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Meeting the environmental challenge: a case of win–win or lose–win? A study of the UK baking and refrigeration industries

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  • Frances Drake
  • Martin Purvis
  • Jane Hunt

Abstract

The idea that what is good for the environment is good for business has come to dominate environmental thinking and provides one of the cornerstones of ecological modernization. Studies of this win–win philosophy have tended to concentrate on large companies. This study considers how the UK refrigeration and baking industries have responded to the main drivers for change. By eliciting managers' views of environmental issues through semi‐structured interviews, the problems and opportunities facing these two industries are explored. The responses were remarkably similar, given the different characteristics of the two industries. The interviews revealed that legislation maintains its pre‐eminence as a motivation for change. Win–win situations arising out of environmental legislation were found in some SMEs; however, for most the perception was one of lose–win. The demand for environmental products and processes, necessary for win–win, has yet to materialize. Companies, therefore, remain driven by the commercial, rather than the environmental, imperative. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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  • Frances Drake & Martin Purvis & Jane Hunt, 2004. "Meeting the environmental challenge: a case of win–win or lose–win? A study of the UK baking and refrigeration industries," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(3), pages 172-186, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:13:y:2004:i:3:p:172-186
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.401
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