Only 58% of Portuguese companies have a formal ESG strategy

Sustainability is putting pressure on the European business community on several fronts, but Portugal is still lagging behind. Only 58% of Portuguese companies have a formal ESG strategy, a figure considerably lower than in countries such as Spain or Italy, where more than 80% are already working on the topic and preparing a response to regulation. The data comes from the International ESG Barometer 2025, by the consultancy firm Ayming.

Although it is not yet known exactly what will change in the reporting obligations required by the European Commission, the urgency exists and companies that do not start this work risk being left behind. And even those not directly affected will feel the impact, it is pointed out. “CSRD indirectly affects smaller suppliers, who do not want to run the risk of being eliminated from the value chain”, warns the report .

According to the data, three out of four European companies say they have already seen positive impacts from ESG strategies. In Italy, for example, 48% of organizations report increased customer satisfaction and 44% report improvements in brand reputation. In Portugal, companies that fail to act risk “losing competitiveness, or even being excluded from the market,” as warned by Krzysztof Oklot, from Schneider Electric, cited in the study.

The main obstacle is financing: two-thirds of European companies point to budgetary constraints for their sustainability initiatives, while 22% say they do not have the means to implement their strategies. In France, the figure rises to 79%. Self-financing is still the dominant model (41%), with little use of public incentives, a trend also visible in Portugal, where only 29% of companies use ESG events and conferences to find financing, well below the European average.

Data fragmentation, the complexity of ESG topics and the lack of specialized human resources are additional barriers on this path towards corporate sustainability.

But it’s not all bad news, and there are signs of progress that are worth highlighting. Among them, the study reveals that 80% of companies already include environmental and social impact in their investment decisions, and almost half (48%) have teams dedicated to ESG issues, although many use external consultants.

“ESG is no longer optional,” the report concludes. And, as Ayming CEO Magdalena Burzynska warns, “companies that act decisively and strategically will not only overcome challenges but will set the standard for responsibility and resilience for decades to come.”

It should be noted that discussions in Brussels continue on simplifying corporate sustainability reporting obligations, after the European Commission announced in February its intention to make the measure more flexible in order to ease the bureaucratic burden on small and medium-sized companies. Last month, an MEP presented a new proposal to further reduce the obligations of European companies so that Europe can remain competitive.