BUSINESS STANDARDS
is the quarterly magazine of BSI Group, highlighting the vital role that standards play in today's business environment. Regular features include interviews with leading business figures, as well as news on the latest developments in management systems and standards.
The low carbon revolution
25 Jul 2008
Topics: Carbon footprint, CFV, GHG, Environment, Carbon market
"Successful economies, successful countries, successful companies, in future are going to be low carbon. Those who get in first in order to shape this low carbon revolution are going to have a big advantage over those who don't.
"However, while countries and governments will say they understand the science, they worry about the impact of dealing with climate change on their economic development.
"The challenge is to show that it is possible to combine sustainable low carbon development with the fight against climate change - the British experience over the last decade is a modest example of that. The economy has grown by around a quarter, in real terms, while our greenhouse gas emissions have come down by just under eight per cent. As soon as you begin to show that, then you can open up a conversation with emerging economies.
"The great challenge looking ahead to the UN Climate Change Conference 2009 and negotiating the deal internationally is how we're going to get sufficient contributions on the table to deal with the problem. It's inconceivable that this will happen without the US - the largest economy in the world - playing its part. But you also need China, India and other countries to be in, because even if our rich 'developed' world could kick the carbon habit tomorrow morning, we would still be facing the threat of dangerous climate change because of rising emissions from emerging economies.
"Consider all the benefits we have in our society in comparison to those where they don't have healthcare for everyone, where not every child is in school and not everyone has a job or a reasonable standard of living. How can we help them pursue development but in a low carbon way?
"China's in a very different position economically to Mali or Burkino Faso, but they're all members of the G77 group [the largest intergovernmental organization of developing states in the United Nations]. How are you going to unlock their commitment to low carbon?"
The potential for change
"The greatest risk we face is that we fall prey to despair, transfixed in the headlights of the enormity of the problem.
"I don't believe this needs to be the case - human beings are rational, creative and imaginative. History has taught us that what may seem absolutely impossible today may be possible tomorrow.
"For example, imagine if someone had popped up ten years ago and claimed that within a decade, we would be able to get the government in Britain to put forward a bill to Parliament establishing carbon budgets for the UK and set up a Climate Change Committee that would advise on those budgets. Imagine he went on to claim that the government would set targets for reductions in CO2 emissions for 2020 and 2050. And that it might be possible to get every country in the world to sign up to an agreement that recognizes climate change and acknowledges that human activity is the cause, agreeing that we need to make deep cuts in emissions. Most people would have thought this person completely mad.
"Ten years on, those things have either happened or they're in the process of happening. This shows what is possible - we've done it. That demonstrates the capacity of our society, our politics, to see what is happening and to begin to respond. But we've got to get our skates on."
Legislation versus voluntary regulation
"Current UK emissions are just under 550,000,000 tonnes of CO2 a year and we've got to bring it down. Forty per cent of our emissions are down to the choices that we make as citizens, whether in our own lives or in the businesses for which we work.
"There's a growing number of people in the business community who say we have to take responsibility to provide part of the solution without somebody else coming along and saying you have to do it.
"As such, I think we need a combination of voluntary and regulatory influences in play. The markets send signals through price, regulation is introduced where appropriate and taxation provides an incentive. Trading schemes like the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) raise awareness at boardroom level of the impact that carbon can have on the bottom line.
"An example from the UK is the zero carbon homes initiative. We have an imbalance between existing housing stock and the need for new homes, so this new initiative was set up and it in turn ratcheted up building regulations.
"Another example is the voluntary agreement that was reached with retailers and lighting manufacturers to phase out old Thomas Edison Victorian technology light bulbs between now and 2011. This should save upwards of 5,000,000 tons of CO2 a year and we will achieve this in advance of whatever regulatory decision Europe might take (the EU can't actually ban these light bulbs because they fall under the free circulation of goods that meet a common standard).
"Look at the Carbon Emission Reduction Target, another clever scheme. Energy companies have to save a certain amount of CO2 and they have to focus 40 per cent of their efforts on people on low incomes. As a result, some energy companies will send free low energy light bulbs through the post or will come and do insulation in lofts or cavity wall, or offer discounts if you buy low energy appliance. These are all the result of government regulation mixed with voluntary self-regulation, and companies are being creative about finding ways to implement these initiatives."
The change is coming
"There's going to be a temptation for some to say, 'The economy has to come first and the environment will just have to wait for a bit'. I think that would be a profound mistake. This change is coming and the science isn't backing off.
"But if we do get on with what needs to be done first, there's a real opportunity here. Environmental industries, in a broad sense, are worth £25bn a year, employ 400,000 people and they're forecast to grow considerably in the next few years. It's already a significant industry and it's going to be more significant in future.
"Fundamentally, this is a low carbon revolution, not just in our society and in our economies, but in the developing world as well. How do we get from where we are to where we need to be, recognizing that we share the planet and that climate change expresses human interdependence? We can't opt out of this - and there are going to be nine billion of us in the next 50 years. We have to do it."
IN A NUTSHELL: The carbon question
Measuring, calculating and declaring your organization's direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) is becoming increasingly important. The launch of BSI Management Systems' Carbon Footprint Verification (CFV) scheme in the UK is for businesses seeking not just to declare their corporate carbon footprint, but to reassure customers, employees, shareholders, potential investors, environmental groups, and the media of the integrity and completeness of their calculations. The scheme includes training courses on best practice approaches to footprinting and is relevant to all types of organizations that are looking to enhance their environmental credentials, or move towards carbon neutral status. This includes those already reporting for mandatory GHG emission reporting schemes wanting to widen the scope to cover their whole organization, as well as those in industries that will be next into mandatory GHG schemes. BSI's CFV service is delivered in accordance with the principles laid out for GHG verifiers in ISO 14065 and can be verified against ISO 14064-1 and the WBCSD/WRI GHG Protocol for Corporate Accounting and Reporting.
For more information: www.bsigroup.com/july08cfv
Business Standards © 2008. Editorial produced by Caspian Publishing in association with the British Standards Institution. Editorial opinions expressed on are not necessarily those of BSI Group or Caspian Publishing. Neither Caspian Publishing nor BSI Group accept responsibility for advertising or editorial content, nor for that appearing on linked third-party websites. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden without written permission from BSI Group or Caspian Publishing.
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