Embedding Sustainability in Small and Medium-Size Enterprises: Experiences From Sweden

Abstract

Most research on corporate sustainability has focused on large companies' sustainability efforts; however, research on a holistic approach on small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) addressing the sustainability dimensions and the system elements is still limited. The aim of this article is to assess how SMEs embed sustainability into their systems. A survey was developed and sent to 261 SMEs, from which 72 complete responses were obtained from SMEs in Sweden. The results show that there could be a better operationalization of the priorities and aligning them with the company's impacts, particularly by focusing more on environmental issues. The results show that 1) SMEs have been embedding sustainability through technocentric and managerial approaches; 2) the focus has been on systems elements that tend to be less connected to others (e.g., products, and operations and production) and not on those with highest influence (e.g., governance and change management); and 3) employees tend to be informed about sustainability issues, but they could receive better training and be better engaged in sustainability efforts. SMEs should take a more holistic perspective when embedding sustainability into their system, and better address governance and change management issues to complement their technocentric and managerial approaches.