Impact-driven businesses in the EU

Year: 2026
Published in: Publications Office of the European Union
Cited as: European Commission: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, WYG, Gautier, N., Petričević, T., D’Andrea, G. et al., Impact-driven businesses in the EU – State of play and future prospects, Publications Office of the European Union, 2026, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2873/9531062

Impact-driven businesses in the EU: State of play and future prospects

Businesses are increasingly expected to contribute to wider societal and environmental objectives in addition to economic growth and competitiveness. Alongside this evolution, growing attention has been paid to businesses that intentionally integrate positive social and/or environmental objectives into their core business models. Such businesses are described using a wide variety of terms,including social enterprises, benefit corporations, purpose-driven companies, regenerative businesses, net-positive firms, and impact-driven businesses. Despite growing policy and market interest, no common operational definition exists at the European Union (EU) level.