5th Annual Conference of the OECD Platform on Financing SMEs for Sustainability - Strengthening SME Resilience: Financing Energy Efficiency and Climate Adaptation

• Angelina Cannizzaro, Deputy Director, UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, Chair of the OECD Committee on SMEs and Entrepreneurship
• Nadim Ahmad, Deputy Director, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) 

Energy efficiency is a key lever for SMEs to improve competitiveness, reduce operating costs and strengthen long-term resilience. Energy efficiency measures often generate direct and measurable cost savings, creating a clear business case for investment while contributing to broader sustainability and decarbonisation objectives.

This session will examine how governments, public financial institutions and private lenders can accelerate SME investments in energy efficiency through effective financing instruments, targeted incentives and complementary advisory support. Drawing on international experience, the discussion will explore practical approaches to increasing investment uptake, overcoming implementation challenges and scaling energy efficiency across the SME population. The session will seek to address the following questions:

• If energy efficiency investments can generate measurable cost savings, why does SME uptake remain limited?
• Which financing and delivery models can most effectively convert expected energy savings into investable and bankable projects?
• How can energy audits, technical assistance, standardisation and project aggregation reduce transaction costs and implementation barriers?
• How should performance and other risks be assessed and shared among SMEs, financial institutions, technology providers and energy service companies?
• Where is public intervention most needed, and how can it generate the greatest additionality by catalysing private finance and enabling investments that would not occur without public support?

Building on the preceding panel discussion, this interactive session will explore how different approaches to financing SME energy-efficiency investment can be applied across diverse national and institutional contexts. Through audience polling and an exchange of practical experience, participants will consider where particular instruments and support models are most effective, the conditions needed for their successful implementation, and the lessons that can be transferred across countries. 

Climate adaptation is becoming an increasingly important business priority for SMEs as they face growing exposure to physical climate risks, including extreme weather events, water scarcity and supply chain disruptions, among others. This fireside chat will shed light on the experiences of small businesses developing innovative climate adaptation solutions, as well as those adopting solutions to strengthen their own climate resilience. Speakers will share what prompted them to act, how they navigated investment and financing challenges, and what they learned along the way. The informal, interactive format will invite the audience to engage directly with the speakers, ask questions and share perspectives.

Adaptation investments often remain difficult to plan and finance, as their benefits are typically realised through avoided losses, improved business continuity and enhanced resilience rather than direct revenue generation. This session will explore how governments and financial institutions can better support SME investments in climate adaptation. It will examine the business case for adaptation, the main barriers holding back SME investment, and the role of public and private finance in overcoming these barriers. Drawing on international experience, the discussion will showcase innovative financing approaches, complementary non-financial support, and policy measures that can help accelerate adaptation investments to strengthen SME resilience.

• How can the business case for adaptation be demonstrated when returns largely take the form of avoided losses and improved business continuity?
• Which financing instruments and risk-sharing arrangements are best suited to the characteristics of SME adaptation investments?
• How can finance be combined with climate-risk information, technical assistance, insurance and other forms of non-financial support?
• Where should public intervention be targeted to reach the SMEs, sectors and regions most exposed to climate risks, while mobilising private finance?

• Angelina Cannizzaro, Deputy Director, UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, Chair of the OECD Committee on SMEs and Entrepreneurship (tbc)
• Lucia Cusmano, Head of the SME and Entrepreneurship Division, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE)