Technical Assistance Programs and the Diffusion of Environmental Technologies in the Printing Industry: The Case of SMEs

The goal of this paper is to better understand the diffusion of environmentally preferable manufacturing technology (as distinct from pollution control technology) in small and medium sized firms (SMEs) and the influence of technical assistance programs on the diffusion of these technologies. We draw our insights from the printing industry, a sector where small firms predominate. We find that smaller firms lag in the adoption of environmental technologies. While there are multiple programs designed to address this problem, SMEs find these programs comparatively less useful than larger firms. We highlight a number of factors that adversely influence the ability of information and expertise provided by these programs to actually facilitate environmental technology adoption in small companies. We then point to several ways in which the EPA and others are experimenting with ways to make these programs more effective.