Bulgarian companies that take part in the UN Global Compact do more for the environment than most other European firms. That's the finding of a study by the national networks of the UN Global Compact in Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the UK and Turkey, sent to BTA.

The study comes out around the UN General Assembly and covers 5,793 companies in 21 European countries. Its authors looked at 136 indicators and say it's the first time anyone has measured how much European business helps meet the UN's sustainable development goals.

The average score for all European businesses is 58.2 out of 100. The scale is simple: 0 means a company does nothing for sustainable development, 100 means it's fully committed. The authors say the result shows business is moving in the right direction, but still has ground to make up.

Differences between countries are fairly small, but not all goals move at the same pace. European companies do best on good health and well-being, scoring 73.6 points. Overall, business does more on social issues than on the environment, and anti-corruption steps are already built into how most firms work.

Climate is a weaker spot. The average score on climate action is 45.8 points. Only 28.1% of the companies that answered have a plan ready for dealing with climate change. Manufacturers do more on climate and responsible consumption than service companies. The authors say this is because manufacturing has a more direct effect on nature, which pushes firms to act.

Against this backdrop, Bulgarian companies stand out for their care of the environment, beating the European average there. On clean water and sanitation, Bulgarian business scores 63.2 points — 8.4 points above the European average. On industry, innovation and infrastructure, the score is 72 points, 6.1 points above the European average.

Corporate governance is another strong point for Bulgarian firms. On peace, justice and strong institutions, the score is 75.5 points — 10.2 points above the European average and the third-highest of any country in the study. Bulgaria is also above average on partnerships for the goals, scoring 26.1 points, 4 points more than the European average.

Overall, scores across countries are fairly close to each other. The highest overall scores go to companies in Greece (67.3 points), Turkey (63.9 points) and Italy (62.8 points). Lower scores come from business in Poland and Denmark (51.7 points each), as well as Switzerland and Liechtenstein (54.6 points). For most countries, the gap from the overall European average is no more than 2.9 points. The study's authors say this shows business across Europe now works under similar rules and expectations on sustainability.

Besides these findings, the Global Compact's national networks give four pieces of advice to business in Europe. First, companies should track their progress in more areas of sustainable development, not just a few. Second, adapting to climate change should matter to every sector, not just manufacturers. Third, businesses should build more partnerships, both between companies and between the state and the private sector. Last, training on sustainability should expand so it reaches more employees and suppliers.

The study is based on 2025 progress reports filed by companies in the UN Global Compact. The data cover 5,793 firms and 136 indicators from 21 European countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the UK. Switzerland and Liechtenstein are also included, as they share one national Global Compact network.