next two years, while the 
opposite is seen for SMEs in Switzerland  (29% 
‘not  planning’),  North  Macedonia  (32%)  and 
Serbia (25%). SMEs in Switzerland, however, are 
already  among  the  most  likely  to  be  already 
taking actions (see previous section), while thus 
does not apply to SMEs in North Macedonia. 

Caution  should  be  exercised  when  interpreting 
the results of Albania, Moldova and Montenegro, 
due to the smaller number of interviews having 
been  conducted  in  these  countries  (between  93 
and 105 per country). 

Q2  Over the next two years, what are the additional resource eﬃciency actions that your company is 

planning to implement? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(SMEs, non-EU countries) 

r
o

l

a
i
r
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t
a
m
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s
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b

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R

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41 

58 

31 

50 

26 

28 

13 

10 

20 

22 

44 

68 

l

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a
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35 

54 

23 

44 

25 

10 

14 

9 

4 

13 

50 

55 

s
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47 

42 

36 

47 

27 

29 

47 

18 

9 

22 

59 

70 

r
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v
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45 

35 

22 

22 

21 

36 

42 

12 

12 

19 

47 

67 

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g
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58 

65 

40 

52 

41 

51 

51 

23 

21 

32 

53 

74 

EU27 

UK 

IS 

NO 

CH 

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MD 

MK 

AL 

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TR 

US 

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53 

63 

50 

59 

33 

52 

16 

21 

11 

28 

51 

77 

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1 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green/red the cell. The highest-ranking measure for each country 
is shown in dark green and white font. 
(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=3 783 (SMEs) 

28 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Current and planned resource eﬃciency actions 

that  about  additional 

In  the  next  ﬁgure,  the  results  for  the  question 
about current resource eﬃciency actions taken by 
resource 
SMEs  and 
eﬃciency  measures  to  be  implemented  in  the 
next two years are combined. By combining the 
results  of 
is 
presented of the total number of SMEs that 
would  be  taking  each  of  the  resource 
eﬃciency  actions  in  two  years’  time  (bar 
chart at the right-hand side in the ﬁgure below). 

these  questions,  a  picture 

For  example,  66%  of  SMEs  reply  that  they  are 
currently  taking  measures  to  save  energy  and 
58% say that, in the next two years, they will either 
start  saving  energy  or  will  implement  additional 
energy saving measures in their company. In two 
years’  time,  this  means  that  there  should  be,  in 
total,  77%  of  SMEs  that  are  saving  energy.  This 
figure  of  77%  represents  an  increase  of  11 

percentage points compared to the proportion of 
SMEs currently already saving energy. 

energy 

For  most  resource  efficiency  measures  listed  in 
the  survey,  the  share  of  SMEs  planning  to  take 
action (second chart) is either smaller or equal to 
the  share  already  taking  action  (first  chart).  A 
different  picture,  however,  emerges  for  using 
(e.g. 
predominantly 
renewable 
including  own  production  through  solar  panels, 
etc.):  24%  of  SMEs  reply  that  they  are  already 
using predominantly renewable energy, compared 
to 34% that say that, in the next two years, they 
will switch to predominantly renewable energy. In 
two years’ time, this means that there should be, 
in 
that  are  using 
predominantly renewable energy (an. increase of 
11 percentage points compared to the proportion 
of  SMEs  already  using  predominantly  renewable 
energy).  

total,  44%  of  SMEs 

Q1
Q2

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient?
Over the next two years, what are the additional resource eﬃciency actions that your company is
planning to implement? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

Increase
compared to
current actions

(pp)

+11pp

+9pp

+10pp

+12pp

+12pp

+14pp

+12pp

+20pp

+10pp

(SMEs, EU27)

Current
actions (Q1)

Actions for
the next two
years (Q2)

Current and
planned actions
(Q1 & Q2)

66%

66%

57%

49%

48%

33%

29%

24%

22%

2%

6%

1%

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

77%

75%

67%

61%

60%

47%

41%

44%

32%

3%

5%

0%

58%

53%

47%

45%

41%

35%

29%

34%

22%

2%

17%

3%

29 

 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

As discussed in Section 1.1, 6% of SMEs reply that 
they  are  not  undertaking  any  of  the  resource 
efficiency  actions  listed  in  the  survey.  Of  these 
SMEs  not  currently  undertaking  action,  69%  are 
also not planning to start with the implementation 
of  resource  efficiency  actions  in  the  next  two 
years. This means that, in two years’ time, there 
will  continue  to  be  a  small  number  of  EU 
SMEs  (5%)  that  do  not  undertake  resource 
efficiency actions.  

At  the  individual  country  level,  this  share  not 
taking, nor planning resource efficiency measures 
remains at 10% - or higher – in six Member States: 
Estonia  (10%),  Finland  (11%),  Germany  (11%), 
Romania  (14%),  Lithuania  (15%)  and  Hungary 
(19%).  

Q1
Q2

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient?
Over the next two years, what are the additional resource eﬃciency actions that your company is
planning to implement? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

% “No actions” (currently and not planning to implement)

19

15

14

11

11

10

9

8

8

8

6

6

6

6

5

5

5

4

4

3

2

2

1

1

1

0

0

0

HU

LT

RO

DE

FI

EE

HR

CZ

NL

PT

BE

IE

SK

BG

CY

ES EU27 SI

SE

LU

AT

DK

EL

PL

FR

LV

IT MT

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

30 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

1.3.  Using renewable energy 
In Section 1.1, it was notes that 24% of EU SMEs 
report  that  one  of  the  resource  eﬃciency 
measures  taken  by  their  company  is  using 
predominantly  renewable  energy  sources  (e.g. 
including  own  production  trough  solar  panels, 
etc.);  this  ﬁgure  represents  an  increase  of  ﬁve 
percentage points compared to 2021. 

SMEs  in  this  survey  were  also  directly  asked 
whether  their  company  uses  renewable  energy 
either by generating renewable energy onsite or 
by  purchasing  energy  from  a  renewable  energy 
supplier.  In  line  with  the  results  discussed  in 
Section 1.1, a majority of EU SMEs (63%) conﬁrm 
that they do not use renewable energy sources. 

Somewhat more than one in ten SMEs (12%) 
generate renewable energy onsite (e.g. solar 
panels,  wind  power)  and  23%  report  to 
purchase  energy  from  a  renewable  energy 
supplier  (but  do  not  generate  renewable 
energy onsite).  

SMEs vs large companies 

Energy  consumption  form  renewable  energy 
sources is signiﬁcantly more common in large 
companies,  with  31%  generating  renewable 
energy onsite (e.g. solar panels, wind power) and 
29% purchasing energy from a renewable energy 
supplier  (in  comparison  with  12%  and  23%  of 
SMEs, respectively). 

Does your company use renewable energy sources?

N1a
(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

12%

23%

63%

Yes, you generate renewable
energy onsite ( e.g. solar
panels, wind power)
Yes, you purchase energy
from a renewable energy
supplier

No

29%

31%

37%

2%

Don't know/No answer

3%

Large companies

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies)

31 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

SMEs  in  the  industrial  ecosystem  ‘Energy  – 
renewables’ stand out with 41% saying that they 
generate renewable energy onsite (e.g. solar 
panels, wind power). In the other ecosystems, 
this  ﬁgure  varies  between  7%  for  SMEs  in 
‘Cultural  and  creative  industries’  and  19%  in 
‘Agri-food’. The share of SMEs reporting that they 

in 

purchase  energy  from  a  renewable  energy 
supplier  ranges  from  13%  in  ‘Electronics’  to 
42% 
in 
‘Electronics’ (73%) are overall the most likely to 
report  that  they  do  not  generate  renewable 
energy, nor purchase renewable energy.  

‘Aerospace  and  defence’.  SMEs 

N1a

Does your company use renewable energy sources?

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27)

Yes, you generate renewable energy onsite (e.g. solar panels, wind power)
Yes, you purchase energy from a renewable energy supplier
No
Don't know/No answer

1

49

3

57

4

59

3

61

4

61

1
65

2

64

3

64

1
67

3

66

0
69

2

67

28

10

l

a
t
i
g
D

i

29

12

m
s
i
r
u
o
T

42

8

e
c
n
e
f
e
d

d
n
a
e
c
a
p
s
o
r
e
A

24

24

16

24

18

21

24

12

l
i

a
t
e
R

11

e

l
i
t
x
e
T

19

d
o
o
f
-
i
r
g
A

15

n
o
i
t
c
u
r
t
s
n
o
C

10

y
t
i
r
u
c
e
s

l
i

v

i
c

d
n
a

y
m
o
n
o
c
e

l

a
i
c
o
s

,

y
t
i

m
i
x
o
r
P

7

s
e
i
r
t
s
u
d
n

i

e
v

i
t
a
e
r
c

d
n
a

l

a
r
u
t
l
u
C

11

s
e
i
r
t
s
u
d
n

i

e
v
i
s
n
e
t
n

i

y
g
r
e
n
E

15

16

h
t
l
a
e
H

22

9

e
v

i
t
o
m
o
t
u
A

-

t
r
o
p
s
n
a
r
T

-

y
t
i
l
i

b
o
M

5

73

13

9

s
c
i
n
o
r
t
c
e
E

l

1
35

24

41

l

s
e
b
a
w
e
n
e
r

-

y
g
r
e
n
E

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

32 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

Larger  SMEs  are  also  more  likely  to  generate 
renewable energy onsite, with 28% of medium-
sized companies saying this, in contrast with 20% 
of  small  companies  and  11%  of  micro 
companies.  A  similar  trend  is  looking  at  SMEs’ 
turnover:  18%  of  SMEs  with  a  turnover  of 
between €2 000 000 and €10 000 000 say that 
they generate energy onsite, in comparison with 
11% of SMEs with a turnover of up to €100 000 
or between €100 000-€500 000. 

About one in six high-growth companies (18%) 
generate  renewable  energy  onsite  (e.g.  solar 
panels,  wind  power);  this  ﬁgure  is  lower  for 
gazelles  (8%)  and  for  weak/no-growth  and 
negative-growth  companies  (both  11%).  Across 
all types of growth companies, between 21% and 

24%  report  buying  energy  from  a  renewable 
energy supplier. 

Variations across NACE sectors are also evident, 
with  18%  of  SMEs  in  industry  indicating  they 
generate renewable energy onsite, compared to 
14% in manufacturing, 12% in the retail sector, 
and  9%  in  the  services  sector.  This  higher 
percentage  for 
largely 
attributed  to  the  electricity,  gas,  steam,  and  air 
conditioning  supply  sector,  where  60%  of  SMEs 
report  generating  their  own  renewable  energy 
onsite. 

industrial  SMEs 

is 

Finally,  SMEs  selling  both  products  and 
services  are  somewhat  more  likely  than  their 
counterparts  selling  only  products  or  only 
services  to  be  generating  renewable  energy 
onsite. (15% vs 10%-11%).

33 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

N1a  Does your company use renewable energy sources? 
(SMEs, EU27) 

Yes, you generate 
renewable energy 
onsite (e.g. solar 
panels, wind power) 

Yes, you purchase 
energy from a 
renewable energy 
supplier 

EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

12 

11 

20 

28 

24 

38 

11 

11 

13 

18 

7 

8 

18 

11 

11 

14 

18 

12 

9 

11 

10 

15 

23 

23 

24 

27 

31 

30 

17 

24 

21 

27 

41 

23 

21 

24 

22 

20 

18 

23 

25 

23 

23 

24 

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies) 

No 

63 

64 

54 

44 

44 

27 

70 

63 

63 

51 

52 

68 

59 

64 

63 

64 

61 

62 

63 

65 

65 

58 

Don't know/No answer 

2 

2 

3 

2 

1 

5 

3 

2 

3 

4 

0 

1 

3 

2 

4 

2 

2 

3 

2 

2 

2 

4 

34 

 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

SMEs in Belgium (34%) are overall the most likely 
to report that they generate renewable energy 
onsite  (e.g.  solar  panels,  wind  power);  they  are 
followed by SMEs in Germany (23%) and Hungary 
(23%). In ﬁve Member States, more than 40% of 
SMEs  reply  that  they  purchase  their  energy 
from  a  renewable  energy  supplier:  Austria 

(41%),  Luxembourg 
Sweden (44%) and Ireland (45%). 

(44%),  Portugal 

(44%), 

Across a majority of the Member States, however, 
more  than  50%  of  SMEs  do  not  generate 
renewable  energy,  nor  purchase  renewable 
energy. The overall highest ﬁgures for this group 
are  seen  in  Croatia  (83%),  Bulgaria  (8%)  and 
Cyprus (85%). 

N1a

Does your company use renewable energy sources?

(SMEs, EU27)

Yes, you generate renewable energy onsite (e.g. solar panels, wind power)

Yes, you purchase energy from a renewable energy supplier

No

4

42

1

42

5

40

0

47

2

46

3

47

1

51

6

7

47

48

3

53

2

60

2

63

2

63

4

64

3

69

1

71

4

68

3

70

0
74

2

73

1

75

3

73

1

78

3

76

2

79

2

83

2

83

0
85

Don't know/No answer

41

44

44

45

44

16

39

37

32

22

34

21

32

23

17

17

12

11

9

9

10

10

14

23

16

25

5

15

22

13

15

12

14

23

12

12

10

12

14

4

4

14

6

13

11

13

11

10

9

9

5

11

9

7

4

11

AT

SE

LU

IE

PT

BE

NL

FI

DK

DE

SI

IT EU27 ES MT

HU

PL

FR

EL

EE

CZ

LT

RO

SK

LV

HR

BG

CY

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

35 

 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

Compared  to  EU  SMEs  (on  average),  SMEs  in 
Switzerland (25%) and the UK (16%) are more 
likely  to  generate  renewable  energy  onsite  (e.g. 
solar  panels,  wind  power).  In  all  other  non-EU 
countries  surveyed,  less  than  one  in  ten  SMEs 
report generating renewable energy onsite. 

SMEs in Iceland stand out with 63% saying they 
purchase  energy  from  a  renewable  energy 
supplier.  In the  UK and  Norway, 33% of SMEs 
use a renewable energy supplier.  

In line with the results discussed in Section 1.1, 
few  SMEs  in  countries,  such  as  Albania  and 
Türkiye, report either generating energy on site 
or purchasing energy from a renewable energy  

N1a

Does your company use renewable energy sources?

(SMEs, non -EU countries)

Yes, you generate renewable energy onsite (e.g. solar panels, wind power)
Yes, you purchase energy from a renewable energy supplier
No
Don't know/No answer

2

63

23

12

EU27

5

30

63

2

IS

1

50

33

16

7

46

23

25

0

69

1

71

4

77

0

82

1

87

0

92

1

94

7

52

33

21

8

9

20

8

10

9

10

8

8

5

5

3

0

5

UK

CH

NO

MD

MK

US

ME

RS

TR

AL

(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=3 783 (SMEs)

36 

 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Share of energy generated onsite 

from 

Companies  that  indicated  generating  their  own 
renewable  energy  onsite,  such  as  through  solar 
panels  or  wind  power,  were  subsequently  asked 
what  proportion  of  their  total  energy 
consumption 
these 
is  derived 
renewable  sources.  To  this  question,  17%  of 
SMEs generating renewable energy say that 
75%  or  more  of  their  energy  consumed  in 
generated  onsite,  15%  say  it  is  between 
50% and 74% and 23% that it is between 5% 
and  19%.  Finally,  14%  of  these  SMEs  say  that 
less  than  5%  of  their  energy  consumed  is 
generate onsite and 10% do not know how much 
energy is generate on site.  

less 

likely  than 

Although  SMEs  are 
large 
companies to generate renewable energy onsite 
(12% vs 29%, respectively), they are more likely 
to  be  producing  a  larger  share  of  their  energy 
consumed  onsite.  For  example,  32%  of  SMEs 
report that at least 50% of energy consumed in 
their  company 
the 
corresponding ﬁgure for large companies is 13%. 

is  generated  on  site; 

Due  to  the  smaller  base  size  for  this  question, 
results are not discussed in more depth.  

N1b

What share of energy consumed in your company is generated onsite ( e.g. via solar
panels, wind power)?

(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

Large companies

17%

15%

23%
20%

14%

10%

75% and more

Between 50% -74%

Between 20% -49%

Between 5% -19%

Less than 5%

Don't know/No answer

3%

10%

24%
15%

24%

24%

(%, EU27) Base: n=2 258 (SMEs) & n=257 (Large companies) – Companies generating renewable energy onsite

37 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

1.4.  Investment in resource eﬃciency 
One  way  to  study  how  resource  eﬃcient  SMEs 
are,  is  by  asking  about  the  type  of  resource 
eﬃciency measures being implemented by these 
SMEs  (nine  of  this  type  of  measures  were 
discussed in the previous sections). An alternative 
way is to ask SMEs how much they have invested 
(on average, per year) to become more resource 
eﬃcient.  

SMEs  that  reported  taking  resource  efficiency 
actions  were  asked  how  much  they  have 
invested, on average per year, and this over 
the  past  two  years,  to  be  more  resource 
efficient.  In  the  analysis  below,  the  results  are 
presented taking into account all SMEs surveyed, 
meaning that it is assumed that SMEs that are not 
taking  resource  efficiency  actions  also  have  not 
made investments to be more resource efficient. 

Of all SMEs surveyed across the EU, 13% reply 
that  they  have  invested,  on  average,  more 
than 5% of their annual turnover over the 
past  two  years  to  become  more  resource 
eﬃcient  and  25%  say  that  the  investment 
amounted to between 1% and 5% of their 
annual turnover, on average. About one in ﬁve 
(21%) SMEs say that the investment in resource 
eﬃciency  was  less  than  1%  of  their  annual 
turnover  and  31%  reply  that  nothing  was 
invested  (or  that  no  resource  eﬃciency  actions 
are being taken). Finally, 11% of SMEs reply that 
they  do  not  know  how  much  was  invested  in 
resource  eﬃciency  measures  in  the  past  two 
years.  The  results  for  this  question  are  in  line 
with those observed in 2021. 

Q4

Over the past two years, how much have you invested on average per year to
be more resource eﬃcient?

(SMEs, EU27)

13%

▲2

More than 5% of annual
turnover

25%

▲1

1%-5% of annual turnover

21%

▲1

31%

▼-3

Less than 1% of annual
turnover
Nothing (or not taking any
resource eﬃciency measures)

11%

▼-1

Don't know/No answer

Evolution
2024-2021

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

38 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

SMEs vs large companies 

As noted above, 13% of SMEs reply that they 
have invested, on average, more than 5% of 
their  annual  turnover  over  the  past  two 
years  to  become  more  resource  eﬃcient, 
this  proportion  is  the  same  for  large 
companies.  However,  the  share  of  companies 
that  have  invested  between  1%  and  5%,  on 
average,  of  their  annual  turnover  is  somewhat 
higher for large companies (31%) than for SMEs 
(25%). About equal shares (20%-21%) say that 
the  investment  in  resource  eﬃciency  was  less 
than 1% of their annual turnover.  

Among  SMEs,  31%  reply  that  nothing  was 
invested  (or  that  no  resource  eﬃciency  actions 
are  being  taken);  this  ﬁgure  is  12%  for  large 
companies. It should, however, also be noted that 
there  is  a  larger  degree  of  uncertainty  among 
respondents in large companies with 25% saying 
that they do not know how much was invested in 
resource  eﬃciency  measures  in  the  past  two 
years; this proportion is lower for SMEs (11%). 

Q4

Over the past two years, how much have you invested on average per year to be more
resource eﬃcient?
(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

Large companies

13%

25%

21%

31%

11%

More than 5% of
annual turnover
1%-5% of annual
turnover
Less than 1% of annual
turnover
Nothing (or not taking
any resource eﬃciency
measures)

Don't know/No answer

13%

31%

20%

12%

25%

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies)

39 

 
 
  
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

Between 7% of SMEs in the industrial ecosystems 
of  ‘Electronics’  and  25%  of  those  in  ‘Energy  – 
renewables’  reply  that  they  have  invested,  on 
average,  more  than  5%  of  their  annual 
turnover over the past two years to become 
more  resource  eﬃcient.  The  proportion  having 
invested  between  1%  and  5%  of  their  annual 
turnover  is  the  lowest  in  ‘Energy  intensive 
industries’  (13%),  but  it  is  the  highest  in 
‘Electronics’ (35%). 

The  chart  below  also  shows  that  the  total 
proportion  of  SMEs  having  invested  at  least 
1% (or more) of their turnover in the past 
two years to become more resource eﬃcient is 
the  highest  in  the  industrial  ecosystems  of 
‘Health’,  ‘Agri-food’  and  ‘Energy  –  renewables’, 
but  this  proportion  is  signiﬁcantly  lower  in 
‘Textile’. 

Q4

Over the past two years, how much have you invested on average per year
to be more resource eﬃcient?

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27)

More than 5% of annual turnover

Less than 1% of annual turnover

Don't know/No answer

1%-5% of annual turnover

Nothing (or not taking any resource eﬃciency measures)

5

40

16

31

9

l

a
t
i
g
D

i

11

38

19

21

10

e

l
i
t
x
e
T

13

33

17

22

15

s
e
i
r
t
s
u
d
n

i

e
v

i
t
a
e
r
c

d
n
a

l

a
r
u
t
l
u
C

9

28

26

18

18

s
e
i
r
t
s
u
d
n

i

e
v
i
s
n
e
t
n

i

y
g
r
e
n
E

12

29

12

30

23

22

23

24

12

l
i

a
t
e
R

13

e
v

i
t
o
m
o
t
u
A

-

t
r
o
p
s
n
a
r
T

-

y
t
i
l
i

b
o
M

6

24

17

33

20

h
t
l
a
e
H

7

32

12

31

17

d
o
o
f
-
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g
A

16

25

12

22

25

l

s
e
b
a
w
e
n
e
r

-

y
g
r
e
n
E

10

18

30

12

21

25

9

21

28

32

26

35

17

m
s
i
r
u
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T

7

s
c
i
n
o
r
t
c
e
E

l

10

e
c
n
e
f
e
d

d
n
a
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c
a
p
s
o
r
e
A

10

30

21

27

13

n
o
i
t
c
u
r
t
s
n
o
C

13

28

18

29

11

y
t
i
r
u
c
e
s

l
i

v

i
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d
n
a

y
m
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n
o
c
e

l

a
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c
o
s

,

y
t
i

m
i
x
o
r
P

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

40 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

(in 

two 

years,  no 

Smaller  SMEs 
terms  of  number  of 
employees) are more likely to reply that, over the 
past 
resource  eﬃciency 
investments  were  made  (or  that  no  resource 
eﬃciency  actions  are  being  undertaken):  from 
31%  for  micro  companies  to  15%  for  medium-
sized  companies.  The  share  of  SMEs  that  have 
invested,  on  average,  more  than  5%  of  their 
annual turnover over the past two years, however, 
does  not  vary  signiﬁcantly  across  SMEs  of 
diﬀerent sizes (13%-15%). 

The  proportion  of  SMEs  in  this  situation  also 
decreases  with  turnover  –  from  36%  of  SMEs 
with  a  turnover  of  less  than  €100 000  in  2023 
down  to  21%-23%  for  SMEs  with  more  than 
€2 000 000 in turnover. 

High-growth companies (including gazelles) 
are somewhat more likely to report that that they 
have invested, on average, more than 5% of their 

annual turnover over the past two years (16% vs 
12%-13%  for  no-growth  or  negative-growth 
SMEs). Among gazelles, however, there is also a 
share  of  35%  reporting  that,  over  the  past  two 
years,  no  resource  eﬃciency  investments  were 
made (or that no resource eﬃciency actions are 
being  undertaken);  this  share  is  lower  for  older 
high-growth companies (27%). 

An analysis by NACE sector shows that 17% of 
SMEs  in  manufacturing  reply  that  they  have 
invested,  on  average,  more  than  5%  of  their 
annual  turnover  over  the  past  two  years  to 
become  more 
In 
manufacturing, industry and industry, while 33% 
in services. 

resource 

eﬃcient. 

Additionally,  it  can  be  observed  that  SMEs  that 
are  only  selling  services  are  more  likely  than 
those  selling  products  (or  both  products  and 
services)  not  to  have  invested  or  having  taken 
actions (29% vs 21%-25%).  

41 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q4  Over the past two years, how much have you invested on average per year to be more resource 

eﬃcient? 

(SMEs, EU27) 

EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

More than 5% of 
annual turnover 

1%-5% of annual 
turnover 

Less than 1% of 
annual turnover 

Nothing (or not 
taking any 
resource eﬃciency 
measures) 

Don't know/No 
answer 

13 

13 

15 

14 

13 

13 

14 

13 

13 

17 

10 

16 

16 

12 

10 

17 

13 

12 

12 

12 

13 

14 

25 

25 

29 

31 

31 

31 

23 

27 

28 

28 

26 

26 

29 

24 

24 

28 

28 

26 

24 

27 

23 

27 

21 

21 

20 

22 

20 

18 

20 

21 

23 

25 

27 

20 

21 

20 

20 

19 

19 

22 

20 

21 

19 

23 

30 

31 

20 

15 

15 

7 

36 

32 

27 

21 

23 

35 

27 

30 

37 

27 

29 

28 

33 

28 

35 

25 

11 

11 

16 

18 

21 

30 

7 

7 

10 

10 

15 

3 

7 

13 

8 

10 

10 

12 

11 

12 

10 

11 

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies) 

42 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

The  proportion  of  SMEs  having  made  resource 
eﬃciency investments of 5% or more of their 
annual turnover, on an annual basis, over the past 
two  years  ranges  from  4%  in  Luxembourg  to 
21%  in  Ireland.  In  a  majority  of  the  Member 
States, at least one in ten SMEs have invested at 
least 5% of their annual turnover, over the past 
two years, to be more resource eﬃcient.  

The proportion of SMEs having invested between 
1% and 5% of their annual turnover, on an annual 
basis,  over  the  past  two  years  is  the  lowest  in 
Lithuania, Latvia and Denmark (all 17%) and the 
highest in Spain (43%).  

The  total  proportion  of  SMEs  that  have 
invested  at  least  1%  of  their  annual 
turnover  on  average,  over  the  past  two  years, 
(the sum of the dark and light green bars in the 
chart  below)  varies  between  22%  in  Lithuania 
and 58% in Spain.10 In Greece and Ireland, close 
to one in two SMEs (both 47%) have invested at 
least 1% of their annual turnover. 

The largest shares of SMEs that have not made 
any investment in resource eﬃciency (or are 
not  undertaking  any  action  to  become  more 
resource eﬃcient) are observed in Estonia, Latvia 
and Lithuania (all 52%). 

Q4

Over the past two years, how much have you invested on average per year to be more resource eﬃcient?

(SMEs, EU27)

More than 5% of annual turnover

Less than 1% of annual turnover

Don't know/No answer

1%-5% of annual turnover

Nothing (or not taking any resource eﬃciency measures)

4

26

12

43

2

38

25

14

13

14

18

7

25

12

31

13

10

13

3

37

26

30

30

24

5

30

4

34

3

42

11

16

30

28

37

19

12

18

19

16

18

24

26

23

21

18

18

20

15

29

33

22

6

20

9

29

3

46

3

41

9

13

12

40

41

31

4

52

6

52

9

41

3

52

21

16

19

23

22

30

16

18

18

26

22

27

31

24

27

31

25

28

29

32

26

24

25

27

23

21

22

26

28

17

21

20

15

23

19

15

16

15

15

21

16

20

17

17

13

13

13

13

15

13

11

15

17

14

7

10

6

16

12

9

14

7

8

7

8

4

ES

IE

EL

BG

PT

BE

CZ

DE

HR

AT

SK

RO EU27 NL

SE

FI

IT

HU MT

SI

CY

PL

DK

LU

EE

LV

FR

LT

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

10 Due to rounding, percentages for separate response 
options shown in the charts do not always exactly add 
up to the totals mentioned in the text. 

43 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

In  the  EU,  13%  of  SMEs  reply  that  they  have 
invested,  on  average,  more  than  5%  of  their 
annual  turnover  over  the  past  two  years  to 
become  more  resource  eﬃcient.  In  the  US,  this 
ﬁgure  is  somewhat  higher  at  18%.  SMEs  in  the 
US  (39%),  however,  are  also  more  likely  than 
company in the EU (26%) to say that they have 
not invested at all in resource eﬃciency measures 
over the past two years. 

In  Iceland  and  the  UK,  one  in  six  SMEs  (both 
18%) reply that they have invested, on average, 
more than 5% of their annual turnover over the 
past two years to become more resource eﬃcient 
and roughly three in ten (27%-31%) say that the 

investment amounted to between 1% and 5%, on 
average, of their annual turnover. In Serbia, 20% 
of  SMEs  have  invested,  on  average,  more  than 
5%  of  their  annual  turnover  over  the  past  two 
years  and 22% have invested between 1%  and 
5%, on average, of their annual turnover.  

SMEs in Switzerland are overall the least likely 
to reply that they have invested more than 5% of 
their annual turnover over the past two years to 
become more resource eﬃcient (3% vs 9%-27% 
in  the  other  non-EU  countries),  but  SMEs  in 
Norway are the most likely to answer that they 
have  not  invested  at  all  in  resource  eﬃciency 
measures over the past two years (65% vs 22%-
54% in the other non-EU countries). 

Q4

Over the past two years, how much have you invested on average per year
to be more resource eﬃcient?

(SMEs, non -EU countries)

More than 5% of annual turnover

Less than 1% of annual turnover

Don't know/No answer

11

30

21

25

13

13

24

15

31

15

24

16

27

18

18

5

37

15

22

20

1%-5% of annual turnover

Nothing (or not taking any resource eﬃciency measures)

16

22

21

30

12

9

53

1

10

27

13

34

12

26

15

7

48

9

21

15

9

54

11

11

15

21

39

15

7

18

15

46

16

20

3

8

65

5

13

9

EU27

IS

UK

RS

MD

AL

ME

TR

MK

US

CH

NO

(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=3 783 (SMEs)

44 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Trend compared to 2021 

The chart below presents the trend compared to 
2021  in  the  proportion  of  SMEs  that  have 
invested  at  least  1%  of  their  annual 
turnover  on  resource  eﬃciency  measures,  per 
year, over the past two years. On average, across 
the  EU,  this  proportion  has  slightly  increased  to 
38% (+3 pp compared to 2021). 

It was noted in Section 1.1 that, in about half of 
the Member States, the proportion of SMEs that 
are not taking any resource eﬃciency measures 
has  decreased  since  2021.  In  line  with  this,  in 
several  Member  States,  there  is  an  increase, 

compared  to  2021,  in  the  proportion  of 
SMEs  that  have  invested  at  least  1%  of 
their annual turnover on resource eﬃciency 
measures in the past two years. The largest 
increases in this proportion are observed in Spain 
(+13  pp,  to  58%),  Bulgaria  (+13  pp,  to  45%), 
Czechia (+10 pp, to 42%) and Germany (+7 pp, to 
42%).  There  are,  however,  also  some  Member 
States  where  SMEs  are  now  less  likely  to 
answer that they have invested at least 1% 
of  their  annual  turnover  on  resource  eﬃciency 
measures over the past two years: Austria (-8 pp, 
to 40%), Slovenia (-6 pp, to 33%), Latvia (-6 pp, 
to 24%) and Lithuania (-9 pp, to 22%). 

Q4

Over the past two years, how much have you invested on average per year to be more resource eﬃcient?

(SMEs, EU27)

% At least 1% annual turnover

58
▲13 47
▼-1

47
▲4

45
▲13

44
▲3

44
▼-1

42
▲10

42
▲7

41
▼-2

40
▼-8

40
▲1

39
▲1

2024

2021

38
▲3

38
=

37
▼-3

37
▼-2

36
▲2

35
▼-1

35
▲2

33
▼-6

33
▼-1

29
▲2

29
▲4

27
▼-1

26
▼-4

24
▼-6

24
▼-1

22
▼-9

ES

IE

EL

BG

PT

BE

CZ

DE

HR

AT

SK

RO EU27 NL

SE

FI

IT

HU MT

SI

CY

PL

DK

LU

EE

LV

FR

LT

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

45 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Level  of  investment  and  type  of  resource 
eﬃciency action taken 

A considerable share of SMEs across the EU have 
invested at least 1% of their annual turnover on 
resource  eﬃciency  measures  over  the  past  two 
years. In Section 1.1, it was noted that most EU 
SMEs are taking more than one type of action to 
increase their resource eﬃciency. The chart below 
tries to shed light on diﬀerences in investment by 
type of resource eﬃciency action taken. Note that 
the 
some  caution 
diﬀerences across the types of resource eﬃciency 
actions,  due  to  the  fact  that  SMEs  tend  to  take 
multiple actions. 

is  needed 

interpret 

to 

That said, the results appear to show that SMEs 
reporting  to  use  predominantly  renewable 
energy  are  somewhat  more  likely  to  have 
invested,  on  average,  more  than  5%  of  their 
annual  turnover  over  the  past  two  years  to 

become more resource eﬃcient compared to, for 
example, SMEs that report that saving materials 
or saving waste are resource eﬃciency measures 
they take, (19% vs 14%-15%). 

The  bottom  panel  of  the  chart  show  that  the 
share  of  SMEs  that  have  invested,  on 
average, more than 5% of their annual turnover 
over  the  past  two  years,  or  having  invested 
between 1% and 5%, on average, of their annual 
turnover 
increases  with  the  number  of 
resource  eﬃciency  actions  taken  by  these 
SMEs over the past two years. For example, 10% 
of  SMEs  that  have  taken  one  or  two  types  of 
resource  eﬃciency  measures  in  the  past  two 
years, have also invested more than 5% of their 
annual  turnover  over  the  past  two  years  on 
becoming  more  resource  eﬃcient;  this  share 
increases 
that  have 
implemented  ﬁve  or  more  resource  eﬃciency 
measures in the past two years. 

for  SMEs 

to  18% 

Q1
Q4

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient?
Over the past two years, how much have you invested on average per year to
be more resource eﬃcient?

(SMEs, EU27)

Actions undertaken

Investment in resource eﬃciency

More than 5% of annual turnover
1%-5% of annual turnover

19

18

16

16

16

15

15

15

14

31

32

31

29

34

30

30

30

29

18

32

12

10

26

19

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions

46 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

To  collect  further  evidence  on  the  association 
between using renewable energy and the level of 
investment  SMEs have made in becoming more 
resource  eﬃcient,  a  similar  chart  as  the  one 
above  was  prepared  looking  at  SMEs  replies  to 
the  question  whether  they  generate  renewable 
energy  onsite  or  whether  they  purchase  energy 
from a renewable energy supplier. 

The  average  ﬁgures  for  SMEs  that  generate 
renewable  energy  onsite  (e.g.  solar  panels, 
wind  power)  show  that  23%  of  them  have 
invested  more  than  5%  of  their  annual 
turnover  over  the  past  two  years  to  become 
more resource eﬃcient, and 34% have invested 
between 1% and 5% of their annual turnover. The 
corresponding  ﬁgures  are  lower  for  SMEs 
that  purchase  energy  from  a  renewable 

energy supplier (and do not generate renewable 
energy onsite) (24% and 27%, respectively) and 
SMEs  that  are  not  using  renewable  energy 
(but are taking other measures to become more 
resource eﬃcient) (10% and 23%, respectively).  

The chart below further shows that the level of 
investments  SMEs  make  in  resource  eﬃciency 
also varies by the share of renewable energy 
produced  onsite:  while  29%  of  SMEs  that 
produce at least 50% of their energy consumed 
onsite  via  solar  panels,  wind  energy  etc.  have 
invested more than 5% of their annual turnover 
over the past two years to become more resource 
eﬃcient, this ﬁgure is just 9% for SMEs producing 
less than 5% of their energy consumed onsite.  

N1a
Q4

Does your company use renewable energy sources?
Over the past two years, how much have you invested on average per year to
be more resource eﬃcient?

(SMEs, EU27)

Use of renewable energy

Investment in resource eﬃciency

More than 5% of annual turnover
1%-5% of annual turnover

23

31

29

21

9

34

30

41

37

42

14

27

10

23

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions

47 

 
 
  
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

1.5.  Strategy 

to  become  climate 

neutral or negative 

Companies were also asked whether they have a 
concrete strategy in place to reduce their carbon 
footprint and become climate neutral or negative. 

About seven in ten EU SMEs do not (yet) have a 
concrete  strategy  in  place  to  reduce  their 
carbon  footprint  and  become  climate 
neutral or negative. Some of the SMEs in this 
group, however, are planning to deﬁne a strategy. 

The chart below shows that 21% of SMEs have 
a concrete strategy in place to reduce their 

carbon footprint and become climate neutral or 
negative  and  4%  report  that  they  are  already 
climate  neutral.  Another  19%  of  SMEs  reply 
that  they  do  not  have  a  carbon  reduction 
strategy in place but are planning to deﬁne 
one.  These  ﬁgures  do  not  represent  any 
signiﬁcant  change  compared  to  the  ﬁgures 
observed in 2021. 

A  slim  majority  (52%)  of  respondents  answer 
that their SME does not have a concrete strategy 
in  place  to  reduce  their  carbon  footprint  and  is 
also not planning to deﬁne one. A handful of 
respondents (3%) reply that they do not know if 
a strategy has been deﬁned or will be deﬁned.  

Q14

Does your company have a concrete strategy in place to reduce your carbon
footprint and become climate neutral or negative?

(SMEs, EU27)

21%

▲2

19%

52%

=

=

4%

▼-1

3%

▼-1

Evolution
2024-2021

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

48 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

SMEs vs large companies 

In  line  with  the  results  discussed  so  far  in  this 
chapter,  respondents  in  large  companies  are 
more likely to report that their company has a 
carbon reduction strategy in place (45% vs 
21% for SMEs). Moreover, while a slim majority 

of SMEs (52%) have no plans to deﬁne a carbon 
reduction strategy, this proportion is much lower 
for large companies (28%). Equal shares of SMEs 
and large companies (both 19%) reply that they 
do not have a carbon reduction strategy in place 
but are planning to deﬁne one.

Q14

Does your company have a concrete strategy in place to reduce your carbon footprint and
become climate neutral or negative?

(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

Large companies

21%

19%

52%

4%

3%

Yes

No, but you are
planning to deﬁne a
strategy
No, and you are not
planning to do so
You are already climate
neutral (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answer

45%

19%

28%

3%

5%

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies)

49 

 
 
 
    
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

About  half  (49%)  of  SMEs  in  the  industrial 
ecosystem  of  ‘Energy  –  renewables’  reply  that 
they  have  a  concrete  strategy  in  place  to 
reduce  their  carbon  footprint  and  become 
climate  neutral  or  negative.  This  ﬁgure  is  also 
high in ‘Agri-food’ (32%), ‘Aerospace and defence’ 
(29%) and ‘Digital’, but it is much lower in ‘Health’ 
(15%).  In  the  ecosystem  of  ‘Health’,  SMEs  are 

(66%).  By  comparison, 

also among the least likely to plan to deﬁne a 
carbon reduction strategy (13%) and among the 
most likely not to have any plans to deﬁne such 
in  the 
a  strategy 
ecosystem  ‘Textile’,  for  example,  18%  of  SMEs 
have a concrete strategy in place to reduce their 
carbon  footprint  and  become  climate  neutral  or 
negative and 23% report that they are planning 
to deﬁne one.

Q14

Does your company have a concrete strategy in place to reduce your carbon
footprint and become climate neutral or negative?

No, but you are planning to deﬁne a strategy

You are already climate neutral (spont.)

7

4

49

3

6

56

23

18

18

18

e

l
i
t
x
e
T

l
i

a
t
e
R

2

4

66

13

15

h
t
l
a
e
H

5

2
65

9

20

s
c
i
n
o
r
t
c
e
E

l

4

3

57

18

18

n
o
i
t
c
u
r
t
s
n
o
C

3

2

54

22

19

s
e
i
r
t
s
u
d
n

i

e
v

i
t
a
e
r
c

d
n
a

l

a
r
u
t
l
u
C

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27)

Yes

No, and you are not planning to do so

Don't know/No answer

4

1
45

18

32

d
o
o
f
-
i
r
g
A

3

3

34

11

49

l

s
e
b
a
w
e
n
e
r

-

y
g
r
e
n
E

14

3

42

12

29

e
c
n
e
f
e
d

d
n
a
e
c
a
p
s
o
r
e
A

2

2

51

18

28

3

6

47

19

25

5

2
49

4

3

44

1
6

45

22

27

27

23

22

21

l

a
t
i
g
D

i

m
s
i
r
u
o
T

e
v

i
t
o
m
o
t
u
A

-

t
r
o
p
s
n
a
r
T

-

y
t
i
l
i

b
o
M

y
t
i
r
u
c
e
s

l
i

v

i
c

d
n
a

y
m
o
n
o
c
e

l

a
i
c
o
s

,

y
t
i

m
i
x
o
r
P

s
e
i
r
t
s
u
d
n

i

e
v
i
s
n
e
t
n

i

y
g
r
e
n
E

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

50 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

The  larger  the  SME  (in  terms  of  number  of 
employees),  the  more  likely  it  is  to have  a 
concrete strategy in place to reduce their carbon 
footprint and become climate neutral or negative 
(from 21% among micro companies to 35% for 
Among  micro 
companies). 
medium-sized 
companies, 53% of respondents report that their 
SME does not have a carbon reduction strategy in 
place and is also not planning to deﬁne one; this 
ﬁgure  decreases  to  33%  for  medium-sized 
companies. 

When comparing SMEs looking at their turnover 
in 2023, the largest diﬀerence is seen between 
SMEs  with  a 
turnover  of  €2 000 000-
€10 000 000  and  those  with  other  turnover 
values.  Among  the  former,  29%  have  a  carbon 
reduction  strategy  in  place;  among  SMEs  with 
other  turnover  values,  between  17%  and  24% 
have a concrete strategy in place. 

Nearly  a  quarter  of  high-growth  companies 
(23%) have a concrete strategy in place to reduce 
their carbon footprint, while this ﬁgure is just 14% 
for  gazelles.  Among  the  latter  group  of  SMEs, 
however,  27%  report  that  there  are  plans  to 
deﬁne a carbon reduction strategy.  

SMEs  in  manufacturing  are  overall  the  least 
likely to have a carbon reduction strategy in place 
(18%), while those in services are the most likely 
to have such a strategy (23%).  

Among  SMEs  selling  both  products  and 
services,  22%  reply  that  they  have  a  concrete 
strategy in place to reduce their carbon footprint; 
among SMEs only selling services, this proportion 
is  18%.  SMEs  that  oﬀer  either  products  or 
services,  or  both,  have  similar  intentions  to 
develop  a  speciﬁc  strategy  for  reducing  their 
carbon footprint (between 20% and 21%). 

51 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q14  Does your company have a concrete strategy in place to reduce your carbon footprint and become 

climate neutral or negative? 

(SMEs, EU27) 

EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

Yes 

21 

21 

26 

35 

38 

56 

17 

23 

19 

29 

24 

14 

23 

21 

20 

18 

20 

20 

23 

20 

21 

21 

No, but you are 
planning to deﬁne 
a strategy 

No, and you are 
not planning to do 
so 

You are already 
climate neutral 
(spont.) 

Don't know/No 
answer 

19 

19 

20 

23 

20 

17 

20 

18 

22 

23 

27 

27 

18 

20 

18 

23 

18 

18 

20 

20 

19 

20 

52 

53 

46 

33 

32 

22 

57 

53 

52 

41 

42 

55 

54 

52 

54 

51 

56 

55 

50 

51 

54 

51 

4 

4 

3 

4 

4 

3 

3 

4 

4 

3 

4 

2 

3 

4 

5 

4 

3 

5 

4 

5 

3 

4 

3 

3 

4 

5 

7 

2 

3 

3 

3 

4 

2 

2 

3 

4 

3 

5 

4 

3 

3 

5 

3 

3 

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies) 

52 

 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

The  proportion  of  SMEs  with  a  concrete 
strategy  in  place  to  reduce  their  carbon 
footprint  and  become  climate  neutral  or 
negative varies between 6% in Cyprus and 41% 
in Sweden. In half of the EU Member States, at 
least  one  in  ﬁve  SMEs  report  having  such  a 
strategy in place. SMEs could also reply that they 
are  already  climate  neutral,  but  across  most 
this is the case; the most important exception is 
Austria, where 27% of SMEs surveyed reply that 
they are already climate neutral.11 

The  proportion  of  SMEs  that  do  not  yet  have  a 
carbon  reduction  strategy  in  place,  but  that  are 
planning  to  deﬁne  one  also  varies  across 
countries.  In  Latvia,  a  country  with  one  of  the 

lowest shares of SMEs having a strategy in place 
to become carbon neutral, there are also very few 
SMEs saying they are planning to deﬁne such a 
strategy  in  the  future  (8%).  In  Ireland  (36%), 
Luxembourg (31%) and Italy (30%), on the other 
hand, at least three in ten SMEs say that they are 
planning to deﬁne a carbon strategy, and in Malta, 
more than half of SMEs (53%) say so. 

The  share  answering  that  their  SME  does  not 
have a concrete strategy in place to reduce their 
carbon  footprint  and  is  also  not  planning  to 
deﬁne  one  is  the  highest  in  Latvia  (69%), 
followed  by  Slovakia  (68%),  Cyprus  (66%), 
Czechia (66%) and Germany (66%). 

Q14

Does your company have a concrete strategy in place to reduce your carbon footprint and become climate
neutral or negative?

(SMEs, EU27)

Yes

No, but you are planning to deﬁne a strategy

No, and you are not planning to do so

You are already climate neutral (spont.)

Don't know/No answer

3

0
60

4

4

3

6

45

34

15

5

15

5

1
51

7

26

1
51

9

17

36

3

1

66

3

4

0
7

52

42

2

5

58

4

1
59

6

1
18

53

31

27

19

6

20

20

12

14

19

10

30

31

30

28

27

26

24

24

24

23

22

22

21

21

21

20

6

27

34

12

1
6

0
8

1
4

3

3

52

64

52

66

1

1
66

2

1
65

4

5

59

3

2

68

9

3

69

2

3

55

5

4

61

25

28

12

14

18

18

21

29

16

8

16

16

15

14

14

14

12

12

11

11

23

8

5

11

66

13

6

5

4

34

26

2

3

46

8

41

SE

NL

FI

FR

LU

PT

BE

IE

PL

DK

ES MT

DE EU27 IT

AT

LT

SI

RO HU

CZ

EE

BG

SK

LV

EL

HR

CY

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

11 A partial explanation for this outlier ﬁgure may be 
related  to  policy  implemented  in  Austria.  In  October 
2021, Austria announced tax measures that include a 

phased-in  tax  on  carbon  emissions.  Due  to  this,  CO2 
emissions in Austria are being taxed since July 2022.  

53 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

SMEs in the EU (21%) and in the US (23%) are 
about as likely to say that they have a concrete 
strategy  in  place  to  become  climate  neutral. 
However,  EU  SMEs  are  more  likely  than  their 
American  counterparts  to  say  that  they  are 
planning to deﬁne such a strategy (19% vs 13%). 

About a third of SMEs in Switzerland (32%) and 
a quarter of SMEs in Norway (25%) reply that a 
carbon  reduction  strategy  is  in  place  at  their 
company.  In  Montenegro  and  Türkiye,  on  the 

other  hand,  less  than  one  in  ten  respondents 
(both  8%)  give  this  response.  That  said,  nearly 
four  in  ten  SMEs  in  Montenegro  (38%)  are 
planning to deﬁne a strategy, while this ﬁgure is 
just 15% in Türkiye. In Türkiye, 71% of SMEs do 
not have any plans to deﬁne a strategy to become 
climate neutral.  

As  noted,  before,  caution  should  be  exercised 
interpreting the results for Albania and Moldova, 
as the sample sizes are relatively low and results 
for these countries carry a larger margin of error.  

Q14

Does your company have a concrete strategy in place to reduce your carbon
footprint and become climate neutral or negative?

(SMEs, non -EU countries)

Yes

No, and you are not planning to do so

Don't know/No answer

3

4

52

19

21

6

4

47

11

32

3

0
55

16

25

8

25

31

13

24

5

1

58

13

23

No, but you are planning to deﬁne a strategy

You are already climate neutral (spont.)

3

3

48

6

0
50

25

24

21

20

6

14

52

15

14

4

27

46

10

13

8

16

45

19

13

10

11

34

38

8

4

3

71

15

8

EU27

CH

NO

MD

US

UK

IS

MK

AL

RS

ME

TR

(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=3 783 (SMEs)

54 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Trend compared to 2021 

The chart below presents the trend compared to 
2021  in  the  proportion  of  SMEs  that  have  a 
concrete  strategy 
in  place  to  become 
climate neutral and the proportion planning to 
deﬁne  such  a  strategy.  On  average,  across 
these  proportions  did  not 
the  EU, 
signiﬁcantly  change.  Focusing  on  individual 
countries,  however,  a  few  trends  are  worth 
pointing  out.  In  Belgium  and  Finland,  for 
example,  there  is  a  clear  increase  compared  to 
2021  in  the  share  of  SMEs  with  a  concrete 

strategy in place to reduce their carbon footprint 
(+8 pp in Belgium and +10 pp in Finland); in both 
countries, the share planning to deﬁne a strategy 
has  decreased  (-6  pp  in  Belgium  and  -9  pp  in 
Finland),  while  the  share  not  have  a  concrete 
strategy in place and also not planning to deﬁne 
one has remained stable. In Latvia, on the other 
hand,  as  observed  in  2021,  few  SMEs  have  a 
strategy in place to become climate neutral (11%, 
no signiﬁcant change) and, additionally, the share 
of SMEs planning to implement such a strategy 
has more than halved compared to 2021 (to 8%,  
-12 pp).  

Q14

Does your company have a concrete strategy in place to reduce your carbon footprint and become climate
neutral or negative?

(SMEs, EU27)

53
▲1

36
▲1

31
▲1

26
▲6

27
▲4

30
▲2

22
▲2

24
▲3

31
▲4

27
▲1

26
▲2

21
=

Yes

No, but you are planning to deﬁne a strategy

8
▲2

41
▲3

19
▲3

28
▲4

20
▼-6

28
▼-8

25
▲1

19
=

29
▼-4

24
▲8

15
▼-5

16
▼-2

21
▲2

11
▼-5

6
▼-9

14
=

30
▲10 22
▲7

12
=

23
▲2

21
▲8

12
▲4

18
▲1

18
▲1

10
▼-6

23
▼-9

14
▼-7

12
▼-4

16
▼-4

11
▼-1

8
▼-12

13
▼-3

20
▼-2

12
=

14
▲2

14
▲3

21
▼-5

14
▼-1

16
=

8
▼-2

12
▼-1

11
▲1

11
▲1

6
=

MT

IE

LU

NL

PT

IT

SE

FR

BE

RO

LT EU27 EL

FI

ES

DK

BG

AT

CZ

EE

DE

HR

HU

SI

SK

PL

LV

CY

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

55 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Measures to become climate neutral 

Companies  with  a  concrete  strategy  in  place  to 
reduce  their  carbon  footprint  were  next  asked 
which  actions  they  are  undertaking  to 
become climate neutral; they were presented 
with a list of four actions. 

A slim majority of these SMEs (53%) reply that 
they are generally reducing carbon emissions 
of their company (e.g. by using recycled resources 
and sustainable suppliers, by switching to online 
events,  by  using  public  transport  for  business 
trips etc.). Close to one in two (47%) say they are 
adopting  or  purchasing  new  technological 
solutions to reduce emissions and roughly one 
in 
are  developing  new 
technological  solutions  themselves.  Finally, 

(35%) 

three 

10% of these SMEs say that they are oﬀsetting 
carbon emissions, by purchasing carbon credits or 
funding an equivalent carbon saving elsewhere. 

SMEs vs large companies 

For each of the climate neutrality actions listed in 
the  survey,  large  companies  are  more  likely 
than SMEs to reply that the action is being 
taken.  For  example,  35%  of  SMEs  with  a 
concrete carbon reduction strategy, say they are 
to 
developing  new 
achieve carbon neutrality; this ﬁgure increases to 
50% for large companies. 

technological  solutions 

Due  to  the  smaller  base  size  for  this  question, 
results are not discussed in more depth. 

What actions is your company undertaking to be become climate neutral? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

Q15
(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

Large companies

53%

Generally reducing carbon emissions of your
company

47%

35%

10%

4%

8%

3%

Adopting/purchasing new technological
solutions to reduce emissions

Developing new technological solutions to
reduce emissions
Oﬀsetting carbon emissions by purchasing
carbon credits or funding an equivalent
carbon saving elsewhere

Other (spontaneous)

None (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answer

73%

55%

50%

22%

3%

4%

4%

(%, EU27) Base: n=3 083 (SMEs) & n=438 (Large companies) – Companies with a concrete strategy to reduce their carbon footprint

56 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

2.  Barriers to and support for going green 

The  second  chapter  of  this  report  looks  ﬁrst  at 
potential barriers for SMEs to going green and 
resource  eﬃcient,  such  as  an  increase  in 
production costs and lack of expertise.  

The second  part reviews  the types  of  support 
SMEs  rely  on  when  taking  actions  to  be  more 
resource  eﬃcient,  and  in  particular  the  types  of 
external support they use. The chapter ends with 
a  discussion  of  the  type  of  assistance  SMEs 
consider most eﬀective in helping them to be 
more resource eﬃcient. 

2.1.  Diﬃculties  setting  up  resource 

eﬃciency actions 

SMEs  that  are  undertaking  resource  eﬃciency 
actions  were  asked  if  they  encountered  any 
diﬃculties  setting  up  these  actions.  They  were 
presented with a list of ten potential diﬃculties. 

More  than  one  in  three  SMEs  undertaking 
resource  eﬃciency  actions  (35%)  say  they 
encountered complex administrative or legal 
procedures setting up these actions and 26% 
refer  to  complex  environmental  reporting 
requirements.  The  cost  of  environment 
actions  is  mentioned  by  28%  of  SMEs  as  a 
barrier  encountered  trying  to  set  up  resource 
eﬃciency actions.  

For  the  remaining  diﬃculties,  between  18% 
and 25% mention it as a barrier they encountered 
when  setting  up  resource  eﬃciency  actions.  For 
example,  22%  of  SMEs  undertaking  resource 
eﬃciency actions say it was diﬃcult to choose the 
right  actions  for  their  company  and  24% 
experienced  diﬃculties  due  to  a  lack  of  speciﬁc 
environmental expertise. 

Q7

Did your company encounter any of the following diﬃculties when
trying to set up resource eﬃciency actions? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

Evolution
2024-2021

35%

28%

26%

25%

24%

22%

21%

20%

20%

18%

1%

26%

3%

▲1

▲1

NA

▲4

▲1

▲2

▲2

▲1

▼-4

▼-2

=

▼-6

=

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)
* Response option not included in 2021

57 

 
 
 
  
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

About  a  quarter  of  SMEs  undertaking  resource 
efficiency  actions  (26%)  reply  that  they  did  not 
encounter  any  difficulties  when  setting  up 
these actions (see chart on the previous page). The 
proportion  of  SMEs  that  did  not  experience  any 
difficulties  has  decreased  compared  to  2021  
(-6  pp).  This  decrease,  however,  is  partially 
attributed to the fact that companies could select 
an  additional  item  in  the  current  survey,  namely 
‘complex  environmental  reporting  requirements’ 
(mentioned by 26% of SMEs).  

In the current survey, SMEs are also more likely to 
report  that  they  were  hindered  in  their  resource 
efficiency  efforts  by  the  difficulty  to  adapt 
environmental  legislation  to  their  company 
(25%,  +4  pp).  There  is  a  decrease  compared  to 
2021, however, in the share of SMEs saying they 
faced a lack of supply of required materials 
when setting up resource efficiency actions (20%, 
-4 pp). 

SMEs vs large companies 

Some  obstacles  faced  when  going  green  are 
more  frequently  mentioned  by  large  companies 
than  by  SMEs.  For  example,  38%  of  large 
companies, compared to 28% of SMEs, say that 
the cost of environmental actions was a barrier 
trying  to  set  up  resource  eﬃciency  actions. 
Moreover, large companies are less likely to 
say  they  did  not  encounter  any  of  the 
diﬃculties listed in the survey (19% vs 26% 
of SMEs). 

There are, however, also diﬃculties that are as 
frequently  mentioned  by  SMEs  and  large 
companies,  such  as  a 
lack  of  speciﬁc 
environmental expertise (both 24%) or a lack of 
demand for resource eﬃcient products or services 
(both 18%).  

.

Q7

Did your company encounter any of the following diﬃculties when trying to set up resource
eﬃciency actions? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

35%

28%

26%

25%

24%

22%

21%

20%

20%

18%

1%

26%

3%

Large companies

Complexity of administrative or legal
procedures

Cost of environmental actions

Complex environmental reporting
requirements
Diﬃculty to adapt environmental legislation
to your company

Lack of speciﬁc environmental expertise

Diﬃculty in choosing the right resource
eﬃciency actions for your company
Technical requirements of the legislation not
being up to date
Complexity associated with environmental
labelling and certiﬁcation
Lack of supply of required materials, parts,
products or services
Lack of demand for resource eﬃcient
products or services

Other (spontaneous)

None (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answer

37%

38%

37%

29%

24%

25%

22%

23%

23%

18%

1%

19%

7%

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) & n=894 (Large companies) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions

58 

 
 
  
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

In  ten  of  the  industrial  ecosystems,  the  largest 
share  of  SMEs  undertaking  resource  eﬃciency 
actions refer to complexity of administrative 
or legal procedures – for example, this diﬃculty 
is  selected  by  48%  of  SMEs  in  ‘Energy  – 
renewables’.  

likely 

In  three  industrial  ecosystems,  respondents  are 
most 
cost  of 
environmental  actions;  this  is  the  case  in 
‘Electronics’  (50%),  ‘Aerospace  and  defence’ 

to  mention 

the 

(39%) and ‘Textile (33%). Finally, in the industrial 
ecosystem  of  ‘Health’,  the  largest  share  of 
respondents (39%) mention a lack of demand 
for resource eﬃcient products or services.  

In  ‘Digital’  (31%)  and  ‘Aerospace  and  defence’ 
(38%),  more  than  three  in  ten  SMEs  reply  that 
they did not encounter any of the diﬃculties 
listed in the survey. As noted in Section 1.1, SMEs 
in ‘Digital’ are the most likely to be undertaking 
just one or two resource eﬃciency actions, while 
in other ecosystems, SMEs are more likely to take 
three or more actions.

Q7 

Did your company encounter any of the following diﬃculties when trying to set up resource 
eﬃciency actions? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27) 

e
v
i
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31 

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25 

32 

27 

Aerospace and defence 

Agri-food 

Construction 

Cultural and creative 
industries 

Digital 

Electronics 

Energy - renewables 

Energy intensive industries 

Health 

Mobility - Transport - 
Automotive 
Proximity, social economy 
and civil security 

Retail 

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o
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35 

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32 

22 

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15 

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36 

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31 

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32 

18 

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e

12 

14 

23 

24 

22 

20 

25 

17 

18 

22 

22 

20 

21 

15 

10 

20 

20 

17 

21 

33 

19 

16 

39 

19 

18 

17 

21 

17 

)
s
u
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e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
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1 

0 

2 

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0 

1 

1 

0 

2 

1 

1 

2 

1 

1 

)
s
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n
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s
(

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o
N

38 

23 

24 

29 

31 

14 

18 

21 

28 

26 

22 

28 

22 

22 

r
e
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s
n
a

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t
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1 

2 

3 

3 

1 

1 

4 

0 

4 

1 

5 

3 

6 

4 

Note:  The  higher  the  proportion  selecting  a  response,  the  darker  green/red  the  cell.  The  highest-ranking  obstacle  for  each 
ecosystem is shown in dark red and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions 

59 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

Larger SMEs (in terms of number of employees) 
are  more  likely  to  have  experienced  diﬃculties 
when trying to set up resource eﬃciency actions. 
Among  medium-sized  companies  undertaking 
resource  eﬃciency  actions,  19%  reply  that  they 
did  NOT  encounter  any  diﬃculties  when 
setting up these actions; this ﬁgure increases to 
27%  for  micro  companies.  Comparing  SMEs  in 
terms  of  their  turnover  in  2023,  there  is  a 
diﬀerence  between  SMEs  with  a  turnover  of 
€2 000 000-€10 000 000  and  those  with  lower 
turnover values. Among the former, 22% did not 
encounter  any  diﬃculties  when  setting  up 
resource  eﬃciency  actions;  among  SMEs  with  a 
lower  turnover,  this  proportion  not  having 
experience  diﬃculties  is  higher  (between  24% 
and  28%).  The  share  of  companies  not  having 
experience diﬃculties is the highest for SMEs with 
a turnover of more than €10 000 000 (29%). 

High-growth companies (including gazelles) 
are  more  likely  to  have  experienced  diﬃculties 
when trying to set up resource eﬃciency actions. 
The share of SMEs that did NOT encounter any 

diﬃculties  varies  between  23%  of  negative-
growth companies and 33% for gazelles 

SMEs in the retail and services sectors (both 
28%)  are  more  likely  than  their  counterparts  in 
manufacturing (23%) and industry (22%) NOT 
to  have  experienced  diﬃculties  trying  to  set  up 
resource eﬃciency actions. Among SMEs selling 
both  services  and  products  and  undertaking 
resource  eﬃciency  actions,  20%  reply  that  they 
did  NOT  encounter  any  diﬃculties  when  setting 
up  these  actions;  this  ﬁgure  is  higher  for  SMEs 
that  are  only  selling  products  (27%)  or  only 
selling services (30%). 

of 

all 

of 

types 

SMEs, 

Across 
complex 
administrative  or  legal  procedures  are  the 
diﬃculty 
most-mentioned 
type 
encountered when setting up resource eﬃciency 
actions. For example, this barrier is mentioned by 
41%  of  medium-sized  companies  (undertaking 
resource  eﬃciency  actions),  42%  of  negative-
growth SMEs, 41% of SMEs in the industry sector 
and 42% of SMEs that are selling both services 
and products.  

60 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q7 

Did your company encounter any of the following diﬃculties when trying to set up resource 
eﬃciency actions? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

(SMEs, EU27) 

l

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EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

35 

28 

26 

25 

24 

22 

21 

20 

20 

18 

35 

37 

41 

32 

44 

33 

36 

39 

42 

31 

34 

39 

33 

42 

37 

41 

35 

32 

33 

32 

42 

28 

33 

35 

33 

45 

27 

28 

31 

34 

20 

31 

31 

26 

33 

32 

31 

28 

26 

30 

25 

31 

26 

30 

34 

31 

48 

25 

27 

30 

33 

24 

23 

28 

25 

32 

30 

31 

27 

24 

27 

22 

31 

25 

28 

31 

26 

35 

24 

28 

25 

28 

25 

23 

30 

24 

30 

27 

28 

26 

24 

25 

22 

30 

24 

25 

24 

25 

22 

24 

26 

23 

27 

23 

22 

25 

23 

32 

27 

25 

24 

23 

24 

23 

26 

22 

24 

24 

21 

32 

20 

25 

26 

27 

14 

25 

24 

21 

26 

22 

24 

20 

23 

21 

21 

25 

20 

22 

22 

21 

23 

21 

22 

23 

26 

8 

20 

24 

19 

24 

21 

23 

21 

19 

19 

19 

24 

20 

24 

26 

19 

28 

21 

20 

21 

26 

18 

22 

22 

20 

23 

21 

22 

22 

19 

24 

17 

22 

20 

22 

22 

20 

29 

21 

19 

19 

25 

20 

25 

21 

20 

17 

17 

25 

22 

18 

19 

17 

24 

18 

20 

21 

15 

22 

20 

18 

18 

20 

8 

20 

23 

16 

26 

18 

21 

18 

17 

16 

17 

21 

)
s
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s
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N

26 

27 

23 

19 

21 

15 

28 

26 

24 

22 

29 

33 

25 

27 

23 

23 

22 

28 

28 

27 

30 

20 

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w
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3 

3 

3 

4 

7 

9 

2 

2 

3 

1 

3 

1 

1 

3 

3 

3 

2 

2 

3 

3 

2 

2 

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) & n=894 (Large companies) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions  

61 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

In  four  Member  States,  among  SMEs  that  are 
undertaking  resource  eﬃciency  actions,  at  least 
four  in  ten  respondent  reply  that  they  did  not 
encounter  any  diﬃculties  undertaking  these 
actions;  this  applies  to  Estonia  (51%),  the 
Netherlands  (48%),  Latvia  (42%)  and  Lithuania 
(40%). In Ireland, on the other hand, just 10% of 
SMEs  did  not  encounter  any  diﬃculties  in  this 
process. 

say 

they 

encountered 

In 17 Member States, the (joint-)largest share of 
SMEs 
complex 
administrative  or  legal  procedures,  ranging 
from 20% in Portugal to 53% in Spain. Complex 
procedures are the least frequently encountered 
by  SMEs undertaking resource  eﬃciency actions 
in Ireland (9%) and Estonia (11%).  

The  share  of  SMEs  saying  that,  setting  up 
resource  eﬃciency  actions,  they  experienced 
diﬃculties  due  to  the  cost  of  environmental 
actions  ranges  from  13%  in  Malta  to  47%  in 
Spain.  Other  countries  at  the  higher  end  of  the 
country  ranking  include  Denmark  (39%),  Greece 
(37%) and Cyprus (35%); in these countries, the 
cost of environmental actions is the (joint-)most 
cited diﬃculty encountered. 

In  Spain,  40%  of  SMEs  refer  to  complex 
environmental reporting requirements. Spain 
is  followed  by  Czechia  (34%),  Lithuania  (34%) 
and  Germany  (33%).  In  the  latter  two  of  these 
reporting 
countries,  complex  environmental 
requirements  are  the  top-ranking  diﬃculties 
faced by SMEs going green. In sharp contrast, in 
Luxembourg,  this  obstacle  in  mentioned  by  just 
5% of SMEs. 

62 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q7 

Did your company encounter any of the following diﬃculties when trying to set up resource 
eﬃciency actions? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

(SMEs, EU27) 

r
o

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35 

41 

41 

49 

24 

32 

11 

9 

37 

53 

39 

34 

28 

33 

26 

32 

30 

32 

17 

13 

35 

45 

20 

34 

30 

44 

21 

20 

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28 

28 

26 

26 

39 

31 

14 

25 

37 

47 

36 

15 

17 

35 

23 

24 

22 

23 

13 

18 

30 

23 

14 

21 

25 

27 

26 

29 

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25 

30 

17 

19 

13 

23 

10 

4 

17 

40 

38 

13 

18 

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12 

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21 

21 

11 

12 

17 

35 

14 

29 

14 

23 

19 

15 

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26 

27 

22 

34 

26 

33 

12 

15 

29 

40 

29 

15 

22 

23 

18 

34 

5 

18 

10 

12 

11 

24 

14 

23 

17 

29 

20 

26 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

HR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

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24 

24 

26 

20 

20 

22 

10 

10 

25 

46 

28 

16 

15 

20 

19 

31 

16 

10 

15 

20 

27 

30 

9 

20 

19 

14 

15 

15 

22 

27 

18 

19 

23 

18 

10 

16 

25 

34 

34 

11 

15 

21 

12 

26 

19 

11 

8 

16 

18 

22 

16 

21 

11 

16 

24 

26 

21 

29 

28 

21 

9 

16 

9 

1 

22 

38 

32 

22 

16 

12 

17 

17 

19 

20 

20 

6 

9 

13 

12 

25 

6 

22 

15 

14 

20 

25 

17 

18 

24 

30 

11 

6 

29 

27 

23 

11 

15 

24 

7 

23 

14 

10 

6 

17 

15 

20 

10 

20 

14 

18 

22 

18 

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20 

22 

18 

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16 

23 

11 

22 

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32 

21 

11 

10 

17 

14 

19 

29 

11 

19 

15 

18 

22 

18 

21 

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18 

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24 

22 

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12 

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(

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8 

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1 

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0 

)
s
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N

26 

29 

22 

24 

28 

28 

51 

10 

33 

18 

14 

32 

34 

39 

42 

40 

20 

38 

37 

48 

18 

16 

21 

26 

36 

30 

34 

34 

r
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a

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w
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3 

1 

3 

1 

6 

3 

3 

5 

0 

3 

4 

6 

1 

1 

2 

0 

9 

5 

3 

1 

3 

2 

9 

2 

0 

3 

2 

4 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green/red the cell. The highest-ranking obstacle for each country 
is shown in dark red and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions 

63 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, green markets and resource eﬃciency 

Non-EU countries 

SMEs  undertaking  resource  eﬃciency  actions  in 
the US are less likely than their counterparts in 
the  EU  to  have  encountered  diﬃculties  due  to 
complex administrative or legal procedures (17% 
vs. 35%), but they more frequently refer to a lack 
of supply of required materials, parts, products or 
services (29% vs 20%). 

In line with the EU average results, in most non-
EU  countries,  complexity  of  administrative  or 
legal  procedures  is  mentioned  by  the  largest 
share  of  SMEs,  such  as  32%  in  Moldova  and 

35% in Türkiye. SMEs in Türkiye (35%), together 
with  those  in  Norway  (47%)  and  Switzerland 
(33%),  are  also  likely  to  say  that  the  cost  of 
environmental actions is a diﬃculty when trying 
to set up resource eﬃciency actions. 

In six of the non-EU countries surveyed, including 
the  US,  among  SMEs  that  are  undertaking 
resource eﬃciency actions, more than 30% reply 
that  they  did  not  encounter  any  diﬃculties 
when setting up these actions (between 31% in 
the UK and Iceland and 50% in Albania). 

Q7 

Did your company encounter any of the following diﬃculties when trying to set up resource 
eﬃciency actions? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

(SMEs, non-EU countries) 

r
o

e
v
i
t
a
r
t
s
i
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m
d
a

i

f
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l

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p
m
o
C

s
e
r
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e
c
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r
p

l

a
g
e

l

35 

15 

23 

32 

22 

28 

32 

21 

22 

42 

35 

17 

s
n
o
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c
a

l

a
t
n
e
m
n
o
r
i
v
n
e

f
o

t
s
o
C

28 

26 

21 

47 

33 

4 

16 

12 

1 

22 

35 

24 

l

a
t
n
e
m
n
o
r
i
v
n
e

t
p
a
d
a

o
t

y
t
l
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c
ﬃ
D

i

y
n
a
p
m
o
c

r
u
o
y

o
t

n
o
i
t
a
l
s
i
g
e

l

25 

13 

13 

24 

22 

13 

23 

15 

15 

19 

28 

17 

l

a
t
n
e
m
n
o
r
i
v
n
e

c
ﬁ
i
c
e
p
s

f
o

k
c
a
L

e
s
i
t
r
e
p
x
e

24 

17 

17 

29 

17 

4 

15 

10 

6 

21 

31 

18 

t
h
g
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t

g
n
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n

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22 

14 

16 

35 

19 

7 

19 

9 

1 

19 

30 

21 

e
t
a
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p
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b

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21 

14 

16 

16 

10 

12 

23 

10 

1 

20 

27 

15 

l

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r

26 

15 

24 

33 

17 

11 

7 

13 

1 

19 

26 

15 

EU27 

UK 

IS 

NO 

CH 

ME 

MD 

MK 

AL 

RS 

TR 

US 

h
t
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ﬁ
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c

20 

16 

25 

27 

17 

18 

18 

6 

1 

10 

30 

16 

r
o

s
t
c
u
d
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r
p

,

s
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p
p
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f
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c
a
L

s
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c
i
v
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e
s

20 

27 

19 

18 

21 

7 

10 

8 

7 

18 

34 

29 

e
c
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r

r
o
f

d
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f
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e

18 

27 

18 

27 

19 

5 

15 

12 

1 

14 

33 

25 

)
s
u
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n
a
t
n
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p
s
(

r
e
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1 

0 

0 

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1 

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12 

9 

0 

1 

0 

0 

)
s
u
o
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n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

26 

31 

31 

22 

28 

40 

26 

37 

50 

26 

30 

40 

r
e
w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
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n
k

t
'
n
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3 

1 

13 

3 

6 

3 

10 

5 

9 

5 

2 

4 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green/red the cell. The highest-ranking obstacle for each country 
is shown in dark red and white font. 
(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=3 299 (SMEs) - Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions 

64 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Trend compared to 2021 

The table on the next page shows the evolution 
since  2021,  at  a  country-by-country  basis, 
looking at each of the diﬃculties SMEs may have 
encountered  when  trying  to  set  up  resource 
eﬃciency  actions.12  Green  values  indicate  a 
positive trend – i.e. a decrease in the proportion 
of  SMEs  that  encountered  diﬃculties  (or  an 
increase in the proportion of SMEs that have not 
experienced any diﬃculties – last column in the 
table). Red values indicate a negative trend – i.e. 
an  increase  in  the  proportion  of  SMEs  that 
encountered  diﬃculties  (or  a  decrease  in  the 
proportion of SMEs that have not experienced any 
diﬃculties).   

The  ﬁrst  observation  to  be  made  is  that, 
compared  to  2021,  the  proportion  of  SMEs 

undertaking resource eﬃciency actions and that 
did NOT encounter any diﬃculties setting up 
these  actions  has  decreased  by  six  percentage 
points,  on  average,  across  the  EU.13  At  the 
individual country level, the largest decreases in 
this  proportion  are  observed  in  France  (-19  pp), 
Austria  (-18  pp),  Denmark  (-15  pp),  Bulgaria  
(-14 pp), Italy (-11 pp) and Germany (-10 pp). 

The second observation to be made is the change 
observed  for  a  lack  of  supply  of  required 
materials,  parts,  products  or  services.  This 
obstacle is now mentioned by fewer SMEs (-4 pp, 
on  average,  across  the  EU).  At  the  individual 
country level, the largest decreases are observed 
in  Latvia  (-16  pp),  Hungary  (-13  pp),  Slovakia  
(-12  pp),    (-12  pp),  Croatia  (-11  pp),  Estonia  
(-11 pp) and Romania (-9 pp). 

12  The  answer  ‘complex  environmental  reporting 
requirements’ has been included for the ﬁrst time in 
the current survey. 

13  As  noted  earlier,  this  decrease  may  be  partially 
attributed  to  the  fact  that  SMEs  could  select  an 
additional 
‘complex  environmental 
reporting requirements’ (mentioned by 26% of SMEs). 

item,  namely 

65 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q7 

Did your company encounter any of the following diﬃculties when trying to set up resource 
eﬃciency actions? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

(SMEs, EU27) 

e
h
t

g
n
i
s
o
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n

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y
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l

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h
c
e
T

g
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b

i

t
o
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n
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s
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l

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t
a
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p
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a

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d
n
a

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n

i
l
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b
a

l

▲2 

▲4 

▲9 

▲1 

▲11 

▲2 

▼-3 

▲3 

▲2 

▲1 

▲15 

▼-3 

▼-1 

▲1 

▲2 

▲4 

▲11 

▼-1 

▲1 

▼-1 

▼-3 

▼-4 

▼-3 

▲9 

▲18 

▼-6 

▲1 

▼-3 

d
e
r
i
u
q
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f
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l
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,

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,

s
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s
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r
o

▼-4 

▼-6 

▲7 

▼-8 

▼-1 

▼-7 

s
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p

t
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)
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(

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n
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  N

▼-2 

  ▼-3 

= 

= 

▲17 

  ▼-13 

▼-1 

  ▼-5 

▲13 

  ▼-9 

▼-1 

  ▼-5 

▲1 

▲5 

▲10 

= 

▲12 

▲4 

▼-6  ▼-10  ▼-7 

  ▼-6 

▼-2 

▲1 

▼-2 

▲9 

= 

▲1 

▲5 

▲1 

▼-6 

▼-7 

▼-2 

▲3 

  ▼-6 

▼-1 

= 

▼-8 

  ▼-3 

▲7 

  ▼-6 

▼-10  ▼-13 

  ▲3 

▲1 

▼-3 

  ▼-2 

▼-10  ▼-6 

  ▼-3 

e
s
i
t
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p
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l

a
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m
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c
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p
s

f
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▲1 

▲5 

▲15 

▼-4 

▲11 

▲3 

▼-4 

▲2 

▼-5 

▼-1 

▲13 

▼-2 

▼-2 

▼-2 

l

a
t
n
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m
n
o
r
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f
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s
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c
a

▲1 

▲8 

▲16 

▲1 

▲24 

▲9 

▼-4 

▲3 

= 

▲2 

▲13 

▼-2 

▼-7 

▼-5 

▼-4 

▲10 

▼-5 

▼-3 

= 

▼-2 

▲1 

▼-4 

n
o
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s
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l

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y

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t

▲4 

▲9 

▲7 

▲3 

▲4 

▲7 

▼-3 

▼-2 

= 

▲9 

▲22 

▼-8 

▼-2 

▲7 

▼-6 

▲20 

▼-4 

▼-1 

▲2 

= 

▼-4 

▼-5 

l

a
g
e

l

r
o

e
v
i
t
a
r
t
s
i
n
m
d
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p
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c
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p

  ▲1 
  ▲5 
  ▲14 
  ▲2 
  ▲15 
  ▲3 
  ▼-6 
= 
  ▼-3 
= 

  ▲15 
  ▼-7 
  ▼-4 
  ▼-1 
  ▼-6 
  ▲4 
  ▼-1 
  ▼-1 
  ▼-3 
  ▼-1 
= 
  ▲2 
= 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

HR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

▼-6  ▼-12  ▼-6  ▼-10  ▼-16  ▼-8 

  ▲15 

▲11 

▼-1 

▲7 

▼-4 

▼-5  ▼-13 

▲1 

▲2 

▲6 

▲4 

▼-3 

▲2 

= 

▼-4 

▲6 

▼-2 

▲6 

▲3 

▼-6 

▼-7 

▼-6 

▲2 

▼-8 

▼-7 

▲1 

▼-5 

▼-5 

▲11 

▼-5 

▼-8 

▲7 

▼-6 

= 

▼-3 

  ▼-3 

▼-1  ▼-13  ▼-11 

  ▲10 

▼-2 

= 

= 

▼-5 

▲1 

▼-7 

= 

▼-3 

▼-2 

▲1 

▼-1 

▲2 

▼-9 

▼-7 

= 

  ▼-4 

▼-4 

  ▼-4 

▲7 

  ▼-3 

▼-2 

  ▼-11 

▲2 

  ▼-2 

▼-7 

  ▲3 

▼-9 

  ▲6 

▼-7  ▼-12  ▼-7 

  ▲1 

▼-1 

▲3 

▼-7 

  ▼-3 

▼-4  ▼-12  ▼-6 

  ▲3 

▼-3 

▼-1 

▼-3 

▲3 
  ▼-13  ▼-10  ▼-7  ▼-14  ▼-7 
  ▲11 
▼-1 
  ▼-8 
  ▼-1 
  ▼-9 

▼-2 

▼-7 

▼-3 

▼-8 

▼-6 

▼-7 

▼-1 

▼-6 

▲2 

▲2 

▲5 

▲3 

▲1 

▲1 

▲1 

Note:  (1)  green  cells  indicate  a  positive  trend  (ie.  a  decrease  in  the  proportion  of  SMEs  that  encountered  a  diﬃculties  or  an 
increase in the proportion of SMEs that have not experienced any diﬃculties); red cells represent a negative trend. (2) Obstacle 
‘Complex environmental reporting requirements’ is not included as this response was not included in 2021. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions 
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

66 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

2.2.  Impact  of  resource  eﬃciency 
actions on production costs 

looked  at  diﬃculties 
The  previous  section 
experienced  by  SMEs  when  setting  up  resource 
eﬃciency actions. This section looks at the results 
for  the  question  on  changes  in  production 
costs due to the resource eﬃciency actions 
undertaken in the SMEs. How production costs 
are  impacted  can  be  a  barrier  or  incentive  to 
resource  eﬃciency.  If  production  costs  increase, 
SMEs may be less likely to implement additional 
resource  eﬃciency  measures;  however,  if  it  can 
be  demonstrated 
resource  eﬃciency 
that 
measures increase eﬃciency in terms of reducing 
production costs and increasing proﬁtability, this 
can  be  an  important  incentive  to  invest  in 
resource eﬃciency measures.  

