‘It’s the soft stuff that’s hard’: Investigating the role played by low carbon small- and medium-sized enterprise advisors in sustainability transitions

Local Economy - Tập 33 Số 4 - Trang 384-404 - 2018
Sam Hampton1
1Oxford University, UK

Tóm tắt

Significant public funds are invested in low carbon advisors to support small- and medium-sized enterprises to reduce carbon emissions on a regional basis. Little research has been conducted on their experiences and practices, nor their place within the context of local business support policy. Findings draw on interviews with 19 advisors in the UK as well as the author’s four years’ experience as an environmentally focused business support practitioner. Establishing and sustaining engagements with small- and medium-sized enterprises on the topic of pro-environmental behaviours is a multifaceted problem. Advisors typically approach businesses with promises of cost savings rather than using environmental messaging and focus their resources on the provision of building energy audits and technical advice. Advisors rarely engage small- and medium-sized enterprises in values-based discussions or by seeking to understand how and why energy is used in the course of everyday business practices. The paper argues that face-to-face meetings could be better utilised if ‘softer’ skills were deployed alongside technical expertise. It discusses the limitations of growth-focused support in the context of environmental objectives and calls for a shift in the culture of advice-giving, supported by social scientifically informed policy.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

10.1016/j.erss.2015.09.001

AXA (2008) SMEs responsible for 110 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year (WWW Document). AXA UK. Available at: www.axa.co.uk/newsroom/media-releases/2008/smes-responsible-for-110-million-tonnes-of-carbon-emissions-each-year/ (accessed 15 November 2017).

Banks N, Fawcett T, Redgrove Z (2012) What Are the Factors Influencing Energy Behaviours and Decision-Making in the Non-domestic Sector? A Rapid Evidence Assessment. London, UK: DECC.

10.1177/0269094217744494

10.1002/csr.266

10.1068/c07118

Bertoldi P, Hinnells M, Rezessy S (2006) Liberating the power of energy services and ESCOs for the residential sector in a liberalised energy market. In: Presented at the EEDAL, London.

Blackburn R, 2012, Research Paper Reference, 9, 12

Blundel R, Fawcett T, Shaw C, et al. (2017) Growing green? Co-creating an evidence-based model of SME engagement. In: Presented at the ISBE annual conference, Belfast.

10.1177/0269094214548664

Bruijn T, de Lulofs K (2001) Promoting environmental management in Dutch SMES: Policy implementation in networks. In: Presented at the workshop voluntary, collaborative, and information-based policies, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Bryman A, 2012, Social Research Methods, 4

Carbon Trust (2015) Scope 2 Reporting Guidance – The Dawn of a New Era for Green Electricity? London, UK: Carbon Trust.

CCC (2016) Next Steps for UK Heat Policy. London, UK: Committee on Climate Change.

Coutu S (2014) The Scale-Up Report on UK Economic Growth (An Independent Report to the Government). London, UK.

DCLG (2015) European Regional Development Fund Operational Programme 2014 to 2020. London, UK.

DCLG (2017) European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund List of Beneficiaries. London, UK.

10.1016/S0301-4215(97)00152-3

DECC (2014) Research to Assess the Barriers and Drivers to Energy Efficiency in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. London, UK: DECC.

DECC (2016) ORGANISER: A Behavioural Approach for Influencing Organisations. London, UK.

DEFRA (2006) Encouraging Sustainability Amongst Small Businesses (Behaviour Change: A Series of Practical Guides for Policy-Makers and Practitioners No. 9). London, UK.

EEC (2016) Connecting SMMs with Expert Energy Efficiency Support. Melbourne, Australia: Energy Efficiency Council.

EEC (2017) SMEs and Community Organisations: Enabling Best Practice Energy Efficiency. Melbourne, Australia: Energy Efficiency Council.

European Commission (2003) COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Official Journal of the European Union. Available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32003H0361&from=EN

European Commission (2017) Good Practice in Energy Efficiency. Brussels, Belgium: European Commission.

10.1007/s10551-012-1355-x

10.1080/09613210903541527

10.1111/j.1530-9290.2009.00194.x

10.1111/j.1467-8608.2009.01547.x

10.1016/j.erss.2017.03.012

Hampton S (2018) Policy implementation as practice? Using social practice theory to examine multi-level governance efforts to decarbonise transport in the United Kingdom. Energy Research & Social Science 38; 41–52.

Hampton S, Fawcett T (2017) Challenges of designing and delivering effective SME energy policy. In: Presented at the ECEEE summer study proceedings, France.

10.1177/1469540510390500

Heseltine M (2012) No Stone Unturned: In Pursuit of Growth. London, UK: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

IEA (2015) Accelerating Energy Efficiency in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Paris, France: Policy Pathway.

10.3390/buildings4040911

10.1108/JPIF-03-2014-0018

10.1080/09613218.2016.1142811

10.1080/09613218.2015.1020217

10.1016/j.enpol.2013.06.024

10.1002/bse.533

Lomax S, Parry E (2015) Micro and Small Business Engagement in Energy Markets. BMG Research. London, UK: Ofgem.

Mallaburn P (2016) A New Approach to Non-domestic Energy Efficiency Policy. London, UK: Committee on Climate Change.

10.1080/14693062.2014.905823

10.1177/0263774X16665362

Mourik R, Rotmann S (2013) Analysis of Case Studies IEA DSM Task 24: Closing the Loop – Behaviour Change in DSM: From Theory to Practice (Deliverable 2 for IEA Implementing Agreement DSM Task 24 No. Task 24-Phase I Subtask 1). Paris, France: IEA.

NCBS (2006) Encouraging Sustainability Amongst Small Businesses (No. 9), Behaviour Change: A Series of Practical Guides for Policy-Makers and Practitioners. London, UK: National Centre for Business & Sustainability.

10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.12.007

10.1016/j.enpol.2016.08.006

Open University (2013) Quarterly Survey of Small Business in Great Britain. Special Topic: Business Advice and Information (Vol. 29, No. 3). Milton Keynes, UK: Open University.

10.1016/j.enpol.2014.06.013

10.1016/j.erss.2014.07.011

10.1068/c0859b

10.1007/s12053-015-9382-y

Revell A, 2004, SMEs and Their Response to Environmental Issues in the UK

10.1002/bse.499

Revell A and Rutherfoord R (2003) UK environmental policy and the small firm: broadening the focus. Business Strategy and the Environment 12: 26–35. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.347

Revell A, 2010, Business Strategy and the Environment, 19, 273, 10.1002/bse.628

10.1080/00036840701579184

Schaefer A, Williams S, Blundel R (2018) Individual values and SME environmental engagement. Business and Society. DOI: 10.1177/0007650317750134.

10.9707/2307-0919.1116

10.1177/0263276414536746

10.1002/bse.398

10.1177/0269094213500898

10.1111/j.1467-8594.2007.00308.x

10.1017/9781108277679

10.1016/j.jclepro.2005.06.002

Wade C (2016) Exploring the role of professional installers in shaping domestic space heating practices. In: What energy is for: The making and dynamics of demand – DEMAND. Lancaster University, UK.

10.1002/bse.1740

10.1007/s10551-006-9187-1

10.1002/bse.720

World Resources Institute (2015) GHG Protocol: Scope 2 Guidance. An Amendment to the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard. Washington, D.C., United States: World Resources Institute.