Be
Seen
to be
Green
Eco-labelling schemes, environmental standards,
stiffer penalties for polluters
- companies are
under growing pressure to protect the planet.
Clare Vincent looks at how they can best respond
Director magazine
June 1999
our planet is being destroyed: as much as a third of its
natural wealth has disappeared in the past 25 years and
its plants and animals are going extinct on a scale not seen
since the end of the dinosaurs.
As some of the biggest consumers of natural resources
and some of the biggest polluters, businesses have long
been under pressure to take these kinds of environmental
issues seriously. In recent years, however, the nature of
this pressure has changed. It has started to come from a
greater number of quarters, developing beyond lobby
groups and activitists and into the mainstream.
A significant part of it, for example, is now internal.
Voluntary environmental standards such as British Standard
BS 7750, the European Eco-Management and Auditing
Scheme (EMAS) and the International Standard ISO
14001 are pushing green issues to the top of the business
agenda. They are also leading to what could be described
as a system of pragmatic self-regulation. As more compa-
nies achieve environmental standards more are forced to
apply for and attain them - or risk rivals winning compet-
itive advantage.
Increasingly, then, concern about the environment is
seen as a professional credential. Companies that have
already adopted environmental programmes now tend to
look for like-minded suppliers. British Telecom, for ex-
ample, has an environmental standard that it wants all
companies tendering for its business to meet.
The DIY retailer B&Q began investigating its timber
suppliers' sources in 1991, insisting on only stocking
wood from renewable, harvested forests. "Ten years
ago, we realised that to be a responsible retailer we had to
know a lot more about the products we are selling and
where they come from," says Lorian Coutts, a B&Q
spokesperson. "We need to know the impact of our
products on the environment, and our customers want
to know that we aren't doing harm to the environment."
B&Q's approach points to a mounting external pres-
sure: consumer demand. The success of companies such
as the Body Shop and the Go-operative Bank reflect the
growing market for green goods and services. Initiatives
such as the European eco-labelling scheme have been
introduced in response to consumer desire for more
information on products. Supermarket shoppers want to
know not just what is in the food they are buying but how
it has been produced. Hence the drive for "dolphin·
friendly" tuna a few years ago.
Companies are finding it harder to conceal a poor
environmental record. And those that are exposed can
pay a heavy price. Shell, for example, was internationally
boycotted in 1995 when its plans to dispose of the
Brent Spar oil rig at sea became public.
Environmentally-unfriendly companies are also under
attack from the financial services sector. Insurers,
worried about future claims for environmental damage,
are asking companies with poor records on the environ-
ment for higher premiums. And banks are assessing a
business's impact on the environment before agreeing
loans.
A growing number of investors now choose to put
their money into green stocks. According to the Associ-
ation of Unit Trusts and Investment Funds there were
18 environmental and ethical funds in December 1994
with £424m funds under management. By December
last year there were 27, managing £1.4bn.
Perhaps the most ineluctable pressures, however, are
coming from the government. The environment minis-
ter Michael Meacher recently repeated his threat of leg-
islation to force companies to produce environmental
reports. (Currently, only 17 per cent of the FTSE top
350 firms have done so.) And last month he encouraged
the Environment Agency to come down heavily on
industrial polluters.
Meanwhile, as consumption of natural resources far
outstrips supply, industry and energy minister John Battle
has urged companies to look more closely at the long-
term environmental impact of their business. His case is
simple: if they do, they will safeguard their own viability,
discovering new commercial opportunities. "We must find
new patterns of production and consumption that are
sustainable," he says. "The drive to sustainability will
stimulate invention and innovation and will bring new
opportunities for business and growth.
"Business will be at the forefront of this sustainability
revolution. Firms will have to find ways to get more
from less. Production and distribution systems will have
to change to reduce emissions, resource use and waste.
Competitive companies will be the ones that not only
respond to, but also lead those changes."
So what should businesses be doing to advance the
green - and their own - cause? While attention normally
focuses mainly on those sectors that have traditionally
damaged and abused the environment most - heavy
industry and manufacturing - all companies, of all sizes,
can make a contribution. And all companies can bene-
fit. Below are the main areas to look at.
Energy Efficiency
Energy-efficiency programmes save money as well as
help save the planet. Environmental consultancies can
highlight areas for improvement. Lesley Millett, direc-
tor of the environmental consultancy Wastebusters, is
the author of The Green Office Manual, which provides
guidance on how to achieve best environmental practice.
Energy consumption, she says, is a good starting point.
Half this country's total production of carbon dioxide -
the main climate changing gas - is the result of emissions
from the energy production for heating and Lighting.
Good housekeeping measures such as switching
lights and computers off can normally reduce consump-
tion by at least ten per cent.
Emma Burlow, environmental consultant at Waste-
busters, suggests running a "switch off" campaign to
encourage staff to be more diligent about turning Lights
and computers off. Buying more energy-efficient fares,
printers and photocopiers should also help.
Water
Over the past decade, the UK has seen a reduction in
rainfall but an increase in the demand for water. It is
conceivable that in the future the cost of water will rise and
its use will be restricted.
Ways to save water include:
- Fitting flush controls to urinals. (These can cut water use by a third and save up to f170 a year.)
