| | | | | |  HRH Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay and Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, joined some of Scotland’s leading decision makers at The Palace of Holyrood on Wednesday 2 June to highlight the importance of sustainable business action for Scotland’s future economy.
Organised by Scottish Business in the Community (SBC) the Summit united some of Scotland’s most influential leaders in business, environmental sustainability and the government, in a debate around the challenges and opportunities that our nation faces in trying to achieve a sustainable economy.
While there was praise for the leadership shown by the Scottish Government in setting ambitious climate-change targets, there was also an understanding that leadership resulting in action had to come from a collaboration between NGOs, politicians and business leaders at all levels.
Alex Salmond said that creating a sustainable low carbon economy presents 'enormous opportunities for investment and growth that Scottish businesses must seize' and that: ‘...it is crucial that our business leaders and entrepreneurs understand both the challenges and opportunities climate change presents so that we can work together to ensure a positive future for our economy, environment and society.’
John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, gave some powerful reminders of the goals that need to be achieved and the benefits that can be realised. He praised the Mayday Network for ‘focusing the debate on sustainability’ and said there were fantastic opportunities for Scotland, but it would require ‘leadership, courage, money and vision to translate theory into practice’.
Mr Swinney said that offshore renewables, including off shore wind, wave and tidal power, represented the ‘greatest economic opportunity since the discovery of North Sea oil’ – and that Scotland had to capitalize on these opportunities.
With Westminster committing to examine the Fossil Fuel Levy, Scotland could be in line for £185m for investment in renewable energy. This would no doubt provide a welcome boost to Scotland achieving it’s target of 42% emission reductions by 2020. However, even with this, Mr Swinney accepted there were big challenges and that only by ‘ensuring that we activate private sector engagement’ could we deliver all of our aspirations.
Frank Blin, Executive Chairman PricewaterhouseCoopers identified that the challenges for Scottish business is rising debt, the need to make profit and the imminent threat of tax increases. He told the conference:
‘If business can see real advantage, it will embrace the sustainability agenda and make a massive positive impact’ – and argued the challenge was to take sustainability ‘out of worthiness and into worthwhile.’
He identified that Scotland’s industrial base had been ‘weakened’, but that if businesses could support this initiative there would be £50billion of extra revenue by 2050. He said that businesses need to ‘share, learn and develop’ in order for Scotland to achieve a more sustainable future, after all ‘none of us can operate in a vacuum.’
Prince Charles said, ‘You have recognized that it is relatively easy to set targets, but inevitably a great deal harder to achieve change. This is not to say that targets are unimportant. The ambition set out in the Climate Change Delivery Plan accurately reflects the scale of the challenge in front of us, but if this is to be met then I believe something more fundamental needs to alter. In short, everyone in Scotland (and, indeed, across the developed world) will need to decide that they want to make a change.’
Despite the many challenges that face Scotland there are also numerous opportunities and only by working collaboratively can these opportunities be achieved. The overall theme from the Summit is that change needed to work from the top down starting with businesses and business leaders.
For more information on the Sustainable Scotland Summit and the Awards for Excellence, which celebrated the success our members have had by implementing successful CSR strategies, please click here
| Rewards and Awards for SME’s |  Rabbie’s Trail Burners provides small-group tours to the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Established in 1993, and named after Scotland's best loved poet Robert Burns, Rabbie’s provides a unique travel experience while maintaining a positive CRS policy.
Rabbie’s, as a transport company, is a polluter with the majority of their carbon emissions coming from the diesel they use to power their mini-coaches. However, Rabbie’s are constantly developing and implementing initiatives which will help them to reduce their carbon emissions and increase their profits.
They have created a unique method of monitoring the carbon impact of each of their passengers, with this information they have been able to drive down the carbon emissions of each individual passenger by 24%, this KPI has resulted in a direct sales increase of £80,000.
In 2007 Rabbie’s made a £4,200 investment in the remapping of their entire fleet. Tuning the engines for better performance and improved fuel efficiency has led to a direct fuel saving of £43,195 equating to an overall saving of £38,995.
‘These KPI’s are core to our business and have allowed us to raise sales and reduce costs….it’s a business no brainer!’ Robin Worsnop, Managing Director
Rabbie’s continued commitment to improving their business and their overall impact on society has not gone unnoticed. They have received numerous awards including the Tourism Innovation Award, Green Tourism Award and most recently the Scottish Business in the Community’s Small Business of the Year Award. Specifically aimed at SME’s the Small Business of the Year Award rewards companies who achieve commercial success in ways that respect people, communities and the environment.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accounted for 99.9 per cent of all enterprises, 59.4 per cent of private sector employment and 50.1 per cent of private sector turnover. In light of the considerable size and contribution of the SME sector, it is vital that SME’s understand the benefits and opportunities that are available to them.
