- Vast majority of Estonian firms has acted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with efforts across the EU.
- Estonian businesses are generally satisfied with their investment levels over the past three years.
- Uncertainty about the future, insufficiency of skilled staff and energy costs are top three investment obstacles for companies in Estonia.
Almost nine in 10 Estonian firms – 87% – have acted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with a 91% average in Europe, according to a European Investment Bank (EIB) Group survey. Estonian businesses are more likely than companies elsewhere in the European Union to promote cleaner technologies and business areas while being less likely to focus on energy efficiency, new country results from the EIB Group Investment Survey (EIBIS) show.
EIBIS is an annual report based on polling of approximately 13,000 firms across all EU Member States plus a sample from the United States. Its main results were released in October 2024, showing that EU businesses lead way in investments in climate mitigation and adaptation.
The detailed reports for individual EU countries were published today. Key takeaways for Estonia include:
- Most Estonian firms – 73% – are satisfied with their investment levels over the past three years.
- The business environment remains a concern for Estonia-based companies, with uncertainty about the future, an insufficiency of skilled staff and energy costs being the top three investment obstacles.
- Compared with the EU average, Estonia has a higher share of companies with 40% or more women in senior management and a similar share where 50% or more of the company owners are women.
- Almost three-quarters of Estonian firms – 74% – are integrated into global trade compared with an average in the EU of 63%.
"Estonian firms are demonstrating a strong commitment to sustainability by taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros. "Their investments in new, less-polluting technologies highlight Estonia's proactive approach to addressing climate change and fostering green growth."
The full country report about Estonia is available here .
Survey results feed into the annual Investment Report, the flagship publication of the EIB Group’s Economics Department, gauging the investment outlook for Europe’s economy. The next Investment Report will be released on 5 March 2025 during the annual EIB Group Forum in Luxembourg.
The annual Forum brings together key stakeholders from the government, business and finance domains to exchange views on investment priorities that support Europe's policies, including industrial decarbonisation, artificial intelligence, the Capital Markets Union, security, housing and EU enlargement. The theme of this year’s event is Investing in a more sustainable and secure Europe.
Background information
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.
The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.
In 2024, Estonia received €498 million in financing from the EIB Group, fuelling business innovation and green growth.