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Policy & Compliance


for businesses to think that it is another company’s or sector’s responsibility to resolve problems, including this one. In a way Brexit provides an insight into the issues – industries and individual companies have protected their commercial interests and only worked together where there is a joint interest to protect. Reports in the financial press are suggesting


changes in investor behaviour, with more consideration being given to environmental issues by pension funds and certain institutions when investing or accepting sponsorship. Investors no longer merely avoid those companies which are seen as environmentally harmful, but positively seek out those that are beneficial. It can be argued that this problem is simply


too large for business, especially one consisting of many small companies, to solve. For once, government must take the lead and determine: • Its vision of what the end goal is to be achieved;


• Cost implications and who will pay? A familiar comment from Members is that they


receive questions from customers about their sustainability policies, but the customer is unwilling to pay more for the service. What is putting off many organisations from making change is the sheer scale of the transformation and the costs involved.


As one person put it, it is as big a change as


when the Victorians built the railway network. However, there is a an unfortunate tendency


• A strategic plan of how this is to be achieved; • What technologies will best meet the goals; • How change will be measured; • How government will support this change. There are competing technologies available,


each with their own relative advantages and disadvantages. Business will not want to start down one path only to be told that there is a better option.


Not so many years ago we were told that to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, diesel vehicles


BIFAlink


were better than petrol. Now there is greater emphasis on nitrogen dioxide and particulate emissions and the mood is swinging against diesel. Whilst new technology, such as electricity, is becoming more available, practical and cost effective, further progress is still required in order to replace petrol and diesel- powered vehicles.


Speed of change There is no doubt that change will happen, but whether it will be sufficient against a background of rising demand remains open to question, particularly as many of the aircraft and vessels currently being used will still be in service in 2040, giving a very short window to introduce the necessary changes


Making the change to sustainable logistics will not be either easy or painless and there will be casualties along the way, but it is possible. It will take time, money and collaborative commitment from industry, government and civil society to get it right, from public and private entities, big and small. Perhaps the biggest obstacle is understanding that climate change that has a negative impact on the world is occurring due to man’s activities and that mankind has to do something to reverse the process. Also, dealing with the issue has to be


approached in a pragmatic way; people will have to be aware of the disruption that will stem from implementing new technology and the costs involved.


December 2019


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