SMEs: Navigating the path to sustainability

To move forward with one team, one budget, and one chance to prove your value, SMEs need to build traceability using tools they already have. There’s no need for a new platform to start. Existing ERP or PLM systems can be used to add fields for recycled content, material origin, and energy data. Identifying which suppliers can provide sustainability declarations and tracking internal improvements - such as energy efficiency, waste reduction, or design choices - are crucial steps. This is about surfacing what you already know. Visibility is more valuable than perfection.

Trying to tackle everything at once is unrealistic. SMEs should start focused by choosing one product and one supplier. Select one key product line and collaborate with a supplier who’s open to sharing impact data. Map the lifecycle, identify gaps, and make one measurable improvement - whether it’s in packaging, materials, or logistics. This is your proof of concept. Make it work, then scale.

Don’t wait for audits. Start using sustainability as part of your value proposition. Highlight product longevity, repairability, or reduced CO₂ impact. Reference material traceability or local sourcing. Show how your operations reduce risk or emissions in your customer’s scope 3 footprint. This isn’t greenwashing. It’s differentiating. If you don’t say it, it doesn’t count.

You don’t need 20 dashboards. Choose metrics you can actually maintain, such as the percentage of recycled material, energy or emissions per unit, supplier compliance rate, waste per unit produced, and the number of products with lifecycle data. Make these visible to leadership, just like financial KPIs.

For SMEs, improving the flow of value means flowing sustainability data through ERP and PLM, flowing impact metrics into offers, RFQs, and compliance docs, and flowing expectations back upstream to suppliers and across your own teams. You don’t need a new department. You need a digital sustainability thread.