The independent commentary on British political affairs.
The independent commentary on British political affairs.
May 2008
Vol. 11, No. 11
A People's War: Brenda Boardman | The shadow over Brown's plan's to change the way we are governed: … More…
Available for subscribers to download now, in the Print Magazine section.
This article is provided free-to-view for all visitors to thepolitician.org.
Climate change, like ‘May Day’, is a distress signal that businesses cannot afford to ignore. HRH the Prince of Wales and the prime minister shared a platform to address this issue with an audience of top business leaders on 1 May at the Prince of Wales’s May Day Business Summit on Climate Change. The summit reconvened the May Day Network, the largest group of organisations committed to collectively tackling climate change.
The network is about collaboration and challenge. The challenge set to all companies is to measure their direct carbon footprint if they haven’t already done so and reduce their carbon output as the single most important actions they can take.
Collaboration is exemplified by the Legal Sector Alliance which was set up by 20 founding firms, the Law Society and Business in the Community following last year’s May Day Business Summit. The law firms together with the Environmental Law Foundation are working together over the coming year to agree a common approach for all law firms, large and small to the measurement and reduction of carbon. The Alliance hopes to launch this in September 2008.
Award-winning examples by members of the May Day Network were showcased at the summit, including Sky, United Utilities and Adnams, the Suffolk-based brewery with 300 staff. The event also highlighted innovations from small companies that can help cut carbon, for example MG Electrical’s fluorescent tube adaptor that enables low energy tubes to fit into existing fittings, eliminating the need for wasteful replacement of entire light fixtures.
It also explored visions for the future: Mobility 2020 presented concepts of how we can reduce the carbon emissions from cars through systems for car sharing using smart card technology, and incentivising people to buy the most efficient cars.
Companies were asked to make pledges at last year’s May Day Summit. The 207 companies that reported back tell us that a great deal of inspiring work is taking place, but that much more still needs to be done. For example 51 per cent of the 207 have measured their carbon footprint, and 41 per cent have set targets to reduce these emissions. In the coming year we hope that all May Day organisations will be able to both measure and set targets.
The Network is particularly keen to engage smaller companies that make up over half of the UK workforce. According to recent research, one in five small businesses cites a lack of resources as the primary reason for not adopting green policies in the workplace. May Day marked the re-launch of a website with practical tools to help smaller firms implement a carbon reduction strategy: <a href="http://www.smallbusinessjourney.com">http://www.smallbusinessjourney.com</a>.
It is run by the Small Business Consortium, a collaborative venture between leading industry bodies and businesses, which aims to provide an aligned and authoritative voice on issues of responsible business practice facing small businesses today.
The May Day Network is thinking big. It hopes to grow into a family of 10,000 companies and organisations by persuading the existing 1,000 members to engage and work with their supply chains, and equipping them to do so. It is also highlighting existing and measurable initiatives such as Do the Green Thing’s innovative website, the Together campaign for retailers, Global Action Plan’s employee engagement ideas and the many company initiatives that can be shared throughout the Network.
To watch the webcast of the May Day Summit, and to find out who is part of the May Day Network visit www.maydaynetwork.com.