Envirowise urges Scottish business to look towards Tomorrow's World
Scottish businesses place more importance on improving green policies than businesses in other parts of the UK, according to recent research co-ordinated by Envirowise.
The Tomorrow's World Research programme, a nine-month study undertaken on a number of businesses in Scotland, has produced figures which show that 48% of Scottish companies believe improving green policies will enhance their market opportunities, compared with only 23% of companies in the rest of the UK.
It is predicted however that many of those Scottish businesses are failing to reap the full benefits of environmental management due to their reactive, rather than long term, approach.
Envirowise, a programme offering free confidential advice to businesses enabling them to improve profitability and reduce environmental impact, places great importance on taking a longer term approach to environmental management.
In light of the research findings, Envirowise Business Manager for Scotland, Alan Hendry, has called for a fundamental rethink of the relationship between business, consumers and government. He said: "If real progress on environmental issues is to be made, it is vital that companies in Scotland take long term steps to manage their environmental impacts."
The Tomorrow's World report reveals that 52% of Scottish respondents stated that they did apply pressure to their suppliers to reveal information concerning the management and improvement of their environmental impacts. However, the small number of Scottish companies putting processes in place and creating a new business environment shaped by 'green issues' is worryingly short-term:
- Only 22% of Scottish companies stated that they themselves had a formal environmental planning process through which they identified environmental policies, goals or targets.
- Over a quarter (26%) of the Scottish companies surveyed highlighted that they conducted regular measurements or audits of their environmental impacts.
- Companies based in rural locations face particular challenges in improving environmental impacts because of the lack of local environmental infrastructure, the proximity to areas of environmental importance, and the lack of locally available skills.
The report highlights that Scottish companies are expected to come under increasing pressure from stakeholders to develop and implement environmental policies. In addition, company procedures and practices must look at long term environmental strategies in order to improve their market opportunities.
Alan Hendry said: "Environmental and social issues are playing an increasingly important role in consumer and business purchasing decisions, so businesses need to take a longer-term view. Commitment to the environment does exist among Scottish businesses. However, at the moment most are being driven by legislation rather than seeing that environmental performance will become a pre-requisite for success in the not-too-distant future."
He added: "Both consumer and business customers are becoming more worried about the environmental impact of the products they buy. Companies need to prepare for that impact and think further than the next Directive coming out of the EU."
Philip Annandale, Environmental Manager at Macphie of Glenbervie Ltd, a food ingredient manufacturer based near Stonehaven who were one of the participating companies in the Tomorrow's World programme, said:
"Pressure on companies in Scotland to become responsible for their environmental impact is increasing and meeting our environmental objectives is becoming more important to gain competitive advantage and achieve cost savings.
"At Macphie we take a long term strategic approach to environmental management and continual environmental improvement. When our environmental management system was established, an onsite visit from Envirowise helped us to identify areas where waste could be reduced, recycled or even eliminated altogether and identified potential savings of £30,000."
Ends
Issued on behalf of Envirowise by Harrison Cowley
For further information please contact:
Laura McKenzie or Jenny Ingram on 0131 226 2363.
Note to editors:
The following panel of industry experts are available for comment on the Scottish research findings:
Niall Davidson - Policy Analyst for the Scottish Council for Development and Industry
Neil Ferguson - Strategy Manager for Scottish Enterprise
Evan Williams - Scottish Environment Protection Agency
The Tomorrow's World Research programme
The Tomorrow's World programme was conduced over nine months in 2005 and 2006, with 23 Scottish companies taking part in in-depth interviews. Sample companies ranged in size and overall the sample was roughly evenly split between large companies and small and medium sized companies.
Phase 1: A changing business environment
Phase one of the research is designed to document the nature of the evolving business environment on three levels:
- The Regulatory Environment - at the National (DEFRA; Environment Agency; DTI; OFWAT) and European level (Environment DG)
- The Supply Environment - regional water suppliers, waste management and disposal companies, Industry representatives (Water UK; CIWM; A&WMA)
- The Demand Environment - pressure groups & campaigners, public opinion, consumer groups representatives, trades unions
Phase 2: Ready for tomorrow?
The second stage of the research seeks to assess the preparedness of UK businesses for the challenges of the evolving business environment identified in Phase 1. Preparedness will be established on four levels:
- Awareness of salient issues
- Evidence of planning to tackle issues
- Evidence of existing achievements
- Assessments of resources/capabilities to tackle issues effectively
About Envirowise
Envirowise delivers a valuable programme of confidential advice to Scottish businesses. This advice enables businesses to improve profitability and reduce environmental impact.
Independent, practical and proven guidance is available through the Envirowise Advice Line, information resources and on site visits (Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales only) delivered by a national team of expert advisors. Each solution is driven by the specific needs of individual firms, to genuinely improve their business practices, profitability and competitiveness. Since 1994, Envirowise has helped UK industry save over £1 billion.
The Envirowise programme is available to any UK business, completely free of charge.
For more information visit www.envirowise.gov.uk/scotland or call 0800 585 794.