Environmental challenges have become a crucial business problematique for medium and large-sized companies operating in Greece. In the midst of climate change and sustainability requirements continue to change, deriving both from relevant legislation and evolving prioritization from stakeholders – and compliance is no longer limited to environmental management teams.
In reality, all of the above can directly affect operating costs, supply chains, infrastructure, business continuity, access to finance, and long-term competitiveness – among many others. And this is particularly relevant for companies with extensive physical operations or complex supply chains in Greece, including retail companies, logistics providers, insurers, manufacturers.
Greece is notably exposed to several climate-related hazards. As such, both local and EU institutions recognize these risks not only as environmental issues, but also as economic and operational ones. For businesses, the challenge is therefore twofold: to reduce their environmental footprint while also being able to measure, document and communicate their sustainability performance in a credible and transparent way.
Business struggles amid climate change
As stated above, one of the most significant environmental challenges for businesses in Greece is the growing demand for reliable and precise sustainability data. Customers, investors, and financial institutions, among other stakeholders, increasingly expect companies to demonstrate their environmental performance through measurable indicators, credible reporting and independent assessments.
As a result, sustainability is no longer limited to internal initiatives or broad environmental commitments. Businesses are largely expected to meet clear targets, track key metrics, and provide evidence of progress. Sustainability ratings and assessment platforms, such as EcoVadis, are also becoming an important point of reference in supplier evaluations, procurement processes and wider business relationships.
For medium and large-sized companies, reliable sustainability data is now paramount, and businesses need to accurately track energy use, emissions, waste levels, and resource efficiency. As such, transparent, verifiable data will help companies meet customer, investor and lender expectations, while effective environmental performance and management will secure market competitiveness and stakeholder trust.
Environmental reporting for regulatory and stakeholder compliance
Environmental performance is becoming more closely connected with corporate reporting, governance and compliance. The aforementioned National Climate Law already includes carbon-footprint reporting requirements for certain categories of businesses. The Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy notably reported that 277 companies submitted carbon-footprint reports for the 2023 reference year under Article 20 of the law.
At EU level, the sustainability reporting framework has also been reformed: the scope of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive has been narrowed, while revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards were adopted by the Commission in July 2026, with the aim of reducing the reporting burden. Alongside legal obligations, businesses face growing requests for sustainability data from customers, investors, lenders, or even assessment platforms.
While not every medium-sized business is directly subject to mandatory sustainability reporting as part of CSRD, its ESG strategy may still need to provide reliable environmental data on energy use, emissions, and other KPIs. The reason is that being able to collect, verify, and communicate this information is becoming more and more important for procurement, financing, supplier relations, and overall market competitiveness and financial robustness.
Energy consumption and the National Climate Law
Energy remains the single most pressing environmental and operational consideration for Greek businesses. Large retail networks, logistics facilities, office buildings, data infrastructure and industrial operations typically consume substantial amounts of electricity and fuel. Becoming compliant with the relevant legislation can therefore serve multiple objectives; reducing environmental impact, controlling operational expenditure, and supporting accurate measurement and reporting.
Simultaneously, Greece is moving towards a lower-carbon economic model. The National Climate Law in Greece establishes a framework for climate neutrality by 2050, with interim greenhouse-gas reduction targets for 2030 and 2040. The country’s National Energy and Climate Plan provides a broader roadmap for meeting national energy and climate objectives, while also shifting the focus on emissions measurement and reporting requirements.
Supply chain and environmental risks
This transition makes accurate energy and emissions data increasingly critical for medium and large businesses; companies need to monitor consumption, understand reporting obligations, and use reliable data to identify improvement opportunities, set reduction targets and plan future actions. For logistics companies in particular, relevant indicators are becoming highly relevant not only to compliance, but also to operational planning and procurement decisions.
For large organizations, sustainability requirements rapidly extend beyond the company’s own operations. Retailers may work with hundreds of suppliers, logistics providers with multiple subcontractors, and other large businesses with complex partner networks. As a result, companies are facing growing expectations to collect and provide reliable environmental and ESG information across their value chains.
Supplier sustainability questionnaires and assessment platforms such as EcoVadis typically require structured data, supporting documentation, as well as evidence of emerging policies, actions, and their impact on relevant performance indicators. Information on emissions, energy consumption, waste, environmental targets and management practices therefore needs to be accurate, traceable and readily available.
Responding effectively to these requirements is becoming an important part of maintaining commercial relationships and demonstrating sustainability performance. Ecostart S.A. supports companies all throughout sustainability assessments with gap analysis, evidence preparation and improvement planning, allowing them to organize the required information and steadily strengthen their sustainability performance over time.
Resilience for medium and large businesses
For medium and large-sized businesses in the Greek private sector, environmental challenges are becoming more and more connected to everyday business decisions. A practical sustainability approach starts with identifying the requirements that apply to each organization and understanding which environmental topics, data points, and performance indicators are most relevant to its strategic operations.
From there, businesses can develop appropriate policies and KPIs, collect and organize primary environmental data, and build a much more reliable picture of their performance. This information can support internal monitoring, regulatory reporting, sustainability disclosures, supplier questionnaires and external assessments, while also helping companies define measurable priorities and improvement actions.
The objective is not simply to comply with environmental regulation, but to create a structured and credible sustainability framework. Ecostart S.A. proudly supports businesses throughout this process, from identifying applicable requirements, developing policies, and tracking indicators, to organizing data, conducting reports, supporting sustainability assessments, and shaping a broader sustainability strategy aligned with each company’s needs and objectives.