Small and medium-sized enterprises: Hard to reach, data poor but rich in creative potential as agents of change for decarbonisation

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the heart of the UK and EU economies and increasing attention is being paid to their environmental impact. In the UK and EU, the majority of organisations are SMEs (over 95 %) employing the a high percentage of people and accounting for around half (43–53 %) of greenhouse gas emissions by businesses. The SME sector is rich in diversity and challenges, often 'hard to reach' - both in terms of engagement and policy/practical interventions; and 'data poor' in terms of energy and environmental data available to analyse. 'SME' is a large catch-all term for various business organisations from corner shops, industrial units, factories, theatres and galleries. Even though SMEs face challenges due to their diversity, nature of their business operations and legal requirements, they are often characterised by a shared resource limitation compared to multi-national companies which, due to their size and scale, are often the focus of issues around social and environmental responsibility. As such SMEs are an under-researched sector in carbon management with questions remaining surrounding their environmental management and carbon performance, why they implement changes and the barriers to organisational change for decarbonisation.