ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an account of the research undertaken and considers the findings of the Groundwork survey—Small Firms and the Environment 1998—in the context of the so-called 'intractable small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector' and environmental management. Other SME managers likely to take responsibility for the environmental policy included health and safety managers, site managers, technical directors, quality managers, and production/operations managers. The views of SME managers, along with information from other surveys, reveal that small firms recognise that there are pressures to improve their environmental performance. Efforts by government and business-support organisations to raise awareness of the cost savings and competitive advantage that result from improved environmental performance have had little impact on SME behaviour. SMEs generally agree that they require external assistance to meet their environmental responsibilities, but this assistance should be locally accessible and include best-practice case studies relevant to the size and sector of the company.
