What Small And Medium Businesses Should Learn From Copenhagen
21/12/09
By Sofia Sadiq, Businesslink.gov.uk
Small and medium sized businesses need to work more closely with big business to help develop a global low carbon economy - this was the messages coming out of the Business Day Summit in Copenhagen. It was run in parallel to the UN Copenhagen Climate Change Conference on 11 December 2009 and organised by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the International Chamber of Commerce, together with the Confederation of Danish Industry.
In the packed headquarters of the Confederation of Danish Industry, businesses from all over Europe, Asia and Africa identified the need for a collaborative approach to creating a low carbon future - a future in which business helps government to build a framework for change, without excessive legislation.
Many businesses called for government to set low-carbon economy goals for the business community. Government was seen as important in shaping public policy and creating the right financial incentives for businesses to invest in cleaner technologies.
Business Day featured over 40 speakers and more than 400 participants and those present had a range of demands, from the overarching to the extremely niche. But the key issue for most was agreeing a global carbon trading policy, which President Obama is trying to push through the Senate, but developing countries have so far resisted.
While establishing a CO2 pricing regulation was a key aim of the discussions, there was also recognition of the immediate need for businesses to be more progressive and start thinking about low-carbon ways of doing businesses. One suggestion was that multinationals need to be working with SMEs more at a local level, and there needs to be greater dialogue with the public and private sectors to create new public private partnerships.
Business people present also agreed that the key to tackling ...global warming is having global commitment to solve it, and business should be at the forefront of this education. Similarly, they agreed that consumers are key in forging a greener world and that industry needs to adapt and innovate to bring greener goods to market faster and at competitive prices.
"Ultimately, Business Day agreed that all businesses, whether large or small, should be working together with government to help drive change. Businesses can take the initiative by building on their expertise to become hubs of new technology, activity and knowledge," said Sofia Sadiq, Environment & Efficiency Theme Leader at businesslink.gov.uk.
The Business Link website is supporting the Government's Act on Co2penhagen promotion, and has information and links to material at www.businesslink.gov.uk/climatechange. There is a wealth of information, advice and guidance available at www.businesslink.gov.uk/environment, including developing an environmental strategy and plan, managing waste and preventing pollution, using resources efficiently, and it there is environmental guidance per business sector. The site also has a new top ten tips section to help businesses save money and increase efficiency.
