The challenges of the ecological transition in Europe raise questions about the strategies by which small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adopt eco-innovations. In a new publication in the Journal of Cleaner Production, Samira Rousselière, Thomas Coisnon, Mahmoud Hassan, Anne Musson and Damien Rousselière explore these questions and examine the impact of environmental public policies on the profitability and competitiveness of firms.
Using data from a pan-European survey of SMEs and advanced econometric models, the researchers tested the three versions of the Porter hypothesis. These suggest that well-designed environmental public policies can have a positive impact on the adoption of eco-innovations and the long-term profitability of firms.
Key findings
- Adoption factors: Firm characteristics (size, age, sector, finances) and appropriate public policies matter.
- Production costs: Some innovations reduce costs (energy, materials), while others require specific support to offset transition costs.
- Territorial dynamics: Between cooperation and competition, SMEs can maximise positive externalities through integrated approaches (eco-design, circularity).
The results of this study shed light on policy and strategic choices to strengthen the ecological transition and the competitiveness of SMEs.
Concrete implications
The results of this study inform policy and strategic choices to strengthen both the environmental transition and the competitiveness of SMEs.
For policy makers, the analysis shows that the concept of a "double dividend" (economic and environmental benefits) cannot be applied uniformly to all eco-innovations - at least not in the short term.
This underlines the importance of designing targeted policies that promote practices that have a positive impact in the medium and long term.
The study recommends that public policies should be tailored to different types of eco-innovation and to the specific characteristics of enterprises in order to promote both economic and environmental performance.
From the perspective of SMEs, the study identifies concrete actions to reduce production costs and improve profitability.
For example, selling waste to other companies, conserving materials, using renewable energy or improving energy efficiency have proven effective.
These practices can be further developed to help SMEs reduce costs while contributing to their sustainability goals.
The article is available in open access:
Rousselière, S., Coisnon, T., Hassan, M., Musson, A., & Rousselière, D. (2024). Beyond Porter hypothesis : Empirical evidence of heterogeneous and contextual economic returns of eco-innovations on a sample of European SMEs. Journal Of Cleaner Production, 484, 144329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.144329
