Understanding and Communicating Climate Change in the Business Sector. Enabling Meaningful, Profitable and Sustainable Engagement in Cornish SMEs to Innovate the Low Carbon Economy

The risks and opportunities that climate change presents for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) have been largely overlooked by previous research (Schaefer et al. 2011, Williams & Schaefer 2013). The subsequent lack of knowledge in this field makes a meaningful, profitable and sustainable engagement of SMEs with climate change challenging. Current research has difficulty explaining (1) why SMEs rarely engage with climate change (2) how climate change is currently communicated to SMEs and (3) how SMEs overcome the knowledge gap between business practice and climate change science (cf. Hoffman 2004, 2006, Hart 2007, Goodall 2008). In this thesis I critically examine 31 SMEs which engage with climate change knowledges, 5 Innovation-Support-Organizations (ISOs) which communicate climate change knowledges and 2 business-led communities of practice that discuss climate change-related business practices. Over a three-year period, I explore why and how business leaders approach the knowledge gap between climate change science and business practice, drawing on a variety of ethnographic research methods: (1) in-depth semi-structured and open interviews; (2) participant observations; (3) practitioner’s workshops; and (4) an online survey. My research demonstrates that the participating ISOs communicate climate change in an overly simplistic way. The participating ISOs focus on persuading business leaders to engage with climate change. The participating business leaders who hear this persuasive message are already willing to engage with climate change. Their motivations to engage are lay-knowledge-dependent, derived from personal values, space and place identity. What the participating business leaders require is practical advice on how to mitigate the impact of, and adapt to, climate change, and they therefore try to overcome the limitations of current climate change communication through forming and joining communities of practice. By doing this, they can make sense of climate change in specialist niche communities and benefit from social belief systems. To enhance the number of SMEs engaging with climate change, I recommend that the participating ISOs target the personal values of business leaders and actively use these specialist niche communities niches within which the participating business leaders develop business practice to learn about climate change-related business practices themselves. Overall, my PhD shows that to create meaningful, profitable and sustainable engagement with climate change, business leaders and ISOs, as well as governments and society, need to address their ‘confusion and anxiety about the goals, ambitions and destinies [they] foresee’ for themselves (Hulme 2013: 298). This work was supported by the European Union through the European Social Fund

How do African SMEs respond to climate risks? Evidence from Kenya and Senegal

This paper investigates to what extent and how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in poor countries are adapting to climate risks using data from 325 SMEs in the semi-arid regions of Kenya and Senegal. There is a clear role for public policy in facilitating good adaptation. The ability of firms to respond to climate risks depends on factors that can be shaped through policy intervention. Findings show that financial barriers are a key reason why firms resort to reactive coping mechanisms, while general business support, access to information technology and adaptation assistance encourages sustainable adaptation responses.UK Government’s Department for International Development (DfID)Financial support from the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Polic

Seriously personal:The reasons that motivate entrepreneurs to address climate change

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is freely available from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this record.Scholars increasingly argue that entrepreneurs and their small- and medium-sized enterprises should play a central role in reducing the rate and magnitude of climate change. However, evidence suggests that while some entrepreneurs recognize their crucial role in addressing climate change, most do not. Why some entrepreneurs nevertheless concern themselves with climate change has largely been overlooked. Some initial work in this area tentatively suggests that these entrepreneurs may engage with climate change because of their personal values, which either focus on financial or socio-ecological reasons, or a combination of both. Yet, it is unclear if all for-profit entrepreneurs engage with climate change for the same reasons, or if indeed their motivations vary across business types. Over a period of four years, we examined entrepreneurs’ motivations to engage with climate change through a variety of qualitative research methods. Our findings illustrate how entrepreneurs who address climate change have motivations specific to their business activity/industry and level of maturity. In each instance, we link these motivations to distinct conceptualizations of time and place. We contend that, through a more differentiated understanding of entrepreneurial motivations, policy-makers can draft climate change-related policies tailored to entrepreneurial needs. Policies could both increase the number of entrepreneurs who already engage in climate change mitigation and leverage the impact of those entrepreneurs already mitigating climate change.This study was funded by the European Social Fund (09099NCO5). We acknowledge with thanks the participation of the entrepreneurs and the support of Business Leaders for Low Carbon, Cornwall Council, and Cornwall Sustainable Tourism Project. The authors wish to thank Professor John Amis, Professor Kenneth Amaeshi and the anonymous reviewers who provided useful feedback on earlier versions of the article

