Increasingly frequent climate changes, social inequalities and the general disharmony between man and nature created the need for sustainable and responsible principles of management in view of the ESG approach. The newly created approach contains ecological, social and managerial components, each of which responds to the burning questions of the last few decades with its specific domain. Various interest groups are becoming increasingly concerned about the risks associated with environmental and social problems, including the aforementioned climate change and social disruption. Early indicators show that companies with excellent ESG performance tend to outperform their peers over the long term, so ESG considerations are becoming increasingly important for investors. With the development of the ESG approach, there was a need to expand the base of entities that, by correlating financial and non-financial reports, will receive feedback on the possibilities of sustainability of their business models or investments. By expanding the list of taxpayers, the list includes small and medium-sized enterprises, which, due to their specificities, represents a complex step for them. The paper will present and define the ESG approach and its factors. The historical development of the ESG approach will be presented as a continuation of considerations related to sustainability, respectively an upgrade for companies and investors who can better align their goals and sustainability plans. The ESG rating provides additional insight into ESG functions, while the EU Taxonomy monitors the regulatory framework related to the implementation of the approach. The practical part of the work consists of analyzes of small and medium-sized companies, i.e. positive steps in the implementation of ESG approaches through examples of good practice either through integration into business models or through obtaining satisfactory ESG ratings. Reporting according to the principles of ESG for small and medium-sized enterprises is in the adjustment phase that ends in 2027. The paper tries to show how non-obligatory, respectively voluntary, ESG reporting creates positive implications by implementing it in one's own business models.