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Environmental Education in Small Business: The Owner-Manager's Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Janice Redmond  and
Elizabeth Walker
Janice Redmond*
Affiliation:
Edith Cowan University
Elizabeth Walker
Affiliation:
Edith Cowan University
*
†Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA 2027, Australia. Email: j.redmond@ecu.edu.au
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Abstract

Traditionally, environmental education has been aimed at the community or in primary schools and governmental pressure to reduce environmental damage has focussed on large businesses. More recently, the role and importance of small business and how to engage them in the environmental debate has come under scrutiny. Researchers have identified education as one method of increasing the understanding of small business owner-managers' role and knowledge of practices that, when implemented, will reduce the negative impacts of their businesses. However, there is little attention given in the literature to the perspective of the small business owner-manager and environmental education. This research was conducted to begin to address this gap. Research results confirm that there is limited environmental education for small businesses and that there is a disconnect in meeting the needs of such a disparate group. Six elements were identified by the small business owner-managers in the design of environmental education for them: use of plain language, provision of best practice examples, industry specific information, solutions for immediate improvement, practical content and use of trusted sources to deliver the program.

Keywords

Environmental managementengagementdriversenvironmental knowledgesmall businesstraining
Type
Research Article
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 25 , 2009 , pp. 117 - 128
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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