Small businesses and the environment: turning over a new leaf?

Abstract

Previous studies on the environmental practices of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK and beyond have portrayed owner‐managers as laggards who underplay their firm's environmental impacts and resist environmental management due to its perceived cost. Yet a recent cross‐sector survey of 220 UK SMEs suggests that this intransigent stance may be slowly changing. Responses indicate a high percentage of owner‐managers actively involved in recycling, energy efficiency, responsible buying and selling, and efforts to reduce their carbon emissions. Owner‐managers saw it as their responsibility to help solve environmental problems and were reportedly willing to accept the costs of tougher environmental regulations and taxation. Business owners were motivated not just by the ‘push’ of legislation and environmental concern but by the ‘pull’ of potential cost savings, new customers, higher staff retention and good publicity for their firms. The survey also found that owner‐managers had resonance with the Stern Review's (2006) conclusions that the benefits of strong early action on climate change outweigh the costs, and that a transition to a low‐carbon economy will bring opportunities for business growth. This indicates that SMEs may be coming round to the idea that there is a business case for sustainability, although there is still some scepticism on the overall profitability of environmental action. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Approaching the Sustainable Development Practices in Mountain Tourism in the Romanian Carpathians

“…In the European economy SMEs are the real economic "giants", being responsible for 70% of the environment's pollution [59]. In the hotel industry in Romania, in 2015, the percentage of SMEs was 93.6% [60].…”

Influence of managers' demographic characteristics on CSR practices in the restaurant industry: the case of Slovenia

“…Yet this study goes further in reporting some relevant industry specific CSR practices, such as "cooperation with Slovenian producers". This is relevant because most literature (Revell et al 2010;Tilley 2000) has emphasized the importance of environmental issues for national economies, but also because the findings of the current study do not support the correlation between the decision to cooperate with local producers and managers' demographics. It can therefore be assumed that the decision to buy from local producers is mostly driven by managers' cost saving motivation.…”

Les facteurs explicatifs de l’engagement environnemental des PME dans le secteur de l’agroalimentaire : une étude comparative Canada-France-Finlande

“…De plus, plusieurs PME ne s'inté-ressent pas à cette préoccupation tant qu'il n'y a pas d'obligations ou d'incitatifs réglementaires. En effet, plusieurs études révèlent que les PME sont peu susceptibles d'adopter volontairement des pratiques environnementales à moins d'y être forcées 8,16,21 .…”

“…L'ajout de cette variable nous apparaît important dans la mesure où la compréhension des obstacles auxquels se heurtent les dirigeants de PME représente l'un des principaux domaines d'étude du management environnemental au cours des dernières années. Les nombreux travaux répertoriés sur les obstacles perçus par les PME en témoignent 8,10 . La figure 1 présente les composantes du cadre conceptuel de recherche.…”