Sustainable development is a new concept put forward by the development of modern society. It emphasizes the continuity, integrity and coordination of social development. To realize the sustainable development of enterprises, it is necessary to create a new development model. Because the essence of environmental problems lies in their external diseconomy, the traditional environmental cost management mode makes enterprises neglect the prevention of environmental pollution beforehand, and the protection and treatment afterwards make enterprises overwhelmed. How to conform to the trend of the times, seize the opportunity and realize the sustainable development of enterprises has become a realistic topic with strategic significance. Eco-environmental problems are increasingly becoming the internal factors of enterprise management and development. Therefore, from the perspective of enterprise management and production, it has naturally become the inevitable trend of enterprise development to implement environmental cost management, pay attention to saving resources, protecting the environment and improving ecological construction. Based on the theory of sustainable development, this paper discusses the causes of sustainable development of small and medium‐sized enterprises, deeply analyzes the characteristics and development status of small and medium‐sized enterprises, and then puts forward the improvement strategy of enterprise model under the concept of sustainable development.