Transformative approaches to sustainability in small and medium enterprises

This research involves observing and evaluating sustainability experiments in the small business community, which will contribute to a database that will integrate knowledge from previous research created at the university. The web-based repository will highlight case studies of transformative sustainability entrepreneurship endeavors and supporting legal, political and governance arrangements. The research will focus on the potential for low-carbon technological and social innovations to scale up, influencing the behavior of businesses operating in various sectors, and located in diverse communities. The database will allow for information sharing across researchers, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and municipal governments. Creating the database will involve organizing and documenting an abundance of existing models and cases of transformational sustainability entrepreneurship. Since sustainability transitions require the active participation of various actors, partnerships are central to widespread success. Initial site visits to SMEs and communities to build partnerships will take place.

Faculty Supervisor:

Sarah Burch

Student:

Partner:

Kunstuniversitåt Graz

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Waterloo

Program: