Mark Nelson Business Engagement Officer, MaCaW Project, University of Central Lancashire
@MaCaWLancs company/macaw-project
CUT YOUR EMISSIONS TO AID RECOVERY
Covid recovery or sustainability - which strategy should your business follow? Businesses don’t have to choose because sustainability can help drive recovery. Here’s how:
“Recruitment in the defence sector has offset some job losses arising from the downturn in the commercial sector.
“Impacted businesses are principally still relying on a mix of short-term work, the furlough scheme and exploring business in other sectors where applicable.”
Looking ahead, Sharon says much depends on the return to air travel. In that respect the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine will play a part.
There are fears the end of the Brexit transition period is also likely to lead to further uncertainties for the aerospace sector, impacting cost and competitiveness.
There is a reported multi-year backlog of 13,444 aircraft orders from airlines and Sharon says: “This continues to demonstrate and underpin the scale of the industry value to the UK economy.”
Airbus has also recently advised its supply chain to prepare for an increase in the production rate of the A320 to 47 aircraft per month later in 2021.
Sharon says help is still vital, including continued furlough support and a focus on enhancing skills and developing new ones. There is also the need for “innovation support” for SMEs.
Continued
uncertainty in the commercial sector means that more job losses are possible
She adds: “The active sustainment and development of capability, capacity and competitiveness in an over-supplied, recovering market is going to be critical.
“It will be key to engage customers to bring innovation and add value, whilst strengthening competitiveness and resilience.”
The NWAA has been playing its part in the national Aerospace Growth Partnership and the work of the Lancashire Aerospace Task Force.
The task force has identified short, medium-and longer-term interventions for the sector, which is so crucial to the county’s economic wellbeing.
These have been based on three different scenarios the sector may face, which in turn depend on the duration of travel restrictions and quarantine rules.
1. Improve efficiency
Switching to a low carbon operation presents a great opportunity to find new efficiencies, reengineering production processes to deliver the same results quicker, using less energy.
2. Win more tenders
More than ever, tendering comes with an expectation of sustainability attached. With the right strategy in place, it becomes much easier for businesses to show how they report on - and are working to reduce - their carbon footprint. That can put you on a level playing field with larger competitors and give you an edge over your peers.
3. “Do good to do well”
“Companies with strong profiles on material sustainability issues have potential to outperform those with poor profiles,” reported asset management bellwether BlackRock recently. Or, as Forbes put it: “Businesses must do good to do well.”
4. Cut costs Sharon McDonald
Measures it recommends range from retraining and upskilling individuals ready for a more immediate rebound, through to encouraging governments to bring forward defence spending in the case of a more prolonged recovery.
The Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has now put together a detailed plan aimed at delivering both stability and recovery.
The LEP says that the plan is going to government through the county’s MPs and is also being sent to the cross-party parliamentary aerospace group.
The next step is to set up a working group to mobilise actions within the document and to “start to drive the whole thing forward”.
The LEP has around £1.5m in place to fund initiatives but will be reaching out to central government for more support.
While securing the future sustainability of the sector is central to the recovery mission, the ambition is also to grow an “alternative economy” in Lancashire that is as large as aerospace.
LANCASHIREBUSINESSVIEW.CO.UK
Projects like MaCaW, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, provide carbon reduction support for free. Often, the recommendations will be low or no-cost, so you save money on energy with minimal investment.
And where larger investment could deliver even greater efficiencies, you could access matched grant funding up to the value of £15,000.
Lancashire SMEs don’t have to choose between sustainability and Covid recovery. Carbon reduction can be a powerful catalyst for addressing both.
For information on how MaCaW can help your business make energy and cost savings, contact 01772 893963 or
macaw@uclan.ac.uk,
or visit
https://macawlancs.co.uk
35
MANUFACTURING
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