Among  SMEs  taking  resource  eﬃciency  actions, 
4%  say  these  actions  have  signiﬁcantly 
decreased  their  production  costs  over  the 
past  two  years  and  26%  that  there  was  a 
slight decrease in production costs. One in ﬁve 
SMEs  (20%)  say  production  costs  have 
increased  and  16%  that  this 
slightly 
increase has been signiﬁcant. About a quarter 
(24%)  say  there  has  been  no  change 
in 
production  costs  as  a  result  of  the  resource 
eﬃciency actions.  

Compared to 2021, there is an increase in the 
proportion  of  SMEs  saying  that  production 
costs have signiﬁcantly increased as a result 
of the resource eﬃciency actions (+5 pp).

Q3

What impact have the undertaken resource eﬃciency actions had on the
production costs over the past two years? The production costs have…

(SMEs, EU27)

4%

=

Signiﬁcantly decreased

26%

▼-1

Slightly decreased

20%

▼-1

Slightly increased

16%

▲5

24%

▼-2

11%

▼-1

Signiﬁcantly increased

Not changed (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answer

Evolution
2024-2021

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions

67 

 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

SMEs vs large companies 

Among SMEs and large companies, around three 
in  ten  companies  taking  resource  eﬃciency 
actions  reply  that  these  actions  have  increased 
their  production  costs  over  the  past  two  years. 
Nonetheless,  among  large  companies,  there 

are  somewhat  more  respondents  saying 
that the actions have led to a (‘signiﬁcant’ 
or  ‘slight’)  decrease  in  production  costs 
(38%  vs  30%  for  SMEs)  and  less  respondents 
saying  there  was  no  change  (15%  vs  24%, 
respectively).  

Q3

What impact have the undertaken resource eﬃciency actions had on the production costs
over the past two years? The production costs have…

(SMEs vs large companies)

SMEs

Large companies

4%

26%

20%
16%

24%

11%

Signiﬁcantly decreased

Slightly decreased

Slightly increased

Signiﬁcantly increased

Not changed ( spont.)

Don't know/No answer

3%

35%

22%
10%

15%

16%

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) & n=894 (Large companies) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions

68 

 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

The proportion of SMEs saying that the resource 
eﬃciency actions they have undertaken have led 
to  a  decrease  in  production  costs  over  the 
past two years varies between 22% in ‘Aerospace 
and Defence’ and 39% in ‘Health’.14 The share of 
SMEs  stating  the  opposite  –  that  the  resource 
have 
eﬃciency 

undertaken 

actions 

increased  production  costs  –  is  overall  the 
highest in ‘Agri-food’ (49%) followed by ‘Energy – 
renewables (44%).   

SMEs in ‘Digital’ (37%) are more likely than their 
counterparts in other ecosystems (between 16% 
and 32%) to answer that the resource eﬃciency 
actions undertaken did not lead to a change in 
production costs.

Q3

What impact have the undertaken resource eﬃciency actions had on the
production costs over the past two years? The production costs have…

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU)

Signiﬁcantly decreased

Slightly decreased

Slightly increased

Signiﬁcantly increased

Not changed (spont.)

Don't know/No answer

8

19

23

11

31

9

h
t
l
a
e
H

9

16

22

17

32

5

m
s
i
r
u
o
T

5

25

18

17

32

2

e

l
i
t
x
e
T

9

24

19

17

27

9

25

11

24

28

5

3

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v

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A

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28

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v
i
s
n
e
t
n

i

y
g
r
e
n
E

14

25

13

19

26

4

y
t
i
r
u
c
e
s

l
i

v

i
c

d
n
a

y
m
o
n
o
c
e

l

a
i
c
o
s

,

y
t
i

m
i
x
o
r
P

13

22

17

19

11

22

18

21

25

26

4

l
i

a
t
e
R

4

n
o
i
t
c
u
r
t
s
n
o
C

4

19

24

25

21

7

d
o
o
f
-
i
r
g
A

7

23

27

18

21

5

l

s
e
b
a
w
e
n
e
r

-

y
g
r
e
n
E

6

32

6

31

7

37

4

27

23

20

5

l

a
t
i
g
D

i

2

s
c
i
n
o
r
t
c
e
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l

5

30

23

21

19

3

e
c
n
e
f
e
d

d
n
a
e
c
a
p
s
o
r
e
A

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions

14 Due to rounding, percentages for separate response 
options shown in the charts do not always exactly add 
up to the totals mentioned in the text. 

69 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

Micro and small companies are the least likely 
to  say  that  the  resource  eﬃciency  actions 
undertaken  in  their  company  have  decreased 
production costs (both 30%); this ﬁgure increases 
to  36%  for  medium-sized  companies.  The 
share  of  SMEs  having  seen  a  decrease  in 
production  costs,  however,  does  not  vary 
signiﬁcantly looking at SMEs’ turnover values. 
The share of SMEs stating the opposite – that the 
resource  eﬃciency  actions  undertaken  have 
increased  production  costs  –  is  higher  for  SMEs 
with an annual turnover of between €2 000 001-
€10 000 000 (41% vs 30%-37% for SMEs in the 
other turnover categories).  

There are also important diﬀerences in the share 
of  SMEs  having  seen  an  increase  in  production 
costs  in  terms  of  company  growth.  Among 
negative-growth  SMEs,  43%  of  respondents 
report  that  the  resource  eﬃciency  actions 
undertaken have led to an increase in production 
costs; this ﬁgure decreases to 25% for gazelles.  

The sector analysis shows that SMEs in industry 
(41%) and manufacturing (39%) are more likely 
to say that production costs have increased due 
to the resource eﬃciency measures taken in the 
past two year; this ﬁgure is 36% for SMEs in retail 
and 32% for SMEs in the services sector. In line 
with this, SMEs selling only services (32%) are 
less  likely  than  SMEs  selling  products  (37%)  or 
selling both products and services (39%) to have 
seen their production costs increase. 

70 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q3  What impact have the undertaken resource eﬃciency actions had on the production costs over the 

past two years? The production costs have… 

(SMEs, EU27) 

Signiﬁcantly 
decreased 

Slightly 
decreased 

Slightly 
increased 

Signiﬁcantly 
increased 

Not changed 
(spontaneous) 

Don't know/No 
answer 

EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 
Medium-sized (50-249 
empl.) 
Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

4 

4 

3 

4 

3 

3 

4 

4 

3 

4 

3 

6 

5 

3 

7 

4 

3 

4 

4 

5 

4 

4 

26 

26 

27 

32 

37 

34 

28 

25 

29 

29 

25 

31 

26 

26 

20 

28 

23 

27 

26 

24 

28 

25 

20 

20 

22 

22 

21 

23 

20 

20 

18 

23 

22 

17 

21 

20 

20 

19 

22 

20 

19 

18 

20 

21 

16 

16 

16 

14 

9 

10 

13 

16 

15 

19 

8 

8 

17 

15 

23 

20 

19 

17 

13 

19 

12 

19 

24 

24 

21 

17 

16 

12 

23 

26 

25 

18 

21 

27 

23 

25 

21 

23 

21 

22 

26 

23 

26 

21 

11 

11 

10 

12 

14 

18 

12 

8 

10 

8 

21 

11 

8 

12 

8 

5 

11 

11 

12 

10 

11 

11 

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) & n=894 (Large companies) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions 

71 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

There is a large variation across countries in 
the  proportion  of  SMEs  that  have  seen  their 
production costs either increase or decrease 
due  to  the  resource  eﬃciency  actions 
undertaken. In Cyprus, one in two SMEs (50%) say 
that  the  resource  eﬃciency  actions  they  have 
undertaken have led to a decrease in production 
costs  over  the  past  two  years.  In  Germany  and 
France,  on  the  other  hand,  an  almost  equal 
proportion (48%-49%) state the opposite – that 
the  resource  eﬃciency  actions  undertaken  have 
increased production costs.15  

Countries close to Cyprus – with a high proportion 
of  SMEs  having  seen  production  costs  decrease 
aﬅer undertaking resource eﬃciency actions – are 
responses)  and 
‘decreased’ 
(47% 
Portugal 
Bulgaria (44%).  

Spain  joins  Germany  and  Poland,  with  45%  of 
SMEs answering that resource eﬃciency actions 
undertaken in the past two years have increased 
production costs. 

The  share  of  SMEs  replying  that  the  resource 
eﬃciency actions undertaken did not lead to a 
change  in  production  costs  varies  between 
15% in Bulgaria and 39% in Finland. 

Q3

What impact have the undertaken resource eﬃciency actions had on the production costs over the past
two years? The production costs have…

(SMEs, EU27)

Signiﬁcantly decreased

Slightly decreased

Slightly increased

Signiﬁcantly increased

Not changed (spont.)

Don't know/No answer

7

15

14

9

11

16

9

12

11

9

8

14

5

5

28

20

11

3

29

7

11

43

21

8

18

33

6

24

12

18

15

16

16

23

6

19

15

17

8

18

9

17

43

34

37

34

37

28

2

15

36

3

31

6

34

12

18

10

14

8

22

11

22

3

39

6

16

12

14

10

18

23

23

30

2

26

9

21

9

16

21

6

22

2

31

9

26

25

37

24

27

32

13

20

5

14

16

17

20

19

8

25

17

13

28

18

24

25

18

24

27

24

6

17

32

35

34

32

28

31

34

30

27

26

26

26

27

24

20

22

22

19

13

7

8

5

7

1

3

4

6

2

3

9

5

3

1

4

6

6

5

4

1

4

8

6

4

6

22

30

20

21

18

19

21

1

15

4

CY

PT

BG

HR

RO HU

AT

LT

EL

EE

CZ

FI

LU

SK

IT MT

SI

BE

DK EU27 LV

SE

IE

DE

ES

NL

PL

FR

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions

15 Due to rounding, percentages for separate response 
options shown in the charts do not always exactly add 
up to the totals mentioned in the text. 

72 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

The proportion of SMEs saying that the resource 
eﬃciency actions they have undertaken have led 
to  a  decrease  in  production  costs  over  the  past 
two  years  varies  between  10%  in  Iceland  and 
45% in Serbia (and 47% in Moldova).16  

Conversely,  the  proportion  having  seen  an 
increase in production costs ranges from 23% in 
Montenegro to 50% in the US. SMEs in the US, 
in other words, are much more likely than SMEs 
in  the  EU  to  report  that  resource  efficiency 
actions  have  increased  their  production  costs 
(50% vs. 35%).  

Q3

What impact have the undertaken resource eﬃciency actions had on the
production costs over the past two years? The production costs have…

(SMEs, non -EU countries)

Signiﬁcantly decreased

Slightly decreased

Slightly increased

Signiﬁcantly increased

Not changed (spont.)

Don't know/No answer

11

24

16

20

26

4

3

26

15

9

33

13

6

15

25

10

36

8

14

25

12

34

8

20

24

14

26

9

8

8

6

33

11

16

29

4

22

25

13

9

29

1

13

28

9

24

12

22

11

30

17

21

12

35

9

21

20

11

17

24

26

19

8

3

3

3

EU27

MD

RS

TR

MK

AL

ME

UK

NO

CH

US

(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=3 299 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions

21

45

6

18

10

0

IS

16 Caution should be exercised when interpreting the 
results  of  Moldova,  due  to  the  smaller  number  of 
interviews. 

73 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Trend compared to 2021 

Compared to 2021, on average, across the EU, 
there is an  increase in the proportion of SMEs 
saying that production costs have increased 
as a result of the resource eﬃciency actions. The 
change in the average results, however, is mainly 

driven by the increase in this proportion observed 
in Germany (+11 pp, to 49%). 

A large (signiﬁcant) increase in the share of  SMEs 
saying that production costs have decreased 
as  a  result  of  the  resource  eﬃciency  actions 
undertaken  is  seen  in  Cyprus  (+16  pp,  to  50%) 
and Denmark (+11 pp, to 32%).

Q3

What impact have the undertaken resource eﬃciency actions had on the production costs over the past
two years? The production costs have…

(SMEs, EU27)

Total 'Decreased'

Total 'Increased'

26
=

18
▼-10

26
▼-8

26
▲2

31
▲2

28
▼-3

25
▲1

16
▲6

23
▼-2

29
▲1

33
▲6

28
=

29
▼-5

26
▲3

28
=

21
▲1

35
▲7

34
▲8

35
▲5

35
▼-3

32
▲5

19
▼-2

49
▲11 45
▲7

41
▼-3

48
▲10

39
▲7

24
▼-1

50
▲16

46
▲4

44
▲3

42
▼-4

42
▲1

41
▲6

41
▲1

39
▼-4

37
▼-4

37
▲3

37
▲6

37
=

37
▲8

34
▲7

34
▲1

34
▲2

33
▲3

32
=

32
▲11

30
▼-1

29
▼-1

28
▼-4

28
▲1

28
▲2

26
▼-4

25
▼-1

22
▼-7

19
▼-7

CY

PT

BG

HR

RO HU

AT

LT

EL

EE

CZ

FI

LU

SK

IT MT

SI

BE

DK EU27 LV

SE

IE

DE

ES

NL

PL

FR

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

74 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Impact  on  resource  eﬃciency  by  type  of 
resource eﬃciency action taken 

In Section 1.1, it was noted that most EU SMEs 
are  taking  more  than  one  type  of  action  to 
increase their resource eﬃciency. The chart below 
tries  to  shed  light  on  diﬀerences  in  impact  on 
production  costs  by  type  of  resource  eﬃciency 
action taken. Note that some caution is needed to 
interpret  the  diﬀerences  across  the  types  of 
resource  eﬃciency  actions,  due  to  the  fact  that 
SMEs tend to take multiple actions. 

That said, the results appear to show that SMEs 
reporting  to  use  predominantly  renewable 
energy  are  more  likely  to  answer  that 
production costs have decreased as a result 
of  the  resource  eﬃciency  actions  undertaken, 
compared  to,  for  example,  SMEs  that  report 
saving materials (36% vs 30%). 

The 
that 
largest  share  of  SMEs  saying 
production  costs  have  increased  is  seen  for 
those  SMEs  that  have  switched  to  greener 
suppliers  of  materials  (41%)  and  those  that 
design products that are easier to maintain and 
reuse (39%). 

Q1
Q3

What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource eﬃcient?
What impact have the undertaken resource eﬃciency actions had on the
production costs over the past two years? The production costs have…

(SMEs, EU27)

Actions undertaken

Impact on production costs

Total 'Decreased'

Total 'Increased'

36

33

32

31

31

31

31

31

30

30

32

31

26

39

36

37

36

41

35

39

37

39

31

35

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions

75 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

2.3.  Support to go green and resource 

eﬃcient  

Among SMEs that have taken resource eﬃciency 
actions,  61%  rely  on  their  own  ﬁnancial 
resources  and  50%  on  their  own  technical 
expertise  in  their  eﬀorts  to  be  more  resource 
eﬃcient. Comparatively less SMEs (23%) rely 
on external support.  

Compared  to  2021,  the  proportion  of  SMEs 
relying  on  their  own  ﬁnancial  resources  has 
decreased (-3 pp); the same trend is seen for the 
proportion of SMEs relying on their own technical 
support (-4 pp). There is no signiﬁcant change in 
the average share of SMEs relaying on external 
support.

Q5

Which type of support does your company rely on in its eﬀorts to be more
resource eﬃcient? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

Its own ﬁnancial resources

61%

Its own technical expertise

50%

External support

23%

Other (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answers

3%

6%

Evolution
2024-2021

▼-3

▼-4

▼-1

▲1

▲1

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

76 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

SMEs  having  invested,  on  average,  at  least 
1%  of  their  annual  turnover  over the  past 
two years to become more resource eﬃcient are 
more  likely  than  SMEs  undertaking  resource 
eﬃciency  actions  without  making  this  level  of 
investment  to  rely  on  their  own  ﬁnancial 
resources, on their own technical expertise and on 

external  support  for  their  resource  eﬃciency 
actions.  For  example,  21%  of  the  latter  type  of 
SMEs  (i.e.  those  not  investing)  say  they  rely  on 
external  support  to  become  more  resource 
eﬃcient;  this  ﬁgure  increases  to  24%  for  SMEs 
having  invested  between  1%  and  5%  of  their 
annual  turnover  and  to  28%  for  those  having 
invested more than 5%.

Q5

Q4

Which type of support does your company rely on in its eﬀorts to be more resource eﬃcient?
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]
Over the past two years, how much have you invested on average per year to be more resource
eﬃcient?

(SMEs, EU27)

Type of support

Its own ﬁnancial resources

67%

Its own technical expertise

56%

External support

28%

Other (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answer

1%

2%

Investment in resource eﬃciency

More than 5% of
annual turnover

1%-5% of annual
turnover

Nothing or less than 1%
of annual turnover

69%

50%

24%

1%

3%

55%

48%

21%

4%

7%

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions

77 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

SMEs vs large companies 

Compared to SMEs, large companies are more 
likely  to  rely  on  their  own  ﬁnancial 
resources  (73%  vs  61%)  and  their  own 
technical  expertise  (61%  vs  50%)  in  their 
eﬀorts to be more resource eﬃcient. The biggest 

diﬀerence  between  SMEs  and  large  companies, 
however, is observed for external support: 40% 
of large companies, compared to 23% of SMEs, 
say they rely on external support in their eﬀorts 
to be more resource eﬃcient.  

Q5

Which type of support does your company rely on in its eﬀorts to be more
resource eﬃcient? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

61%

50%

23%

3%

6%

Large companies

Its own ﬁnancial resources

Its own technical expertise

External support

Other (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answer

73%

61%

40%

1%

5%

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) & n=894 (Large companies) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions

78 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

Across most ecosystems, the largest share of say 
they  rely  on  their  own  ﬁnancial  resources  in 
their  eﬀorts  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient  (e.g. 
62%  in  ‘Proximity,  social  economy  and  civil 
security’  and  69%  in  ‘Mobility  -  Transport  – 
Automotive’).  

SMEs  in  ‘Energy – renewables’  stand out with 
74% saying that they rely on their own technical 
expertise  in  their  eﬀorts  to  be  more  resource 
eﬃcient. 

The  share  of  SMEs  reporting  to  use external 
support  to  become  more  resource  eﬃcient 
remains  below  a  third  in  most  ecosystems  and 
varies between 12% in ‘Digital’ and 36% in ‘Agri-
food’. 

Q5  Which  type  of  support  does  your  company  rely  on  in  its  eﬀorts  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient? 

[MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27) 

Aerospace and defence 

Agri-food 

Construction 

Cultural and creative industries 

Digital 

Electronics 

Energy - renewables 

Energy intensive industries 

Health 

Mobility - Transport - Automotive 

Proximity, social economy and civil security 

Retail 

Textile 

Tourism 

Its own 
ﬁnancial 
resources 

Its own 
technical 
expertise 

External 
support 

Other 
(spontaneous) 

Don't know/ 
No answer 

59 

55 

62 

61 

65 

60 

58 

67 

65 

69 

62 

58 

58 

59 

66 

50 

55 

48 

56 

54 

74 

60 

35 

48 

42 

49 

58 

44 

29 

36 

20 

21 

12 

24 

28 

21 

15 

22 

23 

23 

18 

31 

0 

3 

3 

2 

3 

0 

1 

7 

1 

3 

1 

3 

0 

2 

2 

3 

4 

7 

4 

2 

7 

3 

19 

6 

7 

7 

9 

4 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green the cell. The highest-ranking type of support for each 
ecosystem is shown in dark green and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions 

79 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, green markets and resource eﬃciency 

Business demographics 

The larger the SME (in terms of employees), the 
more likely they are to rely on the three types of 
support  to  become  more  resource  eﬃcient.  The 
diﬀerence  is  again  the  largest  for  external 
support: 22% of micro companies rely on external 
support,  compared  to  30%  of  small  companies 
and 38% of medium-sized ones. The importance 
of  external  support  also  increases  with  annual 
turnover of the SME: from 17% for SMEs with a 
turnover  of  €100 000  or  less  to  28%-30%  for 
SMEs with a turnover of more than €2 000 000. 

There  also  appears  to  be  a  slightly  higher 
tendency  among  high-growth  SMEs 
(excl. 
gazelles)  to  rely  on  external  support  in  their 
attempts  to  go  green  (25%,  compared  to  e.g. 
21% of negative-growth SMEs). 

In their eﬀorts to be more resource eﬃcient, SMEs 
in  industry  (56%)  and  manufacturing  (53%) 
are  more  likely  to  rely  on  their  own  technical 
expertise than SMEs in services (49%) and retail 
(46%).  Comparing  SMEs  selling  services  vs 
products,  only  one  signiﬁcant  diﬀerence  is 
observed – SMEs focusing on both products and 
services are somewhat more likely to rely on their 
own  technical  expertise  (54%  vs  47%-49%  for 
SMEs selling only products or services). 

80 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, green markets and resource eﬃciency 

Q5  Which  type  of  support  does  your  company  rely  on  in  its  eﬀorts  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient? 

[MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(SMEs, EU27) 

Its own ﬁnancial 
resources 

Its own technical 
expertise 

External support 

Other 
(spontaneous) 

Don't know/No 
answer 

EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

61 

60 

66 

68 

69 

78 

68 

57 

57 

62 

56 

66 

63 

60 

63 

62 

60 

61 

61 

63 

60 

60 

50 

50 

53 

57 

57 

68 

50 

48 

49 

54 

57 

55 

49 

51 

45 

53 

56 

46 

49 

47 

49 

54 

23 

22 

30 

38 

35 

47 

17 

21 

27 

30 

28 

19 

25 

23 

21 

25 

21 

21 

24 

24 

22 

23 

3 

3 

2 

2 

2 

0 

3 

3 

2 

1 

2 

4 

2 

3 

3 

1 

3 

3 

2 

2 

3 

2 

6 

6 

5 

2 

4 

7 

5 

8 

5 

3 

2 

3 

4 

6 

8 

4 

5 

7 

5 

6 

5 

6 

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) & n=894 (Large companies) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions 

81 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State  

In 25 Member States, the largest share of SMEs 
to  say  they  rely  on  their  own  ﬁnancial 
resources  in  their  eﬀorts  to  be  more  resource 
eﬃcient. The proportion selecting this response is 
overall the highest in Romania (86%), followed by 
Austria (80%) and Estonia, Greece and Slovakia 
(all 78%). In France, on the other hand, less than 
half  of  SMEs  (42%)  rely  on  their  own  ﬁnancial 
resources.  

In  Poland  (61%)  and  Italy  (59%),  the  largest 
share  of  SMEs  say  they  rely  on  their  own 
technical  expertise  to  become  more  resource 
In  the  other  Member  States,  the 
eﬃcient. 
proportion selecting this response varies between 
28% in Ireland and 67% in Czechia.  

The highest shares of SMEs relying on external 
support  in  their  eﬀorts  to  be  more  resource 
eﬃcient are observed in Hungary and Malta (both 
33%), followed by Austria and France (both 30%), 
while  the  lowest  ones  are  seen  in  Estonia  (5%) 
and in Latvia and Poland (both 6%). 

82 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q5  Which  type  of  support  does  your  company  rely  on  in  its  eﬀorts  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient? 

[MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(SMEs, EU27) 

Its own ﬁnancial 
resources 

Its own technical 
expertise 

External support 

Other (spontaneous)  Don't know/No answer 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

HR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

61 

71 

69 

77 

55 

68 

78 

60 

78 

59 

42 

66 

50 

69 

58 

74 

66 

64 

70 

64 

80 

60 

56 

86 

73 

78 

61 

66 

50 

43 

53 

67 

48 

59 

61 

28 

44 

44 

33 

38 

59 

41 

50 

50 

35 

41 

49 

42 

63 

61 

42 

40 

62 

61 

55 

57 

23 

26 

14 

18 

24 

27 

5 

26 

16 

26 

30 

12 

26 

15 

6 

15 

24 

33 

33 

29 

30 

6 

12 

8 

20 

22 

22 

15 

3 

3 

4 

1 

5 

5 

1 

0 

2 

5 

4 

3 

0 

4 

1 

3 

2 

4 

2 

1 

0 

0 

4 

1 

3 

1 

1 

3 

6 

16 

3 

4 

7 

6 

5 

8 

2 

9 

9 

7 

2 

4 

9 

7 

5 

7 

5 

4 

0 

4 

8 

1 

3 

6 

2 

8 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green the cell. The highest-ranking type of support for each 
country is shown in dark red and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions 

83 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

A similar picture emerges in the non-EU countries, 
with  the  largest  share  of  SMEs  relying  on  their 
own ﬁnancial resources in their eﬀorts to be more 
resource eﬃcient (between 49% in Iceland and 
74% in Moldova). The share of SMEs relying on 
their own technical expertise is the highest in the 
UK (59%) and the lowest in Albania (12%). 

There is also a large variation across the non-EU 
countries in the proportion of SMEs having taken 
resource  eﬃciency  actions  and  relying  on 
in  their  eﬀorts.  This 
external  support 
proportion  ranges  from  10%  in  Moldova  and 
Iceland  to  about  four  in  ten  SMEs  in  Norway 
(39%) and Switzerland (41%). In the US, 31% 
of SMEs use external support in their eﬀorts to be 
more  resource  eﬃcient  (compared  to  23%,  on 
average, across the EU). 

Q5  Which  type  of  support  does  your  company  rely  on  in  its  eﬀorts  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient? 

[MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(SMEs, non-EU countries) 

Its own ﬁnancial 
resources 

Its own technical 
expertise 

External support 

Other (spontaneous)  Don't know/No answer 

EU27 

UK 

IS 

NO 

CH 

ME 

MD 

MK 

AL 

RS 

TR 

US 

61 

61 

49 

59 

63 

54 

74 

68 

68 

66 

57 

62 

50 

59 

37 

46 

45 

45 

30 

23 

12 

35 

35 

49 

23 

26 

10 

39 

41 

16 

10 

13 

22 

29 

21 

31 

3 

0 

1 

2 

2 

0 

10 

4 

0 

2 

1 

2 

6 

8 

27 

6 

7 

11 

2 

6 

2 

3 

10 

12 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green the cell. The highest-ranking type of support for each 
country is shown in dark red and white font. 
(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=3 299 (SMEs) - Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions 

84 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Trend compared to 2021 

The chart below shows the trend compared  to 
2021  for  the  proportion  of  SMEs  having  taken 
resource  eﬃciency  actions  and  relying  on 
in  their  eﬀorts.  The 
external  support 
proportion of SMEs relying on external support to 
be more resource eﬃcient has decreased by more 
than ﬁve percentage points compared to 2021 in 

Austria (-12 pp, to 30%), Latvia (-10 pp, to 6%), 
Sweden (-9 pp, to 15%), Bulgaria (-7 pp, to 14%), 
Romania (-6 pp, to 8%) and Poland (-6 pp, to 6%) 
The opposite trend is seen in France (+11 pp, to 
30%) and Belgium (+6 pp, to 26%), where there 
are now more SMEs reporting to rely on external 
support. 

Q5

Which type of support does your company rely on in its eﬀorts to be more resource eﬃcient?
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

% External support

33
▲4

33
▲3

30
▼-12

30
▲11

29
▲4

27
▼-1

26
▼-1

26
▲6

26
▼-1

26
▼-5

24
▼-4

24
▼-1

23
▼-1

22
▼-2

22
▼-1

2024

2021

20
▲3

18
▼-3

16
▼-2

15
▼-9

15
▼-5

15
▲1

14
▼-7

12
▲1

12
▼-2

8
▼-6

6
▼-10

6
▼-6

5
▼-3

MT

HU

AT

FR

NL

DE

IT

BE

IE

ES

LU

DK EU27 SK

FI

SI

CZ

EL

SE

CY

LT

BG

HR

PT

RO

LV

PL

EE

(%, EU27) Base: n=12 184 (SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource eﬃciency actions
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

85 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Types of external support used by SMEs to 
be more resource eﬃcient 

SMEs relying on external support in their eﬀorts 
to be more resource eﬃcient were asked for more 
details  about  the  type  of  external  support  they 
receive; they were presented with a list of seven 
types of support. 

More  than  a  third  (35%)  of  SMEs  relying  on 
external  support  in  their  eﬀorts  to  be  more 
resource  eﬃcient  say  they  receive  public 
funding,  such  as  grants,  guarantees  or  loans. 
Over  a  quarter  (28%)  receive  private  funding 
investment  company  or 
from  a  bank, 
venture  capital  fund,  and  one  in  ten  (10%) 
receive  private  funding  from  friends  and 
relatives. 

Another  large  share  of  SMEs  (41%)  relying  on 
external  support  in  their  eﬀorts  to  be  more 
resource eﬃcient receive advice or other non-
ﬁnancial assistance from private consulting 
and  audit  companies,  followed  by  28% 
mentioning  this  type  of  support  from  supply 
chain  partners  and  27%  from  business 
associations  and  clusters.  About  a  quarter 
(26%)  of  SMEs  receive  advice  or  other  non-
ﬁnancial 
public 
administration  in  their  eﬀorts  to  be  more 
resource eﬃcient.  

assistance 

from 

The results for this question are in line with the 
ones  observed  in  2021  (with  no  statistical 
diﬀerences  in  the  proportions  mentioning  each 
type of external support).

Q6

More precisely, which type of external support is it? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

35%

28%

10%

26%

41%

27%

28%

6%

4%

Evolution
2024-2021

=

=

=

▲3

▲2

▼-1

▼-2

=

▼-1

(%, EU27) Base: n=3 095 (SMEs) – Companies relying on external support in their eﬀorts to be
more resource eﬃcient
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

86 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Public and private funding 

Advice and non-ﬁnancial assistance 

The  larger  the  SME  (in  terms  of  number  of 
employees), the more likely they are to receive 
public  funding,  such  as  grants,  guarantees  or 
loans,  for 
implementing  resource  eﬃciency 
measures (from 35% for micro companies using 
external funding to 46% for medium-sized ones; 
the  corresponding  ﬁgure  is  37%  for  companies 
with 250-499 employees and 42% for companies 
500 or more employees). The largest companies, 
with  500+  employees,  are  overall  the  likely  to 
answer that they receive private funding from a 
bank, an investment company or venture capital 
fund (36% vs 28% of SMEs).  

Micro  companies  are  more  likely  than  larger 
SMEs  to  use  private  funding  from  friends  and 
relatives (10% vs 4% of medium-sized SMEs). 

Private  funding  from  a  bank,  an  investment 
company  or  venture  capital  fund 
is  more 
frequently  mentioned  by  gazelles  (39%)  and 
high-growth  SMEs  (41%)  than  by  weak/no-
growth  SMEs  (24%)  and  negative-growth  SMEs 
(27%). 

SMEs in the manufacturing sector are the most 
likely  to  use  public  funding,  such  as  grants, 
guarantees  or  loans,  for  implementing  resource 
eﬃciency  measures  (46%  compared  to  31%-
34% of SMEs in retail and services and 41% in 
the industry sector). Public funding is also more 
frequently  mentioned  by  SMEs  selling  both 
products and services (44%, compared to 30% 
of SMEs selling only products and 31% of SMEs 
selling only services). 

SMEs in the industry sector are more likely than 
their  counterparts  in  other  sectors  to  receive 
private  funding  from  a  bank,  an  investment 
company or venture capital fund (38% compared 
to, for example, 25% of SMEs in retail).  

For  the  diﬀerent  forms  of  advice  and  non-
ﬁnancial  assistance,  it  is  the  larger  SMEs  that 
are  more  likely  to  state  using  this  type  of 
assistance.  For  example,  40%  of  micro 
companies  relying  on  external  support  in  their 
eﬀorts  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient  receive 
advice  or  other  non-ﬁnancial  assistance  from 
private  consulting  and  audit  companies;  this 
proportion  increases  to  48%  for  medium-sized 
SMEs (and to 60% for companies with 250-499 
employees  and  71%  for  companies  with  500+ 
employees). 

Looking  at  SMEs  turnover  values,  there  is  a 
tendency  for  larger  SMEs  to  rely  on  advice  or 
other  non-ﬁnancial  assistance  from  private 
consulting  and  audit  companies:  36%-38%  of 
SMEs  with  a  turnover  of  no  more  than 
€2 000 000, in contrast with 57%-64% of SMEs 
with a higher turnover values. 

An  analysis  by  sector  shows  that  the  lowest 
proportion of SMEs receiving advice or other non-
financial assistance from public administration is 
observed in the retail sector (21%). For advice or 
other  non-financial  assistance  from  private 
consulting and audit companies, the lowest figure 
(34%)  is  observed  for  SMEs  in  the  industry 
sector  (this  type  of  advice  is  also  less  popular 
among SMEs selling  both products and services).  

Due  to  the  smaller  base  size  for  this  question, 
results are not discussed at the individual country 
level.  

87 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q6  More precisely, which type of external support is it? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  
(SMEs, EU27) 

s
a

h
c
u
s

i

g
n
d
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EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

35 

35 

41 

46 

37 

42 

35 

40 

36 

36 

34 

29 

41 

33 

39 

46 

41 

31 

34 

30 

31 

44 

28 

28 

28 

32 

33 

36 

28 

29 

31 

25 

21 

39 

41 

24 

27 

26 

38 

25 

27 

25 

28 

29 

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26 

26 

30 

30 

27 

42 

22 

28 

25 

27 

34 

30 

30 

25 

27 

28 

26 

21 

29 

27 

23 

31 

41 

40 

42 

48 

60 

71 

36 

38 

38 

64 

57 

32 

42 

42 

29 

40 

34 

44 

41 

43 

44 

35 

27 

27 

31 

36 

37 

43 

30 

26 

29 

26 

18 

47 

24 

29 

18 

30 

30 

25 

27 

31 

26 

26 

28 

27 

35 

34 

35 

52 

24 

25 

31 

27 

26 

54 

30 

27 

22 

26 

29 

31 

26 

26 

27 

29 

m
o
r
f

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f

10 

10 

7 

4 

2 

2 

9 

8 

15 

9 

2 

39 

6 

11 

4 

5 

11 

8 

11 

9 

8 

13 

)
s
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(

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6 

6 

5 

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3 

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3 

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5 

(%, EU27) Base: n=3 905 (SMEs) & n=363 (Large companies) – Companies relying on external support in their eﬀorts to 
be more resource eﬃcient 

.

88 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

2.4.  What  would  help  SMEs  most  to 

go green and resource eﬃcient? 

Close to four in ten SMEs (37%) think that 
grants  or  subsidies  would  help  their 
company  the  most  to  be  more  resource 
eﬃcient; as in 2021, this is the most-mentioned 
form of assistance.  

A tool to self-assess how resource eﬃcient their 
company is compared to other companies (15%) 
and  a  database  with  case  studies  showing  the 
beneﬁts  of  resource  eﬃciency  for  companies 
(16%)  are  selected  the  least  frequently.  The 
remaining  forms  of  assistance  are  selected  by 
between  19%  and  25%  of  respondents.  For 

example,  22%  of  SMEs 
that  a 
demonstration of new technologies or processes 
to  improve  resource  eﬃciency  would  help  their 
company the most to be more resource eﬃcient.  

think 

to  say 

SMEs are now somewhat more likely than in 
2021 
that  advice  on  funding 
possibilities  and  ﬁnancial  planning  for 
resource eﬃciency investments would help them 
to become more green and resource eﬃcient (+3 
pp, to 23%). 

About one in seven SMEs (15%) say that none of 
the  measures  and  tools  listed  in  the  survey 
would help them to be more resource eﬃcient.

Q8

Which of the following would help your company the most to be more resource eﬃcient?
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

37%

25%

25%

23%

22%

19%

16%

15%

1%

15%

4%

Evolution
2024-2021
▲1

▼-1

=

▲3

=

▼-1

▲1

=

=

▼-2

=

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

89 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

The following ﬁgure compares the views of SMEs 
not  yet  undertaking  resource  eﬃciency  actions 
and those already undertaking such actions. 

Among  SMEs  already  undertaking  resource 
eﬃciency actions, the proportion selecting the 
diﬀerent  support  measures  and  tools  varies 
between  15%  for  a  tool  to  self-assess  how 
resource eﬃcient their company is and 38% for 
grants or subsidies. Moreover, among these SMEs, 
just  12%  reply  that  none  of  the  measures  and 

tools listed in the survey would help them to be 
more resource eﬃcient.  

Among  SMEs  not  yet  taking  resource 
eﬃciency  actions,  however,  48%  reply  that 
none  of  the  measures  and  tools  listed  in  the 
survey  would  help  them  to  be  more  resource 
eﬃcient and, only for grants and subsidies, more 
than  one  in  ﬁve  respondents  (23%)  reply  that 
these would help them to become more resource 
eﬃcient.

