What are ‘appropriate’ systems for assessing environmental risks and performance in small businesses?

Abstract

This chapter addresses the answer for some questions. What are 'appropriate' systems for assessing environmental risks and performance in small businesses? The chapter address the issue of 'appropriateness' of environmental management systems (EMSs) for small business. Moving on from scale, it is clearly necessary to determine whether the EU's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme and ISO 14001—the international EMS standard—are appropriate in their current form for owner-managed businesses or whether amendments or better interpretation is needed. The data collected on EMS, for example, has not revealed anything small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) did not already know—that is, 'formal management systems are not easy to apply to small business'. Definition contained in the Annex to Commission Recommendation of 3 April 1996 concerning the definition of small and medium-sized enterprises: SMEs have fewer than 250 employees and either an annual turnover not exceeding ECU 40 million, or an annual balance sheet not exceeding ECU 27 million.