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Sustainability reporting and corporate sustainability in SMEs
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly required to address sustainability due to growing regulatory demands, stakeholder expectations, and market pressures. Sustainability reporting is becoming important as businesses are expected to disclose their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts. This shift reflects broader global efforts to promote sustainable development and align business practices with climate goals, such as those outlined in the Paris Agreement. SMEs are now expected to measure their impact, integrate sustainability into their operations, and communicate their efforts to stakeholders, including customers, investors, and larger enterprises within their supply chains. However, these requirements often present significant challenges, particularly for SMEs with limited resources, knowledge, and capacity to implement comprehensive sustainability strategies. 
SMEs often face barriers such as financial constraints, lack of expertise, and insufficient staff training. Many SMEs perceive sustainability as a costly investment, and uncertainty about the benefits or market demand for sustainable practices can further hinder progress. Additionally, SMEs often struggle to collect and analyse the data required for sustainability reporting, making compliance with emerging standards a complex task. Despite these challenges, sustainability requirements also present opportunities for SMEs to enhance their competitiveness and resilience. By adopting sustainability practices, SMEs can improve stakeholder trust, access new markets, and align with the growing demand for sustainable products and services.  

The adoption of different sustainability management tools to measure, integrate, and communicate sustainability issues raises questions about their potential to drive transformative change in corporate sustainability. While measuring and reporting sustainability issues is valuable, critics argue that it often focuses on compliance and transparency rather than fostering genuine sustainability improvements. To fully leverage these opportunities, SMEs must integrate sustainability into their core strategies, invest in capacity-building, and develop systems to measure and manage their sustainability performance effectively. This shift requires not only compliance with external requirements but also a commitment to embedding sustainability into the organization's values and long-term goals. 

The project will investigate how SMEs in the fishery sector manage and control for sustainability. This sector, vital to Northern Norway's value creation, must balance local production with international sustainability demands. The aim is to understand how SMEs integrate sustainability management tools, adapt their business strategies, and engage stakeholders to overcome barriers and align with broader sustainable development goals. This shift underscores the need for systemic changes in organizational practices and a re-evaluation of how sustainability is approached within existing business paradigms. 



Members:

Sverre Braathen Thyholdt (Principal investigator) (Project manager)
Hannah Emilie Rørslett Johansson (Principal investigator)