The Three Major Pain Points of SME Sustainable Transformation! DOMI’s Sustainable Business Model Journey White Paper Reveals the Keys to Success
- COrey DOMi
- Feb 5
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 26
SMEs and Sustainable Transformation: Overcoming Challenges with a Clear Path Forward
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) often believe that driving sustainable transformation requires too much resources, making it unaffordable, or that only large corporations need to invest in it. According to the DOMI "SME Sustainable Transformation Survey," SMEs face three major challenges when implementing ESG initiatives:
Rapid changes in international ESG trends and overwhelming information, making it difficult to keep up (29%)
Internal difficulties in driving sustainable practices within the organization (26%)
Lack of support or prioritization from top management, along with limited budgets (15%)
In summary, the key barriers are "lack of direction, lack of personnel, and lack of funds."
To address these challenges, DOMI has partnered with Swedish sustainability researcher Miriam Garvi to release the Sustainable Business Model Journey White Paper. This white paper combines theoretical research with over a decade of practical experience in sustainability, providing SMEs with strategic guidance on overcoming key pain points and integrating sustainability into their business models.
How Should SMEs Approach Sustainable Transformation?
The CEO of DOMI, Corey Lien, emphasizes that if SMEs do not first establish their core "business purpose", sustainability efforts often become a mere response to compliance standards, lacking long-term value creation. For SMEs, sustainability is not a one-time goal but an ongoing journey that evolves alongside business growth.
DOMI’s Sustainable Business Model Journey framework helps SMEs at different stages identify their unique paths, integrate sustainability into their business models, and effectively leverage internal and external resources to enhance sustainable competitiveness.
White Paper Launch: Experts Call for a Shift from "Doing Sustainability" to "Being Sustainable"
At the launch event for the Sustainable Business Model Journey White Paper, Lin Tzu-Lun, Deputy Executive Director of Taiwan’s Executive Yuan Office of Energy and Carbon Reduction, and Kenji Shino, Environmental Director of Patagonia Asia and Board Member of B Market Builder Japan, attended in support of this initiative.
Lin highlighted that despite a decade of efforts, sustainability progress has been slow. In recent years, many businesses have shown a collective “carbon tunnel vision”, focusing only on emissions reduction. He stressed that companies must go beyond "doing sustainability" and transition toward "being sustainable"—embedding sustainability into national, urban, and corporate business models to achieve meaningful and lasting transformation.
Kenji Shino added, "DOMI’s Sustainable Business Model Journey provides a fresh perspective, helping Asian enterprises innovate in ESG transformation."
Key Elements for Successful Transformation
How can SMEs effectively complete their sustainability transformation? DOMI highlights three critical elements in the Sustainable Business Model Journey:
Purpose-Driven Transformation – Businesses must clarify:
"Why are we doing this?" (Community-oriented focus, considering the supply chain ecosystem where their products/services operate)
"Who are we doing this for?" (Beneficiary-oriented focus, identifying the specific groups they aim to support)
This reframing strengthens sustainability thinking and enhances connections with stakeholders.
Human-Centered Technology Utilization – Instead of merely chasing technology for competitive advantage, companies should integrate human needs into tech innovations. By considering people when investing in new technologies, SMEs can align their advancements with their supply chain community and beneficiaries, creating a more powerful impact.
Cultural Integration of Meaning – To maximize the impact of sustainability, it must become deeply embedded in corporate culture. A bottom-up, internally driven approach fosters an efficient and self-sustaining sustainable team.
The Sustainable Business Model Journey Platform: Turning Sustainability into a Competitive Advantage
The Sustainable Business Model Journey Platform offers SMEs a structured approach to transformation. It not only helps businesses define their unique positioning but also enables them to enhance ESG impact in a highly competitive market—achieving both business growth and social contribution.
Start your sustainable transformation today with the Sustainable Business Model Journey Platform: https://www.domiearth.com/journey!
