Environmental management in Italian SMEs: the industry-effect on proactive strategies

This research aims at investigating proactive environmental strategies of Italian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) toward environmental management issues. This exploratory article aspires to identify the drivers of proactivity in environmental strategies in SMEs. In particular, it considers the environmental impacts of different industries and compare the behaviour of SMEs with large firms to evaluate both size and industry effect on firms. Data were collected through a survey administered to 210 firms listed in the FTSE Italia All-Share, an index which includes all listed companies at the Italian Stock Exchange. Top managers were asked to answer questions about environmental activities conducted by the firms, the adoption of environmental management processes and systems and motivations of environmental activities.