Q8

Which of the following would help your company the most to be more resource eﬃcient?
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

SMEs not (yet) undertaking
resource eﬃciency actions

SMEs already undertaking
resource eﬃciency actions

23%

13%

11%

13%

11%

6%

7%

3%

2%

48%

2%

Grants or subsidies

Better cooperation between companies across
sectors so that new processes to re -use waste and
by-products can be developed
Consultancy on how to improve resource eﬃciency
in your company

Advice on funding possibilities and ﬁnancial
planning for resource eﬃciency investments

Demonstration of new technologies or processes to
improve resource eﬃciency

Clearer rules on the use of secondary raw materials

Database with case studies that show the beneﬁts
of resource eﬃciency for companies

A tool to self-assess how resource eﬃcient your
company is with respect to other companies

Other (spontaneous)

None (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answer

38%

26%

26%

24%

23%

19%

17%

15%

1%

12%

4%

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

90 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

SMEs vs large companies 

Both  among  SMEs  and  large  companies,  the 
largest share of respondents think that grants or 
subsidies  would  help  their  company  the 
most to be more resource eﬃcient (selected 
by 37% of SMEs and 42% of large companies).  

For  some  of  the  other  forms  of  assistance, 
large  companies 
preferences  of  SMEs  and 

deviate;  for  example,  22%  of  SMEs  say  that  a 
demonstration of new technologies or processes 
to  improve  resource  eﬃciency  would  help  them 
the  most;  among  large  companies,  this  view  is 
shared by 30% of respondents. Additionally, while 
25% of large companies think that a tool to self-
assess  how  resource  eﬃcient  their  company  is 
compared  to  other  companies  would  help  their 
company the most; this ﬁgure is again lower for 
SMEs (15%). 

Q8

Which of the following would help your company the most to be more resource eﬃcient?
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

37%

25%

25%

23%

22%

19%

16%

15%

1%

15%

4%

Large companies

Grants or subsidies

Better cooperation between companies across
sectors so that new processes to re -use waste and
by-products can be developed
Consultancy on how to improve resource eﬃciency
in your company

Advice on funding possibilities and ﬁnancial
planning for resource eﬃciency investments

Demonstration of new technologies or processes to
improve resource eﬃciency

Clearer rules on the use of secondary raw materials

Database with case studies that show the beneﬁts
of resource eﬃciency for companies

A tool to self-assess how resource eﬃcient your
company is with respect to other companies

Other (spontaneous)

None (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answer

42%

29%

28%

23%

30%

22%

22%

25%

1%

7%

3%

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies)

91 

 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

In line with the EU average results, in all industrial 
ecosystems, the largest share of SMEs think that 
grants or subsidies would help their company 
the  most  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient.  For 
example, this view is shared by 55% of SMEs in 
in 
‘Textile’,  44% 
‘Electronics’.  

‘Agri-food’  and  41% 

in 

Across most industrial ecosystems, less than one 
in ﬁve SMEs think that none of the measures 
and  tools  listed  in  the  survey  would  help 
them  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient;  in  ‘Health’, 
however,  37%  of  SMEs  reply  that  none  of  the 
measures  and  tools  listed  in  the  survey  would 
help them. 

Q8 

Which  of  the  following  would  help  your  company  the  most  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient? 
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27) 

i

s
e
d
i
s
b
u
s

r
o

s
t
n
a
r
G

51 

44 

37 

39 

34 

41 

37 

38 

36 

36 

41 

36 

55 

36 

Aerospace and defence 

Agri-food 

Construction 

Cultural and creative 
industries 

Digital 

Electronics 

Energy - renewables 

Energy intensive 
industries 

Health 

Mobility - Transport - 
Automotive 
Proximity, social economy 
and civil security 

Retail 

Textile 

Tourism 

e
b

n
a
c

s
t
c
u
d
o
r
p
-
y
b

o
s

s
r
o
t
c
e
s

s
s
o
r
c
a

i

s
e
n
a
p
m
o
c

e
s
u
-
e
r

o
t

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
r
p
w
e
n

t
a
h
t

n
e
e
w
t
e
b

n
o
i
t
a
r
e
p
o
o
c

r
e
t
t
e
B

d
n
a

e
t
s
a
w

d
e
p
o
e
v
e
d

l

n

i

y
c
n
e
i
c
ﬃ
e

e
c
r
u
o
s
e
r

e
v
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r
p
m

i

o
t

w
o
h

n
o

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
C

y
n
a
p
m
o
c

r
u
o
y

s
e
i
t
i
l
i

b
i
s
s
o
p

i

g
n
d
n
u
f

n
o

e
c
i
v
d
A

r
o
f

i

g
n
n
n
a
p

l

l

a
i
c
n
a
n
ﬁ

d
n
a

y
c
n
e
i
c
ﬃ
e

e
c
r
u
o
s
e
r

s
t
n
e
m
t
s
e
v
n

i

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t

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
r
p

w
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n

f
o

r
o

n
o
i
t
a
r
t
s
n
o
m
e
D

i

l

s
e
g
o
o
n
h
c
e
t

y
c
n
e
i
c
ﬃ
e

e
c
r
u
o
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e
r

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v
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p
m

i

f
o

e
s
u

e
h
t

n
o

s
e
u
r

l

r
e
r
a
e
C

l

s
l
a
i
r
e
t
a
m
w
a
r

y
r
a
d
n
o
c
e
s

i

s
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d
u
t
s

e
s
a
c

h
t
i

w
e
s
a
b
a
t
a
D

f
o

s
t
ﬁ
e
n
e
b

e
h
t

r
o
f

y
c
n
e
i
c
ﬃ
e

w
o
h
s

t
a
h
t

e
c
r
u
o
s
e
r

i

s
e
n
a
p
m
o
c

o
t

t
c
e
p
s
e
r

r
u
o
y

t
n
e
i
c
ﬃ
e

h
t
i

w
s
i

e
c
r
u
o
s
e
r

y
n
a
p
m
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c

i

s
e
n
a
p
m
o
c

r
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t
o

w
o
h

s
s
e
s
s
a
-
f
l
e
s

o
t

l

o
o
t
A

29 

32 

28 

25 

24 

12 

22 

30 

12 

28 

30 

23 

29 

19 

12 

22 

22 

26 

29 

14 

30 

17 

24 

24 

21 

24 

24 

33 

20 

30 

24 

20 

17 

27 

19 

26 

24 

25 

25 

23 

19 

29 

18 

22 

26 

20 

26 

16 

21 

30 

20 

22 

16 

20 

23 

20 

21 

13 

22 

18 

12 

13 

18 

23 

17 

20 

20 

17 

28 

27 

9 

18 

18 

14 

23 

25 

25 

8 

10 

17 

20 

13 

17 

15 

6 

12 

16 

17 

15 

24 

17 

10 

22 

10 

19 

14 

9 

11 

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
e
h
t
O

1 

0 

1 

2 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

4 

1 

1 

0 

3 

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

19 

16 

12 

13 

13 

11 

12 

8 

37 

15 

12 

18 

5 

8 

r
e
w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

1 

3 

3 

5 

5 

6 

3 

3 

0 

4 

4 

3 

8 

9 

Note:  The  higher  the  proportion  selecting  a  response,  the  darker  green/red  the  cell.  The  highest-ranking  response  for  each 
ecosystem is shown in dark green and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) 

92 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

Medium-sized SMEs are generally more likely to 
say that the various measures and tools listed in 
the survey would help them to be more resource 
eﬃcient.  For  example,  44%  mention  grants  or 
subsidies, compared to 36% of micro companies. 
In contrast, 15% of micro-companies and 14% of 
small companies reply that none of the measures 
and tools would help them; this ﬁgure is 9% for 
medium-sized  companies.  An  opposite  trend  is 
seen  looking  at  SMEs  with  diﬀerent  turnover 
values. SMEs with the highest turnover values 
(more than €10 000 000) are the most likely to 
say that none of the measures and tools listed in 
the survey would help them to go green (20% vs 
11%-15% for SMEs with lower turnover values). 
There  are,  of  course,  two  possible  reasons  for 
SMEs  to  select  this  response:  (1)  they  ﬁnd  the 
measures listed in the survey not adequate, or (2) 
SMEs  are  not  looking  for  support  (e.g.  because 
they are already resource eﬃcient and/or manage 
to implement measures without support). 

Grants or subsidies to support resource eﬃciency 
eﬀorts  are  more  frequently  mentioned  by 
gazelles  (44%)  and  negative-growth  SMEs 
(44%)  than  by  high-growth  SMEs  (39%)  and 
weak/no-growth  SMEs  (35%).  Gazelles  (38%), 
followed  by  high-growth  SMEs  (28%),  are  also 
more  likely  to  reply  that  advice  on  funding 
possibilities  and  ﬁnancial  planning  for  resource 
eﬃciency investments would help them the most 
(compared to 21% of negative-growth SMEs and 
22% of weak/no-growth SMEs). 

An  analysis  by  sector  shows,  for  example,  that 
SMEs in manufacturing are more likely than their 
counterparts in other sectors to think that grants 
or subsidies would help them the most (43% vs 
36%-37%).  Among  SMEs  in  the  industry  sector, 
30%  say  that  better  cooperation  between 
companies across sectors so that new processes 
to  re-use  waste  and  by-products  can  be 
developed would help them the most; this ﬁgure 
is  somewhat  lower  in  the  other  sectors  (23%-
26%). 

93 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q8 

Which  of  the  following  would  help  your  company  the  most  to  be  more  resource  eﬃcient? 
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

(SMEs, EU27) 

t
a
h
t

i

s
e
d
u
t
s

e
s
a
c

h
t
i

w
e
s
a
b
a
t
a
D

e
c
r
u
o
s
e
r

f
o

s
t
ﬁ
e
n
e
b

e
h
t

w
o
h
s

i

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a
p
m
o
c

r
o
f

y
c
n
e
i
c
ﬃ
e

e
c
r
u
o
s
e
r

w
o
h

s
s
e
s
s
a
-
f
l
e
s

o
t

l

o
o
t
A

h
t
i

w
s
i

y
n
a
p
m
o
c

r
u
o
y

i

s
e
n
a
p
m
o
c

r
e
h
t
o

o
t

t
n
e
i
c
ﬃ
e

t
c
e
p
s
e
r

16 

15 

f
o

e
s
u

e
h
t

n
o

s
e
u
r

l

r
e
r
a
e
C

l

s
l
a
i
r
e
t
a
m
w
a
r

y
r
a
d
n
o
c
e
s

19 

18 

21 

20 

20 

25 

16 

19 

17 

24 

16 

18 

18 

19 

20 

21 

21 

17 

18 

19 

18 

19 

16 

17 

20 

20 

26 

16 

18 

15 

20 

12 

18 

19 

15 

16 

18 

18 

14 

16 

17 

16 

17 

14 

18 

20 

24 

27 

14 

15 

17 

18 

8 

16 

17 

14 

15 

15 

16 

13 

15 

14 

15 

15 

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
e
h
t
O

1 

1 

2 

2 

1 

1 

2 

1 

0 

1 

0 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

2 

1 

2 

1 

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

15 

15 

14 

9 

9 

5 

15 

13 

13 

11 

20 

13 

11 

16 

16 

12 

12 

15 

16 

15 

16 

12 

r
e
w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

4 

4 

3 

2 

4 

1 

4 

5 

4 

2 

6 

6 

3 

4 

2 

4 

2 

4 

5 

3 

5 

4 

t
a
h
t

o
s

s
r
o
t
c
e
s

s
s
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c
a

i

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n
a
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t
s
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p
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d
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b

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a
c

s
t
c
u
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r
p
-
y
b

d
n
a

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w
t
e
b

n
o
i
t
a
r
e
p
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c

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t
t
e
B

e
v
o
r
p
m

i

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t

w
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n
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y
c
n
a
t
l
u
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C

r
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y

n

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e
c
r
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d
n
a

s
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i

b
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s
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i

g
n
d
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u
f

n
o

e
c
i
v
d
A

i

s
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d
i
s
b
u
s

r
o

s
t
n
a
r
G

e
c
r
u
o
s
e
r

r
o
f

i

g
n
n
n
a
p

l

l

a
i
c
n
a
n
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o
t

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
r
p

r
o

i

l

s
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g
o
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n
h
c
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t

y
c
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ﬃ
e

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c
r
u
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s
e
r

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v
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r
p
m

i

s
t
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m
t
s
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v
n

i

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c
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e

w
e
n

f
o

n
o
i
t
a
r
t
s
n
o
m
e
D

EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

37 

25 

25 

23 

22 

36 

40 

44 

38 

49 

40 

36 

38 

36 

28 

44 

39 

35 

44 

43 

37 

36 

36 

36 

35 

39 

25 

23 

25 

28 

31 

24 

26 

23 

30 

26 

29 

22 

26 

25 

23 

30 

26 

23 

24 

25 

26 

24 

26 

29 

30 

25 

22 

25 

27 

28 

29 

26 

26 

24 

22 

23 

24 

26 

24 

23 

24 

27 

23 

25 

22 

24 

23 

25 

24 

26 

27 

17 

33 

28 

22 

21 

26 

24 

24 

23 

23 

22 

26 

22 

22 

28 

29 

33 

21 

21 

23 

24 

23 

21 

21 

22 

22 

23 

26 

20 

21 

21 

21 

23 

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=925 (Large companies) 

94 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

In line with the EU average results, in 25 Member 
States,  the  (joint-)largest  share  of  SMEs  think 
that  grants  or  subsidies  would  help  their 
company the most to be more resource eﬃcient. 
In  ﬁve  Member  States,  at 
least  half  of 
respondents think that grants or subsidies would 
help  them  the  most:  Slovakia  (50%),  Slovenia 
(53%),  Greece  (56%),  Malta  (57%)  and  Cyprus 
(59%). 

In four Member States, at least three in ten SMEs 
reply 
that  better  cooperation  between 
companies  across  sectors,  so  that  new 
processes to reuse waste and by-products can be 
developed, would help them the most to be more 
resource eﬃcient; this applies to Belgium (33%), 
(32%)  and 
the  Netherlands 
Spain 
Romania (30%).  

(32%), 

In 17 Member States, at  least  one in  ﬁve SMEs 
say  that  consultancy  on  how  to  improve 
resource  eﬃciency  in  their  company  would 
help  them  the  most;  in  Italy  (29%),  this  is  the 
most-selected response. This response is overall 
the highest in Spain (38%). 

The  proportion  of  SMEs  answering  that  advice 
on  funding  possibilities  and  ﬁnancial 
planning for resource eﬃciency investments 
would help them  the  most ranges from 12% in 

Hungary  and  the  Netherlands  to  34% 
in 
Lithuania, Malta and Romania. In Portugal, this is 
the most-selected type of support (mentioned by 
29% of SMEs).  

The remaining measures tend to be selected 
by  smaller  numbers  of  SMEs  in  most 
Member  States.  For  example,  in  21  Member 
States,  less  than  20%  of  SMEs  answer  that 
clearer  rules  on  the  use  of  secondary  raw 
materials  would  help  them  the  most  when 
undertaking  resource  eﬃciency  actions;  in  Italy, 
this proportion is higher (28%). 

SMEs  in  France  (9%),  Portugal  (9%)  and  Spain 
(6%) are overall the least likely to say that none 
of  the  measures  and  tools  listed  in  the 
survey would help them to be more resource 
eﬃcient. In Croatia (22%), the Netherlands (23%), 
Germany (24%), Estonia (25%), Hungary (25%), 
Latvia (27%), on the other hand, more than one 
in  ﬁve  SMEs  share  this  view.  It  is  worth  adding 
again  that  there  are,  of  course,  two  possible 
reasons for SMEs to select this response: (1) they 
ﬁnd  the  measures  listed  in  the  survey  not 
adequate,  or  (2)  the  SMEs  are  not  looking  for 
support  (e.g.  because  they  are  already  resource 
eﬃcient and/or manage to implement measures 
without support). 

95 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q8 

Which of the following would help your company the most to be more resource eﬃcient? 
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(SMEs, EU27) 

o
s

s
r
o
t
c
e
s

s
s
o
r
c
a

i

s
e
n
a
p
m
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c

e
s
u
-
e
r

o
t

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
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p
w
e
n

t
a
h
t

n
e
e
w
t
e
b

n
o
i
t
a
r
e
p
o
o
c

r
e
t
t
e
B

e
b

n
a
c

s
t
c
u
d
o
r
p
-
y
b

d
n
a

e
t
s
a
w

d
e
p
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25 

33 

27 

23 

25 

18 

22 

18 

16 

32 

28 

15 

28 

10 

11 

22 

18 

14 

28 

32 

21 

16 

20 

30 

15 

22 

29 

24 

25 

26 

24 

21 

30 

17 

14 

14 

31 

38 

23 

16 

29 

30 

18 

33 

22 

19 

16 

28 

18 

14 

22 

26 

16 

26 

27 

27 

23 

30 

25 

30 

19 

15 

17 

19 

31 

33 

27 

18 

19 

31 

19 

34 

27 

12 

34 

12 

31 

22 

29 

34 

16 

30 

13 

17 

22 

29 

15 

28 

27 

23 

19 

27 

26 

23 

21 

14 

23 

31 

16 

24 

27 

26 

17 

19 

20 

15 

13 

21 

13 

22 

19 

22 

19 

24 

19 

19 

9 

17 

9 

15 

6 

20 

17 

9 

28 

11 

10 

18 

21 

6 

10 

10 

19 

25 

17 

20 

15 

16 

19 

11 

16 

22 

19 

19 

23 

21 

16 

13 

16 

25 

13 

9 

11 

16 

9 

15 

16 

10 

18 

16 

24 

16 

6 

17 

17 

21 

18 

17 

15 

24 

12 

8 

19 

20 

7 

21 

16 

23 

14 

8 

11 

11 

6 

12 

11 

7 

11 

14 

14 

14 

8 

7 

8 

7 

22 

19 

i

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t
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37 

44 

41 

32 

30 

34 

33 

39 

56 

46 

40 

45 

20 

59 

28 

47 

27 

47 

57 

33 

32 

40 

27 

45 

53 

50 

32 

36 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

HR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

)
s
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n
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s
(

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1 

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16 

18 

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24 

25 

10 

12 

6 

9 

22 

14 

18 

27 

18 

14 

25 

13 

23 

13 

16 

9 

11 

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16 

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1 

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0 

1 

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4 

6 

2 

5 

12 

3 

0 

3 

1 

6 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green/red the cell. The highest-ranking response for each country 
is shown in dark green and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

96 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

For  most  types  of  support  listed  in  the  survey, 
SMEs in the US are less likely than those in the 
EU to say that these would help to become more 
resource eﬃcient. For example, 29% of SMEs in 
the  US  answer  that  grants  or  subsidies  would 
help  them  the  most,  in  contrast  with  37%  of 
SMEs in the EU.  

More  than  four  in  ten  SMEs  in  the  UK  (43%), 
North  Macedonia  (43%),  Switzerland  (46%),  
Moldova (49%), Serbia (56%) and Montenegro 

(61%) reply that grants or subsidies would help 
their SME the most to be more resource eﬃcient. 
This proportion is lower in Albania (25%), Türkiye 
(18%),  Iceland  (23%)  and  Norway  (35%).  In 
Norway,  a  larger  share  of  respondents  (37%) 
think that better cooperation between companies 
across  sectors  (so  that  new  processes  to  reuse 
waste and by-products can be developed) would 
help their  SME the  most. In Türkiye  (29%)  and 
Iceland (33%), the most-mentioned response is 
technologies  or 
a  demonstration  of  new 
processes to improve resource eﬃciency. 

Q8 

Which of the following would help your company the most to be more resource eﬃcient? 
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(SMEs, non-EU countries) 

d
n
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24 

20 

37 

22 

18 

14 

19 

21 

19 

27 

23 

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16 

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32 

11 

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21 

19 

19 

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37 

43 

23 

35 

46 

61 

49 

43 

25 

56 

18 

29 

EU27 

UK 

IS 

NO 

CH 

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MD 

MK 

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TR 

US 

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15 

f
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12 

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8 

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0 

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N

15 

12 

13 

9 

14 

10 

17 

22 

28 

15 

23 

25 

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e
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a

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w
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k

t
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4 

2 

11 

4 

6 

4 

3 

4 

0 

1 

3 

3 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green/red the cell. The highest-ranking response for each country 
is shown in dark green and white font. 
(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=3 783 (SMEs) 

97 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

3.  Green markets

The  next  two  chapters  of  this  report  focus  on 
green  markets  for  SMEs.  For  the  purpose  of 
this  survey,  green  products  and  services  are 
deﬁned  as  products  and  services  with  a 
predominant 
reducing 
environmental risk and minimising pollution 
and  resources;  this  may  also  include  products 
with  environmental  features  (e.g.  organically 
produced,  eco-labelled,  with  signiﬁcant  recycled 
content, or eco-designed etc.). 

function 

of 

In this chapter, the proportion of SMEs currently 
oﬀering  green  products  or  services 
is 
discussed, as well as the proportion of turnover 
that  green  products  or  services  represent  for 
these  SMEs.  SMEs  selling  products  were  also 
asked about the share  of  recycled  materials 
used in their products and wether they have an 
explicit  policy  in  place  to  extend  the  life 

span  of  their  products  (e.g.  choosing  durable 
materials, 
for 
customers etc.)? 

dedicated 

services 

repair 

3.1.  SMEs  oﬀering  green  products  or 

services  

About one in three (32%) SMEs in the EU oﬀer 
green products or services, with a further 12% 
planning  to  do  so  in  the  next  two  years.  A 
slim majority of SMEs do not oﬀer green products 
or services and have no plans to do so (52%).  

The  proportion  of  SMEs  currently  oﬀering  green 
products or services and the proportion planning 
to  do  so  in  the  next  two  years  have  remained 
about  the  same  as  in  2021.  The  proportion  of 
SMEs not oﬀering green products or services and 
having no plans to do so has decreased by two 
percentage points compared to 2021. 

Q9

Does your company oﬀer green products or services?

(SMEs, EU27)

32%

=

Yes

12%

▲1

No, but you are planning to
do so in the next 2 years

52%

▼-2

No and you are not planning
to do so

4%

▲1

Don't know/No answer

Evolution
2024-2021

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

98 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

SMEs vs large companies 

Large  companies  are  more 
likely  to 
currently  oﬀer  green  products  or  services 
(46%  vs  32%  of  SMEs).  SMEs  and 
large 
companies,  however,  are  as  likely  to  reply  that 
they do not yet oﬀer green products and services, 

but  are  planning  to  do  so  in  the  next  two 
years (both 12%).  

Among large companies, over one third (36%) are 
not  oﬀering  green  products  or  services  and 
having  no  plans  to  do  so;  this  group  still 
represents  a  slim  majority  among  SMEs  (52%,  
-2 pp compared to 2021). 

Does your company oﬀer green products or services

Q9
(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

Large companies

32%

Yes

12%

No, but you are planning to
do so in the next 2 years

52%

No and you are not planning
to do so

46%

12%

36%

4%

Don't know/No answer

6%

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies)

99 

 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

Half  of  SMEs  in  ‘Energy  –  renewables’  answer 
that  their  company  oﬀers  green  products  or 
services; this proportion is 38% in the industrial 
ecosystems  ‘Retail’  and  ‘Agri-food’  and  37%  in 
‘Construction’. 
industrial  ecosystem 
‘Textile’, 23% of SMEs reply that they do not oﬀer 

the 

In 

green  products  or  services  but  have  plans  to 
introduce these in the next two years.  

The  largest  shares  of  SMEs  that  do  not  oﬀer 
green  products  or  services  and  have  no 
plans  to  do  so  are  observed  in  the  industrial 
ecosystems of ‘Digital’ (66%) and ‘Health’ (65%).

3

66

14

18

l

a
t
i
g
D

i

Does your company oﬀer green products or services?

Q9
(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27)

Yes
No, but you are planning to do so in the next 2 years
No and you are not planning to do so
Don't know/No answer

5

47

10

38

l
i

a
t
e
R

0
52

11

38

d
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f
-
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A

5

48

11

37

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6

53

7

35

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(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

11

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3

21

h
t
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4

52

3

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14

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10

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16

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E

100 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

The  largest  SMEs  (with  between  50  and  249 
employees)  are  the  most  likely  to  have  green 
products or services in their oﬀer (36% vs 32%). 
Similarly,  medium-sized  companies  are  slightly 
more  likely  than  micro  and  small  companies 
(15%  vs  11%-12%)  to  plan  to  oﬀer  green 
products  or  services  in  the  next  two  years. 
Comparing  SMEs  in  terms  of  turnover  values, 
the largest diﬀerence is seen between SMEs with 
a turnover between €500 000 and €10 000 000 
and  those  with  lower  or  higher  turnover  values. 
Among  the  former,  36%-38%  are  selling  green 
products or services; among SMEs with lower or 
higher turnover values this share is 29%-30%. 

Gazelles  (37%)  and  high-growth  companies 
(34%) are somewhat more likely than negative-
growth or weak/no-growth companies (both 31%) 

to have green products or services in their oﬀer. 
Among  negative-growth  companies,  57%  say 
that  that  they  do  not  oﬀer  green  products  or 
services and also have no plans to do so. 

One  in  three  SMEs  in  manufacturing  (33%) 
answer that their company oﬀers green products 
or services. Among SMEs in industry (37%) and 
retail (39%), this proportion is somewhat higher 
than  in  manufacturing.  In  the  services  sector, 
however, just 26% of SMEs report to have a green 
oﬀer. 

In  line  with  the  diﬀerences  observed  by  activity 
sector, SMEs are more likely to be selling green 
products  than  green  services.  Among  SMEs 
selling  only  products,  36%  reply  that  they  have 
green products on oﬀer; the corresponding ﬁgure 
for SMEs only selling services is 25%. 

101 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q9  Does your company oﬀer green products or services? 
(SMEs, EU27) 

EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

Yes 

32 

32 

32 

36 

41 

54 

29 

30 

36 

38 

29 

37 

34 

31 

31 

33 

37 

39 

26 

36 

25 

39 

No, but you are 
planning to do so in 
the next 2 years 

No and you are not 
planning to do so 

Don't know/No 
answer 

12 

12 

11 

15 

11 

14 

14 

13 

12 

11 

8 

12 

11 

13 

9 

14 

12 

11 

12 

10 

13 

12 

52 

52 

53 

46 

41 

28 

53 

53 

48 

48 

60 

47 

50 

52 

57 

49 

46 

46 

58 

49 

58 

45 

4 

4 

3 

4 

7 

5 

5 

3 

4 

4 

3 

4 

5 

4 

3 

4 

5 

4 

4 

5 

4 

4 

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies) 

102 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

two  years.  In  another  three  Member  States, 
about  one  in  ﬁve  SMEs  plan  to  launch  green 
products or services in the next two years: 19% 
in Portugal, 20% in Greece and 22% in Romania. 

The  proportion  of  SMEs  not  oﬀering  green 
products or services and having no plans to 
do so remains a majority in 17 Member States, 
with  the  overall  highest  shares  observed  in 
Hungary (75%), Cyprus (72%) and Estonia (70%).  

Results by EU Member State 

At  least  about  one  in  ﬁve  SMEs  across  most 
Member States currently oﬀer green products 
or  services.  SMEs  in  the  Netherlands  (46%), 
followed by those in Austria (42%), Luxembourg 
(40%), Denmark (40%) and Greece (39%), are the 
most likely to be doing so, while those in Hungary 
(16%), Cyprus (17%) and Romania (18%) are the 
least likely.  

SMEs in Ireland (28%) are the most likely to say 
they are not currently oﬀering green products or 
services but are planning to do so in the next 

Does your company oﬀer green products or services?

Q9
(SMEs, EU27)

Yes

3

50

5

46

3

46

5

42

No, but you are planning to do so in the next 2 years

No and you are not planning to do so

Don't know/No answer

2

48

5

49

0
41

5

43

4

4

48

50

5

56

4

53

1

57

3

57

4

4

7

53

53

34

2

56

4

52

3

53

3

61

2

64

8

61

4

58

1

70

4

56

1

72

3

74

18

6

65

37

10

6

20

15

13

12

40

40

39

37

36

28

5

8

8

6

10

10

10

12

16

19

9

35

35

35

35

34

34

34

32

32

32

28

28

26

26

23

22

22

11

9

4

16

22

8

21

11

7

18

17

16

NL

AT

LU

DK

EL

FR

SK

ES

FI

SE

SI

DE

BE

PL

IE MT EU27 IT

LT

PT

LV

CZ

HR

BG

EE

RO

CY

HU

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

103 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

SMEs in the US are about as likely as SMEs in 
the EU to oﬀer green products or services (35% 
and  32%,  respectively).  The  proportion  of  SMEs 
with  plans  to  start  oﬀering  green  products  or 
services is also similar in the US and across the 
EU (9% and 12%, respectively). 

The proportion of SMEs oﬀering green products or 
services is 13% in Türkiye and then increases to 

43% in Switzerland and 52% in Norway. SMEs 
in Switzerland are among the least likely to have 
plans to start oﬀering green products or services 
(5%); this proportion is also low, for example, in 
Iceland  (7%).  SMEs  in  the  latter  two  countries, 
however,  are  likely  to  be  already  oﬀering  green 
products  or  services.  In  Türkiye  (72%)  and 
Albania  (75%),  on  the  other  hand,  more  than 
seven in ten SMEs do not oﬀer green products and 
have not plans to do so in the future. 

Does your company oﬀer green products or services?

Q9
(SMEs, non -EU countries)

Yes
No, but you are planning to do so in the next 2 years
No and you are not planning to do so
Don't know/No answer

4

52

12

32

4

34

10

52

6

45

5

43

4

43

14

39

4

52

9

35

16

46

7

32

8

48

15

30

0

64

8

27

8

55

12

25

1

56

0

75

4

72

18

24

3

22

11

13

EU27

NO

CH

MD

US

IS

UK

ME

MK

RS

AL

TR

(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=3 783 (SMEs)

104 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Trend compared to 2021 

In  ﬁve  Member  States,  the  proportion  of  SMEs 
oﬀering green products or services has decreased 
by more than ﬁve percentage points compared 
to 2021. The largest decreases are observed in 
Cyprus  (-15  pp,  to  17%)  and  Sweden  (-8  pp,  to 

35%).  The  share  of  SMEs  with  plans  to  start 
oﬀering green products or services has decreased 
by  more  than  ﬁve  percentage  points  in  three 
Member States: Croatia (-9 pp, to 9%), Romania 
(-8 pp, to 22%), Latvia (-8 pp, to 4%) and Cyprus 
(-7 pp, to 11%). 

Does your company oﬀer green products or services?

Q9
(SMEs, EU27)

Yes

No, but you are planning to do so in the next 2 years

3
▼-2

46
▲1

5
▼-5

42
▼-2

10
▼-2

40
=

6
▲3

40
▲3

20
▼-5

15
▲5

13
=

12
▲2

28
=

5
▼-3

8
▲3

8
▼-1

6
▼-4

10
▼-3

11
▲2

10
▼-1

12
▲1

16
▲4

19
▼-2

9
▼-2

39
▲3

37
▼-1

36
▼-5

35
▲3

35
▼-6

35
▼-8

35
▼-2

34
▲4

34
▼-1

26
=

32
▲3

32
▲3

32
=

11
▲3

9
▼-9

4
▼-8

16
▲5

28
=

28
▼-3

26
▼-1

26
▲4

23
▲4

22
▼-5

22
▼-1

22
▼-8

11
▼-7

7
▼-3

18
▼-5

17
▼-15

16
▼-6

8
▼-1

21
▼-6

NL

AT

LU

DK

EL

FR

SK

ES

FI

SE

SI

DE

BE

PL

IE MT EU27 IT

LT

PT

LV

CZ

HR

BG

EE

RO

CY

HU

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

105 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

3.2.  Turnover  attributed 
products and services 

to  green 

SMEs oﬀering green products and services were 
also asked how much of their annual turnover of 
the latest available ﬁscal year was attributed to 
these products and services. 

For the largest share (44%) of SMEs selling green 
products  and  services,  these  products  and 
services make up not more than 10% of their 
most recent annual turnover. About one in ﬁve 
(22%)  reply  that  green  products  and  services 
represent between 11% and 50% of their annual 
turnover  and  a  slightly  higher  proportion  (24%) 
answer  that  the  sale  of  such  products  and 
services  makes  up  more  than  50%  of  their 

turnover.  These  results  present  no  signiﬁcant 
change compared to 2021. 

SMEs vs large companies 

Large  companies  are  somewhat  less  likely 
than  SMEs  to  say  that  more  than  50%  of 
their  annual  turnover  comes  from  green 
products or services (20% vs 24%). A similar 
diﬀerence can be noted for the category ‘between 
11%  and  50%’  (22%  vs  11%,  respectively). 
Among  large  companies,  a  larger  share  of 
respondents  could  not  say  how  much  of  their 
annual  turnover  is  attributed  to  green  products 
and services (28% vs 11% for SMEs).  

in 

Diﬀerences 
terms  of  other  business 
demographics  are  minor  and  do  not  reach 
statistical signiﬁcance.

Q10

How much did these green products or services represent in your annual turnover of the
latest available ﬁscal year?

(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

Large companies

18%

6%

22%

44%

More than 75%

51%-75%

11%-50%

Up to 10%

11%

Don't know/No answer

17%

3%

11%

43%

28%

(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (SMEs) & n=397 (Large companies) – Companies oﬀering green products or services

106 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

The  ecosystem  ‘Energy  –  renewables’  stands 
out with 41% of SMEs with a green oﬀer that 
say that the sale of such products and services 
makes up more than 75% of their turnover 
of  the  latest  ﬁscal.  In  the  other  ecosystems, 
this  share  varies  between  7%  (‘Aerospace  and 
defence’)  and  25%  (‘Digital’  and  ‘Cultural  and 
creative industries’).   

Across  almost  all  ecosystems,  a  considerable 
share of SMEs selling green products and services 
report that these products and services make up 
not  more  than  10%  of  their  most  recent 
annual turnover. For example, this response is 
given  by  57%  of  SMEs  in  ‘Tourism’  and  52%  in 
both  ‘Mobility  –  Transport  –  Automotive’  and 
‘Electronics’.

Q10

How much did these green products or services represent in your annual
turnover of the latest available ﬁscal year?

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27)

More than 75%

51%-75%

1%-50%

Up to 10%

Don't know/No answer

4

21

23

11

41

l

s
e
b
a
w
e
n
e
r

-

y
g
r
e
n
E

5

36

25

9

25

7

47

18

3

25

16

49

10

4

21

l

a
t
i
g
D

i

s
e
i
r
t
s
u
d
n

i

e
v

i
t
a
e
r
c

d
n
a

l

a
r
u
t
l
u
C

y
t
i
r
u
c
e
s

l
i

v

i
c

d
n
a

y
m
o
n
o
c
e

l

a
i
c
o
s

,

y
t
i

m
i
x
o
r
P

9

37

27

7

20

n
o
i
t
c
u
r
t
s
n
o
C

5

52

16

9

19

s
c
i
n
o
r
t
c
e
E

l

25

34

21

2
17

d
o
o
f
-
i
r
g
A

12

52

17

2
17

e
v

i
t
o
m
o
t
u
A

-

t
r
o
p
s
n
a
r
T

-

y
t
i
l
i

b
o
M

1
41

40

2
16

s
e
i
r
t
s
u
d
n

i

e
v
i
s
n
e
t
n

i

y
g
r
e
n
E

11

44

7

47

25

31

6

15

l
i

a
t
e
R

1
14

h
t
l
a
e
H

16

46

26

2
11

e

l
i
t
x
e
T

11

57

17

6

9

m
s
i
r
u
o
T

15

33

40

5

7

e
c
n
e
f
e
d

d
n
a
e
c
a
p
s
o
r
e
A

(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (SMEs) – Companies oﬀering green products or services

107 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

Across most Member States, the largest share of 
SMEs selling green products and services answer 
that  these  products  and  services  make  up  not 
more than 10% of their most recent annual 
turnover. This response is given, for example, by 
54% of respondents in Italy, 56% in Luxembourg, 
60% in Malta and 62% in Romania. 

In most of the countries at the leﬅ-hand side of 
the ﬁgure below, SMEs are more likely to say that 
green products or services make up more than 
10%  of  their  annual  turnover.  Moreover,  in 
Austria,  Denmark,  Estonia  and  the  Netherlands, 
about  one  in  three  SMEs  selling  green  products 
and  services  state  that  these  products  and 
services make up more than 50% of their most 
recent annual turnover (between 32% and 35%).

Q10

How much did these green products or services represent in your annual turnover of the latest
available ﬁscal year?

(SMEs, EU27)

More than 75%

51%-75%

11%-50%

Up to 10%

Don't know/No answer

27

6

30

5

34

1

38

10

11

7

12

6

10

9

6

11

54

36

49

37

36

45

30

44

44

3

49

12

14

10

12

42

43

50

48

0
48

4

60

16

33

37

51

8

17

10

20

15

20

21

2

30

31

29

32

7

27

6

26

4

25

26

2

25

15

4

25

20

6

24

11

0
25

32

6

20

37

11

16

22

22

27

26

26

19

19

9

6

6

19

19

18

18

3

18

2

18

1
16

6

16

5

15

25

26

12

11

29

12

15

7

15

14

14

13

17

3

13

2

62

29

38

11

12

46

37

29

23

25

4

9

9

7

6

6

26

56

13

2

2

DK

EE

NL

EL

IT

LV

PT

SE

HR

AT

FI

LT EU27 CZ

HU

BG

FR

ES

CY

DE MT

SK

IE

SI

PL

BE

RO

LU

(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (SMEs) – Companies oﬀering green products or services

108 

 
 
  
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

In the US, 50% of SMEs selling green products 
and  services  answer  that  these  products  and 
services  make  up  not  more  than  10%  of  their 
most recent annual turnover; the average ﬁgure 
for  the  EU  is  somewhat  lower  at  44%.  In 
comparison,  in  Türkiye  (73%),  Montenegro 
(64%) and North Macedonia (63%), more than 

six  in  ten  SMEs  say  the  same  (due  to  smaller 
number  of  interviews  in  Montenegro,  this  ﬁgure 
should be interpreted with caution). 

In  the  UK,  more  than  a  third  of  SMEs  (37%)  
selling  green  products  and  services  state  that 
these products and services make up more than 
50%  of  their  most  recent  annual  turnover;  this 
ﬁgure is also higher in Switzerland (26%).

Q10

How much did these green products or services represent in your annual
turnover of the latest available ﬁscal year?
How much did these green products or services represent in your annual turnover of the latest available ﬁ

(SMEs, non -EU countries)

More than 75%

51%-75%

10%-50%

Up to 10%

Don't know/No answer

11

44

22

6

18

17

23

23

6

31

19

34

21

6

20

7

51

21

6

16

20

26

36

27

4

13

51

10

1
13

1

54

32

0
12

4

49

32

5

11

5

64

16

5

10

19

50

19

5

7

16

63

11

3

7

EU27

UK

CH

RS

IS

MD

AL

NO

ME

US

MK

(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=1 293 (SMEs) – Companies oﬀering green products or services

1
73

15

11

1

TR

109 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Trend compared to 2021 

To analyse the trend in SMEs’ turnover attributed 
to green products or services, the results for this 
question are presented taking into account all 
SMEs (meaning that it is assumed that SMEs not 
selling green products or services also do not have 
any  turnover  attributed  to  these  products  in  the 
latest available fiscal year). 

