Environmental orientation of small enterprises: Can microcredit-assisted microenterprises be "green"?

Abstract

The objective of this research was to explore, both theoretically and empirically, the ecological impacts of small-scale entrepreneurial ventures in developing countries. To this end, six microenterprises in rural southwestern Bangladesh established using green-microcredit strategies were evaluated in terms of goals, operational procedures, economic viability, social contributions, and impact on local ecological sustainability. This research revealed that the majority of such enterprises are not only sustainable and comply with current ecological standards, but also contribute a considerable number of vital ecosystem services while simultaneously maintaining suitably high profit margins to promise long-term economic viability. These findings indicate that microenterprises given environmental guidance by developmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs)-especially NGOs microfinance institutions, NGO-MFIs-have the potential to make significant ecological contributions and address the issue of climate change from the bottom of the social ladder upwards. © 2014 by the authors.