What do SMEs have to expect from the new reporting and disclosure requirements? Which stakeholders need sustainability data in the future? These questions were among those addressed at the C02nference of the Effizienz Agentur NRW in Dusseldorf at the end of August.
Dr Markus Rieger-Fels presented the results of the study "The EU's support measures for sustainable financing – implications for the Mittelstand". He showed that larger Mittelstand companies without a capital-market orientation will be obliged to publish sustainability information in their annual report from 2026 onwards. But even small and medium-sized companies must provide such information to their large customers to help them meet their reporting obligations. "Banks also increasingly demand data on corporate sustainability when granting loans, as they have to report on their own sustainability. They must show how their lending finances sustainable economic activity," says the IfM researcher.
