The latest Eurobarometer survey published by the European Commission pointed out that SMEs are creating green jobs. In 2012, almost 13% of all SME jobs were green jobs while in large firms it was only 1 in 33 equivalent to 3% of all large company jobs. Nonetheless, the findings from this survey also reveal that less than a quarter of SMEs take advantage of the single market for green products or services.

The European Commission published the results of the latest Eurobarometer survey on "SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets". Among the findings, the 37% of EU SMEs have at least one full or part-time green employee. In addition, green jobs in SMEs are also estimated to expand dynamically with a rate of 35% in the next 2 years.

However, as it was highlighted by Antonio Tajani, Commission's Vice-President, there is still a lot of work to do. For example, green markets for SMEs in the EU remain mainly domestic. 87% of SMEs involved in green business (or the green economy) operate in their national markets. Bureaucracy is considered as one of the obstacles in the survey. 20% of SMEs says that it would be easier to do green investments if cross-border administrative and legal procedures were not so complex. Furthermore, the survey stresses that green public procurement as a driver for a more sustainable economy is still a challenge for SMEs. According to available data, only 11% of SMEs in the EU have bid for a public procurement tender that included environmental requirements compared with 16% of large companies. The Commission is already encouraging the access to the public procurement for SMEs in general terms.

On the other hand, the Eurobarometer also shows that SMEs in green industries are also maturing. Three in five SMEs selling green products or services have been active in green markets for more than three years compared to 52% in the US. Food and beverages and electronic and mechanical machinery and equipment are the most commonly sold green products and services by SMEs in the EU.