🌟 Editor's note

Editor’s Note | Week of 4 August 2025

As a Brit, I finally have something to shout home about: England lifting the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 trophy, taking down Spain at penalties, as many people, myself included, held our breath. But while the Lionesses triumphed on the pitch, off it, we’re still chasing parity. From prize money to policymaking, the gender investment gap remains wide, and not just in football. Our industry suffers a gender gap, and it doesn’t make any sense to keep that gap open.

Speaking of gaps, in this week’s slow read, Carter dives into the SME climate gap. Small businesses are being asked to do everything: cut emissions, stay competitive, and absorb climate risk. But many still lack the capital, policy support, or incentives to act. As our continued coverage following the ITC SME Ministerial, a recent white paper shows, the business case is there, but alignment is missing.

There’s been a lot of music and noise this week. Trump, tariffs, and transatlantic trade politics dominated headlines, and I joined TRT News (the Turkish broadcaster) on Thursday to talk through what ‘Liberation Day 3.0’ means for Mexico, US and Turkey.

To aid the noise, we’ve also launched TTP Pulse, because not all news is equal. When we see quick stories, we’ll push them out. No full article needed. Just the TL:DR.

Among the quieter but equally consequential stories:

• Hong Kong is being pushed to accelerate its digital trade transition, as competition in Asia heats up.

• Switzerland connected its business register to the global LEI system.

• ITFA released a new whitepaper on dual-use goods compliance, showing important groundwork is now needed.

Finally, a musical nod to our GAP of the Week, Denmark-based Kenn Torben Jensen, whose appreciation of Puccini’s Tosca (which I am listening to on Spotify right now) is matched only by his analytical rigour in trade risk.

💥 We also hit a milestone this week: 4,000 followers across channels. Thank you. Whether you joined us for tariffs, Tosca, or trade transformation, you’re in good company.

Until next week,

— The Editors

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• Green investment opens doors to markets, innovatio …

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Slow read

As global climate action gathers pace, 

Small businesses have an unenviable status in the push for global climate action, being expected to lower emissions, bolster resilience, and remain competitive, all at the same time. For many of them, however, the tools, finance, or incentives to do so just aren’t there.

A new white paper from the International Trade Centre (ITC), SME Green Competitiveness, examines this very topic.

Most SMEs are exposed, few are taking action

Small businesses comprise 90% of the world’s firms and over half the world’s workforce, but their role in the climate equation is more complex than it first appears. While no single SME is likely to rank among the world’s top emitters, collectively they account for an estimated 40-60% of global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, they are disproportionately vulnerable to climate risk, from supply chain disruptions to physical damage caused by floods, drought, and extreme weather events.

This dual exposure (as both contributors to and casualties of climate change) is well documented in ITC’s firm-level data. According to survey results covering over 6,000 companies across Africa and Latin America, 61% of SMEs report being exposed to environmental risks, yet only 38% have invested in adaptation measures. Even fewer (just 37%) report active efforts to reduce their environmental footprint.

The reasons for inaction vary. Some are financial, others informational, and many structural. Unfortunately, the cost of delay is becoming increasingly clear, both environmentally and economically. Environmentally, many scientific observers caution about the climate change cliffs edge we are approaching. Economically, companies that fail to engage with sustainability are likely to find themselves more exposed to risk while also missing out on new commercial opportunities.

Green investment opens doors to markets, innovation, and savings

Despite low overall adoption, the business case for green competitiveness is strong. Across nearly every metric (like cost savings, market access, innovation, and export performance) firms that invest in sustainability consistently outperform their peers.

Among SMEs that implemented climate mitigation measures, 80% reported new business opportunities. Of those, 41% expanded into new markets, and 44% reported retained access to existing ones.

Note: Among companies that reported to invest in measures to reduce the negative environmental impact of their operations, respondents were asked: ‘Did these investments present any of the following opportunities for your business?’. Options included: (1) Access to new markets, (2) Keep existing markets, (3) Increased production, (4) Increased product quality, (5) Lower input costs, (6) New products or services, (7) Access to finance, (8) Other opportunities, and (9) No new opportunities. The chart in the left describes the share of companies that report experiencing any of the opportunities listed.

Source: ITC calculation based on ITC SME Competitiveness and ITC-CPCCAF Surveys with 3,578 firms in Argentina, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Gabon, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Senegal, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 

At the operational level, investments in sustainability often translate directly into resource efficiency and financial savings. In one ITC project, 56 firms implementing low-cost energy and resource-efficiency measures collectively saved 15 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent and $14,700 annually per firm on average.

The link to innovation is also notable. SMEs that undertake adaptation or mitigation actions are nearly 20 percentage points more likely to report product or process innovation. In Vietnam and Brazil, for example, environmental certification has been shown to correlate with higher levels of process innovation, especially among export-oriented firms.

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🏆 GAP of the Week: Kenn Torben Jensen (Nordics)

Kenn is Associate Director at EIFO, the national promotional bank and export credit agency of Denmark, which is combined in one financial institution.

🌟 Daily Mission:

• To get new insights into global trade and risks that I can translate into new business for Danish exporters - especially within the green transition. The green transition is at heart, but at the end of the day it is really about increasing human intelligence, for the benefit of a greater universe.

• To convince someone to develop and hand me the most powerful computer to calculate commercial and political risks for trade.

• To end the day on a high note.

🤳 Behind the scenes:

• Foodie: I live to taste and have the sensory experience not just once in a lifetime, but in every moment.

• Favourite food: The perfect Cote de Boeuf cooked in my own kitchen.

• Arts: You can find me at a gallery to get inspired. Especially the expression of light in paintings by Turner gets me. Best read: I love The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin published in 1987. He was not just a writer, but a true explorer and also antiques expert.

• Listening: Opera is my thing and especially Puccini's Tosca. It's intense.

• Exercising: Maintaining good health with daily exercises through workouts or on a bike.

🪷 Life Mantras:

• Be generous - and never take anything for granted.

📋 Hidden facts:

• When I was a kid growing up on the countryside I hid scrubs in my mouth. That was the best stunt to impress friends.

• I really don’t like to be in a small box.

Did You Know? Puccini’s Tosca premiered in 1900, the same year the US imposed a 57% average tariff on imports. Some things change (thankfully), others return with a flourish.

Till next time,

Trade Treasury Payments (TTP)