Partner Article

Whose Carbon Footprint are you part of?

There is a tendency amongst owners of Small and Medium Size Enterprises to assume that the whole sustainability agenda is something for Government and multi-national corporations to worry about.

A recent survey by AXA suggested that while 96% of FTSE100 companies see sustainability as essential to their business, the number drops to 56% when it comes to Small & Medium Sized Enterprises.

This surprised and disappointed me as both public sector organisations and big businesses are driving sustainability down through their supply chains.

I heard a tragic story recently where a medium sized engineering firm in the North East lost more than half of its turnover overnight when its major client got fed up with its lukewarm response to its sustainability requirements. On the other hand, many public sector organisations now allocate 10, 15 or even 30% of tender scoring to sustainability issues, making it a key source of competitive advantage for those who take it seriously.

Every business is part of somebody else’s carbon footprint. If that customer wants to reduce their footprint, you’ll have to reduce yours or they will find somebody else who will. The choice is becoming that stark.

So why isn’t happening? I often say that the biggest barrier to sustainability is only six inches wide – the space between our ears. Too many people assume that it is a question of “environment or profits”, but if your customers are demanding the former, then it becomes “environment or bust”. It is critically important to change mindset to see environmental protection as an investment in the future of the business, not as an additional cost.

As the late Ray Anderson of Interface put it “There are noble fortunes to be made in the transition to sustainability.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Gareth Kane .