News

Clear About Carbon Wins Again

Our project has been amongst the gongs yet again – this time bagging the ‘Innovation’ prize at the Cornwall Works WISE Awards Ceremony held last week.

Established in 2008, these awards are an annual celebration, recognising excellence in employment and skills activity and highlighting the important role that the European Social Fund (through the ESF Convergence Programme) plays in boosting employment, skills and training and innovation across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The red-carpet event took place on the 9th May at the Headland Hotel, Newquay, and covered four key areas:

• Welfare to Work
• Innovation
• Skills
• Employers

Mixing it with the stars, our very own Clooney – Stuart Farmer, of Cornwall Development Company – dusted off his kitten heels, located his LBD, and accepted the award on behalf of the Clear About Carbon team.

The award – the project’s second after the ESF Sustainable Development Specialist Project Leader Award in 2011 – underlines the achievements made by the team over the last three years, and the impact that the project has made – and is continuing to make – amongst business both in the south-west and nationally.

Cornwall Works is the over-arching strategy and co-ordinating brand for employment and skills activity in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.  The organisation assists people to start, stay in and progress in work by acting as an information and services hub – bringing people, organisations and funding together, trialling new services and new ways of delivering them, and ensuring that Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly make the best use of all the programmes and services available in order that the population is able to achieve its full employment potential.

Stuart Farmer (back left, in LBD by M&S Man) with the other award winners from the Cornwall Works WISE ceremony.

Carbon: departing from a station near you, soon

Thought I’d post an article that appeared on the University of Exeter blog recently – it’s a little dated now and represents more of a ‘scene-setting’ piece, but is useful for bringing the topic of carbon awareness to a wider audience.  The article has also appeared in the Western Morning News’ Big Green Guide recently.

The ‘Carbon train’ has already left the station and businesses across the South West had better be prepared for the challenges ahead, argues Simon Ramsay, Associate Research Fellow at the Business School.

There’s an old and widely-covered Curtis Mayfield song that starts: “People get ready – there’s a train a-comin’…” Originally attributed with heralding increased Afro-American civil rights, the same lyrics may also hold a more contemporary twist: a general feeling that there is some impending revolution heading towards us which, although undefined, feels unavoidable. I’m not referring to the government’s spending cuts, or to the various-letters-of-the-alphabet-shaped recession, but to “carbon” – the word that has been transformed from representing a chemical element talked about in our school classes to a concept that now seems to permeate most things in our lives, from our news headlines to our supermarket shelves.

Curtis Mayfield. For details of the carbon footprint of nylon trousers, please visit our 'Resources' page and use our 'Show Me The Carbon' tool.

During the last decade, the threat of climate change and the scientific consensus around the need for significant reductions on greenhouse gas (carbon) emissions have grown sufficiently to now be directly informing and influencing public policy at several levels. The setting up of The Carbon Trust in 2001 signalled the start of a more direct attempt by the government to promote a transition towards a ‘low carbon economy’. Since then, the UK has been committed to a long-term, legally binding framework for emissions reductions (with the Climate Change Act in 2008), with a target of an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050. The last few years have seen a relentless, carbon-focused policy activity, with the election of the coalition government further increasing the pressure when David Cameron pledged to build ‘the greenest government ever’. More recently, the Government has launched its Green Deal Energy Strategy; the Carbon Reduction Commitment’s league tables were published and the southwest region was designated as a Marine Energy Park.

The changes have not only taken place at a wider policy level, but have also impacted on how the private sector operates. Last year, several leading industry firms (including Pepsico, The Co-operative, Microsoft, BT, AXA and Aviva) started a petition for signatures to urge the government to announce a firm commitment to mandatory carbon reporting. Behind this concerted action was the recognition of the rewards the move could bring to companies taking a lead in the green economy, its role in supporting investors’ decision-making and, above all, the urgent need for clarity and a level playing field for the private sector. A recent report by Defra found that businesses which have been voluntarily measuring and reporting their emissions have been achieving cost savings and better relationships with investors and customers. Mandatory carbon reporting seems, then, only a question of time.

