CFA President Carl Harper, heralds the publication of this year’s CFA Guide to Sustainability – the third to be published solely in digital format – saying that it comes at a time of slow and steady improvement within the industry with regard to sustainability.

I’m delighted to report that both awareness and activity regarding sustainability are increasing steadily within our industry. I think that this will be obvious to anyone having a look through this year’s Guide.

People increasingly know what they have to do, even when there is not a Government or client
imperative to take action – they just know they have to do the right thing, for the sake of the planet and to ensure the long term sustainability of their businesses. I also sense a real enthusiasm to take action as well, which is very gratifying. I think this is partly because doing so can often save a business money, contrary to what is sometimes thought. Solar panels on the roof of your warehouse now regularly have a payback time of just two to three years, because of the
reducing costs of the technology involved, allied with the increasing cost of energy purchased from power suppliers.

Electric cars are not the disaster area that some people foresaw. Although for many who are
travelling longer distances, hybrid vehicles are still the most practical option, nonetheless increased ranges of 300 miles or more are beginning to make full-electric vehicles a viable and cost-effective alternative to ICE-powered vehicles in some circumstances. If electric vans could be brought down to more realistic prices, then I think businesses would be even more inclined to embrace this technology. Of course we all learned during the pandemic about the powers of
online meeting software.

Adopting these for regular use has enabled many more people to work from home or carry out that important client meeting online, rather than driving to visit them. That’s not to understate the role of the face-to-face meeting, which is of course critical in strengthening personal relationships which are so important in all aspects of business. It’s all about striking a balance and using smart thinking about how we organise our businesses at the most basic level, which can make a big difference. How many envelopes containing single use plastics do we really need to use? If we upgrade our computer system, will that enable us to print out fewer hard copies of documents? If we change the lighting in our warehouse to LED panels, will that save energy? The sector is absolutely buzzing with companies looking at all these and many other aspects, which is very encouraging.

To read more please click here