What ESG consulting is and why it has become strategic for businesses
ESG consulting refers to the set of advisory activities that support a company in analysing, managing and communicating its environmental (Environmental), social (Social) and governance (Governance) impacts.
This is no longer an exercise reserved for large listed companies: a company’s ESG rating increasingly affects its conditions of access to bank credit, its eligibility for public tenders and calls, and its positioning within supply chains led by major clients.
An ESG consulting engagement typically unfolds in a few recurring phases:
- Initial assessment and gap analysis against the reference standards (ESRS, VSME)
- Definition of ESG indicators and targets consistent with the company’s sector and size
- Integration of ESG criteria into the industrial plan and the business plan
- Preparation of sustainability reporting, where required by law or requested along the supply chain
In short
ESG consulting is the service that supports companies in measuring, managing and reporting environmental, social and governance factors, integrating them with the subsidised finance opportunities linked to the PNRR and with extraordinary finance transactions, in order to strengthen access to credit, supply-chain competitiveness and regulatory compliance.
Italian companies are now facing a change of perspective: sustainability is no longer merely a reputational issue, but a requirement that banks, investors and major supply-chain clients demand with growing frequency before granting credit, admitting companies to tenders or starting commercial partnerships. In parallel, the closing phase of the PNRR requires companies to capture the last available resources quickly, while extraordinary finance transactions — M&A, restructurings, asset disposals — increasingly call for an integrated reading of economic-financial performance and ESG criteria. In this scenario, ESG consulting becomes the point of connection between compliance, access to capital and sustainable growth.
The ESG regulatory framework: CSRD, Legislative Decree 125/2024 and the Omnibus I Package
The main European reference is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD — EU Directive 2022/2464), transposed into Italian law by Legislative Decree No. 125 of 6 September 2024, in force since 25 September 2024. The decree extended sustainability reporting obligations to large companies and, in simplified form, to listed SMEs, excluding micro-enterprises.
The framework was subsequently revised by the Omnibus I Package, culminating in EU Directive 2026/470, in force since 18 March 2026, which restricted the direct reporting obligation to companies jointly exceeding two size thresholds, considerably reducing the pool of companies bound by it compared with the original 2022 approach.
Unlisted SMEs remain outside the direct obligation, but can voluntarily adopt the VSME standard (Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for non-listed SMEs) published by EFRAG: a tool increasingly requested by banks and by large client companies along the supply chain, which after Omnibus I may ask SME suppliers only for the information covered by the VSME, and not for the full ESRS set.
Completing the regulatory picture, EU Regulation 2020/852 (the green Taxonomy) sets out the criteria for classifying an economic activity as environmentally sustainable, and is a reference increasingly used by banks and investors when assessing financing and extraordinary finance transactions.
PNRR consulting: the opportunities in the Plan’s closing phase
The measures still active in 2026
2026 is the final year of the PNRR: the tenth and last payment request to the European Commission is due by 30 September 2026, with the final instalment disbursed and administrative closure by 31 December 2026, to be followed by ex-post audit and control activities on beneficiaries.
For businesses, some windows remain open, albeit close to exhaustion: the funds for Renewable Energy Communities, the National Connectivity Fund and the Development Contracts. The Transizione 5.0 Plan, by contrast, closed to new bookings on 27 November 2025: those who have already booked the tax credit must send the completion notice to the GSE by 31 August 2026, together with an expert appraisal and technical documentation.
What happens after the PNRR: the new hyper-depreciation
From 1 January 2026, the Transizione 5.0 tax credit has been replaced by a new hyper-depreciation mechanism (Law 199/2025 and Decree-Law 38/2026), which increases the tax value of eligible capital goods by up to 180% for goods with high artificial-intelligence content, with an application window covering investments made between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2028. For businesses, this is a change of logic — from an immediate tax credit to an increased depreciation allowance — requiring ad hoc tax and financial planning, as well as a careful check of the rules oncumulation with the other measures still in force.
Up-to-date PNRR consulting is therefore essential not only to complete ongoing applications correctly within the system deadlines, but also to set up the transition towards the new incentive tools that will accompany business investment beyond the Plan’s closure.
Extraordinary finance consulting: a strategic lever for growth and sustainability
M&A, restructurings and ESG-oriented transactions
Extraordinary finance transactions — asset disposals, the search for industrial or financial partners, debt restructurings, business combinations — now benefit from a structured integration of ESG criteria at the due diligence stage and in drafting the Information Memorandum.
Investment funds, private equity firms and credit institutions increasingly assess the target’s sustainability profile, alongside the traditional economic-financial indicators, as part of the risk analysis and pricing process.
In this context, effective extraordinary finance consulting is not limited to the accounting and legal side of the transaction: from the earliest stages it integrates the reading of ESG risks and opportunities, coordinating with due diligence and asset valuation activities.
A recurring case
A manufacturing company in Central Italy, a supplier to an industrial group subject to the CSRD, was asked for the first time by its supply-chain lead client for a VSME-style set of ESG information. The voluntary assessment and reporting process it undertook was accompanied by an analysis of the subsidised finance measures still available for energy-efficiency investments, thereby strengthening both the commercial relationship with the client and access to new credit lines.
The case, reported anonymously, is representative of the dynamics that SBG Consulting observes more and more often among Italian SMEs operating within structured supply chains.
Frequently asked questions
What is ESG consulting?
It is the consulting service that supports companies in measuring, managing and communicating environmental, social and governance factors, integrating them with strategic planning, access to credit and extraordinary finance transactions.
Are unlisted SMEs required to produce ESG reporting?
No: after the Omnibus I Package, the direct reporting obligation applies only to companies exceeding certain size thresholds. Unlisted SMEs remain excluded, but increasingly adopt the simplified VSME standard voluntarily, at the request of banks or supply-chain clients.
Which PNRR measures are still active for businesses in 2026?
Renewable Energy Communities, the National Connectivity Fund and the Development Contracts remain active, though close to exhaustion. The Transizione 5.0 tax credit has not accepted new bookings since 27 November 2025; those who have already booked must complete their notifications to the GSE by 31 August 2026.
What changes from 2026 with hyper-depreciation compared with Transizione 5.0?
There is a shift from an immediate tax credit to a tax uplift on the cost of capital goods, of up to 180% for goods with high artificial-intelligence content, applicable to investments made between 2026 and 2028.
Why integrate ESG criteria into extraordinary finance transactions?
Because funds, banks and investors increasingly assess the target’s sustainability profile alongside the traditional economic-financial indicators, both in due diligence and in setting the price of the transaction.