Sustainable and innovative practices of small and medium-sized enterprises in the water and waste management sector

Innovative practices of SMEs in the water and waste management sector. Sustainability in the water sector is nowadays a major concern, and compliance with the current legislation alone does not seem to be enough to face major challenges like climate change or population growth and concentration. The greatest potential for improvement appears when companies decide to take a step forward and go beyond environmental legislation. This chapter will focus on the environmental responsibility of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the water and waste management sector, analysing the drivers that lead these firms to the adoption of more sustainable and innovative practices. Market pull has a low incidence in encouraging environmental responsibility, while values and the strategic decisions of entrepreneurs seem decisive. Policy makers should prioritize subsidies over fiscal incentives because they show greater potential to promote the adoption of environmental responsibility among these firms.