Strategies and Tools for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to Move toward Green Operations: The Case of the Taiwan Metal Industry

Net-zero carbon reduction has become a global supply chain development trend, and the EU has established CBAM regulations. Industries that fail to effectively reduce carbon emissions will face operational challenges under these regulations. For SMEs, carbon reduction is crucial for sustainable operations. To address this challenge, governments worldwide are formulating relevant policies and investing resources to help SMEs enhance their competitiveness. In Taiwan, the metal industry has an export ratio exceeding 45%, making it a significant global production base for metal products. This study conducted a green operational transformation survey on 230 SMEs in Taiwan’s metal industry. The Taiwanese government has devised a comprehensive carbon reduction approach for the metal industry, which includes environmental facilities, digital technology introduction, process and production technology improvement, resource recycling, and energy conversion as strategies and tools for promoting carbon reduction. According to this study, the aforementioned five promotion strategies have become essential tools for SMEs in their carbon reduction efforts. This study utilized a one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and simple regression analysis, all of which demonstrated significant correlations among these tools. These findings can serve as a reference for other partner countries, accelerating the global industry’s transition toward green operations.