Across  the  EU,  14%  of  SMEs  say  that  more 
than  10%  of  their  annual  turnover  is 
attributed  to  green  products  and  services; 
this proportion has remained stable compared to 
2021.  

At the individual country level, the total share 
of  SMEs  with  more  than  10%  of  their  annual 
turnover  of  the  last  fiscal  year  attributed  to  the 
sale of green products and services ranges from 
7% in Hungary, Luxembourg and Romania to 28% 
in  the  Netherlands.  The  Netherlands  was  also 
found at the top of the country ranking in 2021. 

In Cyprus, there is a decrease in SMEs with more 
than 10% of turnover attributed to green products 
and  services (-8  pp,  to 9%),  with  the  opposite  is 
seen in Slovenia (+6 pp, to 21%). 

Q10

How much did these green products or services represent in your annual turnover of the latest available
ﬁscal year ? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

% More than 10%

2024

2021

28
▲3

24
▲2

22
▼-1

21
=

21
▲6

20
=

19
▲1

18
▼-4

17
▲1

15
▲1

14
▲1

14
▲2

14
▼-1

14
▲3

13
▼-1

13
▲1

13
=

11
=

11
▼-2

11
=

11
▲3

11
▲1

10
▼-1

10
▲3

9
▼-8

7
▼-1

7
▼-1

7
▼-2

NL

EL

FI

DK

SI

SK

AT

SE

DE

FR EU27 ES

LT

LV

EE

HR

BE MT

PT

PL

CZ

IE

IT

BG

CY

LU

HU

RO

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

110 

 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

3.3.  Share  of  recycled  material  in 

products 

SMEs  selling  products  were  asked  if  they  use 
recycled materials in their products. Among these 
SMEs  selling  products,  56%  report  that  they 
use recycled materials in their products.  

More  speciﬁcally,  3%  say  that  the  share  of 
recycled  materials  in  their  products  is  at  least 
75%, 3% answer that the share is between 50% 
and  74%  and  9%  that  it  is  between  20%  and 
49%.  These  three  proportions  sum  to  15%  – 

meaning  that 15%  of  SMEs  selling  products 
report that the share of recycled materials 
in their products is at least 20%. 

The largest shares of SMEs, however, report that 
the share of recycled materials in their products 
remains  below  20%:  19%  of  SMEs  selling 
products  report  that  between  5%  and  19%  of 
materials in their products are recycled materials 
and 22% that the share is less than 5%. About 
four  in  ten  SMEs  (39%)  have  no  recycled 
materials in their products. 

N2

Does your company use recycled materials in your products?
If yes, what is the share of recycled materials in your products/production?

(SMEs, EU27)

3%
3%
9%
19%
22%
39%
6%

75% and more

Between 50% -74%

Between 20% -49%

Between 5% -19%

Less than 5%

No recycled materials are being used

Don't know/No answer

(%, EU27) Base: n=8 194 (SMEs) – Companies selling products

111 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

SMEs vs large companies 

is  at 

As noted above, 15% of SMEs selling products 
reply that the share of recycled materials in 
their  products 
least  20%;  this 
proportion  is  nearly  the  same  for  large 
companies (16%). The share of companies for 
which the share of recycled materials is between 
5% and 19%, however, is slightly higher among 
SMEs  than  among  large  companies  (19%  vs 
16%). It should, however, also be noted that there 

is  a 
larger  degree  of  uncertainty  among 
respondents in large companies with 17% saying 
that they do not know what the share of recycled 
materials  is  in  their  products;  this  proportion  is 
much lower for SMEs (6%).  

in 

Diﬀerences 
demographics 
signiﬁcance and, as such, are not discussed. 

terms  of  other  business 
statistical 
reach 
do 

not 

N2

Does your company use recycled materials in your products?
If yes, what is the share of recycled materials in your products/production?

(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

Large companies

15%

19%

22%

39%

6%

20% or more

Between 5% -19%

Less than 5%

No recycled materials
are being used

Don't know/No answer

16%

16%

25%

26%

17%

(%, EU27) Base: n=8 194 (SMEs) & n=599 (Large companies) – Companies selling products

112 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

The  share  of  SMEs  selling  products  and  using 
recycled materials in their products varies quite 
substantially  across  ecosystems.  Focusing 
ﬁrst on the share saying they do NOT use recycled 
materials,  this  share  ranges  from  28%  in  both 

‘Cultural  and  creative  industries’  and  ‘Textile’  to 
54% in ‘Electronics’.  

SMEs in ‘Energy – Renewables’ are most likely to 
say  that  at  least  20%  of  materials  used  in 
their products are recycled materials (27%); 
this  ﬁgure  is  also  higher,  for  example,  in  the 
ecosystem ‘Agri-food’ (24%).

N2

Does your company use recycled materials in your products?
If yes, what is the share of recycled materials in your products/production?

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27)

20% or more

Less than 5%

Don't know/No answer

5

28

21

24

22

s
e
i
r
t
s
u
d
n

i

e
v

i
t
a
e
r
c

d
n
a

l

a
r
u
t
l
u
C

2

40

15

15

27

l

s
e
b
a
w
e
n
e
r

-

y
g
r
e
n
E

1
28

29

20

23

e

l
i
t
x
e
T

2
42

17

15

24

d
o
o
f
-
i
r
g
A

4

33

23

24

16

e
v

i
t
o
m
o
t
u
A

-

t
r
o
p
s
n
a
r
T

-

y
t
i
l
i

b
o
M

Between 5%-19%

No recycled materials are being used

7

36

21

20

16

n
o
i
t
c
u
r
t
s
n
o
C

15

42

9

18

16

e
c
n
e
f
e
d

d
n
a
e
c
a
p
s
o
r
e
A

1
50

14

24

12

s
e
i
r
t
s
u
d
n

i

e
v
i
s
n
e
t
n

i

y
g
r
e
n
E

8

32

28

25

7

m
s
i
r
u
o
T

5

41

23

15

16

l
i

a
t
e
R

8

33

35

11

14

h
t
l
a
e
H

7

48

16

13

15

y
t
i
r
u
c
e
s

l
i

v

i
c

d
n
a

y
m
o
n
o
c
e

l

a
i
c
o
s

,

y
t
i

m
i
x
o
r
P

4

53

21

20

2

l

a
t
i
g
D

i

11

54

21

6

9

s
c
i
n
o
r
t
c
e
E

l

(%, EU27) Base: n=8 194 (SMEs) – Companies selling products

113 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

The proportion of SMEs using 20% or more of 
recycled materials in their products/production 
ranges  from  3% 
in  the 
Netherlands and Spain. In Sweden (19%), France 
(20%) and Finland (21%), about one in ﬁve SMEs 
selling  products  report  that  at  least  20%  of 
recycled materials is used. The proportion saying 

Italy  to  24% 

in 

that  the  share  of  recycled  materials  in  their 
products  is  between  5%  and  19%  varies 
between  5%  in  Hungary  and  35%  in  the 
Netherlands. 

Finally,  the  share  of  SMEs  selling  products,  but 
answering  that  no  recycled  materials  are 
being used is the highest in Hungary (77%) and 
the lowest in Spain (28%). 

N2

Does your company use recycled materials in your products?
If yes, what is the share of recycled materials in your products/production?

(SMEs, EU27)

20% or more

Between 5%-19%

Less than 5%

No recycled materials are being used

Don't know/No answer

10

34

1

45

5

29

6

15

34

1

37

8

31

3

44

10

5.50

9

35

39

29

3

45

13

10

7

47

45

43

0
48

2

48

1

42

3

49

13

10

12

41

49

51

2

62

2

38

5

77

6

28

22

1
33

1
47

8

35

5

32

30

18

27

22

13

15

25

24

18

21

22

29

20

19

24

17

27

24

16

25

16

18

18

19

20

24

24

16

19

22

21

12

14

12

20

17

16

15

13

15

17

17

15

23

23

18

31

23

22

12

14

41

19

15

16

17

15

13

15

22

19

22

13

13

14

15

14

13

7

9

3

12

11

10

8

7

7

9

5

5

NL

LU

ES

SE

AT

SI

BE

FI

IE

FR

EL

DE EU27 SK

CZ

DK

BG

PL MT

CY

IT

EE

HR

LT

LV

RO

PT

HU

(%, EU27) Base: n=8 194 (SMEs) – Companies selling products

114 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

In  the  UK  and  the  US,  about  one  in  ﬁve  SMEs 
(both 19%) selling products answer that at least 
20% of the materials they use are recycled 
materials; this share is a few percentage points 
higher than the average EU share (15%).  

In  the  countries  at  the  right-hand  side  of  the 
chart, however, a larger share of SMEs report that 
they  do  not  use  any  recycled  materials  in 
in  North 
their  products;  such  as,  62% 
Macedonia, 59% in Serbia and 55% in Turkey. 

N2

Does your company use recycled materials in your products?
If yes, what is the share of recycled materials in your products/production?

(SMEs, non -EU countries)

20% or more

Less than 5%

Don't know/No answer

Between 5%-19%

No recycled materials are being used

6

39

22

19

15

12

25

24

29

11

8

44

10

19

20

1
34

30

16

19

7

44

17

13

19

2

65

3

11

21

18

34

19

14

15

EU27

NO

MD

UK

US

ME

CH

21

30

28

15

7

IS

1

55

24

11

9

3

59

19

10

9

0
57

29

1
14

5

62

19

5

9

TR

RS

AL

MK

(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=2 491 (SMEs) – Companies selling products

115 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

3.4.  Life span of products 

SMEs vs large companies 

About half of SMEs selling products answer 
that their company has an explicit policy to 
extend  the  life  span  of  their  products  (e.g. 
choosing  durable  materials,  dedicated  repair 
services for customers etc.): 22% say they have 
such a policy for all their products and 25% for 
some of their products. 

Compared  to  SMEs,  large  companies  are 
somewhat  more  likely  to  report  they  have 
an explicit policy to extend the life span of 
their  products  for  all  their  products  (26%  vs 
22%) or for some of their products (27% vs 25%). 

N3

Does your company have an explicit policy to extend the life span of your products ( e.g. choosing
durable materials, dedicated repair services for customers etc.)?

(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

Large companies

22%

25%

52%

2%

Yes, for all of your products

Yes, but only for some of
your products

No

Don't know/No answer

26%

27%

42%

4%

(%, EU27) Base: n=8 194 (SMEs) & n=599 (Large companies) – Companies selling products

116 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

The largest share of SMEs selling products and 
saying  that  they  have  an  explicit  policy  to 
extend  the  life  span  of  their  products  is 
observed  for  the  ecosystem  ‘Construction’ 
(27%  ‘for  all  of  products’  and  27%  ‘for  some 
products’). The ecosystem of ‘Health’ is found 
at the other end of the spectrum with 83% of 

SMEs saying that they do not have such a policy 
in place for any of their products.  

the  ecosystem  of 

Although 
‘Energy  – 
Renewables’ is usually found at the higher end 
of  the  ranking,  when  it  comes  to  the  share  of 
SMEs with a policy to extend the life span of their 
products,  they  rank  closer  to  the  ecosystem  of 
‘Health’, with 61% reporting not to have a policy 
in place for any of their products.

N3

Does your company have an explicit policy to extend the life span of your products
(e.g. choosing durable materials, dedicated repair services for customers etc.)?

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27)

Yes, for all of your products

Yes, but only for some of your products

0
65

1
83

16

18

l

a
t
i
g
D

i

6

11

h
t
l
a
e
H

1
45

27

27

n
o
i
t
c
u
r
t
s
n
o
C

No

2

46

0
49

1
51

3

51

0
53

3

52

Don't know/No answer

2

53

6

52

1
61

14

40

29

33

20

17

16

27

37

25

18

m
s
i
r
u
o
T

23

e
v

i
t
o
m
o
t
u
A

-

t
r
o
p
s
n
a
r
T

-

y
t
i
l
i

b
o
M

29

29

31

e

l
i
t
x
e
T

d
o
o
f
-
i
r
g
A

21

l
i

a
t
e
R

19

y
t
i
r
u
c
e
s

l
i

v

i
c

d
n
a

y
m
o
n
o
c
e

l

a
i
c
o
s

,

y
t
i

m
i
x
o
r
P

8

e
c
n
e
f
e
d

d
n
a
e
c
a
p
s
o
r
e
A

s
e
i
r
t
s
u
d
n

i

e
v

i
t
a
e
r
c

d
n
a

l

a
r
u
t
l
u
C

21

17

l

s
e
b
a
w
e
n
e
r

-

y
g
r
e
n
E

18

24

s
e
i
r
t
s
u
d
n

i

e
v
i
s
n
e
t
n

i

y
g
r
e
n
E

(%, EU27) Base: n=8 194 (SMEs) – Companies selling products

9

55

8

28

s
c
i
n
o
r
t
c
e
E

l

117 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

Some observations can also be made in terms of 
the type of SMEs that are more likely to have 
an explicit policy in place to expand the life 
span  of  their  products. For  example, SMEs in 
manufacturing are more likely to say that they 
have such a policy in place for all of their products 
(29% vs 20% to 23% in the other activity sectors) 
and SMEs in industry are more likely to say they 

have this type of policy in place for some of their 
products  (30%  vs  19%  to  25%  in  the  other 
sectors).  Additionally,  especially  gazelles  are 
more  likely  to  report  that  they  have  an  explicit 
policy  to  extend  the  life  span  of  all  of  their 
products  (33%  vs  e.g.  22%  of  high-growth 
companies).

N3  Does your company have an explicit policy to extend the life span of your products (e.g. choosing 

durable materials, dedicated repair services for customers etc.)? 

(SMEs, EU27) 

Yes, for all of your 
products 

Yes, but only for some 
of your products 

EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

22 

22 

19 

18 

29 

22 

26 

24 

22 

15 

24 

33 

22 

22 

23 

29 

23 

22 

20 

25 

25 

22 

25 

28 

27 

27 

25 

23 

27 

26 

17 

25 

25 

23 

19 

30 

24 

25 

(%, EU27) Base: n=8 194 (SMEs) – Companies selling products

No 

52 

51 

57 

53 

43 

42 

47 

50 

53 

54 

48 

50 

51 

52 

51 

50 

46 

53 

54 

Don't know/No answer 

2 

2 

3 

5 

1 

9 

1 

1 

2 

3 

3 

0 

2 

2 

2 

3 

1 

2 

1 

118 

 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

Between  23%  of  SMEs  selling  products  in 
Germany  and  73%  in  Portugal  report  that  they 
have  an  explicit  policy  to  extend  the  life 
span  of  at  least  some  of  their  products.  In 
Finland and Slovenia, 40% of SMEs report to have 
an explicit policy for all of their products, while 
in  Portugal,  the  largest  share  (45%)  say  they 

have  an  explicit  policy  for  only  some  of  their 
products. 

SMEs  in  Germany  (76%),  followed  by  SMEs  in 
Cyprus  (72%),  are  overall  the  most  likely  to 
answer that they do not have an explicit policy 
to  extend  the  life  span  for  any  of  their 
products.

N3

Does your company have an explicit policy to extend the life span of your products (e.g. choosing
durable materials, dedicated repair services for customers etc.)?

(SMEs, EU27)

Yes, for all of your products

Yes, but only for some of your products

No

Don't know/No answer

0

27

45

28

4

32

0
39

1

40

1

42

2

42

1

43

1

48

1

49

3

48

2

49

2

50

2

51

2

52

0

53

0

54

1

54

2

55

4

54

4

57

4

57

2

59

10

51

0
62

0
62

5

62

0

72

1

76

24

22

40

40

28

29

32

28

20

16

31

29

28

16

25

26

23

21

25

18

17

19

19

18

18

13

30

28

28

24

34

31

31

19

20

20

22

21

22

23

24

23

17

21

20

21

20

25

18

16

15

13

14

9

PT

FI

SI

ES

RO

NL

CZ

EE

LT

AT

BE

FR

SE EU27 IT

LU

BG

IE

PL

DK

HR

SK

LV MT

EL

HU

CY

DE

(%, EU27) Base: n=8 194 (SMEs) – Companies selling products

119 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

SMEs in Norway are the most likely in the non-
EU  countries  to  have  an  explicit  policy  to 
extend the life span of their products (28% 
‘for  all  of  products’  and  36%  ‘for  some 
products’).  In  Switzerland,  24%  of  SMEs 
answer that they have a policy to extend the life 
span of all of their products (vs 28% in Norway), 

but just 14% say they have this type of policy for 
only some of their products (vs 36% in Norway).   

SMEs in Moldova are the most likely to say they 
do  not  to  have  a  policy  in  place  to  extend  the 
lifespan for any of their products (although some 
caution  should  be  exercised  to  interpret  this 
ﬁgure, due to the smaller number of interviews in 
this country).

N3

Does your company have an explicit policy to extend the life span of your products
(e.g. choosing durable materials, dedicated repair services for customers etc.)?

(SMEs, non -EU countries)

Yes, for all of your products

Yes, but only for some of your products

No

3

33

36

28

2

52

25

22

2

43

0

46

1

48

30

27

25

26

32

18

Don't know/No answer

3

53

18

26

17

40

14

30

11

48

12

29

9

53

14

24

4

49

25

22

0

55

34

11

5

65

12

18

EU27

NO

ME

RS

TR

US

UK

MK

IS

AL

CH

MD

(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=2 491 (SMEs) – Companies selling products

120 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

4.  Supporting SMEs with their green oﬀer 

The  analysis  of green markets continues with  a 
review of the types of support SMEs receive for 
producing  their  green  products  or  services.  The 
ﬁnal sections  in this chapter discuss SMEs’ views 
on  the  type  of  support  or  assistance  that 
would  help  them  the  most  to  launch  or 
expand  their  own  range  of  green  products  or 
services. 

4.1.  Type 

of 

the 
support 
production of green products and 
services  

for 

expertise  for  the  production  of  these  products 
and  services.  About  a  quarter  (25%)  of  these 
SMEs  rely  on  external  support.  These  results 
present no signiﬁcant change compared to 2021. 

SMEs vs large companies 

Compared to SMEs, large companies are more 
likely  to  rely  on  their  own  ﬁnancial 
resources (70% vs 60%), their own technical 
expertise (70% vs 57%) and external support 
(29%  vs  26%)  for  the  production  of  green 
products and services. 

Among  SMEs  oﬀering  green  products  and 
services,  60%  rely  on  their  own  ﬁnancial 
resources  and  57%  on  their  own  technical 

Q13

What type of support does your company rely on for the production
of its green products or services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

Its own ﬁnancial resources

60%

Its own technical expertise

57%

External support

25%

Other (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answers

2%

6%

Evolution
2024-2021

▼-2

▲1

▲1

=

▼-1

(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (SMEs) – Companies oﬀering green products or services
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

121 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

Across  ten  of  the  14  industrial  ecosystems,  the 
largest share of SMEs with a green oﬀer say that 
they rely on their own ﬁnancial resources for 
the production of their green products or services 
(e.g. 79% in ‘Tourism’ and 74% in ‘Agri-food’).  

In  line  with  the  results  for  type  of  support  to 
increase  resource  eﬃciency  (see  Section  2.3), 
SMEs  in  ‘Energy – renewables’  stand out with 

86% saying that they rely on their own technical 
expertise  in  their  eﬀorts  to  produce  green 
products or services; this time joined by SMEs in 
‘Construction’  (65%  ‘own  technical  expertise’  vs 
56% ‘own ﬁnancial resources’). 

Across  all  ecosystems,  a  comparatively  lower 
share  rely  on  external  support  for  the 
production  of  their  green  products  or  services 
(e.g. 26% in ‘Cultural and creative industries’ and 
‘Retail’ and 21% in ‘Construction’).   

Q13  What  type  of  support  does  your  company  rely  on  for  the  production  of  its  green  products  or 

services?  [MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27) 

Its own 
ﬁnancial 
resources 

Its own 
technical 
expertise 

External 
support 

Other 
(spontaneous) 

Don't know/ 
No answer 

Aerospace and defence 

Agri-food 

Construction 

Cultural and creative industries 

Digital 

Electronics 

Energy - renewables 

Energy intensive industries 

Health 

Mobility - Transport - Automotive 

Proximity, social economy and civil security 

Retail 

Textile 

Tourism 

30 

74 

56 

67 

67 

43 

72 

92 

93 

59 

63 

52 

50 

79 

71 

73 

65 

57 

64 

53 

86 

46 

27 

56 

49 

50 

40 

49 

14 

23 

21 

26 

23 

54 

31 

16 

3 

30 

32 

26 

18 

21 

2 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

1 

2 

3 

2 

0 

0 

11 

0 

7 

5 

2 

1 

0 

0 

0 

4 

3 

11 

29 

2 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green the cell. The highest-ranking type of support for each 
ecosystem is shown in dark green and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (SMEs) – Companies oﬀering green products or services 

122 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

Although  large  companies  are  more  likely  than 
SMEs to rely on each of the three types of support 
for  the  production  of  their  green  products  and 
services,  among  SMEs  of  diﬀerent  sizes,  the 
diﬀerences  are  much  smaller.  For  example, 
among  micro  companies,  25%  say  they  rely  on 
external  support,  while  among  medium-sized 
companies, this ﬁgure is 31%. 

Due  to  the  smaller  number  of  SMEs  having  a 
green  oﬀer,  most  of  the  diﬀerences  in  types  of 
support  used  across  diﬀerent  types  of  SMEs  do 
no  reach  statistical  signiﬁcance.  Nonetheless, 
there are some signiﬁcant diﬀerences by sector 
of activity. For the production of green products 
and services, SMEs in manufacturing (67%) and 
services (65%) are more likely to rely on their own 
technical  expertise  than  SMEs  in  industry  and 
retail  (both  55%).  SMEs  in  retail  are  the  least 
likely  to  rely  on  their  own  technical  expertise 
(47% vs 60%-68% in the other sectors).  

Q13  What  type  of  support  does  your  company  rely  on  for  the  production  of  its  green  products  or 

services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(SMEs, EU27) 

Its own ﬁnancial 
resources 

Its own technical 
expertise 

External support 

Other 
(spontaneous) 

Don't know/No 
answer 

EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 
€100 001-€500 000 
€500 001-€2 000 000 
€2 000 001-€10 000 000 
More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

60 

60 

63 

65 

68 

73 

66 

55 

65 

63 

48 

70 

57 

61 

59 

67 

55 

55 

65 

59 

62 

59 

57 

57 

59 

60 

68 

72 

55 

60 

56 

58 

60 

62 

63 

54 

65 

68 

62 

47 

60 

51 

59 

59 

25 

25 

28 

31 

26 

32 

24 

22 

24 

30 

30 

31 

25 

25 

26 

24 

19 

28 

26 

27 

25 

24 

2 

2 

4 

5 

2 

1 

2 

2 

2 

1 

0 

1 

2 

2 

1 

2 

2 

2 

1 

2 

2 

2 

6 

6 

4 

6 

3 

7 

7 

5 

5 

5 

2 

10 

4 

6 

9 

4 

8 

10 

3 

10 

4 

6 

(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (SMEs) & n=397 (Large companies) – Companies oﬀering green products or services 

123 

 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

In 18 Member States, SMEs are most likely to say 
they rely on their own ﬁnancial resources for 
the production of green products or services. The 
proportion  selecting  this  response  is  overall  the 
highest  in  Romania  and  Slovakia  (both  84%), 
followed by Lithuania (81%) and Estonia (77%). 
In  Denmark  and  Bulgaria,  less  than  half  of 
respondents rely on their own ﬁnancial resources 
(43% and 49%, respectively).  

In the remaining nine Member States, SMEs are 
more  likely  to  say  they  rely  on  their  own 
technical expertise for the production of green 
products  or  services  than  on  their  own  ﬁnancial 
resources.  In  Slovenia,  82%  of  SMEs  oﬀering 

green products and services say they rely on their 
own  technical  expertise.  This  ﬁgure  is  74%  in 
Slovakia, and 72% in both Italy and Lithuania.  

On average, among SMEs oﬀering green products 
or  services,  24%  say  they  rely  on  external 
support for the production of these products or 
services.  At  the  individual  country  level,  Austria 
stands  out  with  44%  of  SMEs  saying  this, 
followed by Spain (40%) and Belgium (38%). The 
lowest  proportion  of  SMEs  relying  on  external 
support for the production of their green products 
or services is seen in Poland (7%). 

124 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Q13  What  type  of  support  does  your  company  rely  on  for  the  production  of  its  green  products  or 

services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

(SMEs, EU27) 

Its own ﬁnancial 
resources 

Its own technical 
expertise 

External support 

Other (spontaneous)  Don't know/No answer 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

HR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

60 

65 

49 

65 

43 

59 

77 

60 

68 

63 

51 

72 

58 

63 

63 

81 

53 

55 

63 

65 

67 

53 

56 

84 

70 

84 

60 

58 

57 

55 

48 

70 

50 

70 

67 

28 

54 

55 

42 

38 

72 

37 

45 

72 

45 

62 

48 

53 

69 

58 

41 

41 

82 

74 

51 

60 

25 

38 

28 

25 

33 

17 

14 

33 

25 

40 

23 

9 

27 

27 

8 

28 

17 

12 

15 

26 

44 

7 

11 

16 

27 

20 

30 

33 

2 

1 

10 

5 

7 

3 

4 

1 

0 

4 

0 

2 

0 

8 

1 

1 

2 

5 

11 

1 

0 

3 

0 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

6 

13 

6 

2 

10 

11 

3 

3 

2 

2 

7 

10 

1 

4 

9 

0 

12 

9 

9 

4 

5 

17 

15 

4 

2 

2 

4 

9 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green the cell. The highest-ranking type of support for each 
country is shown in dark red and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (SMEs) – Companies oﬀering green products or services 

125 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

There is also a large variation across the non-
EU countries in the proportion of SMEs oﬀering 
green  products  or  services  and  relying  on 
external  support  for  the  production  of  these 

products and services; from 7% in Türkiye to 54% 
in Montenegro (although due to smaller number 
of interviews in this country, this ﬁgure should be 
interpreted  with  caution).  The  ﬁgure  relying  on 
external support in the US (36%) is higher than, 
on average, for EU SMEs (25%). 

Q13  What type of support does your company rely on for the production of its green products or 

services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

(SMEs, non-EU countries) 

Its own ﬁnancial 
resources 

Its own technical 
expertise 

External support 

Other (spontaneous)  Don't know/No answer 

EU27 

UK 

IS 

NO 

CH 

ME 

MD 

MK 

AL 

RS 

TR 

US 

60 

51 

45 

63 

63 

46 

80 

70 

73 

70 

75 

62 

57 

51 

49 

48 

58 

27 

18 

34 

16 

40 

43 

41 

25 

36 

16 

22 

33 

54 

21 

17 

14 

18 

7 

36 

2 

4 

9 

3 

2 

0 

0 

1 

0 

3 

0 

1 

6 

10 

15 

7 

6 

0 

2 

5 

0 

3 

0 

8 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green the cell. The highest-ranking type of support for each 
country is shown in dark red and white font. 
(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=1 293 (SMEs) – Companies oﬀering green products or services 

126 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Types of external support used by SMEs to 
be more resource eﬃcient 

fund,  and  just  over  one  in  ten  (12%)  receive 
private funding from friends and relatives. 

SMEs  relying  on  external  support  for  the 
production  of  green  products  or  services  were 
asked for more details about the type of external 
support they receive; they were presented with a 
list of seven types of support. 

About one in ﬁve SMEs  (19%) relying on external 
support  for  the  production  of  green  products  or 
services say they receive public funding, such as 
grants,  guarantees  or  loans.  A  similar  share 
(18%) report to receive private funding from a 
bank,  investment  company  or  venture  capital 

The  largest  share  (41%)  of  SMEs  relying  on 
external  support  for  the  production  of  green 
products  or  services  receive  advice  or  other 
non-ﬁnancial  assistance  from  supply  chain 
partners,  followed  by  30%  mentioning  this  type 
of  support  from  business  associations  and 
clusters,  and  31%  from  private  consulting  and 
audit  companies.  About  one  in  ﬁve  SMEs  (19%) 
receive  advice  or  other  non-ﬁnancial  assistance 
from public administration.  

Due  to  the  smaller  base  size  for  this  question, 
results are not discussed in more depth.  

DX1

Which type of external support does your company get for the
production of its green products or services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

19%

18%

12%

19%

31%

30%

41%

10%

5%

(%, EU27) Base: n=1 155 (SMEs) – Companies relying on external support for the production
of their green products or services

127 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

4.2.  Support to expand green oﬀer 
SMEs  that  sell  green  products  or  services  were 
asked what kind of support would help them the 
most to expand their green oﬀer.  

Over  four  in  ten  (42%)  of  these  SMEs  say  that 
ﬁnancial incentives for developing products, 
services or new production processes would 
help  them  the  most.  Financial  incentives  are 
much  more 
than 
assistance  with  identifying  potential  markets  or 
or 
customers 

to  be  mentioned 

technical 

support 

(29%), 

likely 

consultancy  for 
the  development  of  new 
products, services or production processes (26%) 
and  consultancy  for  marketing  or  distribution 
(27%).  Nonetheless,  compared  to  2021,  there 
are  now  slightly  more  SMEs  saying  that 
consultancy  for  marketing  or  distribution  would 
help them to expand their green oﬀer (+4 pp). 

Over one in ten SMEs (13%) answer that none of 
the  types  of  support  listed  in  the  survey 
would help them to expand their range of green 
products or services.  

DX3

What type of support would help you the most to expand your range
of green products or services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

42%

29%

26%

27%

4%

13%

5%

Evolution
2024-2021
▼-1

▲2

▼-3

▲4

▲1

=

▼-1

(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (SMEs) – Companies oﬀering green products or services
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

128 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

SMEs vs large companies 

Both among  SMEs  and large  companies, the 
largest share of respondents reply that ﬁnancial 
incentives for developing products, services 
or new production processes would help their 
company the most to expand their oﬀer of green 
products or services (42% and 39%, respectively). 

Compared  to  large  companies,  SMEs  are  more 
likely  to  reply  that  consultancy  services  for 
marketing and distribution would help them (27% 
vs 17%).  Large companies, on the  other hand, 
are  more  likely  than  SMEs  to  mention  technical 
support and consultancy for the development of 
products,  services  and  production  processes 
(35% vs 26%).

DX3

What type of support would help you the most to expand your range of green products or services?
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs vs large companies, EU27)

SMEs

Large companies

42%

Financial incentives for developing products,
services or new production processes

29%

26%

27%

4%

13%

5%

Assistance with identifying potential
markets or customers
Technical support and consultancy for the
development of products, services and
production processes
Consultancy services for marketing or
distribution

Other (spontaneous)

None (spontaneous)

Don't know/No answer

39%

27%

35%

17%

2%

20%

5%

(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (SMEs) – Companies oﬀering green products or services

129 

 
 
  
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

In  line  with  the  EU  average  results,  in  most 
ecosystems, the largest share of SMEs with 
a green oﬀer reply that ﬁnancial incentives 
for  developing  products,  services  or  new 
production  processes  would  help  them  the 
most to expand their oﬀer. For example, this 

view is shared by 55% of SMEs with a green oﬀer 
in ‘Agri-food’ and 60% in ‘Energy – renewables’. 

The table below also shows some variation in the 
preferences  for  diﬀerent  types  of  support  by 
ecosystem; however, due to the small number of 
SMEs  with  a  green  oﬀer  in  various  ecosystems, 
caution  should  be  exercised  when  interpreting 
these diﬀerences. 

DX3  What type of support would help you the most to expand your range of green products or 

services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27) 

s
e
c
i
v
r
e
s

,

s
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

i

g
n
p
o
e
v
e
d

l

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
r
p

n
o
i
t
c
u
d
o
r
p
w
e
n

r
o

r
o
f

s
e
v
i
t
n
e
c
n

i

l

a
i
c
n
a
n
F

i

i

g
n
y
f
i
t
n
e
d

i

h
t
i

w
e
c
n
a
t
s
i
s
s
A

r
o

s
t
e
k
r
a
m

l

a
i
t
n
e
t
o
p

s
r
e
m
o
t
s
u
c

Aerospace and defence 

Agri-food 

Construction 

Cultural and creative industries 

Digital 

Electronics 

Energy - renewables 

Energy intensive industries 

Health 

Mobility - Transport - Automotive 

Proximity, social economy and civil 
security 

Retail 

Textile 

Tourism 

26 

55 

39 

36 

37 

37 

60 

78 

11 

54 

53 

32 

42 

46 

28 

17 

28 

28 

39 

49 

32 

4 

36 

38 

33 

31 

34 

16 

r
o
f

s
e
c
i
v
r
e
s

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
C

n
o
i
t
u
b
i
r
t
s
i
d

r
o

g
n
i
t
e
k
r
a
m

39 

26 

25 

18 

30 

53 

19 

8 

76 

28 

26 

28 

35 

26 

,

s
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

f
o

n
o
i
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

t
n
e
m
p
o
e
v
e
d

l

d
n
a

s
e
c
i
v
r
e
s

d
n
a

t
r
o
p
p
u
s

l

a
c
i
n
h
c
e
T

e
h
t

r
o
f

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
c

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
r
p

16 

29 

31 

28 

23 

22 

21 

16 

13 

15 

29 

20 

45 

36 

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
e
h
t
O

30 

0 

5 

3 

3 

1 

7 

29 

0 

3 

0 

3 

0 

2 

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

5 

20 

12 

18 

14 

9 

7 

10 

4 

9 

7 

19 

2 

9 

r
e
w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

0 

1 

4 

5 

1 

0 

5 

3 

0 

2 

10 

5 

6 

8 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green/red the cell. The highest-ranking type of support for each 
ecosystem is shown in dark green and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (SMEs) – Companies oﬀering green products or services 

130 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

Across all types of SMEs, the largest share think 
that  ﬁnancial 
incentives  for  developing 
products,  services  or  new  production 
processes would help their company the most to 
expand their oﬀer of green products or services 
(between 38% and 47%).  

Due  to  the  smaller  number  of  SMEs  having  a 
green oﬀer, most of the diﬀerences in preferences 
for  various  types  of  support  across  diﬀerent 
categories  of  SMEs  do  no  reach  statistical 
signiﬁcance.  

DX3  What type of support would help you the most to expand your range of green products or services? 

[MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(SMEs, EU27) 

r
o
f

s
e
v
i
t
n
e
c
n

i

l

a
i
c
n
a
n
F

i

,

s
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

w
e
n

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
r
p

i

g
n
p
o
e
v
e
d

l

r
o

s
e
c
i
v
r
e
s

n
o
i
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

h
t
i

w
e
c
n
a
t
s
i
s
s
A

s
r
e
m
o
t
s
u
c

r
o

s
t
e
k
r
a
m

s
e
c
i
v
r
e
s

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
C

r
o

g
n
i
t
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k
r
a
m

r
o
f

n
o
i
t
u
b
i
r
t
s
i
d

d
n
a

t
r
o
p
p
u
s

l

a
c
i
n
h
c
e
T

e
h
t

r
o
f

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
c

f
o

t
n
e
m
p
o
e
v
e
d

l

d
n
a

s
e
c
i
v
r
e
s

,

s
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
r
p

n
o
i
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

l

a
i
t
n
e
t
o
p

i

g
n
y
f
i
t
n
e
d

i

EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 
€100 001-€500 000 
€500 001-€2 000 000 
€2 000 001-€10 000 000 
More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

42 

41 

47 

46 

37 

42 

39 

42 

41 

45 

46 

43 

46 

41 

41 

47 

42 

38 

44 

40 

40 

44 

29 

29 

29 

26 

25 

29 

29 

32 

28 

34 

15 

40 

34 

25 

37 

24 

30 

33 

26 

29 

24 

33 

27 

27 

20 

23 

18 

14 

25 

27 

30 

26 

20 

33 

26 

26 

30 

32 

22 

26 

28 

25 

25 

28 

26 

25 

29 

28 

27 

45 

26 

28 

30 

26 

14 

33 

26 

26 

18 

36 

29 

21 

25 

22 

29 

24 

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
e
h
t
O

4 

4 

3 

1 

2 

3 

6 

2 

3 

1 

6 

0 

3 

4 

3 

2 

6 

2 

4 

3 

4 

4 

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

13 

13 

13 

18 

22 

18 

12 

15 

14 

9 

12 

8 

13 

14 

10 

11 

11 

17 

12 

16 

13 

12 

r
e
w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

5 

5 

4 

3 

7 

4 

3 

3 

5 

4 

18 

1 

3 

6 

1 

3 

4 

5 

6 

4 

8 

3 

(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (SMEs) & n=397 (Large companies) – Companies oﬀering green products or services 

131 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

In line with the EU average results, in 22 Member 
States,  the  largest  share  of  SMEs  selling  green 
that  ﬁnancial 
products  or  services  say 
incentives for developing products, services 
or new production processes would help their 
SME  the  most  to  expand  their  oﬀer.  In  four 
Member  States,  at  least  60%  of  respondents 
think  that  ﬁnancial  incentives  would  help  the 
most:  Lithuania  (75%),  Greece  (71%),  Bulgaria 
(63%) and Croatia (60%). 

Between  10%  of  SMEs  in  Slovenia  and  50%  in 
Cyprus  say  assistance  with 
identifying 
potential  markets  or  customers  would  help 
them  the  most  to  expand  their  oﬀer.  Cyprus  is 
joined at the higher end of the country ranking by 
Spain (41%), Slovakia (38%) and Czechia (37%). 

The results for the remaining types of support are 
similar  to  those  for  assistance  with  identifying 
potential markets or customers. In Sweden, 43% 
of respondents say that technical support and 
the  development  of 
consultancy 

for 

products, services and production processes 
would help them the most. In the countries at the 
bottom  of  the  country  ranking,  less  than  one  in 
ﬁve respondents share this view. Between 13% of 
SMEs in Ireland and 39% in Malta and Romania 
answer 
for 
marketing or distribution would help them the 
most  to  launch  additional  green  products  or 
services. 

that  consultancy  services 

SMEs  selling  green  products  or  services  in 
Belgium  (24%)  and  the  Netherlands  (22%)  are 
the most likely to say that none of the types of 
support listed in the survey would help them to 
expand  their  oﬀer.  In  eight  countries,  less  than 
one in ten respondents say the same (e.g. 3% in 
Ireland and 7% in Greece). As noted earlier in this 
report, there are two possible reasons for SMEs 
to reply that none of the types of support listed 
in the survey would help them: (1) they ﬁnd the 
types  of  support  listed  in  the  survey  not 
adequate, or (2) the SMEs are not looking for/do 
not see a need for support. 

