SMEs’ struggle with green transition

SME exports to the EU may not be significant, but the Alliance Bank report notes that mindset change, including on carbon emissions, is still a long way off for SMEs. — Photo: Freepik

THERE is another year-and-a-half before the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a policy instrument that imposes a tariff on goods imported to the 27-member bloc based on the amount of carbon emissions from the production process, is fully implemented.

It is unclear whether Malaysian SMEs are ready to comply with the reporting standards or whether they need to spend more on compliance as well as invest in environmentally friendly production processes.