Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Environment
Business Imperatives
Contributing Editor: Dr Ruth Hillary, Network for Environmental Management and Auditing, UK
20% discount on this titleFebruary 2000 416 pp 234 x 156 mm
hardback
ISBN 978-1-874719-22-9
£35.00 £28.00
Over 90% of all firms are SMEs. Their importance to the health of national and international economies is recognised. But what of their environmental impact?
"represents the 'state of the art' in what has been a largely neglected field of SME research."
Small Enterprise Research, The Journal of SEAANZ
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 recognised. 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 Sustainability
- Environmental Management in the Smaller Firm
- Practical Strategies for Reaching SMEs
- Case 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.
In SMEs and the Environment, the complexities
of how to engage small businesses in environmental stewardship are addressed by
contributions from an international set of authors from academia, multilateral
organisations and business. The book provides an excellent resume of the issues
and is peppered with practical ideas on how to achieve success.
Chris Fay, Chairman, Advisory Committee on Business and the
Environment (ACBE), UK
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
Foreword
Chris Fay, Chairman, Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment (ACBE), UK
Introduction
Ruth Hillary, Network for Environmental Management and Auditing, London, UK
This item available in PDF format for free download 
This item available in PDF format for free download