“Over half take action to reduce their environmental impact, but also report barriers such as high costs, lack of information, and uncertainty in local support and demand.” [NICRE report]
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The National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise has just put together a report showing that whilst rural businesses consider the environment in decision-making, barriers still exist:
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 10 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 Report Rural SMEs and the environment call for greater support for rural businesses to decarbonise, as COP28 comes to an end.
The Rural Services Network has welcomed the NICRE report on Rural SMEs and the environment:
“We welcome NICRE’s latest State of Rural Enterprise report on rural SMEs and the environment. Understanding the needs of rural businesses in relation to net zero and the circumstances in which they operate is vital to be able to find solutions that meet their needs.
“We want the rural economy to not only maximise their opportunities from a business perspective but also be part of the journey to net zero. The report highlights barriers firms face to taking action including high costs, a lack of information and uncertainty in local support and demand. Improved support systems targeted for rural businesses are therefore needed to help remove these.”
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