Having recently chaired an excellent event on sustainable entrepreneurship at the IOD I had the good fortune to meet with Colin Challen MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group, but came away a little less than my usually positive self.
Colin presented the challenge well and the message from him and other panel members showed that we need to reduce CO2 emissions by 76% from their 1999 levels by 2050 in order to stabilise the environment. Collectively we face a massive challenge, the scale of which is unprecedented in modern times. Not even the fast pace of growth during the industrial revolution can come close to the speed at which we need to change.
Carbon reduction needs to be three times faster than the industrial revolution’s rise in labour productivity if it is to work. No mean feat, especially considering many emerging markets are doubling their outputs year on year.
Only by taking every action available to us can this target be achieved. It’s a total change in how we behave commercially, organisationally and personally. It’s not just a question of changing light bulbs for more efficient models, or turning devices off standby, the change needs to run deep into every organisation, supply chains and trading partners.
The argument that “green is good for business” is now gaining momentum and the economics for short and long term gain now seem to stack up. But it’s not just the reduction in energy usage and billing that will bring benefits, the argument is more complex. The ethically motivated consumer, driving the change from a command to a demand economy, will begin to move their buying behaviours to organisations that can demonstrate that they are doing more than just greenwashing. Consumer behaviour will begin to drive organisations' behaviour.
There are two key actions you should take now: firstly you must assess whether your own business is carbon efficient and put in place systems and processes to monitor and manage down your own energy use. Secondly, you should look at your own value chain and assess whether it’s operating in the most sustainable way possible, for example, examining the use of water and energy. Look at your partners and suppliers; are they adopting energy efficient practices? Make sure you ask for green clauses to be built into contracts when negotiating or renegotiating.
It’s easy to procrastinate and delay. The 2050 target hardly propels us to action and the government is perhaps too caught up in short-term election cycles to truly enforce the message. However, by building green into your business model from the start you will find yourself in a strong position when, and not if, we make the full transition into a demand economy.
Simon Godfrey is director of business development and government relations at SAP.
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http://www.hopenhagen.com/
