Understanding and implementing environmental management in small entrepreneurial ventures: supply chain management, production and design
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development
ISSN: 1462-6004
Article publication date: 5 July 2023
Issue publication date: 4 December 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This work aims to propose guidelines for small industrial businesses to take their first steps toward implementing systems, programs and tools (SPTs) for environmental management in a structured way.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted case studies in large companies certificated ISO 14001. They ran tests for construct validity, external validity and reliability. Cross-analysis of the information collected led to identifying patterns and strategies adopted by these companies to implement environmental management. Based on the literature on environmental management in small businesses and the author's experience, the practices learned from large companies were adapted to the reality of small ones, thus resulting in the proposed guidelines.
Findings
These guidelines enable small companies to develop their environmental management following the logical evolution of SPTs: ISO 14001, green supply chain management (GSCM), cleaner production (CP) and green design (GD). The implementation should happen gradually, through the PDCA cycle, according to three specific levels of environmental evolution.
Research limitations/implications
Since the guidelines focused on small industrial companies, future studies should consider other sectors, such as services, to benefit from the solutions presented. As for the implications, besides improving the small company's performance and enhancing its image, implementing the guidelines creates a green synergy along the supply chain, thus benefiting society beyond the company's borders.
Originality/value
The main theoretical-scientific contribution of this work is to deepen a block of knowledge that articulates environmental management and small businesses, creating a basis for further research and a reference for analyzing and discussing empirical studies in small companies. As an applied-management contribution, the guidelines allow small companies to effectively develop SPTs to move toward environmental sustainability.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was financed in part by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel–Brazil (CAPES)–Finance Code 001; FAPESP–São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (ground number 2017/18304-7); and CNPq–National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (ground number 312538/2020-0).
Citation
Amorim, P.G., Mathias, M.A.S., Rocha, A.B.T.d. and Oliveira, O.J.d. (2023), "Understanding and implementing environmental management in small entrepreneurial ventures: supply chain management, production and design", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 30 No. 7, pp. 1445-1475. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-08-2022-0344
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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