Although clean growth has been identified as one of the grand challenges of the UK Industrial Strategy, public policy paid little attention to the configuration of business support towards enhancing clean growth potential of small and medium-sized enterprises. The dominant approach of policymakers to the design of enterprise support interventions appears to be ‘place-blind’ and downplays the challenges that small and medium-sized enterprises face in engaging with the clean growth policy agenda. Based on a mixed methods methodology, involving a survey of 306 businesses, a range of public engagement exercises and an extensive interview schedule, the study explores small and medium-sized enterprises engagement with the clean growth challenge and associated business support mechanisms. We conceptualise the nexus of place–policy–practice as a way of framing policymaking approach in addressing the challenge. As part of the clean growth policy implementation, business support mechanisms need to move beyond a singular focus on energy efficiency and shift towards a holistic approach to capacity building for sustainable development. Small business needs to project a district voice in the definition of place in the local industrial strategies and have access to enterprise support which is place-based, policy-informed and practice-relevant.

尽管清洁增长已被视为英国工业战略的重大挑战之一，但公共政策却很少关注用于增强中小企业清洁增长潜力的业务支持配置。决策者设计企业支持干预措施的主要方法似乎是“盲目”的，它淡化了中小型企业在参与清洁增长政策议程方面所面临的挑战。基于混合方法方法论，涉及对306家企业的调查，一系列公众参与活动和广泛的采访时间表，该研究探讨了中小型企业参与清洁增长挑战和相关业务支持机制的情况。我们将场所策略实践的联系概念化，以此作为制定决策方法应对挑战的一种方式。作为清洁增长政策实施的一部分，业务支持机制需要超越对能源效率的单一关注，而应转向采用整体方法进行可持续发展的能力建设。小型企业需要在地方工业策略中的位置定义中表达区域性声音，并获得基于位置，具有政策依据和实践相关的企业支持。