CHAMBER NEWS
Regional companies benefit from going green
Provisional analysis of data collated by the Chamber has shown a marked increase in the percentage of regional companies deriving benefit from the low carbon environmental goods and services sector. The Sustainable Business and Green Economy Research
Cluster at the University of Derby compared the results of Quarterly Economic Surveys carried out by the Chamber in 2015 and 2017. The analysis focused on the survey
questions that addressed companies’ awareness and engagement with resource efficiency and the degree to which they supply and benefit from low carbon and environmental goods and services (LCEGS). It found that in 2017 nearly a quarter
(24%) of firms taking part in the survey derived some degree of turnover from LCEGS compared with 16% in 2015. And the number of firms generating 20% or more of
their turnover from LCEGS increased by half from eight per cent to 12% when comparing the same two years. According to the studied data, micro and small
businesses showed the greatest growth in sector activity when comparing 2015 and 2017. Both these categories showed a significant increase in
the number of businesses generating a proportion of their turnover from LCEGS (8.8% and 9.1% respectively). However, slightly more medium-sized businesses in
2017 said they derived no turnover from LCEGS (81.4%) compared with 2015 (79.7%).
On average, in 2017 manufacturing sector companies
generated more annual turnover from LCEGS than companies operating in the services sector. This was a 20% improvement on 2015 figures, which indicate that over the two years more and more regional businesses in the manufacturing sectors successfully supply LCEGS. When considering regional supply chains, the businesses surveyed indicated that competitiveness was most strongly impacted by the following factors: employing local people, having a policy on ethical practices, using local suppliers and becoming more energy efficient. However, while businesses in the region also recognised the importance of having policies on Modern Slavery and introducing renewable technologies and processes, they were more ambivalent about environmental accreditation.
Chris Hobson (pictured), Director of Policy at the Chamber, said: “The analysis carried out by the University of Derby clearly shows growing interest in the low carbon environmental goods and services sector, which supports what our members tell us. “It all comes down to what we’ve called the triple
bottom line – profit, people and planet. “Nowadays, it’s not enough for companies to simply
show they are profitable, if they want to recruit and retain the right people they also have to be able to prove that they have the best interests of the planet at the heart of what they do.”
‘It all comes down to what we’ve called the triple bottom line – profit, people and planet’
22 business network April 2018
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