ABSTRACT
This chapter reports the results of a survey of awareness of existing environmental standards and attitudes to the sustainable development of environmental programmes among Western Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). The argument for ISO 14001 as a tool for achieving sustainable development is predicated on the idea that better environmental performance can only occur where there is an awareness of all the environmental impacts of a company's activities which, hopefully, the environmental management systems will provide. As the ISO 14000 series sets the achievement of sustainable development within a voluntary self-interest framework, its success will rely on adoption by a critical mass of companies. Given the voluntary nature of the raft of environmental standards and the potential impact SMEs can have on the environment, in November 1997 a survey was conducted of 210 Western Australian businesses to determine the attitudes and perceptions of management towards environmental management.
