The Business Case for Sustainability? An Examination of Small Firms in the UK's Construction and Restaurant Sectors

摘要

Studies show that despite a concerted attempt by UK policy-makers to portray 'eco-efficiency' measures as cost reducing, most owner-managers of small firms view environmental measures as expensive to undertake. As a result, owner-managers tend to be highly resistant to voluntarily improving their environmental performance. Given that SMEs are such a vast sector of the economy, this perceived discord between profits and environmental protection is clearly a major barrier to the 'greening' of industry. This ESRC-funded study has sought to unearth the underlying motivations for why SME owner-managers in the UK resist or accept the idea that there are business benefits for improving their environmental performance. The findings from 40 in-depth interviews with SME owners in the UK's construction and restaurant sectors and 12 'key informants' from industry and government are presented, followed by a discussion of SME perspectives on the 'business case' for sustainability and its implications for policy-makers.