Rural SMEs and the environment
17 December 2023
Environmental considerations play a critical role in rural businesses’ decision-making, however, barriers exist which prevent them from fully transitioning to net zero, according to a major new survey from the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE).
Four out of ten rural businesses ‘always’ consider the environment when making decisions with 57% taking action to reduce environmental impact, but almost half (45%) report barriers such as high costs, lack of information, and uncertainty in local support and demand.
The findings from NICRE’s State of Rural Enterprise (SORE) Report Rural SMEs and the environment, which was led by ERC, call for greater support for rural businesses to decarbonise.
