NatWest’s 2022 Springboard to Sustainable Recovery report finds £175bn revenue opportunity for UK economy between now and 2030, with over 40,000 new SMEs and 260,000 jobs required in critical sectors to reach net-zero targets.

SMEs could contribute up to half of UK 2030 emission targets through pursuing decarbonisation and efficiency, such as insulation in the UK’s 30 million homes, technology, businesses deploying millions of electric vehicle chargers and those firms contracted to build renewable infrastructure.

Lord Nicholas Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute, said: “There are big opportunities for SMEs to break into other markets with low-carbon offerings and to make their mark the larger decarbonisation challenge. The additional revenue that could be unlocked, both locally and abroad, for SMEs could not only create jobs, but also grow the whole UK economy and contribute to the development of historically underdeveloped nations.”

The investment requirements to decarbonise Europe in the next ten years will be around five times the size of the investments required in the UK, and the global requirements will be around 30 times. The report has also found that UK SMEs already export nearly £200bn of products and services today, including in many sectors critical to decarbonisation, such as chemicals, electrical equipment, and low carbon services.

Share Story: