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Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Environment: Business Imperatives book cover

1st Edition

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Environment Business Imperatives

Edited By Ruth Hillary Copyright 2000
    392 Pages
    by Routledge

    416 Pages
    by Routledge
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    This book tackles a largely neglected topic: small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their environmental impact. Over 90% of all firms are SMEs. Their importance to the health of national and international economies is recognized. But what of their environmental impact? Individually, this may be small but, collectively, they pose a huge and largely unregulated threat to national and indeed the global environment.  There have been many failed attempts to engage SMEs in environmental stewardship. Why is this? And where are the success stories needed to set best-practice examples? Environmental protection is widely touted as being a win-win scenario for business with economic spin-offs in terms of energy and waste reduction quickly producing payback for capital expenditures. Why is the "good environmental management equals good business management" message not getting through?  In Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Environment Dr Ruth Hillary brings together an outstanding international collection of experts from government, international and national support agencies, academics and the business community to present arguments about the key environmental business imperatives facing the small-firm sector.  The book is divided into four sections:Attitudes and Perceptions of Small Firms to the Environment and SustainabilityEnvironmental Management in the Smaller FirmPractical Strategies for Reaching SMEsCase Studies from around the World.

    In these sections, the book examines the threats – such as trade, supply chain issues and legislative compliance – but is also solution-oriented, with considerable discussion of the management tools smaller firms can use to improve their environmental performance. It aims to provide practical strategies for smaller firms and to that end includes a range of informative case studies from around the world.  Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Environment is the most comprehensive book on the subject available and will prove invaluable not only to SMEs themselves, seeking to understand a rapidly changing world, but to consultants and small-business advisors, local and central government and to all those in academia looking for ways to improve the environmental performance of small businesses.

    Foreword Chris Fay, Chairman, Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment (ACBE), UK  Introduction Ruth Hillary, Network for Environmental Management and Auditing, London, UK   Section 1: Attitudes and perceptions of small firms to the environment1. Small firms and the environment: Factors that influence small and medium-sized enterprises' environmental behaviour Ann Smith, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, UK, Robert Kemp, London Transport, UK, and Charles Duff, The Groundwork Foundation, Birmingham, UK  2. Small firms environmental ethics: How deep do they go? Fiona Tilley, Foresight Research Centre, Durham University Business School, UK  3. Small and medium-sized enterprises and environmental compliance: Attitudes among management and non-management Judith Petts, Centre for Environmental Research and Training, University of Birmingham, UK  4. Small and medium-sized enterprises' perceptions of the environment: A study from Spain Manuel Ludevid Anglada, Echevarria & Asociados, Barcelona, Spain  5. Sustainable development and small to medium-sized enterprises: A long way to go Paul Gerrans, School of Finance and Business Economics, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, and Bill Hutchinson, School of Management Information Systems, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia  6. Small business, sustainability and trade Lynn Johannson, E2 Management Corporation (E2M), Ontario, Canada   Section 2: Environmental management in the smaller firm7. Environmental management tools: Some options for small and medium-sized enterprises Richard Starkey, Centre for Corporate Environmental Management, University of Huddersfield, UK  8. Size matters: Barriers and prospects for environmental management in small and medium-sized enterprises Agneta Gerstenfeld and Hewitt Roberts, Entropy International Environmental Consulting Ltd, UK  9. What are "appropriate" systems for assessing environmental risks and performance in small businesses? Simon Whalley, Source Environmental Management Ltd and Environmental Risk Rating Ltd  10. The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, ISO 14001 and the smaller firm Ruth Hillary, Network for Environmental Management and Auditing, London, UK  11. Promoting cleaner production in small and medium-sized enterprises Jonathan Hobbs, Business Council for Sustainable Development (North Sea Region)  12. An approach to sustainable product development relevant to small and medium-sized enterprises John Holmberg and Ulrika Lundqvist, Department of Physical Resource Theory, Chalmers University of Technology and Goteborg University, Sweden, and Karl-Henrik Rob

    Biography

    Ruth Hillary

    This is an excellent guide to the environmental attitudes, impacts and strategies of SMEs. The contributors come from a wide variety of backgrounds and Hillary has cleverly moulded their work into a coherent whole ... This makes a strong claim to be the definitive work on SMEs and the Environment. - Community Affairs Briefing 

    ... should be recommended reading for anyone with an active interest in environmental issues, whether as a policy maker, a planner, or a manager, or those involved in academic research ... the strength of this book is that the experiences documented are of such a high quality. - Journal of Environmental Planning and Management

    It is particularly helpful to find a publication that brings together evidence of the practical problems facing small firms and practical advice for those wishing to help them establish a more positive approach to environmental management. - Journal of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health 

    ... an excellent book in a largely neglected subject area. If you're at all interested in the topic, I recommend buying a copy. - Small Enterprise Development 

    With the increasing scrutiny of regulators, customers and other stakeholders on environmental impact, disregarding concerns of sustainability is no longer an option. The book addresses the defecit of research in the sector and looks at mechanisms for improving SMEs' environmental performance. - European Quality 

    Why should you read this book? Share in international experience, knowledge and case studies, understand the attitudes of SMEs towards the environment and get insight from practical strategies to reach SMEs. - The Environment Agency (UK) 

    This book brings together an outstanding international collection of experts from government, international and national support agencies, academics and the business community to present arguments about the key environmental business imperatives facing the small-firm sector. - Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment (UK) 

     ... as an environmental advisor who has a deep interest in helping SMEs with environmental issues ... this book is excellent ... I picked up plenty of ideas, experiences, suggestions and material ... This is a good, meaty reference work. - Eagle Bulletin 

    ...this book very much represents the "state of the art" in what has been a largely neglected field of SME research. - Small Enterprise Research, The Journal of SEAANZ

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