It's SO Easy Being Green

Walking the talk? Environmental responsibility from the perspective of small‐business owners

“…This has identified a wide range of potential impediments. The limited resources of owner‐managers constrain their engagement in environmentally responsible business practices generally (Hillary, 2000) and specifically in the inability to appoint a dedicated environmental manager (Schaper and Raar, 2001). Low levels of ‘eco‐literacy’ (Tilley, 2000) and a lack of or inability to access information (Schaper, 2002a) Low environmental visibility and the perception that small firms individually have a small or almost negligible environmental footprint (Hillary, 2000; Wehrmeyer, 2000; Bowen 2002; Vernon et al ., 2003).…”

“…The limited resources of owner‐managers constrain their engagement in environmentally responsible business practices generally (Hillary, 2000) and specifically in the inability to appoint a dedicated environmental manager (Schaper and Raar, 2001).…”

Environmental Sustainability Orientation of Small and Medium Sized Businesses in South Africa

“…Lepoutre and Heene (2006, p. 262) described this factor as the absence of "discretionary slack": the opportunity for managers to use excess time and resources to reduce internal and/or external pressures. Hillary (2000) suggests that generally, limited resources of owner-managers often constrain their engagement in environmentallyresponsible business practices, and specifically in the ability to appoint a dedicated environmental manager (Schaper and Raar, 2001). SMEs have been found to consider environmental management practices as a cost burden which can result in loss of competitiveness (Petts, Herd, Gerrard, and Horne, 1999;Revell, 2007;Rutherfoord et al, 2000;Simpson, Taylor, and Barker, 2004a).…”