Draft Business Waste Strategy PDF - london.gov.uk - Greater ...

Making waste work in London The Mayor’s Draft Business Waste Management Strategy Mayor of London 15
Type
2.22 The public sector is the part of the economy, which provides basic
government services and implements government policy. The government,
however, does not control the private sector, which is engaged in private
enterprise. The third sector pursues social and environmental objectives
and reinvests any surpluses in the pursuit of their objectives. Clearly, the
method by which these three types of businesses conduct their activities
in relation to waste is heavily influenced by their relationship with the
government, the public and the economy.
Size
2.23 Larger firms tend to have more resources and time to devote to
developing policies and systems to manage their environmental impact,
but small and medium sized firms do not have this luxury. They require
more flexible support, characterised by easy access and targeted
information 19 . Without such support they will find it difficult to move
towards sustainable waste and resource management and will ultimately
become uncompetitive. This strategy must lead to the development
of services and support for small business and these must be tailored
to their particular needs and resources.
2.24 Small and medium sized enterprises make up a large part of Europe’s
economy, representing some 99 per cent of all businesses and 57 per cent
of economic value added 20 . LDA research 21 shows that there are a similarly
large proportion of small businesses in London. Small businesses have a
primary role to play in shifting London’s economy to more sustainable
production and consumption patterns for two reasons:
■ representing such a large percentage of economic activities, small
businesses have a significant impact on the environment. The problem
is not so much individual firms (although in some cases there can be
serious individual impacts on the local environment and communities)
but their combined total impact across sectors
■ small businesses are often not fully aware of the environmental impact
of their activities. A survey of 4,490 small businesses 22 , showed that
just 15 per cent were aware that their business could pose a threat
to the environment, a rate that rose to 49 per cent when respondents
were supplied with a list of potentially damaging activities and less
than a quarter were able to name a specific environmental law.