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UK business: Green products crucial for success |
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Companies will need to integrate "green" aspects in core business strategies to meet consumer needs in the long term, finds a new report by 18 of the UK's largest firms. Efficient heating and cooling emerge as key pillars.
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2007-11-30
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If UK companies do not include "green" thinking into all business activities within the next two to three years, they will miss out on the commercial opportunities emerging from the transition towards a low-carbon economy. More importantly, the development of new products will be crucial to help consumers cut their emissions by 50% by 2020. These are key messages from the report "Climate change: Everyone's business", published by 18 of the UK’s largest firms on 27 November. Under their umbrella organization "Confederation of British Industry" (CBI), they urge all business leaders to accelerate the pace and scale of commercializing already existing technologies. CBI Director General Richard Lambert concludes: "In the future, businesses will have to be green to grow. To manage their costs and to maintain the trust of their customers, they will need to build carbon management into their corporate DNA."
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The report, assessing economic costs and benefits of different options for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, concludes that achieving ambitious national GHG targets by 2020-2050 is possible at a “manageable cost. The maximum cost for implementing the full range of emission reduction measures are estimated at €60-90 by 2020, and by €40 by 2030 per tCO2. At the same time the benefits for small and medium-sized companies investing in "green" technologies could reach £3 billion in the period to 2010 in the UK. The key to success, however, is an early commercialization of already existing technologies.
Energy-efficiency heating and cooling crucial for success
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Based on a recent study by McKinsey, the CBI report states that by 2030, nearly 60% of the required emissions savings in the UK must come from energy efficiency at home, in business and transport. More specifically, among the key priorities it lists efficient building structures, car fuel efficiency, and residential hot water heating. The move away from fossil fuels towards low-carbon sources of energy is a key pillar, as well as better cooling and heating technologies.
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More information:
 CBI report: "Climate change: Everyone’s business" (1.3 MB)
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