Roundtable

Workshop: How to Sell Sustainability to SMEs

1:30 - 2:20PM | 24 June 2025
2:30 - 3:20PM | 24 June 2025

 

Context

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are vital to Greece’s (and Europe's) economic fabric and industrial value chains. Yet, they often face significant structural barriers in adopting sustainability practices, due to limited awareness, integration, and capacity — particularly in terms of financial and human resources. The evolving European sustainability framework — including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and the EU Taxonomy — makes it increasingly urgent to design inclusive pathways that support SME participation in the sustainability transition.

In response, CSR HELLAS, inspired by CSR Europe’s Pact for Sustainable Industry, launched the Hellenic Pact for Sustainable Industry (HPSI) — a three-year, multi-stakeholder initiative aiming to strengthen awareness, build capacity, and promote alignment with material ESG issues across all levels of industry. Crucially, within HPSI, large companies cover the costs of participation for SMEs in their supply chains. This model ensures that for the SMEs, training and support are provided free of charge, enabling meaningful engagement despite resource constraints.

The initiative is built around three strategic axes:

  • Axis I (2023–2024): Engaged 19 pioneering companies to identify common material topics, align with European standards, and participate in thematic ESG workshops.

  • Axis II (2025–2026): Will work with business associations and sectoral federations to support shared sustainability roadmaps.

  • Axis III (2024–2025): Focuses on the SMEs within the supply chains of pioneers, delivering tailored training (ateliers) and enabling collaborative adaptation to regulatory and market expectations.

Organizer

This roundtable is organized by CSR Hellas

Who should attend

  • CSR/Sustainability Managers

  • Procurement officers

  • Supply Chain & Human Rights Specialists

  • Ethics and Compliance teams

  • EU Policymakers

  • Civil Society Representatives

 

ABOUT THE roundtable

The ESG Roundtable will center on the theme “How to Sell Sustainability to SMEs”, exploring how larger companies communicate and promote ESG priorities across their ecosystems. It will present the HPSI as a good practice example, highlighting effective strategies, communication approaches, and business cases that demonstrate how sustainability can be scaled collaboratively and credibly.

By bringing together key actors — from corporates and SMEs to associations, experts, and policymakers — the Roundtable will offer a platform for strategic dialogue, mutual learning, and the exchange of best practices, helping to advance a resilient, competitive, and sustainable industrial landscape in Europe.