Rabbie’s successes have not happened over night, however, through the implementation of responsible business practices, strong leadership and support from organizations such as The Mayday Network, Rabbie’s Trail Burners have considerably improved their triple bottom line demonstrating to other SME’s that a sustainable business is a more successful business.
‘Our success in reducing the carbon footprint of our customers and our team’s passion for the environment has contributed hugely to the visitor experience and the success of Rabbie’s as a business.’ Robin Worsnop, ManagingDirector.
For more information on Rabbie’s Trails Burners click here or visit www.rabbies.com 60 Second Interview: Jo Bucci, 2020 Climate Group |
 Name: Jo Bucci
Organisation : People’s Postcode Lottery
Position: Managing Director
What is your role on the 2020 Group?
In addition to my duties as a member of the 2020 Group, I act as Co-Chair of the Public & Business Engagement Sub-Group which seeks to positively influence the Scottish Government’s public engagement strategy. In line with this, we are also working to develop a framework for businesses to access information and support to help them reduce their impact on the environment. What is the most interesting aspect of your role within the 2020 Group?
I would have to say it is Co-Chairing the Public & Business Engagement Sub-Group. We have an exciting and challenging brief which requires a great deal of analysis and critiquing. This entails receiving briefings and presentations from a wide range of experts, on their research findings, and using our collective business experience to assist the Scottish Government in developing and enhancing its core messages on the basis of this information. What do you believe to be the key challenge Scotland faces in achieving the 42% reduction in carbon emission by 2020?
Everyday we see new technological advancements which will help individuals, families and businesses reduce their carbon footprints. At the People’s Postcode Lottery we recognise the role that technology can play, which is why our Dutch counterparts offered free energy saving light bulbs to all players of the Lottery in the Netherlands – 4.2 million, highlighting the impact even small measures can make. However, in reality, these developments can only take us so far. The real challenge is conveying to the public the level and extent to which we all need to make changes to our day to day lives to help reach these targets. On the other hand, we need to be realistic about how much people can actually do. So it’s about providing useful and tangible information to the public that they can apply to their day to day lives and start reducing their impact on the environment. What opportunities do you think the move to a low carbon economy can bring to Scotland?
There are all sorts of societal, economic and political benefits that come with moving towards a low carbon economy. Not only are we laying the ground work for a more sustainable society which will reap benefits for future generations, but also the current. Scotland is unique given its renewable potential and so may be able to benefit more than other similar sized nations. For example, a ‘green revolution’ in Scotland would create excellent opportunities for sustainable jobs and ultimately promote economic growth generating benefits for all. What would be your `top tip’ for a business looking to engage in environmental sustainability?
Do your homework and find out what funding or support you may be eligible for you to help make your business more environmentally sustainable. Identify the areas of your business which require small and less taxing changes which you could implement immediately. Secondly, develop a longer term plan with aspirations for your business and work towards this. Remember there are a number of advisory bodies and groups out there with free information which could help make your business more efficient and ultimately more sustainable. How has the People’s Postcode Lottery incorporated environmental sustainability?
At an office level, we make every effort to implement a sensible approach to incorporating sustainable measures into our daily working lives from utilising public transport to teleconferencing for meetings to using recycled products - to name a few. On an international level, in collaboration with our sister lotteries in Sweden and the Netherlands, we combine to make one of the largest private contributors in the world to environmentally sustainable causes and projects. What direct business benefits have PPL had from implementing environmental measures within the business?
At this early stage it is difficult to quantify the direct business benefits. However, we think and believe it is important for everyone to consider we only have one planet; we can’t live without clean air, clean soil and clean water. The only thing that 6 ½ Billion people really share on this planet, is the planet. It simply makes sense to take care of your life force and the resources that sustain us all, at home and our professional lives. What personally motivated your journey to tackle climate change?
Through my position in the Lottery I have been fortunate enough to see at first hand the toll that climate change is already taking in places such as Africa. That is why I am proud to work for an organisation which puts such an emphasis on supporting environmental causes locally and also globally. For more information on the 2020 Climate Group click here or visit www.2020climategroup.org.uk |