132 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

DX3  What  type  of  support  would  help  you  the  most  to  expand  your  range  of  green  products  or 

services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

(SMEs, EU27) 

r
o
f

s
e
v
i
t
n
e
c
n

i

l

a
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c
n
a
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F

i

,

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p

w
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i

g
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l

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s

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n
o
i
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

HR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

42 

33 

63 

36 

41 

38 

44 

52 

71 

52 

35 

60 

42 

42 

46 

75 

27 

44 

47 

33 

41 

37 

31 

50 

54 

46 

47 

39 

29 

34 

14 

37 

25 

26 

28 

32 

34 

41 

32 

18 

18 

50 

12 

18 

31 

19 

14 

23 

32 

30 

24 

28 

10 

38 

24 

30 

26 

35 

21 

30 

25 

23 

32 

30 

24 

32 

26 

33 

16 

29 

17 

30 

20 

35 

26 

18 

39 

23 

21 

35 

27 

29 

33 

43 

r
o
f

s
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s

y
c
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C

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k
r
a
m

27 

29 

31 

34 

17 

27 

22 

13 

27 

30 

27 

17 

29 

37 

22 

36 

36 

17 

39 

26 

21 

19 

29 

39 

16 

25 

25 

14 

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
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h
t
O

4 

2 

6 

2 

5 

7 

2 

1 

1 

2 

2 

0 

6 

0 

7 

0 

6 

0 

8 

5 

0 

4 

4 

0 

1 

0 

4 

3 

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

13 

24 

6 

10 

13 

19 

17 

3 

7 

8 

15 

13 

8 

6 

13 

9 

12 

15 

16 

22 

11 

16 

11 

6 

15 

12 

12 

12 

r
e
w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
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k

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5 

1 

4 

2 

9 

4 

1 

12 

0 

0 

5 

1 

12 

0 

5 

0 

9 

0 

2 

6 

5 

10 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

4 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green the cell. The highest-ranking type of support for each 
country is shown in dark red and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (SMEs) – Companies oﬀering green products or services 

133 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

In  most  of  the  non-EU  countries,  the  largest 
share of SMEs selling green products or services 
say  that  ﬁnancial  incentives  for  developing 
products,  services  or  new  production 
processes  would  help  their  SME  the  most  to 

expand their oﬀer (between 33% in the UK and 
71% in  Albania). In the  UK, a somewhat  larger 
share of SMEs with a green oﬀer say that none 
of  the  types  of  support  listed  in  the  survey 
would  help  them  to  expand  their  oﬀer  (24%  vs 
3% to 19% in the other non-EU countries).. 

DX3  What  type  of  support  would  help  you  the  most  to  expand  your  range  of  green  products  or 

services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]  

(SMEs, non-EU countries) 

n
o
i
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c
u
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p
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F

i

EU27 

UK 

IS 

NO 

CH 

ME 

MD 

MK 

AL 

RS 

TR 

US 

42 

33 

63 

36 

41 

38 

44 

52 

71 

52 

35 

60 

i

g
n
y
f
i
t
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d

i

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n
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s
A

,

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p

26 

35 

21 

30 

25 

23 

32 

30 

24 

32 

26 

33 

r
o

s
t
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k
r
a
m

l

a
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s
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m
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29 

34 

14 

37 

25 

26 

28 

32 

34 

41 

32 

18 

r
o
f

s
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e
s

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c
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a
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s
n
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C

n
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b
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s
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g
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k
r
a
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27 

29 

31 

34 

17 

27 

22 

13 

27 

30 

27 

17 

)
s
u
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e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

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O

4 

2 

6 

2 

5 

7 

2 

1 

1 

2 

2 

0 

)
s
u
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n
a
t
n
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p
s
(

e
n
o
N

13 

24 

6 

10 

13 

19 

17 

3 

7 

8 

15 

13 

r
e
w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
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k

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'
n
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D

5 

1 

4 

2 

9 

4 

1 

12 

0 

0 

5 

1 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green the cell. The highest-ranking type of support for each 
country is shown in dark red and white font. 
(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=1 293 (SMEs) – Companies oﬀering green products or services 

134 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

4.3.  Support to launch green oﬀer 
SMEs  not  currently  oﬀering  green  products  or 
services were asked what kind of support would 
help them the most to launch a range of green 
products  or  services.  They  were  presented  with 
the  same  list  of  support  measures  as  for  SMEs 
already oﬀering green products or services (see 
previous section). 

Among  SMEs  not  currently  oﬀering  green 
products  or  services,  ﬁnancial  incentives  for 
developing  new  products,  services  or 
production  processes  are  also  the  most-
mentioned type of support (34%). This measure 
is followed by technical support and consultancy 

for  developing  new  products,  services  or 
production processes (22%) and assistance with 
identifying potential customers or markets (18%). 
The  last  type  of  support  –  consultancy  services 
for marketing or distribution – is selected by 13%. 

While  13%  of  SMEs  currently  oﬀering  green 
products or services reply that none of the types 
of support would help them to expand their oﬀer 
(see previous section), among SMEs not oﬀering 
green products or services, nearly three times as 
many respondents (36%) reply that none of the 
support  measures  would  help  them  to 
launch  a  range  of  green  products  or 
services.  

DX4

What type of support would help you the most to launch your
range of green products or services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

(SMEs, EU27)

34%

18%

22%

13%

3%

36%

3%

Evolution
2024-2021

▲3

=

▲3

▼-1

▲1

▼-4

▼-1

(%, EU27) Base: n=8 307 (SMEs) – Companies not oﬀering green products or services

135 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

In  line  with  the  results  for  support  to  expand 
green oﬀer, across most ecosystems, the largest 
share of SMEs not yet having a green oﬀer say 
that  ﬁnancial 
incentives  for  developing 
products,  services  or  new  production 
processes would help the most to launch such 
an  oﬀer.  This  response  is  selected,  for  example, 
by 41% of SMEs without a green oﬀer in ‘Mobility 
–  Transport  –  Automotive’  and  by  29%  in 
‘Proximity, social economy and civil security’. 

SMEs in ‘Health’ (41%) are more likely than their 
counterparts  in  other  ecosystems  to  say  that 
assistance  with  identifying  potential  markets  or 
customers would be needed to launch a range of 
green  products  or  services  and  SMEs 
in 
‘Electronics’  (47%)  are  more  likely  to  refer  to  
Technical  support  and  consultancy  for  the 
development of products, services and production 
processes. 

The  share  of  SMEs  saying  that  none  of  the 
support measures would help them to launch a 
range  of  green  products  or  services  varies 
between 15% in ‘Health’ and 43% in ‘Aerospace 
and defence’.  

DX4  What type of support would help you the most to launch your range of green products or 

services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27) 

s
e
c
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Aerospace and defence 

Agri-food 

Construction 

Cultural and creative industries 

Digital 

Electronics 

Energy - renewables 

Energy intensive industries 

Health 

Mobility - Transport - Automotive 

Proximity, social economy and civil 
security 

Retail 

Textile 

Tourism 

23 

36 

37 

42 

32 

42 

29 

38 

23 

41 

29 

32 

40 

37 

16 

13 

17 

18 

18 

20 

24 

24 

41 

13 

23 

19 

24 

14 

28 

35 

23 

22 

22 

47 

15 

16 

23 

24 

24 

19 

24 

25 

r
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f

s
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s

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c
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u
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n
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s
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g
n
i
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k
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6 

23 

11 

12 

8 

9 

16 

11 

35 

10 

13 

17 

21 

18 

)
s
u
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n
a
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n
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p
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(

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6 

0 

1 

2 

3 

1 

6 

8 

3 

3 

2 

4 

1 

5 

)
s
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(

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o
N

43 

26 

38 

38 

34 

17 

34 

28 

15 

34 

36 

35 

20 

25 

r
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w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
o
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k

t
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D

0 

1 

1 

2 

4 

5 

3 

10 

5 

4 

2 

2 

8 

6 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green/red the cell. The highest-ranking type of support for each 
ecosystem is shown in dark green and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=8 307 (SMEs) – Companies not oﬀering green products or services

136 

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

Most  diﬀerences  by  type  of  SMEs  in  preference 
for  various  types  of  support  do  not  reach 
statistical  signiﬁcance;  for  example,  no  notable 
diﬀerences  are  observed  between  SMEs  and 
large companies. It is, however, worth pointing 

out  that  especially  gazelles  are  more  likely  to 
think  that  assistance  with  identifying  potential 
markets  or  customers  (22%)  and  technical 
support and consultancy for the development of 
products,  services  and  production  processes 
(27%) would help the most to launch a range of 
green products or services.

DX4  What type of support would help you the most to launch your range of green products or 

services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(SMEs, EU27) 

r
o

s
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c
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s

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EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

34 

34 

36 

36 

41 

35 

37 

33 

36 

31 

36 

44 

39 

33 

34 

36 

37 

35 

33 

35 

34 

35 

18 

17 

20 

21 

17 

26 

22 

18 

16 

12 

16 

26 

19 

17 

15 

18 

17 

19 

17 

19 

16 

19 

22 

22 

24 

23 

21 

37 

27 

23 

19 

16 

29 

28 

26 

21 

19 

24 

23 

19 

23 

22 

22 

23 

13 

13 

14 

14 

12 

9 

13 

14 

13 

11 

13 

23 

17 

11 

18 

15 

11 

16 

12 

18 

11 

13 

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
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t
O

3 

3 

3 

4 

1 

1 

1 

2 

3 

6 

0 

1 

3 

3 

3 

2 

2 

5 

2 

4 

2 

3 

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

36 

36 

33 

32 

33 

33 

31 

34 

40 

45 

40 

25 

31 

38 

36 

32 

36 

35 

37 

32 

38 

34 

/

o
N
w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

r
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w
s
n
a

3 

3 

4 

4 

5 

0 

2 

4 

2 

3 

1 

1 

1 

3 

3 

4 

1 

2 

4 

2 

3 

3 

(%, EU27) Base: n=8 307 (SMEs) & n=458 (Large companies) – Companies not oﬀering green products or services 

137 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

In  most  Member  States,  the  largest  share  of 
SMEs  currently  not  selling  green  products  or 
services  say  that  ﬁnancial  incentives  for 
developing  products,  services  or  new 
production processes would help their SME the 
most to launch their own range of green products 
or  services.  This  proportion  is  the  highest  in 
Lithuania (60%), followed by Greece (55%). 

In  Romania,  31%  of  SMEs  currently  not  selling 
green products or services say assistance with 
identifying potential markets or customers 
would  help  them  the  most  to  launch  their  own 
green  products  or  services;  in  Ireland,  Spain, 
Slovakia and Sweden, just over a quarter (27%-
28%) mention this type of support.  

Between 9% of SMEs in Latvia and 40% in Spain 
say  that  technical  support  and  consultancy 
for  the  development  of  products,  services 
and production processes would help them the 
most  to  launch  their  own  green  products  or 
services. Similarly, between 4% of SMEs in Italy 
and  32%  in  Austria  answer  that  consultancy 
services for marketing or distribution would 
help them the most. 

In ten Member States, more than 40% of SMEs 
currently  not  selling  green  products  or  services 
say that none of the support measures listed 
in  the  survey  would  help  them  to  launch  a 
green oﬀer (from 41% in Cyprus to 64% in Malta). 

138 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

DX4  What type of support would help you the most to launch your range of green products or 

services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(SMEs, EU27) 

r
o
f

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EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

HR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

34 

22 

43 

28 

13 

33 

33 

43 

55 

39 

27 

47 

34 

38 

32 

60 

18 

33 

11 

11 

39 

44 

26 

48 

41 

38 

33 

34 

18 

21 

18 

20 

15 

21 

18 

28 

21 

27 

18 

9 

5 

14 

9 

16 

15 

9 

0 

18 

18 

14 

22 

31 

13 

27 

23 

27 

22 

22 

23 

21 

23 

16 

23 

22 

27 

40 

28 

20 

12 

22 

9 

24 

16 

15 

10 

23 

22 

21 

20 

32 

14 

21 

18 

18 

r
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17 

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48 

42 

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17 

25 

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1 

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6 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green the cell. The highest-ranking type of support for each 
country is shown in dark red and white font. 
(%, EU27) Base: n=8 307 (SMEs) – Companies not oﬀering green products or services

139 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

In  all  but  one  of  the  non-EU  countries,  the 
largest share of SMEs currently not selling green 
that  ﬁnancial 
products  or  services  say 
incentives for developing products, services 
or  new  production  processes  would  help 
their SME the most to launch their own range 
of  green  products  or  services.  This  proportion 
varies  between  19%  in  Albania  and  50%  in 

Montenegro. In the US, the proportion selecting 
this type of support is the same as, on average, 
in the EU (33%-34%). 

As  for  the  EU  average  results,  in  ﬁve  non-EU 
countries,  the  largest  share  of  SMEs  reply  that 
none of the types of support listed in the survey 
would  help  them  to  launch  a  range  of  green 
products  or  services  (e.g.  46%  in  Albania  and 
42% in Switzerland).

DX4  What type of support would help you the most to launch your range of green products or services? 

[MULTIPLE ANSWERS] 

(SMEs, non-EU countries) 

n
o
i
t
c
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F

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EU27 

UK 

IS 

NO 

CH 

ME 

MD 

MK 

AL 

RS 

TR 

US 

34 

44 

46 

38 

28 

50 

11 

31 

19 

47 

34 

33 

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3 

3 

Note: The higher the proportion selecting a response, the darker green the cell. The highest-ranking type of support for each 
country is shown in dark red and white font. 
(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=2 300 (SMEs) – Companies not oﬀering green products or services

140 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

5.  Green jobs

that  preserve  or 

At the end of the survey, respondents were asked 
if there are any full-time employees in their SME 
working in green jobs. In the context of the survey, 
a ‘green job’ was deﬁned as one that directly 
deals  with  information,  technologies,  or 
materials 
restore 
environmental quality. This type of job would 
require  specialised  skills,  knowledge,  training  or 
experience 
(e.g.  verifying  compliance  with 
environmental  legislation,  monitoring  resource 
eﬃciency  within  the  company,  promoting  and 
selling green products and services). As such, the 
total  amount  of  green  jobs  measured  by  this 
Eurobarometer  survey 
linked  both  to 
resource-eﬃciency  processes  and  to  the 
production  of  green  products  and  services, 
as well as to compliance with environmental 
legislation.  Examples 
include  a  chemical 
technician  testing  air  samples  for  pollution 
emission  levels  of  the  production  process,  a 

is 

the  production  of 
to 
worker  contributing 
machinery that reduces pollution emissions, or an 
operator  of  renewable  energy  equipment  to 
produce electricity for use within the company. 

As shown in the chart below, just under four in ten 
SMEs  have  at  least  one  full-time  employee 
working  in  a  green  job  some  or  all  of  the 
time:  34%  say  there  are  between  one  and  ﬁve 
‘green’  employees  in  their  SME  and  4%  report 
that  their  number  is  higher  than  ﬁve.  These 
shares are unchanged compared to 2021.  

SMEs vs large companies 

Large companies are more likely than SMEs 
to  have  multiple  employees  working  in  a 
green job: 26% say there are between one and 
ﬁve  ‘green’  employees  in  their  company  and 
another 26% report  that their  number  is higher 
than ﬁve. 

DX5

In your company, how many of your full -time employees, including
yourself, work in green jobs some or all of the time?

(SMEs, EU27)

1%
3%
34%
57%
5%

=

10+ employees

▼-1

▲1

6-9 employees

1-5 employees

=

=

0 employees

Don't know/No answer

Evolution
2024-2021

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

141 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by ecosystem 

There  are  also  diﬀerences  across  the  industrial 
ecosystems  in  the  proportion  of  SMEs  with  at 
least  one  full-time  employee  working  in  a 
green  job  some  or  all  of  the  time.  The 
proportion  of  SMEs  with  one  or  more  ‘green’ 

employees  varies  between  27%  in  ‘Health’  and 
59%  in  ‘Energy  –  renewables’.    In  the  latter 
ecosystem, 52% say there are between one and 
ﬁve  ‘green’  employees  in  their  company  and 
another  7%  report  that  their  number  is  higher 
than ﬁve. 

DX5

In your company, how many of your full -time employees, including yourself,
work in green jobs some or all of the time?

(Ecosystems, SMEs, EU27)

10+ employees

6-9 employees

1-5 employees

0 employees

Don't know/No answer

9

32

52

5

2

l

s
e
b
a
w
e
n
e
r

-

y
g
r
e
n
E

6

45

3

47

45

48

2
2

s
c
i
n
o
r
t
c
e
E

l

1
1

d
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f
-
i
r
g
A

5

53

38

3

1

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v

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t
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m
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A

-

t
r
o
p
s
n
a
r
T

-

y
t
i
l
i

b
o
M

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

9

54

6

55

7

55

9

56

5

57

7

58

6

60

4

61

3

66

1
73

28

3

1

l

a
t
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D

i

22

3

2

h
t
l
a
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H

32

37

35

34

35

28

32

30

4

1

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l
i
t
x
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3

0

m
s
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u
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2

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0

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4

1

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t
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,

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m
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x
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P

142 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Business demographics 

The  largest  SMEs  (with  between  50  and  249 
employees) are the  most likely to have at least 
one  full-time  employee  working  in  a  green  job 
some or all of the time (49% vs 37% for micro 
companies).  Among  SMEs  with  an  annual 
turnover  exceeding €500 000, more  than 40% 
have at least one green employee; the proportion 
is somewhat lower for SMEs with lower turnover 
values (37%). 

High-growth SMEs (42%) and gazelles (41%) 
are also more likely to have at least one full-time 

employee working in a green job some or all of 
the  time  (compared  to  37%  of  weak/no-growth 
SMEs and 36% of negative-growth SMEs).  

SMEs in the services sector are overall the least 
likely to have at least one green employee (36%); 
in  the  other  activity  sectors,  this  ﬁgures  varies 
between  39%  and  42%.  Finally,  SMEs  selling 
products  and  services  (40%)  are  somewhat 
more  likely  than  those  selling  only  products  or 
only services (36%-37%) to have an employee in 
a green job.

143 

 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

DX5  In  your company, how  many of your  full-time  employees, including yourself,  work in green jobs 

some or all of the time? 

(SMEs, EU27) 

10+ employees 

6-9 employees 

1-5 employees 

0 employees 

Don't know/No 
answer 

EU27 (SMEs) 

Company size 
Micro (<10 empl.) 

Small (10-49 empl.) 

Medium-sized (50-249 empl.) 

Large (250-499 empl.) 

Large (500+ empl.) 

Company turnover (2023) 
Up to €100 000 

€100 001-€500 000 

€500 001-€2 000 000 

€2 000 001-€10 000 000 

More than €10 000 000 

Company growth 
Gazelles 

High-growth companies 

Weak/no-growth companies  

Negative-growth companies  

Sector of activity (NACE) 
Manufacturing (C) 

Industry (B/D/E/F) 

Retail (G) 

Services (H/I/J/K/L/M) 

Selling products/services 
Products 

Services 

Both 

1 

0 

12 

18 

13 

43 

0 

0 

1 

3 

2 

2 

2 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

3 

3 

3 

3 

2 

1 

2 

3 

4 

3 

1 

4 

5 

2 

1 

3 

3 

2 

3 

2 

2 

3 

34 

35 

26 

28 

33 

16 

35 

34 

36 

34 

40 

35 

35 

34 

34 

37 

36 

36 

32 

32 

34 

36 

57 

58 

53 

42 

34 

15 

59 

58 

54 

55 

51 

58 

53 

58 

60 

53 

54 

56 

60 

59 

58 

55 

5 

5 

6 

9 

18 

25 

4 

5 

6 

5 

6 

1 

5 

6 

5 

6 

7 

5 

5 

6 

5 

5 

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs) & n=917 (Large companies) 

144 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Results by EU Member State 

The  proportion  of  SMEs  with  at  least  one 
employee  in  a  green  job  (some  or  all  the 
time)  ranges  from  10%  in  Cyprus  to  53%  in 
Slovakia.17  In Italy, Spain and Romania, close to 
half  of  SMEs  (47%-49%)  have  at  least  one 
‘green’  employee.  Other  countries  at  the  lower 

end of the country ranking are Malta (15%) and 
Hungary (14%).  

In  seven  Member  States,  5%  of  SMEs  report  to 
have  between  six  and  nine  employees  in 
green  jobs:  Croatia,  Czechia,  Denmark,  Latvia, 
Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.  

DX5

In your company, how many of your full -time employees, including yourself, work in green jobs
some or all of the time?

(SMEs, EU27)

10+ employees

6-9 employees

1-5 employees

0 employees

Don't know/No answer

2

44

4

47

4

48

6

48

3

52

5

53

10

9

7

11

7

53

55

56

57

57

5

57

4

58

47

44

45

45

39

38

37

30

30

33

34

32

32

5

1

3

2

3

1

1

1

5

1

4

1

5

1

5

2

0
0

0
0

2

1

3

1

5

1

15

60

23

2

1

5

60

1

60

4

61

1

62

5

5

62

66

1

68

1

71

3

74

3

74

6

75

4

83

0
85

0
90

36

30

30

35

29

28

24

25

20

20

5

1

2

1

2

3

2

0

4

1

2

0

5

1

3

1

3

0

3

0

19

1

1

10

14

3

0

1

0

10

0
1

SK

RO

ES

IT

SE

BG

PT

HR

LV

LU

AT EU27 CZ

IE

DK

FI

DE

EL

FR

NL

SI

LT

BE

PL

EE

HU MT

CY

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)

17 Due to rounding, percentages for separate response 
options shown in the charts do not always exactly add 
up to the totals mentioned in the text. 

145 

 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

SMEs in the US are as likely as SMEs in the EU 
to have at least one employee working in a green 
job (37% vs 38%); nonetheless, SMEs in the US 
are  somewhat  more  likely  to  report  having 
between  six  and  nine  employees  in  green  jobs 
(8% vs 3%).  

Among  the  remaining  non-EU  countries,  the 
proportion of SMEs with at least one employee in 
a green job  varies between 13% in Türkiye and 
48%  in  Norway,  and  then  further  increases  to 
64% in Moldova (although due to smaller number 
of interviews in this country, this ﬁgure should be 
interpreted with caution).  

DX5

In your company, how many of your full -time employees, including yourself,
work in green jobs some or all of the time?

(SMEs, non -EU countries)

10+ employees

6-9 employees

1-5 employees

0 employees

Don't know/No answer

5

57

34

3

1

6

30

41

15

8

5

47

39

7

2

EU27

MD

NO

12

57

17

14

1

IS

7

57

25

8

4

1

58

3

60

5

61

6

68

5

69

4

74

4

83

36

3

2

28

27

22

25

8

1

3

3

3

2

0
1

21

1

1

11

2

1

US

RS

ME

CH

MK

UK

AL

TR

(%, non-EU countries) Base: n=3 783 (SMEs)

146 

 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Trend compared to 2021 

Although the average proportion of SMEs across 
the  EU  with  at  least  one  full-time  employee 
working in a green job has remained stable, in a 
number  of  Member  States,  SMEs  are  now 
less likely than in 2021 to report having at 
largest 
least  one  green  employee.  The 
decreases  in  this  ﬁgure  are  seen  in  Croatia  

(-15 pp, to 36%), Cyprus (-15 pp, to 10%), Latvia  
(-13 pp, to 37%) and Slovenia (-13 pp, to 30%). 

On  the  other  hand,  the  share  of  SMEs  with  at 
least one full-time employee working in a green 
job  has 
increased  by  more  than  ﬁve 
percentage  points  in  Spain  (+8  pp,  to  48%), 
France  (+8  pp,  to  34%)  and  Bulgaria  (+7  pp,  to 
43%).

DX5

In your company, how many of your full-time employees, including yourself, work in green jobs some or
all of the time?

(SMEs, EU27)

% At least one employee

53
▼-10

49
▲5

48
▲8

47
▼-4

45
▲2

43
▲7

39
▼-4

38
=

38
▼-2

38
=

37
▼-3

37
▼-13

36
▼-15

36
▲4

36
▲1

35
▲4

34
▲8

32
▼-8

31
▲1

30
▼-13

30
▼-4

28
▼-5

2024

2021

25
▼-5

23
▼-3

20
▼-5

15
▼-4

14
▼-11

10
▼-15

SK

RO

ES

IT

SE

BG

FI

EL

CZ EU27 PT

LV

HR

DK

AT

DE

FR

LU

PL

SI

NL

LT

IE

BE

EE MT

HU

CY

(%, EU27) Base: n=13 124 (SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November -December 2021)

147 

 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

A note about by industrial ecosystems

the 

In this survey, respondents were presented with a 
list  of  industrial  ecosystems  and  were  asked 
which one best describes their SMEs; the values 
in  brackets  in  the  list  of  industrial  ecosystems 
presented  above  are  the  number  of  SMEs 
surveyed  selecting  each  of 
industrial 
ecosystems.  Respondents  were  only  presented 
with  the  industrial  ecosystems  that  match  with 
their sector of activity (NACE 1-digit sectors, from 
B  to  M).  Some  respondents  found  it  diﬃcult  to 
select one of the industrial ecosystems and said 
‘did  not  know’  or  that  none  of  the 
they 
descriptions were applicable. Given that, for each 
industrial  ecosystem,  the  European  Commission 
has identiﬁed core activities, i.e. those that more 
than  the  others  characterise  each  industrial 
ecosystem,  and  these  activities  have  been 
mapped against the NACE classiﬁcation, a post-
data collection coding was applied for those SMEs 
that  could  not  select  their  industrial  ecosystem 
using information from the detailed 2-digit NACE 
sector information of each SME from the sample 
frame. 

In 2020, the European Commission presented its 
industrial strategy.18 The strategy is supported by 
a  focus  on  industrial  ecosystems,  taking  into 
account  all  players  within  a  value  chain.  So  far, 
14  industrial  ecosystems  have  been  identiﬁed 
based  on  their  economic  and  technological 
relevance, and for their expected contribution to 
the decarbonisation, digitalisation and resilience 
industrial 
of 
ecosystems are:  

the  EU  economy.  These  14 

  Aerospace and Defence (n=188) 

  Agri-food (n=406) 

  Construction (n=2 976) 

  Cultural and Creative Industries (n=606) 

  Digital (n=586) 

  Electronics (n=236) 

  Energy Intensive Industries (n=286) 

  Energy-Renewables (n=436) 

  Health (n=109) 

  Mobility-Transport-Automotive (n=1 594) 

  Proximity, Social Economy and Civil Security 

(n=834) 

  Retail (n=3 221) 

  Textile (n=234) 

  Tourism (n=640) 

18 Communication from the European Commission to 
the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of 

the Regions. A New Industrial Strategy for Europe, 
COM/2020/102  ﬁnal  (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52020DC0102)   

148 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Technical speciﬁcations

the 

out 

Aﬀairs 

carried 

Between  3  and  28  June  2024,  Ipsos  European 
Public 
Flash 
Eurobarometer  549  at  the  request  of  the 
European  Commission,  Directorate-General  for 
Internal  Market,  Industry,  Entrepreneurship  and 
SMEs. It is a company survey coordinated by the 
Directorate-General  for  Communication,  “Media 
monitoring and Eurobarometer” Unit.   

Interviews  took  place  with 
United  States). 
someone  with  decision-making  responsibilities 
(managing  director,  general  manager,  CEO, 
ﬁnancial  director), 
the 
(commercial  manager, 
commercial  activities 
sales  manager,  marketing  manager)  or  a  legal 
oﬃcer. All interviews were carried via Computer-
Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI).  

someone 

leading 

in 

enterprises 

This  Flash  Eurobarometer  survey  covers  Small 
and  Medium-Sized 
the 
Manufacturing (NACE category C), Industry (NACE 
categories B/D/E/F), Retail (NACE category G) and 
Services (NACE categories H/I/J/K/L/M) in each of 
the  27  EU  Member  States  and  in  ten  non-EU 
countries  (Iceland,  Norway,  Switzerland,  the 
United  Kingdom,  Montenegro,  Moldova,  North 
Macedonia,  Albania,  Serbia,  Türkiye  and  the 

Margin of error 

Survey results are subject to sampling tolerances. 
The ‘margin of error’ quantiﬁes uncertainty about 
(or conﬁdence in) a survey result.  As a rule,  the 
more  interviews  conducted  (sample  size),  the 
smaller the margin of error. A sample of 500 will 
produce a margin of error of not more than 4.4 
percentage points.  

149 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, green markets and resource eﬃciency 

EU Member States 

Number of 
interviews 
(SMEs/large) 
13 124 / 917(2) 

EU27 

Fieldwork dates 

Start 

End 

Universe of SMEs 
 (absolute 
number)1 

% of EU27 
universe 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

HR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

543 / 59 

475 / 26 

544 / 54 

442 / 61 

571 / 30 

497 / 8 

476 / 28 

566 / 34 

566 / 34 

544 / 57 

493 / 17 

545 / 55 

248 / 4 

502 / 10 

488 / 14 

250 / 3 

3 June 2024 

28 June 2021 

24 170 456 

3 June 2024 

24 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

25 June 2024 

683 181 

334 331 

3 June 2024 

20 June 2024 

1 091 467 

3 June 2024 

25 June 2024 

234 398 

3 June 2024 

20 June 2024 

2 409 321 

3 June 2024 

20 June 2024 

4 June 2024 

21 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

20 June 2024 

110 142 

294 036 

748 848 

3 June 2024 

21 June 2024 

2 539 891 

3 June 2024 

20 June 2024 

3 357 614 

3 June 2024 

25 June 2024 

183 463 

3 June 2024 

21 June 2024 

3 680 602 

3 June 2024 

21 June 2024 

63 925 

3 June 2024 

20 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

27 June 2024 

102 366 

251 396 

3 June 2024 

21 June 2024 

34 816 

468 / 36 

3 June 2024 

21 June 2024 

724 935 

249 / 3 

550 / 52 

455 / 50 

553 / 57 

544 / 59 

595 / 14 

459 / 42 

491 / 10 

473 / 32 

537 / 68 

3 June 2024 

21 June 2024 

43 655 

3 June 2024 

21 June 2024 

1 507 721 

3 June 2024 

21 June 2024 

404 498 

3 June 2024 

21 June 2024 

2 113 723 

3 June 2024 

21 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

25 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

19 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

25 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

20 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

27 June 2024 

814 302 

815 702 

153 209 

507 885 

331 141 

633 888 

100% 

2.83% 

1.38% 

4.52% 

0.97% 

9.97% 

0.46% 

1.22% 

3.10% 

10.51% 

13.89% 

0.76% 

15.23% 

0.26% 

0.42% 

1.04% 

0.14% 

3.00% 

0.18% 

6.24% 

1.67% 

8.75% 

3.37% 

3.37% 

0.63% 

2.10% 

1.37% 

2.62% 

Notes: (1) Universe calculations based on Eurostat Enterprise Statistics and Business Demography, 2022; (2) 8 EU 
respondents did not provide information on exact number of employees. 

150 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Non-EU countries 

Number of 
interviews 
(SMEs/large) 

UK 

IS 

NO 

CH 

ME 

MD 

MK 

AL 

RS 

TR 

US 

435 / 66 

246 / 7 

470 / 30 

444 / 61 

94 / 6 

93 / 6 

498 / 20 

105 / 3 

469 / 32 

454 / 48 

475 / 37 

Fieldwork dates 

Start 

End 

3 June 2024 

21 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

25 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

27 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

25 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

19 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

28 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

24 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

21 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

25 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

26 June 2024 

3 June 2024 

28 June 2024 

151 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

Questionnaire 

Intro_Q1 

ASK ALL 
(READ OUT) I will now ask you a few questions about resource efficiency actions that your 
company may have undertaken. For the purpose of this survey, resource efficiency means 
using natural resources in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner, and this at 
different stages, from supply and production to, for example, waste management. 

ASK ALL 

Q1  What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource efficient? 

(READ OUT - MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE) (ROTATE ITEMS 1 TO 9; ITEMS 11 AND 12 
ARE EXCLUSIVE) 
Saving water 
Saving energy 
Using predominantly renewable energy (e.g. including own production through solar 
panels, etc.) 
Saving materials 
Switching to greener suppliers of materials 
Minimising waste 
Selling your residues and waste to another company 
Recycling, by reusing material or waste within the company 
Designing products that are easier to maintain, repair or reuse 
Other (DO NOT READ OUT) 
None (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - Q1 

1 
2 

3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 

ASK ALL 

Q2  Over the next two years, what are the additional resource efficiency actions that 

your company is planning to implement ? 
(READ OUT - MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE) (ROTATE ITEMS 1 TO 9; ITEMS 11 AND 12 
ARE EXCLUSIVE) 
Save water 
Save energy 
Use predominantly renewable energy (e.g. including own production through solar 
panels, etc.) 
Save materials 
Switch to greener suppliers of materials 
Minimise waste 
Sell your residues and waste to another company 
Recycle, by reusing material or waste within the company 
Designing products that are easier to maintain, repair or reuse 
Other (DO NOT READ OUT) 
None (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - Q2 

1 
2 

3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 

152 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

ASK IF CODE 1 TO 9 IN Q1 

Q3  What impact have the undertaken resource efficiency actions had on the 

production costs over the past two years? The production costs have… 
(READ OUT - ONE ANSWER ONLY) 
Significantly decreased 
Slightly decreased 
Slightly increased 
Significantly increased 
Not changed (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - Q3 

ASK IF CODE 1 TO 9 IN Q1 

Q4  Over the past two years, how much have you invested on average per year to be 

more resource efficient? 
(READ OUT - ONE ANSWER ONLY) 
Nothing 
Less than 1% of annual turnover 
1- 5% of annual turnover 
6-10% of annual turnover 
11-30% of annual turnover 
More than 30% of annual turnover 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - Q4 

ASK ALL 

N1a  Does your company use renewable energy sources? 

(READ OUT - ONE ANSWER ONLY) 
Yes, you purchase energy from a renewable energy supplier 
Yes, you generate renewable energy onsite (e.g. solar panels, wind power) 
No 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
New 

ASK IF CODE 2 IN N1a 

N1b  What share of energy consumed in your company is generated on-site (e.g. via 

solar panels, wind power)? 
(READ OUT - ONE ANSWER ONLY) 
Less than 5% 
Between 5%-19% 
Between 20%-49% 
Between 50%-74% 
75% and more 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
New 

153 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 

1 
2 
3 
4 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

ASK IF CODE 1 TO 9 IN Q1 

Q5  Which type of support does your company rely on in its efforts to be more resource 

efficient? 
(READ OUT - MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE) (ROTATE ITEMS 1 TO 3; ITEM 5 IS 
EXCLUSIVE) 
Its own financial resources 
Its own technical expertise 
External support 
Other (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - Q5 

ASK IF CODE 3 IN Q5 

Q6  More precisely, which type of external support is it? 

(READ OUT - MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE) (ROTATE ITEMS 1 TO 7; ITEM 9 IS EXCLUSIVE) 
Public funding such as grants, guarantees or loans 
Private funding from a bank, an investment company or venture capital fund 
Private funding from friends and relatives 
Advice or other non-financial assistance from public administration 
Advice or other non-financial assistance from private consulting and audit companies 
Advice or other non-financial assistance from business associations and clusters (M) 
Advice or other non-financial assistance from supply chain partners (N) 
Other (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - Q6 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 

ASK IF CODE 1 TO 9 IN Q1 

Q7  Did your company encounter any of the following difficulties when trying to set up 

resource efficiency actions? 
(READ OUT - MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE) (ROTATE ITEMS 1 TO 10; ITEMS 12 AND 13 ARE 
EXCLUSIVE) 
Complexity of administrative or legal procedures 
Difficulty to adapt environmental legislation to your company 
Technical requirements of the legislation not being up to date 
Difficulty in choosing the right resource efficiency actions for your company 
Cost of environmental actions 
Lack of specific environmental expertise 
Lack of supply of required materials, parts, products or services 
Lack of demand for resource efficient products or services 
Complexity associated with environmental labelling and certification 
Complex environmental reporting requirements (N) 
Other (DO NOT READ OUT) 
None (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - Q7 Modified 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 

154 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

ASK ALL 

Q8  Which of the following would help your company the most to be more resource 

efficient? 
(READ OUT - MAX. 3 ANSWERS POSSIBLE) (ROTATE ITEMS 1 TO 8; ITEMS 10 AND 11 ARE 
EXCLUSIVE) 
A tool to self-assess how resource efficient your company is with respect to other 
companies 
Consultancy on how to improve resource efficiency in your company 
Grants or subsidies 
Advice on funding possibilities and financial planning for resource efficiency 
investments 
Demonstration of new technologies or processes to improve resource efficiency 
Database with case studies that show the benefits of resource efficiency for 
companies 
Better cooperation between companies across sectors so that new processes to re-use 
waste and by-products can be developed 
Clearer rules on the use of secondary raw materials 
Other (DO NOT READ OUT) 
None (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - Q8 

ASK ALL 

Q14  Does your company have a concrete strategy in place to reduce your carbon 

footprint and become climate neutral or negative? 
(READ OUT - ONE ANSWER ONLY) 
Yes 
No, but you are planning to define a strategy 
No, and you are not planning to do so 
You are already climate neutral (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - Q14 

ASK IF CODE 1 IN Q14 

Q15  What actions is your company undertaking to be become climate neutral? 

(READ OUT - MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE) (RANDOMISE ITEMS 1 TO 4; ITEMS 6 AND 
7 ARE EXCLUSIVE) 
Generally reducing carbon emissions of your company 
Adopting/purchasing new technological solutions to reduce emissions 
Developing new technological solutions to reduce emissions 
Offsetting carbon emissions by purchasing carbon credits or funding an equivalent 
carbon saving elsewhere 
Other (DO NOT READ OUT) 
None (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - Q15 

1 

2 
3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 
9 
10 
11 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 

1 
2 
3 

4 

5 
6 
7 

155 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

ASK IF CODES 1 TO 3 in SCR16 (SELLING PRODUCTS) 

N2  Does your company use recycled materials in your products? If yes, what is the 

share of recycled materials in your products/production? 
CLARIFY IF NEEDED: This refers to the physical quantity (in kg, liters, etc.) of recycled 
materials. In case different materials are used in your products, choose the material that is 
the most important one. 
(READ OUT - ONE ANSWER ONLY) 
No recycled materials are being used 
Less than 5% 
Between 5%-19% 
Between 20%-49% 
Between 50%-74% 
75% and more 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
New 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 

ASK IF CODES 1 TO 3 in SCR16 (SELLING PRODUCTS) 

N3  Does your company have an explicit policy to extend the life span of your products 
(e.g. choosing durable materials, dedicated repair services for customers etc.)? 
(READ OUT - ONE ANSWER ONLY) 
Yes, for all of your products  
Yes, but only for some of your products  
No 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
New 

1 
2 
3 
4 

INTRO_Q9 

ASK ALL 
(READ OUT) Green products and services are those with a predominant function of reducing 
environmental risk and minimise pollution and resources. For the purpose of this survey, this 
may also include products with environmental features (e.g. organically produced, eco-
labelled, with significant recycled content, or eco-designed…) 

ASK ALL 

Q9  Does your company offer green products or services? 

