Annabel Mc Loone, Paul Byrne, Bernadette O Regan,
Ecological Footprint Analysis of SMEs Within the Mid-West Region of Ireland
Annabel Mc Loone, Paul Byrne, Bernadette O Regan, Richard Moles.
Centre for Environmental Research, University of Limerick, Ireland.
Abstract
This project aims to identify the scale of SMEs environmental impact and to demonstrate how this information can be used to calculate the ecological footprint of an individual SME. The ecological footprint will then be used as an indicator of sustainability. The concept and methodology of the ecological footprint is a mechanism for SMEs to develop an environmental management information system that will aid in the measurement and assessment of their environmental performance. An ecological footprint can represent simply and communicate effectively issues of environmental impact and sustainability. It will highlight how SMEs can contribute to the objectives of sustainable development. There are twenty SMEs from a variety of sectors involved in this research; one of the SMEs ecological footprint will be presented here. The diversity of companies involved in the overall project allows comparative studies between sectors to be carried out as well as identification of possible synergies. Through the application of the ecological footprint on an annual basis an SME can develop, identify and illustrate its progress towards sustainability over time. Upon the successful completion of this project it is expected that the ecological footprint will be accepted as a valid and worthwhile sustainability indicator for SMEs.
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