Year: 2010
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: In the authors’ intention this paper represents the attempt to identify solutions, tools and incentives for SMEs to overcome constraints and difficulties they experience by implementing an EMS. Removing potential barriers and reinforcing economic incentives should be main targets in order to allow for a wide diffusion of EMS among SMEs. Some methods and possible instruments have been dealt with in this paper: working by group seemed to be a good way to diffuse information and to share implementation costs; technical, organisational and managerial support given by local actors (local governments, trade associations...) is to be considered very useful to effectively help smaller enterprises; training courses for managers and technicians were very precious in deepening the environmental awareness within companies; the publication of handbooks, guidelines and manuals, seemed to be generally appreciated by firms. The further development of environmental management schemes (like EMAS or ISO 14001) is going to play a crucial role in stimulating and favouring the implementation of EMS by small enterprises. To this purpose, it was useful that the new EMAS Regulation has include measures aiming at facilitating and simplifying adhesion by SMEs, taking into account their specificities and needs described above. The increased adoption of EMS between SMEs highlights as the achievable benefits are overcoming the initial obstacles that make this tools hard for organizations with small dimensions. The awareness of own environmental impact and the compliance with environmental regulation represent the main results achieved by means of an EMS. On the contrary, the analysis emphasizes that there are some factors that make a SME fitter than others to adopt an EMS: for instance the level of internationalization, the position on the supply chain, working in industrial sector with significant environmental impacts and so on.
Source: Sciyo eBooks
DOI: 10.5772/10098
Authors: Fabio Iraldo, Francesco Testa, Marco Frey
Institution: Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W1497633548