WORD FROM THE BFBi

Who’s For The Sustainability Bandwagon?

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for sustainability, be it environmental, governance, social and, of course, financial. But, just what is sustainability and is it, in fact, sustainable?

Sustainability is the word of the moment, touted by Government and industry. I was recently invited to attend a workstream, comprising trade associations, on sustainability; to establish how far along the road we are in terms of establishing a sustainability road map for ourselves and our members.

Everybody attending was full of good intent and saying the right words. Some associations had worked to put their house in order via reducing building energy costs, reducing travel etc. Many associations (including BFBi and IBD) held their own sustainability events for members on 22nd April. Everybody on the call was working to the same goal, all in separate streams. But, what became clear was that nobody was entirely sure what the practicalities of the goal were and how/if the practicalities were in themselves sustainable.

I believe that a business has to, itself, be operationally and financially sustainable before it can address the wider sector; industry; national; global sustainability agenda. I feel that Government is driving an agenda not really understood by itself, passing the buck of delivery to industry; using general, wide terms of reference, asking industry to engage in an initiative it may not be able to achieve or afford at this point in time without a stronger, more focussed lead and input from Government.

An interesting comment from a trade association representing PPE manufacturers – they were working towards producing non plastic, environmentally sustainable PPE, as directed by Government. And then covid struck. Lateral flow test kits are full of one use plastic, fully endorsed by Government. An example that sustainability is a “nice to have” when things are relatively unchallenged but, when things get challenging, sustainability goes into second place.

Becoming sustainable is going to cost somebody in the value chain money and who is going to pick up that bill? At a time when we are still in the eye of a covid pandemic, is it really reasonable for Government to put industry under pressure in order that it will look good when hosting COP 26? How many organisations will make the sustainability agenda a profit making centre?

We are all being encouraged to achieve “net zero” within our sectors. This is a good thing but, does anybody actually know what “net zero” is and, if a certain sector achieves “net zero” does this pass the baton of unsustainability within the value chain to another sector? How can there be a “one size fits all”, surely SMEs need a different approach to large, multinational companies? Surely we need a more sophisticated approach than Government levy or taxation in order to achieve true, proactive engagement? Everybody agrees that an holistic approach would work best but, the complications of trying to weave the infinite strands of supply streams supplying all industries makes this a complex goal.

I don’t intend my questions and thoughts to be unhelpful but I do feel that they need to be voiced in order that we achieve a meaningful, achievable and long term “net zero” and not one where the sustainability buck is passed down the line.

We need a clear, transparent, coherent goal that we all understand and can achieve, supporting the only planet we have, rather than a goal we all sign up to; talk about but cannot, actually, deliver, making the word an overused meme.

Ruth Evans MBE, BFBi C.E.O.