AI Agents for Sustainable SMEs: A Green ESG Assessment Framework

TL;DR

This paper introduces an AI-driven framework utilizing large language models and automation to assess and improve ESG performance in European SMEs, supporting sustainable development goals.

Contribution

It presents a scalable AI agent system that automates ESG classification and recommendations, validated against expert scores and aligned with European sustainability policies.

Findings

AI system shows high consistency with human assessments

Framework enables automated ESG monitoring for SMEs

Supports European Green Deal objectives

Abstract

This study presents a novel, AI-driven framework for assessing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance in European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). An initial phase established expert-validated ESG baseline scores from a subset of the Flash Eurobarometer FL549 survey data. In the second phase, a scalable AI agent system, built on the n8n automation platform, applied these baselines to perform automated ESG classification and generate contextual recommendations using large language models (LLMs). The results demonstrate the AI system's high consistency with human-derived outputs, thereby supporting more effective monitoring and intervention strategies aligned with the European Green Deal.