The fact is that markets have already started moving towards making carbon reductions. Growing public awareness to climate change, public policy developments and consumer trends are all likely to have contributed, but so have market mechanisms and simple bottom-line business sense, as energy prices steadily increase and the supply of commodities becomes less predictable. Big businesses are now not only looking at just their own emissions, but also expecting reciprocity from their suppliers. In the UK, most of the major retailers are announcing ambitious carbon reduction targets for their supply chains. Tesco has declared an aim to achieve a 30% carbon reduction in its supply chain by 2020 – the company, carbon footprinted over 1,000 products and labelled over 500 in UK stores in 2011. Walmart (owner of ASDA) announced the intention to eliminate 20 million tonnes of carbon emissions from its global supply chain by the end of 2015. Sainsbury’s is committed to reducing its operational carbon emissions, by 30% absolute and 65% relative, by 2020 compared with 2005 – part of their broader target of an absolute carbon reduction of 50% by 2030. Whilst Marks & Spencer’s revised Plan A now includes a dedicated section focused specifically on the reduction of its suppliers’ carbon footprint, listing 33 separate commitments, from energy efficiency targets in its food suppliers to changes in logistics and operations.

So what does all this mean to the mainly rural businesses and communities of the southwest? Well, Mayfield’s song only got it half right on this one: “You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board…” The ripples of the change being produced in the public and private sectors are bound to touch everyone so we are all on board this particular train, whether we like it or not. Sooner or later someone will demand to know about your carbon credentials, if not a regulator than a business client or individual customer. When that happens you will need your best carbon trolley case and, packed inside it, the knowledge, skills and capacity to demonstrate that you can engage in the dialogue and address the challenges expected from you. This train has already left the station, and we had all better catch up because, in the words of Mr. Mayfield again: “there ain’t no room for the hopeless sinner…”.

University of Exeter Business School goes carbon neutral

The School has signed up to PAS 2060, the first independent standard for carbon neutrality. The PAS 2060 standard is awarded to organisations that can prove that their activities will not result in any increase in green house gas emissions.

The University as a whole is well known for its expertise in climate change science and sustainability research. The Business School is also committed to showing leadership in the area of environmental responsibility, through its educational programmes, research, and in how it operates.

Professor Robin Mason, Dean of the School, explains: “The One Planet MBA has already positioned us at the forefront of sustainable management education. In addition, our research is helping businesses and the public sector to reduce their carbon impact – as evidenced by the Clear About Carbon project, which is currently in its fourth year of operation. Achieving PAS 2060, a verifiable and validated standard on carbon, takes our commitment to sustainability one step further. We’re proud to be the first UK Business School to have achieved carbon neutrality.”

The process will also provide invaluable experience for the One Planet MBA students who will be heavily involved in the School’s ongoing work to quantify and reduce its carbon emissions;  work it will be undertaking in addition to the commitment to offset emissions completely.

Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud Director, Corporate Relations, WWF International said: “As the founding partner of the One Planet MBA with the Business School, WWF was already convinced of the University’s commitment to sustainability. I am therefore delighted that the School has decided to deepen its involvement in the drive towards a sustainable future for people and the planet, by taking on this challenge to be carbon neutral.”

Green Projects Grant, Loan, Award, and Tax Information for Businesses in one Click

I have just been introduced to this rather handy website, Green Grants Machine, which is a search facility for up to date “green” projects funding information for UK businesses.

Funding scheme can have restrictions upon them, such as location, sector, industry, size of business, and the type of project.  The search tool addresses these criteria first and then lists the different grant, loan, award, and tax schemes currently available in the UK which match.  The finer details, supporting documents, and contact information are also available and you can also save your search results.

Clear About Carbon in CIPS Supply Management Magazine

We’re in print again, this time in the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply’s Supply Management magazine with an article discussing low-carbon procurement – from strategy to supply implementation.  Click on the link below to read the full article:

Climate Change Revolution

The fortnightly Supply Management magazine is aimed at purchasing and supply professionals and provides news, features and comment on purchasing and supply.  The website provides regular news updates, topical opinion and a searchable archive of magazine back issues.

Written by the University of Exeter Business School team, the article was published on the 15th February online, and highlighted in the March printed edition of the magazine.

Carbon - is it an elephant in the room...?