How does change happen? A qualitative process evaluation. Living Well - Penwith Pioneer

This is the final version.NESTAEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Communicating climate change – Learning from business: challenging values, changing economic thinking, innovating the low carbon economy

The risks and opportunities presented by climate change for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) have been largely overlooked by previous research. The subsequent lack of knowledge in this field makes it difficult for SMEs to engage with climate change in a meaningful, profitable, and sustainable way. Further, current research cannot explain why SMEs rarely engage with climate change. We examine critically 30 SMEs, which engage with climate change knowledges and 5 Innovation-Support-Organizations (ISOs) that communicate climate change knowledges. Over a three-year period we explore why and how these businesses approach the knowledge gap between climate change science and business practice, drawing on a variety of ethnographic research methods: (1) in-depth semi-structured and open interviews; (2) participant observations; and (3) practitioners’ workshops. The results demonstrate that business’ mitigation and adaptation strategies are lay-knowledge-dependent, derived from personal values, space, and place identity. To enhance the number of SMEs engaging with climate change, maximize the potential value of climate change for the econo- my and establish a low carbon economy, climate change communication needs to target personal values of business leaders. The message should highlight local impacts of climate change, the benefits of engagement to (the local) society and economy, and possible financial benefits for the business. Climate change communication therefore needs to go beyond thinking about potential financial benefits and scientific evidence and challenge values, cultures, and beliefs to stimulate economic, political, and social frameworks that promote values-based decision-making

Opportunities and challenges for decarbonizing steel production by creating markets for ‘green steel’ products

The creation of a market for steel produced by less carbon-intensive production processes, here called ‘green steel’, has been identified as a means of supporting the introduction of breakthrough emission reduction technologies into steel production. However, numerous details remain under-explored, including exactly what ‘green’ entails in the context of steelmaking, the likely competitiveness of green steel products in domestic and international markets, and potential policy mechanisms to support their successful market penetration. This paper addresses this gap through qualitative research with international sustainability experts and commercial managers from leading steel trade associations, research institutes and steelmakers. We find that there is a need to establish a common understanding of what ‘greenness’ means in the steelmaking context, and to resolve various carbon accounting and assurance issues, which otherwise have the potential to lead to perverse outcomes and opportunities for greenwashing. We identify a set of potential demand-side and supply-side policy mechanisms to support green steel production, and highlight a need for a combination of policies to ensure successful market development and avoid unintended consequences for competition at three different levels: 1) between products manufactured through a primary vs secondary steelmaking route, 2) between ‘green’ and traditional, ‘brown’ steel, and 3) with other substitutable materials. The study further shows that the automotive industry is a likely candidate for green steel demand, where a market could be supported by price premiums paid by willing consumers, such as those of high-end luxury and heavy-duty vehicles. © 2021 Elsevier Lt

Steeling the race: ‘Green steel’ as the new clean material in the automotive sector

This paper aims to examine consumer behaviour towards, and the willingness to adopt, ‘green steel’ in the automotive sector. Semi-structured interviews were held with experts from global, regional and country-specific industry associations and automakers. This paper appraises potential demand for green steel within different vehicle types (based both on size and powertrain) and shows that manufacturers of electric heavy-duty vehicles are most likely to be the first adopters of green steel. A case for green advanced higher-strength steels (AHSS) can also be made in light-duty passenger vehicles, which may mitigate competition from alternative lightweight materials in terms of cost and greenness (depending on source and utilization regions). This work emphasizes a need to revisit current CO2 performance regulations, engage in educational green marketing campaigns, and explore innovative market-based mechanisms to bridge the gap between relatively-low carbon abatement costs of steelmaking and high abatement costs of vehicle manufacturing