simpler, with the present landscape “stifling innovation and placing barriers in the way.”
She adds: “It needs simplifying and speeding up in a big way. The UK is supposed to be a place for innovation. People are running round in circles.”
Jen also wants to see an industrial strategy – a plan “with a huge focus on materials” and legislation on waste. She says: “The country needs to be proud of home-grown products and not focus on importing.”
Neil Wallace is managing director of Aquaspira. Based in Nelson, it specialises in low carbon, large diameter drainage pipe solutions. He also believes it is crucial that the red tape around funding us slashed.
He says: We are a manufacturer trying to innovate. The core issues for us are funding and certainty of the market.
“We are talking about pushing innovation forward, which is very important, but the government has to attend to the fundamental problem of funding here.”
Neil would like the new regime in Westminster change VAT to Carbon Added Tax (CAT) and alongside that standardised carbon accounting.
He says: “The government must bring law and order to carbon accounting. If you are going to tax carbon, you need to be able to account for it first, this has to be fundamental to the strategy.”
Ged Heffernan is managing director at Fern Innovation. The Nelson based firm delivers the unique River Power Pod device and also provides consultancy support to start-up and SME businesses. He is also co-founder and group board member at RedCAT.
He believes some of the new government’s key appointments – which include ex-Siemens UK head Juergen Maier as Great British Energy’s start-up chair – are positive moves, as is energy secretary Ed Miliband’s pledge to make the UK a ‘clean energy superpower’ by 2030.
However, he adds that he would like to see a change in procurement rules, adding: “Small businesses don’t get a fair share under the current rules.”
Stuart Thompson, managing director of Reorient Consulting and another member of the RedCAT team, says the superpower pledge is a clear commitment but poses the question, ‘how do we do it?’
He says: “We talk about long-term policy and long-term certainty; we need to talk about
Expert View
WHY PRODUCT ‘FOOTPRINTS’ MATTER
By Charlotte Davis, Beyondly senior consultant, resource efficiency and circularity
In today’s business landscape, environmental sustainability is essential.
Understanding and managing product environmental impacts are crucial, with Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) serving as a comprehensive tool for businesses.
LCAs evaluate a product’s environmental impact across its entire life cycle, considering factors like carbon emissions, water usage, and resource depletion.
A Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), a subset of LCA, specifically measures green-house gas emissions, providing a clear metric of a product’s contribution to climate change.
Collecting product data is vital for several reasons:
Regulatory Compliance. Governments are implementing stringent regulations to combat climate change, such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and Digital Product Passports. LCAs and PCFs help businesses to gather the required information, enabling compliance, avoiding penalties and gaining a competitive edge.
Supply Chain Demands. Integrated supply chains are demanding better environmental performance, putting significant pressure on suppliers for
competitive advantage. How is the economy going to compete internationally? How do we make this the place to come?”
He adds: “Over the years we have created policies for policies’ sake. In China, they just do it and if you’re a Chinese business they incentivise you.”
Zak Khan, managing director of Preston headquartered Qwala, which specialises in retrofitting buildings, is hoping for consistency
Product Carbon Footprints
The demand for product and packaging environmental data is growing...
“Enhancing your data can inform strategic business decisions, allowing for the substantiation of green claims, by providing in-depth, comprehensive results to share with your customer.”
Discuss Product Carbon Footprints with Beyondly at
solutions@beyond.ly
LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
IEW.CO.UK
enhanced data reporting. Conducting product footprints allows businesses to meet these demands, maintain their position, and strengthen relationships with key partners.
Sustainability Goals. Many companies have ambitious sustainability targets, like achieving net-zero emissions. PCFs provide the data needed to track progress, enabling targeted interventions in product design and manufacturing.
Market Position. Consumers increasingly prioritise sustainability. Sharing LCA and PCF results can differentiate products, enhancing brand reputation and loyalty.
As environmental regulations and consumer demands evolve, LCAs and PCFs will play an increasingly important role in helping businesses reduce their carbon footprints, meet sustainability goals, and stay competitive in a rapidly changing market.
Specifically, under the new Labour government, with environmental commitments to reduce UK carbon emissions by over two-thirds of the target by 2030, PCFs will enable businesses to track progress within scope 3 categories and meet requirements of potential regulations tackling embedded emissions.
in policy decision making from Labour to give the industry confidence to move forward.
He adds that it must make sure investment follows and that it flows all the way down to the SMEs.
Zak says: “There’s a significant opportunity to create a lot of jobs and to really reduce our carbon emissions, as long as the government does what it says it is going to do.”
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