Sustainability practices of SMEs: the case of NZ
Abstract
While individually small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) may have small social, environmental and financial impacts, cumulatively their impact is significant. One of the fundamental questions is how a single economic entity, especially a small-scale enterprise, can be engaged in the uptake of sustainability practices. This question is particularly pertinent to New Zealand, where 98% of enterprises are SMEs. In this paper questions are raised about the conventional models of business ethics and accountability and their relevance to SMEs. The paper reports on actual practices and discusses the possibility of small enterprises having accountability for their social and environmental impacts. Ways of linking individual firm activities to sustainability, such as a communitarian model of accountability, are discussed and illustrated. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Type
Journal Article
Type of thesis
Series
Citation
Lawrence, S. R., Collins, E., Pavlovich, K., Arunachalam, M. (2006). Sustainability practices of SMEs: the case of NZ. Business Strategy and the Environment, 15(4), 242-257.
Date
2006