- Almost eight in 10 Bulgarian businesses have moved to cut emissions, according to annual survey commissioned by EIB.
- Share of Bulgarian firms investing to mitigate climate change more then doubles since 2021.
- Bulgarian companies ahead of EU average in having women in senior roles.
Almost eight in 10 Bulgarian companies – 79% – have acted to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, according to a European Investment Bank (EIB) Group survey. Bulgarian businesses also are more likely than firms elsewhere in the European Union to have women in senior positions or as company owners, new country results from the EIB Group Investment Survey (EIBIS) show.
EIBIS is an annual report based on polling of approximately 13,000 firms in all EU Member States plus a sample from the United States. Its main results were released in October 2024, showing that EU businesses lead the way in investments in climate mitigation and adaptation.
The detailed reports for individual EU countries were published today.. Key takeaways for Bulgaria include:
- Bulgarian companies’ emission-reduction actions include saving energy and producing renewable power.
- The 79% share of Bulgarian businesses moving to slash greenhouse gases is below an EU average of 91%.
- Six in 10 Bulgarian companies report they have been affected by extreme weather and the share taking steps to mitigate climate change impacts has more than doubled to 56%compared with 2021.
- The investment outlook – the share of firms expecting to increase rather than decrease their investments – is stable, with Bulgarian firms continuing to focus their investments on capacity expansion rather than replacement.
- Compared with other EU countries, Bulgaria has a higher share of firms with 40% or more women in senior management and 50% or more women owning the company.
“We will continue helping Bulgarian firms to take climate action, adapt to global warming and boost their competitiveness,” said EIB Vice-President Kyriacos Kakouris.
The full country report about Bulgaria 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.
Since the start of its operations in Bulgaria, the EIB Group has invested over €10 billion in the country, financing projects that reduce regional disparities, strengthen economic competitiveness, and boost growth. In 2024 alone, the EIB Group funding volume reached €388 million in Bulgaria.