Press Release
EsgMax and The Good in Town together for the ESG transition
Milano, January 23, 2025 – 2025 will be a crucial year for European companies. With the entry into force of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the ESRS standards, large enterprises will be the first to have to prepare sustainability reports according to the new regulations. However, the impact of this change will extend far beyond: even SMEs, although not required (those listed will be from 2028), will be called to respond to increasing demands for transparency from customers, supply chains, and banks.
To tackle this challenge, The Good in Town, a benefit corporation that supports SMEs in the sustainable transition, and EsgMax, a cloud solution born within the startup studio Startup Bakery that enables participatory construction of the sustainability report, have developed SME Smart Kit with the ambitious goal of helping Italian small and medium enterprises in their sustainable transition.
“The transition toward sustainability represents an important challenge for Italian SMEs, which face obstacles of various kinds, including the lack of skills and resources. Yet many of them already possess intrinsic sustainability that needs to be enhanced – claims Sara Serafini, managing director and co-founder of The Good in Town – We believe it is important to understand the real needs and resources of SMEs, helping them express the best of their identity and make balanced progress, taking into account their pace while considering regulatory and market needs. We are sure that SME Smart Kit is the right tool for companies that need to take their first steps toward sustainability.”
The difficulties of SMEs in the ESG transition: numbers that tell the story of the challenge
The transition towards sustainability is an urgent challenge for Italian SMEs, driven mainly by the impact of European policies and regulations that have more than doubled in recent years. However, the lack of institutional support and complex bureaucracy represent a barrier that 48% of SMEs recognize as decisive. Moreover, 47% of SMEs report many difficulties in accessing adequate financing to support ESG investments, a condition that further exacerbates the situation (SME EnterPRIZE 2023 White Paper, November 2024). Lastly, new technical skills (54%) and new managerial skills (36%) are deemed crucial by decision-makers *(Wyser, Anticipate the Future - The responses of managers and companies to the ESG challenge).
Other research highlights that, beyond skills, the difficulty in collecting accurate, complete, and reliable data for credible and compliant ESG reporting, henceforth adhering to the ESRS standards, is perceived as an obstacle. (National Observatory on the Sustainability of Italian SMEs – The perception of ESG issues: momentum and challenges in Italian SMEs)
SME Smart Kit: the toolbox of sustainability
To respond to the needs of small and medium enterprises, The Good in Town and EsgMax have created a toolbox, a toolkit that combines digital and human elements to facilitate SMEs in their approach to sustainability and ESG ratings: over a period of 3 to 6 months, the company will have acquired skills, developed awareness of its ESG profile and risks, activated a digital twin for the collection of useful and secure data collaboratively, identified a 'smart' roadmap for its sustainability goals, and mapped its 'washing' alerts. It will be ready for a sustainability report in response to compliance requests, customers, and banks.
“SMEs play a crucial role in the Italian economy, but often face significant challenges in terms of sustainability due to limited resources. The very language of sustainability is an obstacle to transition – states Massimo Ferri, CEO and co-founder of EsgMax. “This partnership allows us to offer SMEs tailor-made support, combining our technological expertise with the multidisciplinary skills in ESG consulting and communication of The Good in Town. Together we can provide innovative solutions that enable companies to improve their sustainability profile and gain concrete competitive advantages.”
Among these advantages is also access to credit. Companies with high ESG scores actually record an 11% higher loan approval rate compared to the average. Conversely, SMEs with low scores experience a 6% decrease in access to financing. (ESG Outlook by Crif).
“Today, bank policies reward SMEs with transparent, structured, and measurable ESG policies, as they recognize greater resilience and long-term stability in them,” adds Donatella Cambosu, co-founder of The Good in Town. “This means only one thing: that after digital transition, sustainable transition is the new shift from which there is no turning back. Therefore, it is very important for SMEs to face it as soon as possible to remain competitive and carry out necessary activities step by step, without last-minute rushes which, in sustainability, are little credible.”
In addition to facilitating access to financing, the adoption of ESG practices allows SMEs to gain an important competitive advantage. According to a further study, 68% of SMEs that have invested in sustainability have moved from a growth of 54% registered in 2022 to a growth of 68% recorded in 2023. This data highlights how ESG credentials have become fundamental for SMEs wishing to enter sustainable supply chains and establish strategic partnerships. Sustainable companies not only improve their reputation but also strengthen the value of Made in Italy, responding to the growing demand for transparency and sustainability from consumers and business partners.

From l to r: Donatella Cambosu, Massimo Ferri, and Sara Serafini
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The Good in Town
The Good in Town is a benefit corporation that helps companies respond to new challenges of sustainability, turning problems into opportunities, with an inclusive approach, multidisciplinary expertise, and measured costs. From risk mapping to step-by-step ESG journeys, from training to projects with a positive impact, from drafting sustainability reports to the ClaimSentinel service for monitoring 'greenwashing', The Good in Town designs authentic and integrated paths with the company's business. The 'purpose partnership' with ESGmax aims to increase SMEs' opportunities for access to sustainable development models, through the design and development of digital tools and services that favor purpose-driven strategies and innovation. Among its common benefit objectives is the dissemination of issues related to sustainable development, pursued through the website www.thegoodintown.it, dedicated to the positive and inclusive communication of “facts and people who change the world.” The company was founded in Milan by Sara Serafini and Donatella Cambosu.
EsgMax
EsgMax, the fourth startup born within the startup Studio Startup Bakery, is the platform that simplifies, automates, and speeds up the collection, organization, and presentation of the data necessary for drafting the sustainability report. Thanks to AI support, EsgMax helps identify relevant areas to measure based on the type of company and supports the creation of drafts through generative functions. It acts as a digital assistant for collection, sending prompts and notifications to contributors and approvers, enabling collaboration within the working group, eliminating unnecessary emails and excel files, and funneling all collection activities onto a single shared platform. EsgMax is also part of the Zucchetti group, which, together with Startup Bakery, has supported the initiative from the early stages, including through capital increases totaling €1.5 million.
Startup Bakery
Startup Bakery is the Italian startup studio founded by Alessandro Arrigo and Angelo Cavallini in February 2020 with the aim of creating sustainable B2B SaaS companies with a strong component of Artificial Intelligence and enabling founders, companies, and professional investors to express their potential. Unlike what normally happens in Venture Capital, Startup Bakery focuses on involving industrial partners to enhance its initiatives. This path aims to reduce the risk level of starting up while maintaining high returns for its Limited Partners. The Studio guarantees the serial application of tools, skills, and methodologies already present in the team and supports the co-founder in all phases, from fundraising to exit, making them increasingly independent. Thanks to a proprietary algorithm, it can rely on advanced data collection and processing capabilities to identify areas of interest to monitor, while the cyclical validation of ongoing projects is ensured by applying the lean method. To date, Startup Bakery has launched and invested in 4 startups: Veterly (2021, PetTech, €1,950,000 raised); Condeo (2022, PropTech, €700,000 raised); Sencare (2022, HealthTech, €700,000 and exit agreement for February 2024); EsgMax (2023, Sustainability, €1.5 million).