Small Companies And Climate Change

Small companies in the UK have yet to seize the opportunity to make money from tackling climate change, according to new survey from MORI. The research, published in The Shell Springboard Report, asks small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for their views on the business opportunity of products and services which help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

An overwhelming majority (87%) of SMEs believe this market presents a significant opportunity for British business in general -- nine in 10 say there is money to be made in this market. Even more (95%) expect the demand for these products and services to increase in the next 10 years.

Around a fifth (19%) see it as a significant opportunity for their own business, but two thirds (69%) know little or nothing about the issue of climate change in relation to their own business. When asked if they plan to introduce products or services which help to reduce green house gas emission in the next five years, one in five (18%) says yes. Three quarters (75%) of those who are not planning to do so say this is because it is not relevant to their business.

Technical details

The Shell Springboard Report is based on research conducted by MORI on behalf of Shell during August and September 2005. Telephone interviews took place with 200 SME business-people throughout the UK. For the purposes of the research, SMEs were defined as companies employing 250 people or fewer. The findings were weighted to reflect the national profile of SMEs in terms of number of employees and region, NB: this means that around three-quarters of the weighted sample employ between one and five people. All respondents had either sole or joint responsibility for the management and future direction of their companies.