Greening the recovery
agendaNi reports on how green issues have become mainstream for business representatives, trade unions and government alongside the recovery.
A growing economy is resulting in a greater focus on ‘green’ economic activities – notably recycling and renewable energy – and their benefits.
One early sign of progress was the 2012 ‘Colour of Growth’ report from the CBI which called for high ambitions across government for the UK’s green economy, balanced by realistic decarbonisation strategies for heavy industry.
“It isn’t a lofty ideal to aspire to,” CBI Director-General John Cridland said. “There is a hard-nosed economic argument that moving to a low-carbon economy can drive significant business investment and create many new jobs across the country.”
The report identifies ‘green tape’ as a problem, particularly the Carbon Reduction Commitment which applies to large public and private sector organisations. The CBI suggested an independent review of the existing environmental tax landscape.
This suggestion has not been taken up by ministers but business leaders regularly press for less regulation through the Green Economy Council. Organisational members include Ford, Centrica and IBM, and also the TUC which has also campaigned for a green recovery but with more emphasis on regulation.
“We won’t build a cleaner, greener, more sustainable economy by relying on the market to deliver,” TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady has said. “Yes, there is a role for market incentives but the scale of the transition we need to make surely demands strong, intelligent leadership from government of the kind that is common in other countries.”
The Coalition Government has established the Green Investment Bank, led by Belfast-born Shaun Kingsbury. Speaking to agendaNi in late 2013, he said that his first year in post had been “tremendously exciting and challenging” year with 21 transactions completed.
It initially committed £20 million towards the £80 million Evermore waste wood and biomass plant in Derry. This has been followed by another investment, totalling £6.5 million, to set up on-farm anaerobic digestion plants near Cookstown and Banbridge. The latter two projects will be developed by Williams Industrial Services Ltd.
Social enterprise Bryson is also recognised as a leader in recycling services. With Northern Ireland’s municipal recycling and composting rate now standing at 45 per cent. A target of 60 per rate has been set for 2020 and the Department of the Environment wants to see more innovation by businesses and local authorities.
Among the think tanks, the Green Alliance regularly publishes reports on resource use, climate change and energy (available at www.green-alliance.org.uk). Policy Exchange and IPPR publications tend to focus on energy and transport, given their high importance on the political agenda.
Renewable energy and a prosperous agri-food sector have enhanced the Republic’s image as it has emerged from the bail-out. On a more practical level, the Environmental Protection Agency is running a well-resourced advisory site for companies (www.greenbusiness.ie) and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation has also published a set of environmental principles for its members to follow in their business activities.