(READ OUT - ONE ANSWER ONLY) 
Yes 
No, but you are planning to do so in the next 2 years 
No and you are not planning to do so 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - Q9 

1 
2 
3 
4 

156 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

ASK IF CODE 1 IN Q9 

Q10  How much did these green products or services represent in your annual turnover 

of the latest available fiscal year? 
(READ OUT - ONE ANSWER ONLY) 
Up to 5% 
6-10% 
11-30% 
31-50% 
51-75% 
More than 75% 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - Q10 

ASK IF CODE 1 IN Q9 

Q13  What type of support does your company rely on for the production of its green 

products or services? 
(READ OUT - MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE) (ROTATE ITEMS 1 TO 3; ITEM 5 IS 
EXCLUSIVE) 
Its own financial resources 
Its own technical expertise 
External support 
Other (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - Q13 

ASK IF CODE 3 IN Q13 

DX1  Which type of external support does your company get for the production of its 

green products or services? 
(READ OUT - MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE) (ROTATE ITEMS 1 TO 7; ITEM 9 IS 
EXCLUSIVE) 
Public funding such as grants, guarantees or loans 
Private funding from a bank, investment company or venture capital fund 
Private funding from friends or relatives 
Advice or other non-financial assistance from public administration 
Advice or other non-financial assistance from private consulting and audit companies 
Advice or other non-financial assistance from business associations and clusters 
Advice or other non-financial assistance from supply chain partners 
Other (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - DX1 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 

ASK IF CODE 1 IN Q9 

157 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, resource eﬃciency and green markets 

DX3  What type of support would help you the most to expand your range of green 

products or services ? 
(READ OUT - MAX. 2 ANSWERS POSSIBLE) (ROTATE ITEMS 1 TO 4; ITEMS 6 AND 7 ARE 
EXCLUSIVE) 
Financial incentives for developing products, services or new production processes 
Assistance with identifying potential markets or customers 
Technical support and consultancy for the development of products, services and 
production processes 
Consultancy services for marketing or distribution 
Other (DO NOT READ OUT) 
None (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - DX3 

ASK IF CODE 2 OR 3 IN Q9 

DX4  What type of support would help you the most to launch your range of green 

products or services ? 
(READ OUT - MAX. 2 ANSWERS POSSIBLE) (ROTATE ITEMS 1 TO 4; ITEMS 6 AND 7 ARE 
EXCLUSIVE) 
Financial incentives for developing products, services or new production processes 
Assistance with identifying potential markets or customers 
Technical support and consultancy for the development of products, services and 
production processes 
Consultancy services for marketing or distribution 
Other (DO NOT READ OUT) 
None (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - DX4 

1 
2 

3 
4 
5 
6 
7 

1 
2 

3 
4 
5 
6 
7 

INTRO_DX5 

ASK ALL 
(READ OUT) A green job is one that directly deals with information, technologies, or materials 
that preserves or restores environmental quality. This requires specialised skills, knowledge, 
training, or experience (e.g. verifying compliance with environmental legislation, monitoring 
resource efficiency within the company, promoting and selling green products and services). 

DX5 

ASK ALL 
In your company, how many of your full time employees, including yourself, work in 
green jobs some or all of the time? 
(WRITE DOWN NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES) (ITEMS 999997 AND 999998 ARE 
EXCLUSIVE) 
NUMERIC FIELD, 5 DIGITS, FOLLOWED BY: (full-time employees in green jobs) [VALID RANGE 
0-750000, INTEGERS ONLY] 
None (DO NOT READ OUT) 
Don't know/No answer (DO NOT READ OUT) 
FL498 - DX5 

999997 
999998 

158 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Data annex

Q1 What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource efficient? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

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n
w
o

g
n
i
d
u
l
c
n

i

r
a
l
o
s

h
g
u
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r
h
t

d
n
a

s
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u
d
i
s
e
r

r
u
o
y

g
n
i
l
l
e
S

y
n
a
p
m
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c

r
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t
o
n
a
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t

e
t
s
a
w

)
s
u
o
e
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a
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n
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p
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(

r
e
h
t
O

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s
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e
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a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

EU27

66▲5

66▲2

57=

49▲3

48▲1

33=

29▲3

24▲5

22▼-2

2=

6▼-3

r
e
w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

1=

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

77▲8

83▲4

65▲4

55▲7

48▲10

44▲8

34▲9

38▲3

28=

1▼-4

5=

0▼-1

61▲24 60▲30 50▲23 50▲29

27▲8

29▲21 21▲15

10▲6

20▲6

3▼-4

7▼-13

2▼-1

65▲9

75▲4

61▲10

51▲8

47▲2

35▲4

39▲4

17▲7

28▲2

0▼-1

8▼-5

0=

76▲31 63▲31 56▲25 49▲27 42▲16 35▲16 30▲16 34▲22

22▲9

5▲1

7▼-9

1▼-4

66▼-3

59▲2

52▼-2

35▼-7 39▼-11 33▼-1

32▲6

37▲6

22▼-4

52▲6

46▲4

39▼-7

33▲3

36▲9

19▼-1

17▼-1

9▲2

12▼-7

2=

0=

10▼-5

1▼-1

17▼-6

0▼-1

40▲2

49=

24▲3

29=

55▲3

26▼-2

16▼-1

13▲1

8=

1▼-1

3▼-6

3▼-1

67▲15

52▲9

56▲6

48▲10 33▼-14 34▼-3

23▲1

16▲4

15▼-7

0▼-1

13=

84▲6

82=

79▼-6

73▲3

77=

53▼-1

45▲9

26▲8

28▼-6

0▼-1

2▼-3

0=

0=

76▲35 70▲21 51▲11 65▲27

51▲9

39▲14 34▲10

11▲4

24▲3

52▲1

50▼-9

41▼-6

34▼-6

32▼-1

16▼-7

16▼-8

10▲5

17▼-4

58▼-5

79▼-5

56▼-3

38▼-7

48▲5

28▼-4

28▲2

32▲6

22▼-1

57=

41▲7

39▼-5

32▼-5

50▲7

24▲2

13▲3

15▼-3

8▼-2

2▲1

1▲1

2=

0=

6▼-6

0▼-2

14▲3

2▲1

1▼-2

13▼-3

52▼-9

41▼-4

47▼-7

39▼-1

15▼-7

20▼-7

14▼-8

9▲5

17▼-6

5▲3

25▲15

72▲15 63▲15 78▲15 64▲18 33▲18

43▲8

27▲5

18▲8

26▼-1

0▼-3

8=

57▼-1

66▼-3

49▼-5

44=

53▲1

37▼-6

31▼-3

30▲13

31▲5

4▼-1

4▼-3

4=

0=

0=

0=

0=

66▼-3

54▼-4 45▼-16 46▼-4 23▼-12 20▼-9 14▼-13

23▲6

19▼-6

5▲4

17▲10

0▼-1

36▼-1

45▼-3

39▼-7

49=

45▲4

42▲4

24▲1

18▼-6

25▼-2

2▼-1

5▼-4

58▼-5

62▼-8

61▲2

32▼-4

56▲4

26▼-9

28▼-4

41▼-4

31▲7

3▲2

2▼-4

63▼-2

74▲7

55▼-4

44▼-1

47=

35▲7

28▲6

35▲3

21▼-8

0▼-1

2▼-3

0=

1=

0=

64▲7

50▼-3

53▼-2

48▲3

37▲5

23▼-2

14▼-3

15▲6

16▼-6

1▼-1

8▼-11

2▲2

42▼-5

20▼-6

30▼-4

35▼-3

55▲5

14=

10▼-2

17▲8

20▲5

7▲1

4▼-2

5=

54▼-12 47▼-22 45▼-22 42▼-18 34▼-5

34▼-4

26▼-5

11▲3

19▼-7

0▼-1

16▲3

2▲2

43▼-8

51▼-7

38▼-4

28▼-6

37▲1

25▼-9

24▲7

19▲7

15▼-8

5▲1

18▲6

82▲5

82=

74▼-3

78▲6

51▼-2

39▼-5

26▼-8

14▲6

20▼-6

0=

4▲1

0=

0=

65▲6

63▲2

63▲5

38▲7

50▲9

29▲1

36▲6

30▲4

18▼-5

0▼-2

6▼-3

1▲1

69▼-6

76▼-9

76▼-4

39▼-9 57▼-11 39▼-12 33▼-10 42▼-1

17▼-6

2▲1

8▲3

0=

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

159

159

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q1 What actions is your company undertaking to be more resource efficient? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

y
g
r
e
n
e
g
n
i
v
a
S

66

53

35

55

69

38

60

22

21

40

54

68

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

e
t
s
a
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g
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m
n
M

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66

73

55

75

71

48

19

20

9

35

57

78

s
l
a
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t
a
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g
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57

49

41

48

53

28

33

19

19

39

59

67

r
e
t
a
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g
n
i
v
a
S

49

46

18

28

40

35

39

12

16

28

53

61

g
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48

68

34

53

54

16

16

14

16

21

43

68

33

44

31

40

46

25

12

6

4

13

42

48

29

30

23

37

30

4

6

7

6

11

36

46

24

26

20

18

37

8

8

4

7

5

11

14

22

16

18

19

25

17

7

11

6

22

23

25

)
s
u
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e
n
a
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n
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p
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(

r
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t
O

2

1

2

4

2

0

3

10

0

0

0

0

)
s
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n
a
t
n
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p
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(

e
n
o
N

6

1

11

10

4

18

18

35

53

22

15

6

r
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w
s
n
a

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N
w
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k

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n
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D

1

1

4

1

3

0

4

3

0

1

1

0

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs) & n=3 783 (SMEs in non-EU countries)

160

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q2 Over the next two years, what are the additional resource efficiency actions that your company is 
planning to implement? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

y
g
r
e
n
e

e
v
a
S

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t
s
a
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U

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.

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c
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s
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a
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h
g
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a
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p

i

g
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r
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p
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r

,

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n
a
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a
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r
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r
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y
n
a
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c

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s
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r
u
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l
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s
u
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a
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p
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(

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s
u
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n
a
t
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r
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a

/

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N
w
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k

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D

EU27

58▲4

53▲3

47▼-1

45▲4

41▲2

35▲3

34▲4

29▲1

22▼-1

2=

17▼-4

3=

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

77▲18 80▲20 62▲12

57▲9

48▲10

52▲8

59▲9

36▲5

30▼-5

0▼-4

9▼-8

1▼-1

53▲26 57▲33 49▲22 48▲31 31▲17 35▲23 29▲20 27▲22 23▲14

60▲4

65▲3

54▲4

50▲9

41=

35▲3

33▲7

37▲2

29▲2

1=

2=

13▼-16

6▲1

16▼-3

0▼-1

56▲32 46▲31 42▲28 37▲28 38▲23 29▲18 30▲19 21▲11 21▲12

4▼-2

24▼-21

4▼-1

57▲11 43▲11 46▲12

35▲8

36▲7

36▲13 42▲12

26▲7

19=

3▼-2

20▼-14

2▼-1

51▲13 42▲11

43▲8

37▲14

31▲9

23▲3

15▲3

21▲2

12▼-6

1=

20▼-16

1=

29▲5

12▼-2

21▼-1

9=

21▲1

18▼-1

17▲3

16▲3

7▼-3

6▲2

10=

5▼-2

68▲5

51▲4

51▲4

49▲9

41▼-3

43▼-1

40▲11

28=

26▲4

0=

17▲5

84▼-1

85▲3

81▼-5

79▲7

79▲1

65▼-1

50▲5

56▲13

36▼-9

0▼-2

2▼-2

0=

1=

66▲24 62▲14

42▲4

54▲16

43▲7

41▲15 28▲12

28▲3

28▲9

42▼-7

43▼-8

33▼-9

31▼-7 23▼-11 21▼-4

25▼-2

18▼-7

14▼-7

50▼-1

41▼-3

41▼-9

37▼-4

35▲1

21▲1

31▼-3

27▼-3

15=

1=

2=

1=

11▼-2

2▼-2

26▲11

4▲3

22▼-7

5▲1

1▲1

50▲1

37▲6

35▼-2

25▼-5

31▼-1

28▼-3

38=

14=

11▼-8

2▲2

23▲2

44▼-14 34▼-12 44▼-11 32▼-11 14▼-7

23▼-6

17▼-4

20▼-7

20▼-9

3▲2

31▲18

4▲3

80▲19 73▲21 76▲16 72▲19 37▲18 55▲18 46▲19

30▲5

38▲9

1▼-1

8▼-6

0=

33▲1

22▼-5

23▲3

20▼-3

29▲5

18▼-1

19▲1

26▲4

18▲1

8▼-2

17▼-5

4▲3

46▼-13 39▼-9

41▼-6

38▼-4

24▼-3 19▼-12 32▼-3

20▼-8

16▼-5

2▼-2

31▲15

3=

14▼-7

15▼-2

16▲2

11=

11▼-6

19▼-2

24▼-4

6▼-2

8=

14=

28=

15▲5

43▼-1

43=

33▼-4

24▼-2

34▲2

25▼-1

37▼-3

22▼-3

19▼-2

50▼-3

53▲3

39▼-4

33▲2

38▼-1

10▼-3

32▲3

26▲4

26=

49▼-2

44▼-6

41▼-5

42=

34▲4

27▲1

21▲1

17▼-2

19▼-4

2=

1=

1=

22▼-9

7▲2

12▼-8

1▼-11

22▼-3

2▼-1

18▼-2

25▼-2

12▲2

10▲1

17▲3

13▼-3

20▼-3

5▼-5

8▼-1

9▲3

16▲4

11▲1

63▼-13 55▼-18 54▼-18 50▼-17 45▼-11 43▼-22 42▼-2

36▼-9 29▼-18

1=

10▼-3

1=

22▼-22 20▼-25 18▼-15 14▼-16 20▼-8 16▼-19 21▼-3

8▼-6

8▼-12

8▲4

41▲17

0▼-2

81▲4

79▲1

71▼-2

74▲1

53▼-2

47▼-3

30▼-2

32▼-4

30▼-5

2▲2

7▼-1

0=

42=

34▼-3

29▼-6

16▼-5

23▼-6

17▼-5

19▼-3

15▼-6

14▼-7

2▼-1

39▲5

1▼-1

60▼-8 59▼-11 50▼-12 40▼-4

54▼-1

38▼-8 41▼-11 33▼-10 20▼-3

3▲3

18▲7

0▼-3

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

161

161

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q2 Over the next two years, what are the additional resource efficiency actions that your company is 
planning to implement? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

y
g
r
e
n
e

e
v
a
S

58

65

40

52

41

51

51

23

21

32

53

74

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

e
t
s
a
w
e
s
i
m
n
M

i

i

53

63

50

59

33

52

16

21

11

28

51

77

s
l
a
i
r
e
t
a
m
e
v
a
S

47

42

36

47

27

29

47

18

9

22

59

70

r
e
t
a
w
e
v
a
S

45

35

22

22

21

36

42

12

12

19

47

67

g
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b

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R

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i

y
l
t
n
a
n
m
o
d
e
r
p

e
s
U

.

.

g
e
(

y
g
r
e
n
e

e
l
b
a
w
e
n
e
r

n
o
i
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

)
.
c
t
e

,

s
l
e
n
a
p

n
w
o

g
n
i
d
u
l
c
n

i

r
a
l
o
s

h
g
u
o
r
h
t

e
r
a
t
a
h
t

s
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

i

g
n
n
g
i
s
e
D

r
i
a
p
e
r

,

i

i

n
a
t
n
a
m
o
t

r
e
i
s
a
e

e
s
u
e
r

r
o

41

58

31

50

26

28

13

10

20

22

44

68

35

54

23

44

25

10

14

9

4

13

50

55

34

26

25

30

31

20

23

16

12

21

27

28

29

30

16

37

14

9

9

8

5

8

45

50

y
n
a
p
m
o
c

r
e
h
t
o
n
a
o
t

d
n
a

s
e
u
d
i
s
e
r

r
u
o
y

l
l
e
S

e
t
s
a
w

22

16

16

22

12

14

15

15

5

19

27

35

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
e
h
t
O

2

1

5

1

6

0

9

8

0

2

0

0

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

17

9

16

16

29

13

17

32

48

25

19

9

r
e
w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

3

3

12

2

5

3

2

5

6

2

4

1

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs) & n=3 783 (SMEs in non-EU countries)

162

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q3 What impact have the undertaken resource efficiency actions had on the production costs over the past 
two years? The production costs have…

Significantly 
decreased

Slightly 
decreased

Slightly 
increased

Significantly 
increased

Not changed 
(spontaneous)

Don't know/No 
answer

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

4=

6=

1▼-6

3▲1

5=

6▲4

2▼-2

8▲1

6▲2

4▼-2

4▼-1

8▲2

1▼-1

7▲4

1▼-1

4▲3

9▲4

7▲4

4▲1

6▲2

3▼-2

1▼-2

13▲2

5▼-1

6▲3

3=

5▲2

4▲2

26▼-1

26=

43▲9

34▲2

26▲11

22▼-2

35▲7

20=

32▼-5

22▼-2

15▼-6

34▼-6

34▲1

43▲12

27=

36▼-7

28▲4

34▲2

30▲1

19▼-3

37▲3

21▼-5

33▲2

37▲2

27▼-1

31▲7

32▼-3

24▼-6

20▼-1

20▲2

18▲2

22▲1

14▼-4

24▲2

14▲3

28▼-2

18▼-5

27▲2

19▼-10

17▲4

16=

11▼-10

19=

15▲6

26▲5

16▼-1

22▲2

17▲1

19=

18▲2

18=

16=

26▲5

21▼-2

16=

25▲3

16▲5

13▲6

8▼-10

11▲5

5▲1

25▲9

10▼-5

13▼-1

12▲6

18▲5

30▲19

9▼-2

9▲3

7=

17▼-3

2▼-1

2▼-5

12▼-2

6▼-2

6▼-2

6▲1

21▲5

8=

15▲2

9▲2

9▼-4

6▲1

8▲2

24▼-2

25▼-6

15▼-4

22▼-9

37▼-9

18▼-8

34=

17=

31▲5

24▲2

22▼-3

17▼-4

30▼-1

29▼-8

27▲3

28▲1

23▼-1

24▼-4

21▼-2

24▼-5

23▼-3

20▼-2

21▼-1

18▲2

31▼-3

23▼-4

39▲2

32▲5

11▼-1

9▼-2

15▲9

8=

12▲1

5▼-5

6▼-4

14▲2

3▼-3

5▼-5

11▼-1

14▲6

10▼-3

3▲2

9=

16▼-3

12▼-8

6▲1

18=

28▲6

11=

20▲2

7▼-2

9▼-4

2▼-7

14▲1

3▼-3

8▼-6

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=12 184 (EU SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource efficiency actions 
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

163

163

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q3 What impact have the undertaken resource efficiency actions had on the production costs over the past 
two years? The production costs have…

Significantly 
decreased

Slightly 
decreased

Slightly 
increased

Significantly 
increased

Not changed 
(spontaneous)

Don't know/No 
answer

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

4

8

0

3

3

1

13

8

4

9

8

3

26

17

10

21

20

29

33

26

29

36

34

19

20

24

18

30

21

9

9

14

16

10

12

26

16

9

6

11

9

13

15

24

11

25

25

24

24

28

45

22

35

25

26

20

33

15

14

17

11

13

21

12

12

22

3

8

6

6

8

11

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=12 184 (EU SMEs) & n=3 299 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies undertaking resource efficiency actions 

164

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q4 Over the past two years, how much have you invested on average per year to be more resource efficient?

Nothing

Less than 1% 
of annual 
revenue

1%-5% of 
annual 
revenue

6%-10% of 
annual 
revenue

11%-30% of 
annual 
revenue

More than 
30% of 
annual 
revenue

Don't 
know/No 
answer

26▲1

22▼-3

24▼-2

31▼-4

36▲13

21=

42▲7

12▲2

28▲2

25▲1

36▲6

18▲4

15▼-6

32▲1

35▲2

48▲12

28▲1

16▼-8

17▲2

26▲3

22▲8

35▲2

16▲1

22▼-2

31▲10

27▼-3

34▲7

36▲13

22▲1

19▲1

20▲1

20▼-3

18▲6

18▼-6

22▲3

14▼-1

16▼-6

12▼-7

28▲11

22▼-6

30▲6

27▲4

24▼-3

24▼-2

32▲6

27=

17▼-4

19▼-1

24▲1

24▲1

13=

28▼-1

24▼-5

27▲3

21▼-3

19▼-6

28=

33▼-3

27▲5

27▼-3

17▼-4

32▲3

23=

29▼-4

35▲2

43▲10

17▼-1

34▼-4

23▼-4

24▼-9

21▲1

16▼-2

24▼-3

33▲8

30▼-1

27=

33▼-6

22=

30=

29▲2

21▼-9

28▲3

22▼-8

25▼-2

8▲1

10▲2

14▲1

11▲7

8▲1

10▲2

6▼-3

13=

12=

10▲1

5▼-2

8=

10▲4

8▲6

7▼-1

6▼-6

4=

5▼-4

5▲3

3▼-4

4▼-5

6=

13▲3

11▲1

12▲2

11▲2

13▲8

10=

3=

3▼-2

5▼-1

5▲2

5▲3

3▲1

1▼-5

5▼-2

5▲2

3▼-1

2▼-1

4▲2

2=

3▼-1

4=

1▼-2

0▼-1

5▲1

1=

4▲1

2▼-1

2▼-2

4▼-2

4▼-1

7▲2

2▼-1

4▼-1

5▲1

2▲1

1=

4▲2

3▲2

3=

1=

2=

3▲1

1=

3▲2

2▲1

3▲2

3▲2

3▲2

1=

2▲1

0=

2=

0=

4▲1

2▲1

3▲1

2▼-1

4▲1

2▲1

1▼-3

0▼-3

1▼-1

11▼-3

13▲4

6▼-7

3▼-2

14▼-19

14▲1

4▼-2

24▲4

3=

4▼-7

10▼-13

11▲3

17▼-2

3▼-2

8▲1

3▼-1

12▼-4

12▲4

30=

16▼-1

13▲2

8▼-1

22▼-1

3▼-1

3▼-1

5▼-1

5=

4▼-6

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=12 184 (EU SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource efficiency actions 
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

165

165

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q4 Over the past two years, how much have you invested on average per year to be more resource efficient?

Nothing

Less than 1% 
of annual 
revenue

1%-5% of 
annual 
revenue

6%-10% of 
annual 
revenue

11%-30% of 
annual 
revenue

More than 
30% of 
annual 
revenue

Don't 
know/No 
answer

26

34

40

14

18

43

25

22

25

20

39

19

22

12

19

17

22

2

20

21

10

20

11

18

28

26

24

35

32

12

10

20

29

29

25

29

8

8

2

13

10

17

20

17

16

13

11

11

3

3

2

3

2

13

2

6

1

10

3

7

2

5

0

5

2

2

1

5

3

3

3

1

11

12

13

14

14

11

22

10

16

6

8

16

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=12 184 (EU SMEs) & n=3 299 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies undertaking resource efficiency actions 

166

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

N1a Does your company use renewable energy sources?

Yes, you generate 
renewable energy 
onsite (e.g. solar 
panels, wind power)

Yes, you purchase 
energy from a 
renewable energy 
supplier

No

Don't know/No answer

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

12

34

7

13

14

23

11

9

13

14

6

11

4

11

9

11

11

23

4

10

17

14

9

10

16

9

10

12

23

16

9

12

32

22

15

45

13

17

22

5

32

4

10

14

44

5

25

39

41

15

44

12

21

12

37

44

63

47

83

75

48

53

73

47

74

64

70

83

63

85

79

73

42

71

69

51

42

68

46

78

60

76

47

40

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs)

167

167

2

3

2

1

7

3

2

0

0

4

3

2

2

0

2

3

4

1

3

1

1

4

2

1

2

3

6

5

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

N1a Does your company use renewable energy sources?

Yes, you generate 
renewable energy 
onsite (e.g. solar 
panels, wind power)

Yes, you purchase 
energy from a 
renewable energy 
supplier

No

Don't know/No answer

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

12

16

2

8

25

8

9

8

5

5

3

9

23

33

63

33

23

10

21

20

0

8

5

10

63

50

30

52

46

82

69

71

94

87

92

77

2

1

5

7

7

0

0

1

1

1

0

4

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs) & n=3 783 (SMEs in non-EU countries)

168

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

N1b What share of energy consumed in your company is generated on-site (e.g. via solar panels, wind power)?
Caution: small base size in many countries (n<100)

75% and more

Between 
50%-74%

Between 
20%-49%

Between 
5%-19%

Less than 5%

Don't know/No 
answer

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

17

7

28

6

21

14

3

0

30

18

39

22

1

15

10

51

1

22

0

19

0

19

5

34

37

10

4

24

15

15

21

18

20

13

0

8

4

27

1

16

1

21

8

16

20

29

0

13

10

24

7

11

12

22

9

13

23

32

9

46

12

23

27

8

32

14

10

20

22

13

28

4

1

24

10

11

5

37

27

16

16

38

21

31

20

21

19

13

28

16

37

47

6

14

34

26

42

31

25

20

52

8

45

37

59

12

34

6

6

26

20

18

14

9

18

9

6

18

20

30

27

11

10

8

34

11

15

9

26

11

41

15

26

4

27

22

8

3

30

4

10

16

5

8

14

17

13

8

1

15

6

8

1

9

13

0

0

6

3

6

1

5

0

11

21

1

16

10

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=2 258 (EU SMEs) – Companies generating renewable energy onsite

169

169

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

N1b What share of energy consumed in your company is generated on-site (e.g. via solar panels, wind power)?
Caution: small base size in many countries (n<50)

75% and more

Between 
50%-74%

Between 
20%-49%

Between 
5%-19%

Less than 5%

Don't know/No 
answer

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

17

13

0

8

23

27

0

18

37

3

13

24

15

1

0

1

15

0

2

8

7

3

28

7

23

43

0

26

28

1

77

12

17

18

24

27

20

26

4

25

12

10

0

18

5

21

9

12

14

17

97

14

9

36

13

27

27

22

25

19

10

1

0

27

13

27

7

18

7

34

1

12

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=2 258 (EU SMEs) & n=539 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies generating renewable energy onsite

170

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q5 Which type of support does your company rely on in its efforts to be more resource efficient? 
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

Its own financial 
resources

Its own technical 
expertise

External 
support

Other 
(spontaneous)

Don't know/No 
answer

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

61▼-3

71▼-2

69▲6

77▼-2

55▲10

68▼-2

78▲3

60▲7

78▲2

59▼-13

42▼-6

66▼-9

50▲1

69▲7

58▼-6

74=

66▲6

64▼-3

70▲1

64▲1

80▲1

60▼-10

56▼-2

86▼-7

73▲3

78▲1

61▲5

66=

50▼-4

43▲4

53▼-6

67▼-5

48▼-11

59▲2

61▼-5

28▼-1

44▼-6

44▼-9

33▼-7

38▼-12

59=

41▲4

50▲4

50▲1

35=

41▼-2

49▼-1

42▼-3

63▼-5

61▼-7

42=

40▼-20

62▼-4

61▼-7

55▼-7

57=

23▼-1

26▲6

14▼-7

18▼-3

24▼-1

27▼-1

5▼-3

26▼-1

16▼-2

26▼-5

30▲11

12▲1

26▼-1

15▼-5

6▼-10

15▲1

24▼-4

33▲3

33▲4

29▲4

30▼-12

6▼-6

12▼-2

8▼-6

20▲3

22▼-2

22▼-1

15▼-9

3▲1

3▼-2

4▲2

1=

5▲3

5▲3

1▼-1

0▼-4

2▲1

5▲4

4▼-1

3▲2

0=

4▼-1

1▼-1

3▼-1

2▼-1

4▲3

2▼-1

1=

0▼-2

0▼-1

4▲1

1=

3=

1=

1▼-1

3▲2

6▲1

16▲6

3=

4▲1

7=

6▲3

5▲2

8▲2

2▲1

9=

9▲1

7▲5

2=

4▼-3

9▲5

7▲5

5▲2

7▲3

5▼-1

4▼-2

0▼-4

4▲2

8▼-1

1▼-1

3▲2

6▲3

2▼-3

8▼-1

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=12 184 (EU SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource efficiency actions 
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

171

171

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q5 Which type of support does your company rely on in its efforts to be more resource efficient? 
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

Its own financial 
resources

Its own technical 
expertise

External 
support

Other 
(spontaneous)

Don't know/No 
answer

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

61

61

49

59

63

54

74

68

68

66

57

62

50

59

37

46

45

45

30

23

12

35

35

49

23

26

10

39

41

16

10

13

22

29

21

31

3

0

1

2

2

0

10

4

0

2

1

2

6

8

27

6

7

11

2

6

2

3

10

12

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=12 184 (EU SMEs) & n=3 299 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies undertaking resource efficiency actions 

172

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q6 More precisely, which type of external support is it? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]
Caution: small base size in many countries (n<100)

s
a
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EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

35

37

47

41

13

37

60

51

55

31

42

24

26

35

32

61

24

80

45

29

32

17

16

38

16

28

24

38

28

33

36

39

25

35

33

18

37

40

19

19

15

25

16

34

9

36

40

29

30

37

46

35

18

34

21

17

10

9

16

20

0

20

4

9

11

8

7

17

8

16

10

19

12

1

8

10

8

13

0

14

11

18

5

7

26

48

27

32

26

39

22

38

35

30

28

19

9

19

6

47

58

20

9

30

41

12

6

17

22

33

27

22

41

51

10

62

48

24

39

18

58

52

27

3

66

50

17

44

28

21

20

26

49

18

24

43

23

43

38

51

27

44

35

37

41

32

45

23

37

27

25

19

20

56

24

45

31

25

19

19

38

13

29

28

17

36

50

45

28

33

20

39

43

34

55

21

62

26

27

16

14

28

21

51

29

26

11

26

26

26

10

34

47

46

42

44

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4

0

0

14

21

0

0

5

0

0

2

0

3

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7

0

0

10

7

3

0

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=3 095 (EU SMEs) – Companies relying on external support in their efforts to be more resource efficient

173

173

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q6 More precisely, which type of external support is it? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]
Caution: small base size in many countries (n<50)

s
a
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c
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g
n
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EU27

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IS

NO

CH

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35

45

36

54

32

8

33

20

27

76

17

22

28

14

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27

23

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64

38

25

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10

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12

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29

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26

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31

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28

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4

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28

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25

3

17

8

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=3 095 (EU SMEs) & n=999 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies relying on external support in their efforts to be more 
resource efficient

174

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q7 Did your company encounter any of the following difficulties when trying to set up resource efficiency 
actions? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]                                                            * Response option not included in 2021 

f
o

y
t
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25▲4

24▲1

22▲2

21▲2 20▼-4

20▲1 18▼-2

30▲9

24▲5

27▲4

29▲4 22▼-6

25▲5

22=

)
s
u
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p
s
(

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0=

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26▼-6

3=

29▼-5

1▼-3

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

35▲1

28▲1

41▲5

28▲8

41▲14 26▲16

49▲2

26▲1

24▲15 39▲24

32▲3

31▲9

11▼-6 14▼-4

9=

25▲3

37▼-3

37=

53=

47▲2

39▲15 36▲13

34▼-7 15▼-2

28▼-4 17▼-7

33▼-1 35▼-5

26▼-6 23▼-4

32▲4 24▲10

30▼-1 22▼-5

32▼-1 23▼-3

17▼-3

13=

13▼-1 18▼-2

35=

30▲1

45▲2 23▼-4

20=

14▼-3

34▼-13 21▼-10

30▲11 25▲1

44▼-8 27▼-3

21▼-1

26▲3

20▼-9 29▼-6

26

27

22

34

26

33

12

15

29

40

29

15

22

23

18

34

5

18

10

12

11

24

14

23

17

29

20

26

17▲7 26▲15 18▲9 28▲11 18▲7 17▲10 24▲17 3▼-1 22▼-14 3▼-5

19▲3 20▼-4

19▲1 21▼-1 22▼-8

18=

22▼-1

0▼-1

24▲2

13▲4 20▲11 23▲11

9▲1

16▼-1 24▲12 21▲13 4▼-1 28▼-15

23▲7

22▲3

18▲2 16▼-1 23▼-7

30▲4 18▼-1

4▲3 28▼-10

1=

6=

3=

10▼-3 10▼-4 10▼-3

9▼-3 11▼-10 11▼-6 15▼-7

0=

51▲9

3▼-1

4▼-2

10▲2

16▲3

1▼-4

22▲1

6▼-2

12▲3

2▲1

10▼-2

5▼-5

17=

25▼-5

25▲2 22▼-3 23▼-6

29▲1 22▼-1

40▲9 46▼-1

34▲1

38▲9 32▼-7 27▼-2 30▼-8

0=

0=

33▲5

0=

18=

3▲2

38▲22 28▲13 34▲15 32▲18 21▼-2

23▲9

22▲7

0▼-2 14▼-19 4▼-1

13▼-8 16▼-2 11▼-3 22▼-6 11▼-10

11=

10▼-13

2▲1

32▲7

6▲2

18▼-2 15▼-2 15▼-1

16▲1

10▲1

15▲1

9▼-3

2▲2 34▼-11

1=

19▲7 20▼-2

21▲1 12▼-3 17▼-10 24▲5 12▼-6

0=

39▲6

1▼-1

12▼-6 19▼-6 12▼-12 17▼-6 14▼-16 7▼-10 14▼-8

1▼-1

42▲21 2▼-1

30▲20 31▲11 26▲7

17▲6 19▼-8 23▲11 14▼-6

1▲1

40▲7

0▼-1

21▼-4 16▼-1 19▼-4 19▼-2

29▲7 14▼-5 17▼-3

2▲1

20▼-4

9▲2

21▼-1 10▼-5 11▼-13 20▲6 11▼-13 10▼-1 6▼-11

2▲1

38▲10

5▲1

11▲2

15▲1

8▼-3

20▲3 19▼-3

6▼-2

12=

8▲2

37▼-4

3▼-3

12=

20▲2

16▲2

6▼-6

15▼-2

17▼-4

27▲6

18=

9▼-7

18▲1

17=

15=

6▼-4

0=

48▼-1

1▼-2

27▲7

2▲2 18▼-18

3▲2

35▼-5

30▲4 22▼-4 13▼-6 22▼-1 20▼-5 23▼-2

2▲1

16▼-4

2▼-3

14▼-3

9▼-1

16▲3

12▲2

18▲2

10▲1

11▲2

4▼-1

21▼-4

9▼-4

29▼-7 20▼-14 21▼-7 25▼-8 21▼-9 20▼-7 25▼-7

0=

26▼-2

2▲1

14▲2

19▲5 11▼-1

6▼-7

13▼-7

14=

7▼-9

8▲2

36▼-5

0▼-1

23▼-1 14▼-8 16▼-2

22▲1 18▼-12 18▼-7 18▼-7

1▲1

30▲6

3▲2

19▲1

15▲1

24▲2 15▼-5

21▲3 22▼-1 11▼-7

15▼-6 15▼-7 26▼-7 14▼-5 19▼-12 18▼-4 19▼-6

0=

0=

34▲6

2▼-1

34▲4

4▲3

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=12 184 (EU SMEs) – Companies undertaking resource efficiency actions 
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

175

175

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q7 Did your company encounter any of the following difficulties when trying to set up resource efficiency 
actions? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]                                                          * Response option not included in 2021

f
o

y
t
i
x
e
l
p
m
o
C

l
a
g
e
l

r
o
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v
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t
a
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t
s
i
n
m
d
a

i

s
e
r
u
d
e
c
o
r
p

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

35

15

23

32

22

28

32

21

22

42

35

17

l
a
t
n
e
m
n
o
r
i
v
n
e

s
n
o
i
t
c
a

f
o

t
s
o
C

28

26

21

47

33

4

16

12

1

22

35

24

*
s
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24

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C

d
n
a

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b
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s
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v
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s

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o

25

13

13

24

22

13

23

15

15

19

28

17

24

17

17

29

17

4

15

10

6

21

31

18

22

14

16

35

19

7

19

9

1

19

30

21

21

14

16

16

10

12

23

10

1

20

27

15

20

16

25

27

17

18

18

6

1

10

30

16

20

27

19

18

21

7

10

8

7

18

34

29

18

27

18

27

19

5

15

12

1

14

33

25

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
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h
t
O

1

0

0

1

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0

12

9

0

1

0

0

)
s
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n
a
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p
s
(

e
n
o
N

26

31

31

22

28

40

26

37

50

26

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w
o
n
k

t
'
n
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D

3

1

13

3

6

3

10

5

9

5

2

4

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=12 184 (EU SMEs) & n=3 299 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies undertaking resource efficiency actions 

176

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q8 Which of the following would help your company the most to be more resource efficient? [MULTIPLE 
ANSWERS]

s
e
i
d
i
s
b
u
s

r
o
s
t
n
a
r
G

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s

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o
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t
e
B

o
t

s
e
s
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e
c
o
r
p
w
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t
a
h
t

-
y
b
d
n
a
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t
s
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w
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-
e
r

o
s

d
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p
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l
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d

e
b
n
a
c

s
t
c
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d
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p

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t
w
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h

n
o

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
C

y
c
n
e
i
c
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f
f
e

e
c
r
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o
s
e
r

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r
p
m

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y
n
a
p
m
o
c

r
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o
y
n

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g
n
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d
n
u
f

n
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e
c
i
v
d
A

l
a
i
c
n
a
n
i
f
d
n
a

s
e
i
t
i
l
i
b
i
s
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p

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c
r
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r

r
o
f
g
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n
a
l
p

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n
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n

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r
a
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C

s
l
a
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t
a
m
w
a
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y
r
a
d
n
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c
e
s

s
e
i
d
u
t
s

e
s
a
c
h
t
i
w
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s
a
b
a
t
a
D

f
o

s
t
i
f
e
n
e
b
e
h
t
w
o
h
s

t
a
h
t

r
o
f

y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
e

e
c
r
u
o
s
e
r

s
e
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n
a
p
m
o
c

w
o
h

s
s
e
s
s
a
-
f
l
e
s
o
t

l
o
o
t
A

r
u
o
y
t
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
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c
r
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r

o
t

t
c
e
p
s
e
r
h
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i
w
s
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a
p
m
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c

s
e
i
n
a
p
m
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c

r
e
h
t
o

EU27

37▲1

25▼-1

25=

23▲3

22=

19▼-1

16▲1

15=

44▲8

33▲3

26▲4

30▲10

29▲6

24▲7

22▲3

24▼-1

41▲6

27▲8

24▲5

25▲11

15▼-4

19▲13

19▲4

12▲5

32▼-1

23▼-8

21▲2

30▲7

28▼-5

19▼-3

19▲3

8▲1

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
e
h
t
O

1=

1▼-1

0▼-3

2▼-1

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

15▼-2

16▼-1

18▲4

19▲3

30▲2

25▲7

30▲7

19▲6

27▲10

9▲4

23▲15

19▲10

6▲3

15▼-9

34▲2

18▼-1

17▼-7

15▼-3

23=

17▼-2

21▲2

20=

1▼-1

24▼-2

2=

33▲4

22▼-2

14▼-4

17▼-4

19▼-2

9▲2

16▲7

7▲1

2▲1

25▼-3

39▼-6

18▼-5

14▼-5

19▲1

27=

15▼-3

13▼-1

21▲1

0▼-2

10▲3

56▲2

16▼-7

31▼-3

31▼-1

26▲2

6▼-6

16▼-1

16▼-2

0=

12▼-2

46▼-5

32▼-3

38▲5

33▲7

23▲1

20▼-5

25▲6

23▲4

1▼-1

6=

2▼-4

3▼-1

1▲1

4▲2

40▲5

28▲8

23▲3

27▲13

21▲5

17▲6

13▲1

14▲5

45=

15▼-13

16▼-8

18▼-10

14▼-6

9▼-3

9▼-1

8▲1

3▲2

1▲1

9▼-14

2▼-5

22▲9

20▼-2

28▼-3

29=

19▼-1

23▲3

28▲1

11▼-4

11▼-5

0▼-1

14▼-2

59▲9

10▼-15

30▼-2

31▲11

31▲10

11▲3

16▲5

11▼-7

0=

18=

28▼-9

11▼-10

18▼-4

19▼-8

16▼-9

10▼-11

9▼-6

6▼-7

2▲1

27▲16

47▲11

22=

33▲7

34▲8

27=

18▼-6

22▼-6

27=

24=

27=

18▲4

15▲2

12▼-2

21▲4

16=

11▼-3

47▲2

14▼-6

19▲3

12▼-9

26▼-5

6▼-6

10▼-7

7▼-2

57▼-4

28▲3

16▼-3

34▼-3

17▼-4

10▲2

18▲1

11=

33▼-2

32=

28▲2

12▼-3

19▼-3

10▲1

16▲1

14▼-9

0▼-2

4▼-1

4▲4

4▲1

0=

18=

14=

23=

25▲12

2▼-1

13▼-3

4▼-2

32▲2

21▲1

18▼-5

31▲4

20▼-2

19▲2

24▲1

14▼-8

0▼-4

13▼-1

40▲8

16▼-5

14▼-4

22▲6

15▼-4

25▼-6

16▲2

14▲3

2▲1

16▼-4

5▲3

27▲1

20▼-1

22▼-3

29▲9

13▼-4

17▼-2

6▼-3

45▼-7

30▼-4

26▼-3

34▲2

21▼-2

20=

17▼-5

53▼-3

15▼-1

16▼-8

16▼-10

13▼-2

15▲5

17▲9

8▼-1

7▼-4

8▲4

50▼-2

22▼-2

26▲4

30▲3

22▼-4

16▼-8

21▲4

7▼-1

32▲4

29▼-2

27▲10

13▼-3

19▼-2

19▲4

18▲4

22▲3

2▼-2

9=

12▲1

0=

7▲3

2▲1

2=

11▲2

3▲1

17▼-1

0▼-3

12▲1

3=

19▼-3

1▼-1

36=

24▼-10

27▼-7

17▼-6

22▼-2

11▼-6

17=

19▼-6

2▲1

16▲6

6▲5

r
e
w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

4=

1▼-2

1▼-4

2▼-1

5▼-4

4▲2

7▲3

1▲1

5▲3

0=

1▼-2

6▲1

2=

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

177

177

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q8 Which of the following would help your company the most to be more resource efficient? [MULTIPLE 
ANSWERS]

s
e
i
d
i
s
b
u
s

r
o
s
t
n
a
r
G

37

43

23

35

46

61

49

43

25

56

18

29

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

n
e
e
w
t
e
b

s
r
o
t
c
e
s

s
s
o
r
c
a

s
e
i
n
a
p
m
o
c

n
o
i
t
a
r
e
p
o
o
c

r
e
t
t
e
B

o
t

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
r
p
w
e
n
t
a
h
t

-
y
b
d
n
a
e
t
s
a
w
e
s
u
-
e
r

o
s

d
e
p
o
l
e
v
e
d

e
b
n
a
c

s
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

o
t
w
o
h

n
o

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
C

y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
e

e
c
r
u
o
s
e
r

e
v
o
r
p
m

i

y
n
a
p
m
o
c

r
u
o
y
n

i

g
n
i
d
n
u
f

n
o
e
c
i
v
d
A

l
a
i
c
n
a
n
i
f
d
n
a

s
e
i
t
i
l
i
b
i
s
s
o
p

e
c
r
u
o
s
e
r

r
o
f
g
n
n
n
a
l
p

i

s
t
n
e
m
t
s
e
v
n

i

y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
e

w
e
n

f
o

n
o
i
t
a
r
t
s
n
o
m
e
D

s
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s
s
e
c
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p

r
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s
e
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g
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l
o
n
h
c
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t

e
c
r
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s
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r

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v
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t

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c
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f
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f
o

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s
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h
t

n
o

s
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l
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r

r
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r
a
e
l
C

s
l
a
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t
a
m
w
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n
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c
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s

s
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d
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t
s

e
s
a
c
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t
i
w
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s
a
b
a
t
a
D

f
o

s
t
i
f
e
n
e
b
e
h
t
w
o
h
s

t
a
h
t

r
o
f

y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
e

e
c
r
u
o
s
e
r

s
e
i
n
a
p
m
o
c

w
o
h

s
s
e
s
s
a
-
f
l
e
s
o
t

l
o
o
t
A

r
u
o
y
t
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
e

e
c
r
u
o
s
e
r

o
t

t
c
e
p
s
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r
h
t
i
w
s
i

y
n
a
p
m
o
c

s
e
i
n
a
p
m
o
c

r
e
h
t
o

25

24

20

37

22

18

14

19

21

19

27

23

25

16

31

16

23

4

32

11

20

21

19

19

23

31

11

29

19

20

11

14

11

17

24

20

22

20

33

22

29

18

10

8

8

15

29

25

19

12

15

14

17

12

29

7

8

13

19

15

16

14

16

14

20

15

5

5

3

9

18

14

15

20

16

24

22

6

4

4

4

4

16

15

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
e
h
t
O

1

0

2

3

2

3

6

10

0

2

0

0

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

15

12

13

9

14

10

17

22

28

15

23

25

r
e
w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

4

2

11

4

6

4

3

4

0

1

3

3

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs) & n=3 783 (SMEs in non-EU countries)

178

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q14 Does your company have a concrete strategy in place to reduce your carbon footprint and become 
climate neutral or negative?

