There is a consensus that companies need to adopt a low-carbon economy. Manufacturing Small to Medium Enterprises (mSMEs) are pulled by pressure for productivity growth whilst also being high carbon emitters. In this episode of the Research and Innovation Podcast, Dr Matthew Davis and Naomi Booth Wade discuss the tensions and challenges of productivity and environmental sustainability. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in September 2020. If you would like to get in touch regarding the project discussed in this podcast, visit bit.ly/productivesustainable or email n.s.boothwade@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available at: https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/196/podcast_episode_13_-_transcript

About the speakers:  

Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, the impact of different office designs and how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery. 

Naomi Booth Wade is a Research Assistant on the project “Sustainable and productive?! Helping manufacturing SMEs to manage multiple goals”. Naomi has an educational background in Psychology and Organisational Psychology. She is a budding business psychologist with a demonstrated history of working in the research and consultancy fields.

The project discussed in this episode is funded by the ESRC Productivity Insights Network. Grant number 154166.

Can manufacturing SMEs be both productive and environmentally sustainable?

Leeds University Business School’s Research and Innovation podcast brings you insights from our expert researchers. From the future of work, to disruptive technologies; green behaviours to emerging markets, we’ll be covering a wide-range of topical issues and novel ideas. 

Listen to the podcast to find out more about our research and how it’s inspiring business managers, informing policymakers and influencing society.

If you have any comments regarding any of these episodes, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk.