WELCOMING A MORE SUSTAINABLE AYRSHIRE

I’m delighted to introduce you to the new Summer Edition of our Ayrshire Chamber’s magazine “Your Business”, particularly given the theme this issue - Sustainability and Net-Zero – a topic which is of huge interest to me and, I’m sure, many of our reading audience.

It’s hard to believe that in just the last ten years, scientific reports, IPCC updates and media coverage have brought about a shift in public attitude and belief. ONS and BEIS report that in March 2021, half (51%) of the public said they thought that climate change was either entirely (13%) or mainly (38%) caused by human activity. If we think back 10 to 15 years – even then, there was a lot of debate as to whether Climate Change was a real ‘thing’, so the shift in attitude and attention has been huge, and this shift continues.

Of course, with problems come opportunities – opportunities to make a difference by looking at emissions and energy use reductions, altering our buying and living habits plus opportunities for new emerging low-carbon or carbon capture technologies. The time for action is now and the articles contained within this issue should whet your appetite to Net Zero and other initiatives if you’re not already on that journey.

The Chamber is working on its own green-agenda and hopes to role-model sustainable behaviours and sign-post support which might be relevant to your business; so we are keen to hear what you’re up to and, of you’d like, put you in touch with other like-minded businesses to share, help or collaborate. We’re all on this journey together and we can help and support one another through the Chamber Network!

Alison Somerville, Ayrshire Chamber President