Sustainable Financial Advice for SMEs

Abstract

The financial industry can play a significant role in reaching the sustainability goals. But there is a lack of attention to the part financial advisors can or should play. By advising SMEs on sustainability, financial advisors are in the position to make a large impact. To do that, financial advisors must not only advise on creating financial value but also on social and ecological value. By advising on creating multiple value and applying integrated thinking, financial advisors can provide sustainable financial advice to SMEs. And because of the large and diverse number of financial advisors for SMEs, they can make a difference in helping SMEs to become more sustainable. This article focuses on the role financial advisors can play and the impact they can make for SMEs in their challenge to become more sustainable. By combining theory on the value of advice, multiple value creation, and integrated thinking, specifically related to the challenges of SMEs on sustainability, the result is a definition of sustainable financial advice to stimulate the debate on the specific role of financial advisors in reaching the sustainability goals worldwide. Sustainable financial advice is financial advice with integrated thinking about multiple value creation with the aim to reach the sustainability goals.