esg, still few SMEs turn to subsidised finance
Emerging from a Tinexta Innovation Hub and Studio Fieschi study of 8,000 SMEs. Only 23% apply for facilitated finance linked to sustainability
Key points
Sustainability is still a mirage for a number of Italian companies, especially small and medium-sized ones. It is a problem of mentality, since according to the Climate Transition Barometer 2025 65% of European companies would like to calculate their carbon footprint in the next three years and therefore have a clear understanding of the importance of the concept of sustainability. So what is holding companies back? Often the economic aspect because budgets too often do not allow for the allocation of resources to reduce the impact of processes and products. So there is a cost problem.
Studio Fieschi-Tinexta Innovation Hub analysis
The calls for tenders are there, and so are the programmes. To ensure that the concept of sustainability is not just on paper but is something concrete. In this scenario, Tinexta Innovation Hub and its subsidiary Studio Fieschi have conducteda qualitative analysis of requests for access to public financing programmes on a sample of over 8,000 SME clients, from which considerations that frame the situation well emerge. Meanwhile, many companies are unaware that they can finance investments in the areas of EGS: only 23% of the companies that turn to Tinexta Innovation Hub for subsidised finance initiatives, in fact, include actions that fall within EGS areas in their initial requests. In general, around 35-40% of the funds dedicated to companies are oriented towards initiatives that include environmental sustainability as a key element.
Companies that turn to Tinexta Innovation Hub are using the benefits of Transition 5.0 and Simest to finance 55% of their investments.
Geographical distribution
According to elaborations based on data from the Ministry for the South and Territorial Cohesion and contained in the report, mission 2 'Green Revolution and Ecological Transition' of the NRP allocated approximately 66% of the funding to Northern and Central Italy and approximately 34% to Southern Italy.
Lombardy is the region that leads the ranking with the highest allocation to environmental sustainability projects: the amount is about EUR 5.4 billion. It is followed by Emilia-Romagna (EUR 3.8 billion), Campania and Lazio (EUR 3 billion). Among the production sectors receiving funding and incentives for sustainable development are those responsible for higher shares of greenhouse gas emissions, those that produce significant impacts on territories, and those that are transversally strategic for the ecological transition.
