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The Analysis News & Opinions
Opinion
Small business sustainability knowledge gap revealed
Around nine in 10 small business owners (89%) admit they could be doing more on sustainability – with lack of knowledge on the key issues and fi nancial considerations being the main factors holding them back. Oue new research found small businesses
in manufacturing (95%), construction (94%), retail (94%) and hospitality (94%) almost universally acknowledged they could be doing more on sustainability – as did young fi rms that had been trading for less than two years (94%, compared to 85% of enterprises that had been for 10 years or more). The national poll of 1,027 small business
leaders revealed whilst 12% of respondents said the geo-political uncertainty of world events had diverted their attention in recent months – for most small businesses, education and money were the biggest barriers to doing more on sustainability. Nationally, 17% of small businesses cited a
lack of understanding of what sustainability entailed, 14% said they didn’t know how to measure its business impact – and 12% said they did not know where to turn for trusted advice on the subject. Linked to these two factors, 15% of business leaders said their small fi rm lacked a designated Sustainability lead to coordinate a programme of activity – and, perhaps a consequence of this, 9% re- ported disinterest on sustainability issues from their staff members. Aalmost one in 10 respondents thought it
was too early to invest in a sustainability project, despite
alarm bells
ringing loudly on the climate emergency.
Jo Morris Head of insight, Novuna Business Finance
Regulator sets out new BNPL plans
Buy-Now Pay-Later credit agreements can
be a helpful way to manage your fi nances, allowing people to spread the full cost of a purchase over time. However, people do not currently have
the usual full range of borrower protections when taking out this type of loan and they are rapidly increasing in popularity, resulting in a potential risk of harm to consumers. Under plans set out by the government
today it confi rmed that lenders will be required to carry out aff ordability checks, ensuring loans are aff ordable for consumers, and will amend fi nancial promotion rules to ensure Buy-Now Pay-Later advertisements are fair, clear, and not misleading. Lenders off ering the product will need to be
approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and borrowers will also be able to take a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Economic Secretary to the Treasury,
John Glen said: “Buy-Now Pay-Later can be a helpful way to manage your fi nances but we need to ensure that people can embrace new products and services with the appropriate protections in place. “By holding Buy-Now Pay-Later to the high
standards we expect of other loans and forms of credit, we are protecting consumers and fostering the safe growth of this innovative market in the UK.” “Today’s consultation response sets out the
government’s proposals for regulation of the sector. “Given its complexity, the government will
publish a consultation on draft legislation toward the end of this year. Following this, the government aims to lay secondary legislation by mid-2023, after which the FCA will consult on its rules for the sector. “The government has also confi rmed that other forms of short-term interest-free
John Glen
credit, such as those used to pay for dental work or larger items like furniture, will be required to comply with the same rules announced to- day, given the risks posed are similar and con- sumers should receive consistent protections from similar products. “These rules will apply to businesses who
partner with a third-party lender to provide credit, and the government is asking for further stakeholder feedback to confi rm whether they should also apply to online merchants who di- rectly off er credit for the purchase of their own products. “Today’s announcement forms part of the
government’s plan to grow the economy to tackle the cost of living. The Chancellor has provided £37bn of support to help, including providing the eight million most vulnerable British families with at least £1,200 of direct payments this year – and giving every house- hold right across the UK £400 to help with their energy bills.”
6
www.CCRMagazine.com
June 2022
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