Yes

21▲2

24▲8

12=

14▲2

23▲2

21▼-5

14▲3

24▲3

11▼-5

22▲7

28▲4

8▼-2

21=

6=

11▲1

16▼-2

27▲1

14▼-1

22▲2

31▲4

20▼-2

11▲1

26▲2

15▼-5

16=

12▼-1

30▲10

41▲3

No, but you are 
planning to define 
a strategy

No, and you are 
not planning to 
do so

You are already 
climate neutral  
(spontaneous)

Don't know/No 
answer

19=

20▼-6

21▲8

18▲1

12=

10▼-6

18▲1

36▲1

29▼-4

14=

19▲3

23▼-9

30▲2

13▼-3

8▼-12

25▲1

31▲1

14▼-7

53▲1

26▲6

12▲4

11▼-1

27▲4

28▼-8

12▼-4

16▼-4

6▼-9

8▲2

52=

51▲1

59▼-7

66▼-2

58▲1

66▲15

65▲5

17▼-4

55▲12

59▼-7

45▼-7

61▲16

42▼-2

66▲12

69▲5

52▲8

34▼-5

66▲11

18▼-5

34▼-10

34=

71▲1

26▼-2

52▲14

64▲4

68▲7

60▲3

46▼-2

4▼-1

1▼-2

5▲2

1=

5▲2

1▼-4

1▼-5

9▲1

3=

1=

4=

4▼-4

7▲1

11▼-8

3▼-1

6▼-6

6▲2

3▼-3

1▲1

4▲1

27▼-3

3=

7=

4=

8▲1

2▼-1

0▼-4

3▼-2

3▼-1

5▼-2

4▼-2

1▼-1

2▼-4

3=

2▼-4

15=

2▼-2

4=

4=

5▼-2

0=

5▼-1

9▲8

1▼-1

3▲1

3▼-1

6▲1

5=

6▲1

5▼-1

15▼-5

1=

0▼-1

3▼-2

3=

2▼-1

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

179

179

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q14 Does your company have a concrete strategy in place to reduce your carbon footprint and become 
climate neutral or negative?

Yes

No, but you are 
planning to define 
a strategy

No, and you are 
not planning to 
do so

You are already 
climate neutral  
(spontaneous)

Don't know/No 
answer

21

21

20

25

32

8

24

14

13

13

8

23

19

25

24

16

11

38

13

15

10

19

15

13

52

48

50

55

47

34

31

52

46

45

71

58

4

3

0

0

4

11

25

14

27

16

3

1

3

3

6

3

6

10

8

6

4

8

4

5

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs) & n=3 783 (SMEs in non-EU countries)

180

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q15 What actions is your company undertaking to be become climate neutral? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]
Caution: small base size in many countries (n<100)

f
o

g
n
i
c
u
d
e
r

y
l
l
a
r
e
n
e
G

s
n
o
i
s
s
i
m
e

y
n
a
p
m
o
c

r
u
o
y

n
o
b
r
a
c

g
n
i
s
a
h
c
r
u
p
/
g
n
i
t
p
o
d
A

l
a
c
i
g
o
l
o
n
h
c
e
t
w
e
n

e
c
u
d
e
r
o
t

s
n
o
i
t
u
l
o
s

s
n
o
i
s
s
i
m
e

w
e
n

g
n
i
p
o
l
e
v
e
D

s
n
o
i
t
u
l
o
s

l
a
c
i
g
o
l
o
n
h
c
e
t

s
n
o
i
s
s
i
m
e

e
c
u
d
e
r
o
t

n
o
b
r
a
c

g
n
i
t
t
e
s
f
f
O

y
b

s
n
o
i
s
s
i
m
e

n
o
b
r
a
c

g
n
i
s
a
h
c
r
u
p

n
a

g
n
i
d
n
u
f

r
o
s
t
i
d
e
r
c

n
o
b
r
a
c

t
n
e
l
a
v
i
u
q
e

e
r
e
h
w
e
s
l
e
g
n
i
v
a
s

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

53

77

56

65

53

69

57

54

70

84

55

49

10

81

52

75

30

45

31

40

26

57

41

72

44

63

52

73

47

68

55

66

45

47

50

58

54

63

37

49

37

65

41

46

55

31

48

48

35

59

41

50

26

58

57

53

35

49

16

58

28

30

31

32

45

50

34

40

25

33

39

21

41

51

14

39

13

35

18

48

23

40

34

33

10

13

5

16

15

18

12

33

4

6

3

6

9

13

20

11

22

14

8

7

18

16

4

4

8

11

18

16

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
e
h
t
O

4

0

1

0

7

5

1

3

3

3

1

1

13

0

8

2

1

14

0

0

0

5

8

1

16

13

1

4

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

8

10

18

5

7

9

11

0

12

0

10

10

10

1

6

7

8

2

0

12

22

8

7

8

17

3

16

6

r
e
w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

3

2

0

0

4

4

0

0

0

0

4

0

7

0

0

2

1

0

8

1

4

7

10

2

2

0

0

0

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=3 083 (EU SMEs) – Companies with a concrete strategy in place to reduce their carbon footprint

181

181

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q15 What actions is your company undertaking to be become climate neutral? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]
Caution: small base size in many countries (n<50)

f
o

g
n
i
c
u
d
e
r

y
l
l
a
r
e
n
e
G

s
n
o
i
s
s
i
m
e

y
n
a
p
m
o
c

r
u
o
y

n
o
b
r
a
c

g
n
i
s
a
h
c
r
u
p
/
g
n
i
t
p
o
d
A

l
a
c
i
g
o
l
o
n
h
c
e
t
w
e
n

e
c
u
d
e
r
o
t

s
n
o
i
t
u
l
o
s

s
n
o
i
s
s
i
m
e

w
e
n

g
n
i
p
o
l
e
v
e
D

s
n
o
i
t
u
l
o
s

l
a
c
i
g
o
l
o
n
h
c
e
t

s
n
o
i
s
s
i
m
e

e
c
u
d
e
r
o
t

n
o
b
r
a
c

g
n
i
t
t
e
s
f
f
O

y
b

s
n
o
i
s
s
i
m
e

n
o
b
r
a
c

g
n
i
s
a
h
c
r
u
p

n
a

g
n
i
d
n
u
f

r
o
s
t
i
d
e
r
c

n
o
b
r
a
c

t
n
e
l
a
v
i
u
q
e

e
r
e
h
w
e
s
l
e
g
n
i
v
a
s

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

53

64

60

65

70

20

50

39

24

31

68

79

47

46

29

62

57

27

45

39

44

37

64

57

35

30

25

36

41

19

31

35

4

41

63

33

10

37

31

16

17

0

26

8

0

23

28

19

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
e
h
t
O

4

0

2

7

4

0

13

8

0

0

0

0

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

8

0

0

6

4

34

26

21

33

6

10

9

r
e
w
s
n
a

/

o
N
w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

3

1

18

0

2

0

0

5

0

1

0

0

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=3 083 (EU SMEs) & n=846 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies with a concrete strategy in place to reduce their carbon 
footprint

182

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

N2 Does your company use recycled materials in your products? If yes, what is the share of recycled materials 
in your products/production?

No recycled 
materials are 
being used

Less than 5%

Between 
5%-19%

Between 
20%-49%

Between 
50%-74%

75% and 
more

Don't 
know/No 
answer

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

39

34

47

45

42

35

49

37

44

28

31

41

42

48

51

49

47

77

48

33

45

45

38

62

29

29

30

34

22

22

14

20

12

21

23

25

18

22

24

22

31

23

15

19

5

9

23

8

15

18

41

16

27

29

18

13

19

24

13

17

15

18

13

25

18

19

16

13

22

19

15

14

32

5

22

35

17

15

13

14

27

20

16

24

9

12

6

9

11

12

7

11

12

12

11

7

3

7

5

3

14

2

7

19

18

8

3

2

6

7

8

7

3

2

8

5

2

2

3

1

2

3

5

1

0

2

1

6

1

1

0

4

2

3

1

3

5

4

7

7

3

1

3

2

3

2

2

0

3

9

4

3

0

0

2

1

1

2

0

1

2

3

3

2

1

3

6

5

6

6

10

3

14

10

3

1

3

6

9

13

1

2

12

10

1

5

0

1

2

7

2

2

5

9

15

10

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%, EU27) Base: n=8 194 (EU SMEs) – Companies selling products

183

183

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

N2 Does your company use recycled materials in your products? If yes, what is the share of recycled materials 
in your products/production?

No recycled 
materials are 
being used

Less than 5%

Between 
5%-19%

Between 
20%-49%

Between 
50%-74%

75% and 
more

Don't 
know/No 
answer

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

39

35

29

25

34

65

45

62

57

59

55

43

22

29

28

24

19

3

10

19

29

19

23

18

19

17

15

29

14

11

18

5

1

10

11

13

9

14

6

6

8

8

13

5

1

7

7

9

3

3

1

3

2

6

3

1

5

1

0

6

3

2

0

3

5

6

3

3

8

1

2

4

6

0

21

12

18

2

9

5

0

3

2

7

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=8 194 (EU SMEs) & n=2 491 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies selling products

184

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

N3 Does your company have an explicit policy to extend the life span of your products (e.g. choosing durable 
materials, dedicated repair services for customers etc.)?

Yes, for all of your 
products

Yes, but only for some 
of your products

No

Don't know/No answer

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

22

20

23

28

23

9

31

17

25

30

20

21

21

13

21

34

22

16

20

24

19

24

28

28

40

20

40

31

25

29

21

28

17

14

20

25

13

28

28

19

26

15

18

16

23

18

18

32

31

18

45

29

22

19

24

16

52

49

54

43

57

76

48

55

62

40

50

57

53

72

51

49

54

62

62

42

48

54

27

42

39

59

32

51

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%, EU27) Base: n=8 194 (EU SMEs) – Companies selling products

185

185

2

2

1

1

4

1

1

2

0

1

2

4

0

0

10

1

0

5

0

2

3

4

0

1

0

2

4

2

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

N3 Does your company have an explicit policy to extend the life span of your products (e.g. choosing durable 
materials, dedicated repair services for customers etc.)?

Yes, for all of your 
products

Yes, but only for some 
of your products

No

Don't know/No answer

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

22

11

30

28

24

25

18

26

29

26

18

22

25

34

14

36

14

30

12

18

12

27

32

25

52

55

40

33

53

43

65

53

48

46

48

49

2

0

17

3

9

2

5

3

11

0

1

4

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=8 194 (EU SMEs) & n=2 491 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies selling products

186

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q9 Does your company offer green products or services?

Yes

32=

34▼-1

22▼-1

23▲4

40▲3

34▲4

21▼-6

32▲3

39▲3

35▲3

37▼-1

22▼-5

28=

17▼-15

26▲4

28▼-3

40=

16▼-6

32▲3

46▲1

42▼-2

26=

26▼-1

18▼-5

35▼-2

36▼-5

35▼-6

35▼-8

No, but you are planning 
to do so in the next 2 
years

No and you are not 
planning to do so

Don't know/No answer

12▲1

10▼-3

16▲5

11▲3

6▲3

6▼-4

8▼-1

28=

20▼-5

12▲2

15▲5

9▼-9

16▲4

11▼-7

4▼-8

9▼-2

10▼-2

7▼-3

10▼-1

3▼-2

5▼-5

11▲2

19▼-2

22▼-8

8▼-1

13=

5▼-3

8▲3

52▼-2

53▲8

58▼-6

64▼-8

49▼-4

57▼-1

70▲12

34▼-3

41▲3

50▼-6

43▼-8

61▲16

53▼-5

72▲23

65▲2

61▲7

48▲2

74▲11

56▼-2

46▼-1

50▲6

58▼-4

37▲4

56▲13

57▲4

48▲4

56▲6

53▲6

4▲1

4▼-4

4▲2

2▲1

5▼-1

3▲1

1▼-5

7=

0=

4▲1

5▲3

8▼-3

3▲1

1▼-1

6▲2

3▼-2

2=

3▼-2

2▼-1

5▲3

3▲2

6▲2

18▼-1

4▲1

1▼-1

4▲1

5▲3

4▼-1

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

187

187

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q9 Does your company offer green products or services?

Yes

32

30

32

52

43

27

39

25

22

24

13

35

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

No, but you are planning 
to do so in the next 2 
years

No and you are not 
planning to do so

Don't know/No answer

12

15

7

10

5

8

14

12

3

18

11

9

52

48

46

34

45

64

43

55

75

56

72

52

4

8

16

4

6

0

4

8

0

1

4

4

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs) & n=3 783 (SMEs in non-EU countries)

188

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q10 How much did these green products or services represent in your annual turnover of the latest available 
fiscal year?

Up to 5%

6-10%

11-30%

31-50%

51-75%

More than 
75%

Don't 
know/No 
answer

32▲2

29▼-8

27▼-17

32▼-14

11▼-5

22=

23▼-2

32▲5

23▲4

32▲3

37▲11

20▼-16

42▲7

25▲2

32▲4

36▲11

33▲1

36▼-9

37▲3

33▲6

29▲4

30▼-4

25▲5

43▲1

17▼-24

18▼-12

23▼-4

25=

12▼-2

17▼-1

16▲3

17▲11

9▲3

11▼-3

6▼-4

19▼-3

15▲1

16▼-8

12▲2

17▲3

12▼-2

23▲7

4▼-7

8▼-13

24=

7▼-5

23▲4

1▼-6

16▼-5

8=

24▲1

19▲7

12▼-3

19▲5

7▼-9

13▲4

15▲2

18▲7

15▲6

15=

11▼-4

19▲5

23▲11

10▼-4

25▲9

12▼-2

13=

16▲4

11▼-2

23▼-1

13▲3

14▲4

13▲5

16▼-4

14▲1

24▲8

5▼-2

19▲1

5▼-4

20▲9

23▲10

19▲4

17▲1

8▼-5

7=

5▲2

11▲8

12▲4

10▲4

7▼-2

8▼-5

7▲4

7=

7▼-2

6▼-4

16▲6

0=

1▼-5

14▲3

8▼-1

0=

10▲8

0▼-3

5▼-3

5▼-3

10▲4

10▲3

5▼-1

15▲8

10▲3

20▲8

12▲2

6▼-1

9▲2

1▼-4

3▼-10

2=

11▲3

7▲3

3▼-4

4▼-9

5▲1

6=

6▼-6

0▼-5

12▲10

2▼-5

9=

2=

2▼-3

7▼-2

6▲1

16▲8

4▲2

4=

6▲2

11▲8

12▲4

6▼-3

6▼-3

18▲1

7▼-10

16▲3

18▲9

30▼-2

14▼-10

27▲3

13▲4

25▲1

15▲6

16▲7

20▲9

25▲5

15▼-6

25▲1

18▼-1

2▼-8

18▲8

14▲1

26=

19=

9▼-8

25▼-3

6▼-13

12▼-5

13▼-5

19▲1

24▲4

11▼-2

15▲7

14▲2

3▼-1

27▲4

16▲6

6▼-6

17▼-3

1▼-5

12▲3

10▼-16

6▼-1

10▼-3

0▼-7

11▲1

6▼-1

26▲2

12▲5

4▼-4

5▼-6

10▼-4

20▲5

7▼-2

2▼-6

10▲6

8▲1

9▲6

12▼-3

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (EU SMEs) – Companies offering green products or services
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

189

189

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q10 How much did these green products or services represent in your annual turnover of the latest available 
fiscal year?

Up to 5%

6-10%

11-30%

31-50%

51-75%

More than 
75%

Don't 
know/No 
answer

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

32

19

18

24

26

15

49

39

53

33

49

34

12

5

18

25

8

49

2

24

1

18

23

17

15

14

16

19

16

16

4

9

31

17

11

11

7

8

11

13

5

0

5

2

1

4

4

8

6

6

4

5

6

5

1

3

0

6

11

5

18

31

13

11

20

10

13

7

12

16

1

7

11

17

20

4

19

5

26

16

1

7

1

19

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=4 280 (EU SMEs) & n=2 300 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies offering green products or services

190

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q13 What type of support does your company rely on for the production of its green products or services? 
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

Its own financial 
resources

Its own technical 
expertise

External 
support

Other 
(spontaneous)

Don't know/No 
answer

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

60▼-2

65▼-2

49▼-21

65▼-7

43▲4

59=

77▼-2

60▼-2

68▼-5

63▼-8

51▲6

72=

58▲5

63▲6

63▼-15

81▲12

53▼-1

55▼-14

63▲3

65=

67▼-2

53▼-19

56▼-6

84▼-5

70▲3

84▲4

60▼-5

58▲5

57▲1

55▼-2

48▼-4

70▼-9

50▼-7

70▲5

67▼-4

28▼-4

54▲3

55▼-11

42▲5

38▼-26

72▲6

37▼-18

45▲1

72▲28

45▲9

62▲14

48▲10

53▲3

69▼-2

58▲1

41▲1

41▼-21

82▲26

74▲8

51▼-20

60▲13

25▲1

38▲12

28▲12

25▼-7

33▲5

17▼-8

14▲5

33▲7

25▲11

40▲3

23▼-3

9▼-10

27=

27▲10

8▼-5

28▲18

17▼-9

12▼-15

15▼-5

26▲6

44▼-3

7▼-1

11▲6

16▲6

27▲10

20▼-4

30▲8

33▲5

2=

1▼-3

10▲5

5▲5

7▲3

3▼-1

4▲1

1▼-4

0▼-3

4▲4

0▼-3

2▼-3

0=

8▲5

1=

1▼-6

2▼-6

5▲2

11▲4

1=

0▼-5

3▲3

0▼-1

1▼-2

1▼-1

1▲1

1▼-1

1▼-2

6▼-1

13▲8

6▲3

2▼-2

10▼-2

11▲7

3▼-6

3=

2▲1

2▼-2

7▼-9

10▲5

1▼-2

4▼-3

9▲9

0▼-3

12▲2

9▲2

9▼-4

4▼-4

5▲1

17▲10

15▲3

4▲4

2▼-2

2▼-5

4▲1

9▼-1

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (EU SMEs) – Companies offering green products or services
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

191

191

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

Q13 What type of support does your company rely on for the production of its green products or services? 
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

Its own financial 
resources

Its own technical 
expertise

External 
support

Other 
(spontaneous)

Don't know/No 
answer

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

60

51

45

63

63

46

80

70

73

70

75

62

57

51

49

48

58

27

18

34

16

40

43

41

25

36

16

22

33

54

21

17

14

18

7

36

2

4

9

3

2

0

0

1

0

3

0

1

6

10

15

7

6

0

2

5

0

3

0

8

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=4 280 (EU SMEs) & n=2 300 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies offering green products or services

192

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

DX1 Which type of external support does your company get for the production of its green products or 
services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]
Caution: small base size in many countries (n<100)

s
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19

28

12

46

11

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79

10

34

17

9

29

13

0

32

60

27

21

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18

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16

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31

18

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8

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35

31

25

5

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16

81

39

8

22

16

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12

9

7

18

1

20

1

2

3

6

16

13

20

35

0

32

0

13

34

10

4

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1

35

3

20

11

0

19

36

9

36

10

31

31

37

6

8

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17

21

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21

33

21

31

2

35

35

0

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1

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18

32

16

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50

37

55

36

17

69

17

19

47

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9

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4

18

18

27

31

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13

32

29

34

26

9

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29

42

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53

55

39

37

71

36

42

33

18

8

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20

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50

5

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4

46

2

5

27

15

37

51

40

41

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53

72

53

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38

26

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42

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36

13

18

43

52

11

63

0

50

6

58

0

60

63

48

55

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12

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9

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=1 150 (EU SMEs) – Companies relying on external support for the production of their green products or services

193

193

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

DX1 Which type of external support does your company get for the production of its green products or 
services? [MULTIPLE ANSWERS]
Caution: small base size in many countries (n<50)

s
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11

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=1 150 (EU SMEs) & n=349 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies relying on external support for the production of their 
green products or services

194

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

DX3 What type of support would help you the most to expand your range of green products or services? 
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

s
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c
u
d
o
r
p
w
e
n

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
r
p

h
t
i
w
e
c
n
a
t
s
i
s
s
A

l
a
i
t
n
e
t
o
p

s
r
e
m
o
t
s
u
c

g
n
i
y
f
i
t
n
e
d
i

r
o
s
t
e
k
r
a
m

d
n
a

e
h
t

t
r
o
p
p
u
s

l
a
c
i
n
h
c
e
T

r
o
f

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
c

f
o

t
n
e
m
p
o
l
e
v
e
d

d
n
a
s
e
c
i
v
r
e
s

,

s
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
r
p

n
o
i
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

s
e
c
i
v
r
e
s

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
C

r
o
g
n
i
t
e
k
r
a
m

r
o
f

n
o
i
t
u
b
i
r
t
s
i
d

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

42▼-1

33▲5

63▲9

36▲4

41▲15

38▼-1

44▲1

52▲8

71▲12

52▼-5

35▲10

60▼-4

42▼-6

42▼-28

46▼-2

75▲17

27▼-10

44=

47=

33▼-3

41▼-2

37▼-14

31▼-4

50▼-11

54▼-11

46▼-15

47=

39▲3

29▲2

34▲5

14▼-7

37▲12

25▲6

26▼-3

28▲9

32▼-1

34▼-9

41▼-2

32▲10

18▲8

18=

50▲16

12▼-12

18▼-3

31▲1

19▲3

14▼-6

23▲1

32▲2

30▲8

24▼-1

28▼-3

10▼-12

38▲7

24▼-3

30▲1

26▼-3

35▲1

21▲9

30=

25=

23▼-7

32▲9

30▲8

24▼-9

32▼-10

26▼-5

33=

16▲3

29▲3

17=

30▲6

20▼-12

35▲21

26▲1

18▼-7

39▲12

23▼-9

21▼-7

35▲11

27▲8

29▲2

33▲6

43▲7

27▲4

29▼-3

31▲5

34▲11

17=

27▲5

22▼-2

13▼-5

27▲4

30▲9

27▲9

17▼-3

29▲3

37▲6

22▼-3

36▲19

36▲3

17▼-10

39▲7

26=

21▼-5

19▲6

29▲5

39▼-1

16▼-2

25▲4

25▲5

14▼-5

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
e
h
t
O

4▲1

2▼-4

6▲3

2▼-2

5▲3

7▲5

2▼-4

1▼-1

1▲1

2▲2

2=

0▼-4

6▲1

0=

7▲6

0▼-2

6▲4

0▼-2

8▲1

5▲4

0▼-1

4▲3

4▼-1

0▼-2

1▼-3

0▼-1

4▲2

3▲2

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

13=

24▲12

6▼-5

10▼-6

13▼-8

19▼-2

17▲1

3▼-3

7▲5

8▲3

15▼-1

13▲8

8▼-3

6▲2

13▼-1

9▼-5

12▲4

15▼-2

16▼-2

22▼-1

11▼-7

16▲1

11▲1

6▼-3

15▲8

12▲2

12▼-2

12▼-5

w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

r
e
w
s
n
a
o
N

/

5▼-1

1▼-6

4▼-3

2▲2

9▼-4

4▲3

1▼-5

12▼-3

0▼-1

0▼-2

5▼-5

1▼-2

12=

0▼-2

5▲1

0▼-1

9▲4

0▼-9

2▲2

6=

5=

10▲4

0▼-1

0▼-1

0▼-2

1=

1▲1

4▲2

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%, EU27) Base: n=4 280 (EU SMEs) – Companies offering green products or services
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

195

195

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

DX3 What type of support would help you the most to expand your range of green products or services? 
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

s
e
v
i
t
n
e
c
n

i

l
a
i
c
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a
n
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F

g
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r
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f

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s
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c
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s

,

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p

n
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c
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p
w
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n

s
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c
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p

h
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s
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A

l
a
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n
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s
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m
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g
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f
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d
i

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s
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k
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a

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p
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l
a
c
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c
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T

r
o
f

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a
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n
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f
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m
p
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v
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d
n
a
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c
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v
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s

,

s
t
c
u
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p

s
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s
s
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c
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p

n
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t
c
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p

s
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c
i
v
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s

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
C

r
o
g
n
i
t
e
k
r
a
m

r
o
f

n
o
i
t
u
b
i
r
t
s
i
d

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

42

39

47

44

37

72

32

56

26

52

56

42

29

17

22

30

28

13

8

18

1

30

30

28

26

35

36

26

27

16

20

21

16

25

26

33

27

19

26

20

26

37

22

22

47

29

26

17

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
e
h
t
O

4

0

2

0

3

0

0

2

0

0

0

1

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

13

25

9

8

17

0

21

10

12

6

11

20

w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

r
e
w
s
n
a
o
N

/

5

3

7

9

7

0

18

5

1

3

0

3

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=4 280 (EU SMEs) & n=2 300 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies offering green products or services

196

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

DX4 What type of support would help you the most to launch your range of green products or services ? 
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

r
o
f
s
e
v
i
t
n
e
c
n

i

l
a
i
c
n
a
n
i
F

,

s
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

g
n
i
p
o
l
e
v
e
d

w
e
n

r
o
s
e
c
i
v
r
e
s

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
r
p

n
o
i
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

h
t
i
w
e
c
n
a
t
s
i
s
s
A

l
a
i
t
n
e
t
o
p

s
r
e
m
o
t
s
u
c

g
n
i
y
f
i
t
n
e
d
i

r
o
s
t
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k
r
a
m

d
n
a

e
h
t

t
r
o
p
p
u
s

l
a
c
i
n
h
c
e
T

r
o
f

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
c

f
o

t
n
e
m
p
o
l
e
v
e
d

d
n
a
s
e
c
i
v
r
e
s

,

s
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
r
p

n
o
i
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

s
e
c
i
v
r
e
s

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
C

r
o
g
n
i
t
e
k
r
a
m

r
o
f

n
o
i
t
u
b
i
r
t
s
i
d

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

34▲3

22▼-6

43▲12

28▲2

13▼-6

33▲10

33▲4

43▲1

55▲4

39▼-5

27▲7

47▼-1

34▲6

38▼-10

32▼-13

60▲19

18▼-5

33▼-6

11▼-6

11▼-2

39▲5

44▲11

26▼-14

48▼-6

41=

38▼-1

33▼-1

34▲1

18=

21▼-3

18▲6

20▲3

15▲2

21▼-1

18▼-1

28▲6

21▼-8

27▼-4

18▼-2

9▼-2

5▼-2

14▼-6

9▼-9

16▼-3

15▼-6

9▼-4

0▼-4

18▲2

18▼-1

14▲4

22▲4

31▲2

13▼-1

27▲1

23▲9

27▲1

22▲3

22▼-9

23▲8

21▲4

23▲9

16▼-3

23▲12

22=

27▼-2

40▲12

28▲16

20▲1

12▼-1

22▲6

9▼-9

24▲4

16▼-7

15▼-7

10▼-4

23▲6

22▲6

21▲4

20▼-7

32▲1

14▼-6

21▼-1

18▼-2

18▼-8

13▼-1

17▲5

19▲5

17▲2

12▲5

13▼-5

16▲6

21▼-1

15▼-8

16▲6

13▼-3

9▼-2

4▼-5

16▲5

13▼-2

22▲8

11▼-3

5▼-8

12▲4

16=

32▲4

10▼-4

18▲5

23▼-6

10▼-1

21▲8

12▲2

12▼-2

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
e
h
t
O

3▲1

0▼-1

2▲1

0▼-2

2=

4▲2

2▲1

1▼-4

1▲1

3▲2

2=

1▼-1

7▲3

0=

1=

0▼-1

3▼-4

1▲1

4▲1

0=

2=

0▼-2

8▲3

1▲1

6▲3

0▼-2

1▼-1

1▲1

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

36▼-4

46▲13

29▼-4

40▼-5

48▼-1

42▼-2

29▼-19

17=

25▲7

19▼-6

25▼-22

30=

53▲1

41▲5

44▲17

27▼-5

53▲9

52▲15

64▲2

47=

23▼-14

39▼-4

23▲6

14=

37▼-3

27▼-2

34▼-2

32▲1

w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

r
e
w
s
n
a
o
N

/

3▼-1

1=

3▼-6

1▼-2

8=

1▼-3

2=

3▼-1

0▼-1

4▼-1

7▲3

5▲2

2▼-2

2=

5▲5

0=

1▼-1

2=

12▲2

6▼-1

4▲1

3▼-2

4▼-4

2=

2▲2

1▼-3

2▼-3

6▲2

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=8 307 (EU SMEs) – Companies not offering green products or services
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

197

197

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

DX4 What type of support would help you the most to launch your range of green products or services ? 
[MULTIPLE ANSWERS]

r
o
f
s
e
v
i
t
n
e
c
n

i

l
a
i
c
n
a
n
i
F

,

s
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

g
n
i
p
o
l
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v
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d

w
e
n

r
o
s
e
c
i
v
r
e
s

s
e
s
s
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c
o
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p

n
o
i
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

h
t
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w
e
c
n
a
t
s
i
s
s
A

l
a
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t
n
e
t
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p

s
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m
o
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s
u
c

g
n
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y
f
i
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n
e
d
i

r
o
s
t
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k
r
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m

d
n
a

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t

t
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p
p
u
s

l
a
c
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h
c
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T

r
o
f

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
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c

f
o

t
n
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m
p
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l
e
v
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d

d
n
a
s
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c
i
v
r
e
s

,

s
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

s
e
s
s
e
c
o
r
p

n
o
i
t
c
u
d
o
r
p

s
e
c
i
v
r
e
s

y
c
n
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
C

r
o
g
n
i
t
e
k
r
a
m

r
o
f

n
o
i
t
u
b
i
r
t
s
i
d

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

34

44

46

38

28

50

11

31

19

47

34

33

18

23

17

17

16

15

13

9

13

26

25

19

22

20

15

28

24

30

19

15

10

17

24

19

13

18

18

12

13

14

20

16

11

6

14

13

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

r
e
h
t
O

3

2

0

4

1

0

11

4

0

0

0

0

)
s
u
o
e
n
a
t
n
o
p
s
(

e
n
o
N

36

30

27

26

42

14

45

39

46

25

31

40

/

w
o
n
k

t
'
n
o
D

r
e
w
s
n
a
o
N

3

3

11

4

10

1

0

5

13

4

3

3

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=8 307 (EU SMEs) & n=2 300 (SMEs in non-EU countries) – Companies not offering green products or services

198

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

DX5 In your company, how many of your full-time employees, including yourself, work in green jobs some or 
all of the time?

0 employees

1-5 employees

6-9 employees

10+
employees

Don't know/No 
answer

EU27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

57=

74▲4

53▼-7

58=

60▼-3

61▼-5

75▲4

60▲5

62▲1

48▼-10

62▼-5

55▲10

48▲3

90▲16

56▲13

71▲8

57▲6

83▲14

85▲5

66▲6

57▲1

57▼-4

53▲2

47▼-2

68▲12

44▲10

60▲5

52=

34▲1

20▼-3

38▲7

32▼-4

30▲2

30▲6

19▼-4

23▼-2

35▲3

45▲8

29▲10

30▼-13

45▼-4

10▼-14

30▼-16

25▼-4

32▼-6

10▼-11

14▼-3

28▼-2

33▲2

29▲3

37▲2

44▲9

24▼-16

47▼-11

36▼-1

39▲2

3▼-1

3▲1

4▲1

5▲3

5▲3

2▼-2

1▼-1

2▼-1

2▼-4

3=

4▼-1

5▼-2

1=

0▼-1

5▲3

3▼-1

0▼-1

3▲1

1=

2▼-1

2=

2▼-1

0▼-3

3▼-1

5▲3

5▲1

2▼-2

5▼-1

1=

0=

1▼-1

1=

1▼-1

3=

1▼-1

1▼-2

0=

1=

1=

1▼-1

1=

1=

2=

1▼-1

0▼-2

0=

0▼-1

0▼-1

1▼-1

1▼-1

0▼-2

2▼-3

1=

1=

1▼-1

1=

5=

3▼-1

5=

4▲2

5▼-2

4▲1

6▲1

15▼-1

1▼-1

4▲2

5▼-4

9▲5

6▲1

0=

7=

1▼-3

11▲2

4▼-3

0▼-1

5▼-1

7▼-2

12▲3

10▲1

4▼-3

1▲1

2=

1▼-1

3▼-2

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs)
▼▲ Evolution 2024-2021 (comparison with Flash Eurobarometer 498, November-December 2021)

199

199

Flash Eurobarometer 549
SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets

DX5 In your company, how many of your full-time employees, including yourself, work in green jobs some or 
all of the time?

0 employees

1-5 employees

6-9 employees

10+ employees

Don't know/No 
answer

EU27

UK

IS

NO

CH

ME

MD

MK

AL

RS

TR

US

57

69

57

47

61

60

30

68

74

58

83

57

34

25

17

39

27

28

41

22

21

36

11

25

3

0

14

7

3

8

15

3

1

3

2

8

1

1

1

2

3

1

8

2

1

2

1

4

5

5

12

5

5

3

6

6

4

1

4

7

Flash Eurobarometer 549 – SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets / Fieldwork: 3.6.2024-28.6.2024
(%) Base: n=13 124 (EU SMEs) & n=3 783 (SMEs in non-EU countries)

200

Flash Eurobarometer 549 
SMEs, green markets and resource eﬃciency 

E
T
-
0
1
-
2
4
-
0
0
9
-
E
N
-
N

1