Saving Small Businesses & The Planet

Sustainability is free, easy, financially rewarding, & everyone wins.

Painting by Julian Needham

Any procedures embedding fewer infringements on the people and the environment support an environmental sustainable model. - Robert Goodland

Globally, there are more small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) than any other type of business. In countries like Australia, SMEs are 98% of the companies listed and this is not abnormal. Most countries have similar stats and viewed collectively, SMEs’ operational activities cause extensive damages to the environment and society, but government regulations usually don’t offer guidelines or sustainable advice. Misconceived ideas and dismal information have led to assuming investments in cleantech and/or sourcing expensive sustainable suppliers are the only way to minimize a business’ environmental impacts, but this is far from the reality.

Comprehensive studies on the advantages and disadvantages of sustainability in SMEs had not received the attention it deserved. Research on large businesses has exposed the benefits of a sustainable approach, yet the impact of sustainability in SMEs wasn’t understood, and until recently it was a mystery. Scholars widely assumed SMEs weren’t concerned with their environmental impact and could not adopt methods for conservation, whilst the…