How Small Businesses Can Help Tackle Climate Change

Formally, the U.N. COP29 climate summit ongoing in Baku is a gathering of national governments negotiating the best way forward to tackle climate change. With national and global climate policy facing challenges amid political uncertainty, negotiations here have led to tough conversations without a certain outcome.

One way to get past some of the headwinds is to focus on tackling climate change from the ground up—from cities cutting their own footprints to grassroots activists making changes in their backyards. At a Nov. 14 COP29 TIME100 Talk in Baku, I moderated a discussion about the role small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) can play in efforts to tackle climate change. Approximately 90% of the world’s businesses are SMEs; those firms are responsible for a significant share of global emissions. News headlines at the intersection of business and climate often focus on big companies with household names, but to achieve global climate ambitions, small firms need to be engaged.

“They're kind of the unsung heroes,” said Anila Gopal, global sustainability head, brands and Middle East advocacy at Unilever. “We have global ambitions as Unilever, set globally, but really the rubber hits the ground on decarbonization locally.”

For the small companies that engage, decarbonization can be rewarding. It helps them access new markets as Europe and many Asian markets have begun to impose sustainability requirements for imported products. Greener products appeal to consumers who are looking for sustainable products, too. And sustainability efforts make SMEs more resilient to climate risks like extreme weather.

But, despite the upside, SMEs face challenges, too. At the core is finance. Small businesses operate with thin margins, and even relatively small investments can stretch budgets thin. Some measures may save money over the long term but come with high upfront costs. Moreover, these firms often lack sufficient access to credit. Historically, public sector climate finance discussions have focused at a country or global level, and private sector climate investment largely focused on big companies doing big deals.

And then there’s the information gap. Many entrepreneurs don’t have visibility into best practices for sustainability—or even have knowledge of climate at all. Those who do may struggle to stay up-to-date about the latest demands from their customers. “We need to do more,” says Ellen Jackowski, chief sustainability officer at Mastercard. “They need money to be able to invest, build, and prepare.”

In the official halls of COP29, some delegates are talking about SMEs, and considering ways to help bring them into the mainstream of climate policy discussions. But their success will require more than discussion at COP. And, indeed, solutions have begun to pop up. A report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) identifies a range of mechanisms—from green loans to supply chain finance—that can help facilitate green practices at SMEs. Carbon markets can connect SMEs with companies or individuals who are willing to pay for firms to adopt more sustainable practices.

Aadith Moorthy, the founder and CEO of Boomitra, a company that helps farmers remove carbon through soil restoration, works with SMEs that communicate with farmers across the globe about their practices. The small firms get a share of the removal credit while advancing sustainable practices. “They know what works,” he said. “They have boots on the ground. They are the trusted people in those communities.”

On the panel, Hafsat Abiola, climate lead at Vital Voices Global Partnership, shared how her mother’s medium-sized business had sustained the family when her father faced political persecution and eventually allowed her mother to become an influential organizer of the country’s oil workers. Now, Abiola is training women entrepreneurs in Africa. “When I look at African women entrepreneurs, I don't see small sellers of Dove soap,” she said. “I see the seeds of transformation and change in Africa.”

Abiola’s story, and indeed the whole discussion, offers a reminder of how to make change from the bottom up, even in the most difficult circumstances.

Think Local, Act Global: Supporting SMEs in the Climate Transition was presented by Mastercard.