Brazilian Small Businesses Embrace Sustainable Finance and Climate Strategies at COP30
At COP30, Brazilian institutions emphasize enhancing sustainable finance access and climate strategy inclusion for small businesses, showcasing successful programs and partnerships.
- • Banco do Nordeste promotes expanded sustainable finance access for micro and small enterprises, including a solar energy credit line with R$ 330 million allocated.
- • Sebrae partners with global coalitions to boost SMEs' climate action capacity and has brought public policy proposals to COP30.
- • 80% of SMEs report low government support for climate initiatives, highlighting barriers to their sustainability efforts.
- • An institutional headquarters in Fortaleza demonstrates leading sustainable practices with LEED Platinum certification achieved twice.
Key details
During COP30 held in Belém, Pará, Brazilian institutions highlighted the critical role of small and micro enterprises in the nation's sustainable economic transition. Banco do Nordeste advocated for expanding small businesses' access to sustainable finance in a panel titled "Green Finance: connecting entrepreneurs to the sustainable transition," hosted by Sebrae Nacional. Kléber de Oliveira from Banco do Nordeste emphasized the challenges micro and small enterprises face amid regulatory focus on large firms, stating that there is a "significant regulatory pressure on large businesses, but we need to discuss the gap that still exists for micro and small enterprises." He stressed the importance of providing information and training to enable these enterprises to engage in sustainability effectively. Banco do Nordeste has already committed R$ 330 million through its FNE Sol program to support over 2,300 entrepreneurs investing in solar energy since 2023. Furthermore, its Crediamigo and Agroamigo microcredit programs distributed more than R$ 20 billion to urban and rural entrepreneurs last year.
Complementing these efforts, Sebrae—supporting 23.6 million Brazilian businesses—sealed partnerships with the We Mean Business Coalition and SME Climate Hub to mobilize governments globally around enhancing small and medium enterprises’ capacity to address climate change. Sebrae President Sébastien Lima highlighted that despite SMEs contributing over 50% to global GDP and comprising 90% of businesses worldwide, 80% report inadequate government support or awareness regarding climate incentives. Sebrae and its partners developed public policy recommendations focusing on engaging small businesses politically, promoting successful climate action cases, simplifying climate initiatives, and increasing access to green finance.
Sebrae actively showcased these initiatives at COP30 via a 400 m² immersive exhibit themed on Amazon and Brazilian biodiversity, including cultural programs and networking opportunities.
In parallel, the headquarters of a leading institution in Fortaleza has set an example in sustainable socio-environmental practices, achieving LEED Platinum certification twice by implementing solar panels, water reuse technologies, and environmentally certified materials, underscoring the growing adoption of sustainability in Brazilian enterprise environments.
These combined institutional efforts emphasize a collaborative, inclusive approach to embedding sustainability within Brazilian small businesses, recognizing their essential role as the country advances towards a carbon-neutral economy and greener growth model.
This article was synthesized and translated from native language sources to provide English-speaking readers with local perspectives.