SUSTAINABILITY
damage we’re doing to the planet, but there is a massive gap between awareness and changing behaviour. However, these findings clearly show how during lockdown, when many people had a little more time to pause and take stock, they were able to adopt simple but effective pro-environmental behaviours. We really need to make sure that in the dash to restart the economy, we don’t lose these changes but preserve and build on them.” Mary Creagh, former chair of the Environmental Audit Committee
said: “Cutting down on single-use plastics is as important as ever, whether that is using fewer disposable coffee cups or avoiding throwaway water bottles. This research shows that remote working, and daily walks have helped people make the switch to environmentally-friendly practices which is encouraging. It’s important that businesses and the Government continue to support those who choose to work from home. With so many people willing to alter their behaviour to respond to a global crisis, now is the time to rise to the environmental challenge and support people to make small changes that make a big difference.” Denise Wilson OBE, chief executive of The Hampton-Alexander
Review said: “We have an opportunity right now to fully harness the benefits of remote working. We have long known that remote working is a critical factor to improving equality and diversity in the workplace, but in addition there is clear evidence that changing the way many of us work will also help protect the environment. Just as workers have embraced new, more sustainable habits and ways of working, so each business – and the Government – need to play their part to encourage agile working for the long term and build back better for society and the environment.” Chris Butler-Stroud, chief executive at Whale and Dolphin Conservation said: “The last few months have shown that the public really does value nature as being central to their health and the health of the wider environment. Governments often feel they have to tread carefully in nurturing consumer behaviour; not wanting to feel like they are forcing change on the public. But COVID-19 has changed all that. We are now faced with a window of opportunity for government and the business sector to seize the opportunity to help a willing public to make the critical choices to end the use of single use plastics and make the necessary changes to meet the existential threat represented by the climate crisis.”
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Washika Haak-Saheem, an associate professor at Henley Business
School said: “We know our habits are powerful drivers of our behaviour and working from home has triggered a discontinuity in our habitual responses. The disruption caused by this global health crisis can be a great opportunity to form new aspirations around sustainable travel or consumption. As advanced technologies support us in the new ways of how we work, we may find it easier to embrace a more carbon conscious way of living in the long run. “Especially as we know that climate change has implications for
the frequency and severity of future pandemics. We must use this moment to break from the inertia of the past by breaking with suboptimal habits and processes. In a post–COVID-19 world, a transformational approach to reinventing work will be mandatory to remain competitive. Instead of adjusting the existing footprint incrementally, we should take a fresh look at how we do things in a more holistic manner. These changes may not only improve the ways we work but also lead to wider positive impact on communities and societies.”
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