- Using taps that only stay on for a few seconds at a time and therefore can't be accidentally left running.
- Using spray taps, which use less water than those producing a steady stream.
- Installing cistern dams or cistern bags to reduce the amount of water used when toilets are flushed.
(These are sometimes supplied by water companies
free of charge.)
Companies can also help themselves-as well as the
environment - by carefully checking their water bills. Big
discrepancies between cost and use can very often be
the result of leaks in the supply. Companies that discover
a leak can claim a rebate for “water not returned to
the sewer" and use the money to pay for repairs.
Waste
Many of a company's legal responsibilities with regard
to the environment relate to refuse and byproducts. All
businesses must follow the Duty of Care Regulations
under the Environmental Protection Act of 1990 and
dispose of their waste properly. This means having it
collected by a registered carrier who is properly
informed of what type of waste it is. The rules also
apply to material collected for recycling.
Hazardous substances such as paint must be disposed
of in accordance with the 1996 Special Waste Regula-
tions. While under the Water Industry Act of 1991 it is an
offence to discharge chemicals, such as those used in
printing, into the sewerage system unless authorised.
Companies wanting to discharge into the storm water
drain system should get consent from the Environ-
ment Agency. And there are special rules for the dispos-
al of large numbers of fluorescent lighting tubes, which
contain mercury.
Businesses that handle more than 50 tonnes of pack-
aging or packaging materials and have a turnover of
£5m also have specific legal obligations. They must register
with the Environment Agency or the Scottish Environ-
mental Protection Agency and recycle a percentage of
their packaging waste.
Disposing of waste in an environmentally safe way
has become one of the main focuses of the green move-
ment in recent years. Landfill space is running out and
its use as a method of disposal is increasingly being
called into question. Rotting waste in landfill sites cre-
ates methane gas - a global-warming gas that is more
than 20 times more damaging than carbon dioxide.
The issue, however, isn't just about how we dispose
of our waste: it is also about the rate at which we are cre-
ating it. Environmental campaigners have long been
trying to focus attention on inefficient use of resources.
Each member of staff in an office, consultants say,
should not be creating more than 200kg of waste a year.
Easy and inexpensive ways of reducing waste include:
- using both sides of printer and copier paper;
- sending messages by computer;
- setting fax machines so they don't produce header or report sheets;
- switching from scrap pads to post-it notes;
- using ceramic rather than plastic cups;
- renovating - rather than replacing - old office furniture.
The Oxford Group, a human resources and training
company, recently commissioned an environmental audit
from Wastebusters. Chairman Nigel Purse explains the
objectives and achievements: "We were trying to reduce
the impact of our activities on the environment and also,
perhaps, save some money in the process. One result is that
we have reduced our annual stationery bill by £19,000 by
using recycled paper, introducing double-sided printing
and photocopying and cutting down on our use of
acetates as overhead projector slides. From a purely com-
mercial point of view, we have achieved very large cost
savings and from an environmental point of view we
have reduced our consumption of scarce resources."
Recycling
An estimated 70 per cent of office waste is recyclable. By
recycling waste and buying all the recycled goods, busi-
nesses are helping to create a virtuous circle. And the
greater the demand for recycled goods, the cheaper
they will be come.
The argument that "used goods" are of poorer quality
is increasingly becoming untenable. Improved tech-
nology means it is now often difficult to tell the difference
between virgin and recycled paper, for example.
Sustainability
Green housekeeping is essential if further damage to
the environment is to be prevented but it doesn't solve
the problem of over-consumption of resources. Four
fifths of world energy consumption is currently account-
ed for by one fifth of the world's population. The conse-
quences of large-scale rises in demand are not difficult
to imagine.
Companies that have
already adopted
environmental programmes
now tend to look for
like-minded suppliers
Green lobbyists have long seen the solution as alter-
native technology. In the long term, they argue, switching
to renewable forms of energy makes economic as well as
ecological sense. "The economy should not just be
about growth," says Tony Juniper, policy and campaign
director at Friends of the Earth. "We need to stop trading
the environment off against the economy and start inte-
grating them. Sustainable development is about im-
proving the quality of life for everybody within environ-
mental limits."
It is a message that an increasing number of businesses
seems to be listening to. The Co-operative Bank's
National Centre for Business and Ecology, for example,
advises companies on the Natural Step, a Swedish sus-
tainability concept. Live by the Natural Step and you
stop digging up oil and minerals in such great quantities,
stop creating chemicals or waste that persist in the envi-
ronment and stop reducing global green space.
The centre also provides guidance on so-called sus-
tainability visioning, which helps companies work out a
strategy for their own survival. Sometimes this means a
complete change of direction; sometimes it means a
change in focus. BP is one company that appears to have
taken the concept on board with its increasing involve-
ment in solar power.
The argument for such "visioning" is compelling. "It is
to do with the long-term viability of your business," says
Erik Brishard, director of the Centre. "If you do not
look ahead to the future of your business now, it might not
have one."
Clare Vincent is a freelance writer.
Further information and advice are available from local
councils, the Environment Agency - 0645 333 111 -
and the Environmental Technology Best Practice
Programme (ETBPP)- 0800 585 794.