A CLEAR DIRECTION OF TRAVEL
Cost and compliance are major factors when it comes to business and the net zero agenda, the conference heard.
However, the ESG agenda is also playing an increasing role and Lancashire businesses that fail to recognise the need to act now risk getting left behind, delegates were told.
A panel of experts from across the low carbon sector in Lancashire highlighted the challenges and opportunities facing companies.
Becky Toal, founder of Crowberry Consulting, which specialises in environment, ethics and corporate responsibility management, told the conference: “The target in the UK is to get to net zero by 2050. But all other countries across Europe have their compliance targets as well.
Ged Ennis
“It’s phenomenal the questions that are being asked now, the KPIs that the government are pushing through the supply chain.
“There might be a new Better Business Act. We’ve all got to wake up to the challenge of data, getting data, corporate reporting and working out our carbon footprints.”
Noel Ferguson, head of net zero and energy solutions at consultancy Trident Utilities, also spoke of the importance of data for companies on their own decarbonisation journeys.
Becky Toal
“You know, if you don’t meet the legislation, you will be fined, you’ll get a bad reputation. You might end up in prison if you’re a company director.
“So it’s a straight path between complying with the legislation and also reputation, risk management and the cost of energy which has shot through the roof.”
Becky added: “We’re in a sustainability tsunami and it’s coming down the supply chain.
“So anybody in this room that operates a small to medium business will very soon get asked for data and that data is going to be in the form of your carbon footprint.
“And you’re going to need to provide that data if you want to win tenders, if you want to supply to the big corporates.
It’s important that you get that data right. So you need the monitoring, the measuring. Is the network infrastructure in place to be able to record it?
Marc Mcloughlin
Mark McLoughlin, director at Greenarc Vehicles, works with businesses as they make their transition to electric vehicles (EV).
He told delegates that 90 per cent of the
He said: “Data is playing a more important role in everything that we do day-to-day. It is about capturing that data, its accuracy and how we manipulate and use it.”
And he added: “We have to be aware of all of the businesses doing really innovative things within Lancashire, so that we can a jump on the back of that and implement those things elsewhere and grow businesses.
“We have global leading suppliers within Lancashire and really innovative companies that are driving change.”
passenger cars that his businesses supply “have a plug on them”.
The initial driver for many companies had been tax benefits. However Mark said: “We’re certainly seeing a shift in conversations from cost reduction and vehicle selection to ESG carbon reduction. It is very topical.”
He said there was still a strong cost case for making the transition and added it could be a good area for a business to start on its decarbonisation journey.
Ged Ennis, founder of commercial solar power experts The Low Carbon Energy Company, said his business was on a growth path as a rising number of businesses looked towards the benefits of the technology.
Noel Ferguson
He said: “This year we’ll install somewhere in the region of 16 megawatts of solar on businesses throughout the UK.”
And he added: “The economics of solar are so strong and people aren’t always aware of that, but they’re enormous.
“Quite often when we get in front of a customer, the phrase we get as they’re signing that contract is ‘it’s a bit of a no brainer’. And we’ve been saying that for years.
“There is a direction of travel here. You get on board or you get left behind. I think it’s where we’re at now.”
Looking ahead he said: “Battery solutions are the key to making this whole net zero thing happen, where you end up with homes and factories becoming virtual power plants.
“They will trade and store energy, generate their own energy and move that in and out using a local smart grid.”
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