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| New sustainability service - energy & carbon audit |
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Tap into new markets with an effective sustainability strategy. In the face of mounting pressure from Government and customers, organisations are beginning to rise to the challenge of integrating sustainability into their operations. This is both in an effort to combat climate change,as well as to support corporate social responsibility (CSR). Ultimately it is also about managing risk and controlling bottom line costs as utility and supply prices steadily climb. Global trends, government legislation and the demands of customers, suppliers, shareholders and stakeholders alike call for organisations to be transparent about their environmental performance. Sustainability reporting aims to describe and measure an organisation's "triple bottom line" performance. Triple bottom line (TBL) reporting unites the social and environmental impact of an organization's activities to its economic performance in order to demonstrate improvement or make a more in depth evaluation. HW Fisher & Company believe that businesses who go beyond that of legislative requirements and engage in voluntary sustainability reporting whilst implementing a CSR policy are enhancing their performance and reducing risk whilst improving their environmental credentials all the while further preparing themselves for the opportunities that are steadily arising because of this new agenda . Global efforts to reduce carbon emissions have put enormous pressure on large corporations and it is now common place for these organisations to adopt sustainability strategies and report annually on their performance. In keeping with their CSR policy these corporations will often focus not only on their own performance but also on that of key suppliers, demanding a clearly defined and transparent sustainability strategy in operation. Other businesses, in particular SMEs are not under close scrutiny to demonstrate a commitment to improved sustainable practice nor are they yet deeply affected by government mandate. This often results in a lack of understanding of the issues surrounding sustainability or belief that adopting a sustainability strategy will offer no benefits either to business performance or the environment. This is not the case, although sustainability reporting is currently voluntary for most organisations, it offers a number of opportunities and benefits, in particular improved risk management, increased stake holder trust, greater cost and energy efficiency in addition to serving as a powerful marketing tool. A company which chooses to report on its environmental performance gains a competitive edge in sustainable procurement, appearing more transparent, whilst also adhering to the standards of those companies who consider environmental credentials throughout their supply chain. In accordance with the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency (CRC) sustainability reporting is mandatory for companies in the UK consuming more than 6,000MWh, affecting only the top 2%. However, this is likely to change with ever increasing pressure to meet ambitious carbon reduction targets the need to demonstrate improved environmental performance will extend beyond this small percentage. The UK currently has the most stringent carbon reduction targets in the world with the carbon budget for 2023 to 2027 establishing the legally binding emissions cuts of 80% by 2050, with an interim measure of 60% reduction by 2030, compared to 1990 CO2 levels. As such it is highly unlikely that some form of carbon reduction like the CRC will be cascaded through the SME world. The majority of our clients H W Fisher& Company fall outside this 2%, however we believe that in acting ahead of legislation we are reducing risk and working towards a more efficient business model. H W Fisher& Company is committed to enhancing our business operation with a strong sustainability strategy and have formed HW Fisher Sustainability, a focus group of sustainability experts dedicated to helping our clients do the same. Our Offering HW Fisher Sustainability Group works with our clients to produce bespoke sustainability strategies. A sustainability strategy is a continual piece of work that commits an organisation to minimising the impact of its business activities on the environment. It incorporates CSR, Energy and Carbon Targets, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainable Procurement and a continually evolving raft of best practice information, training that incorporates a raft of best value solutions. We take a four strand approach to developing and implementing a sustainability strategy. Clients can engage in anything from just one of these services to all four depending on how exhaustive a sustainability strategy they wish to develop.
The team: The work is conducted by our dedicated Sustainability Group headed by our Sustainability Partners Russell Nathan and Simon Mott-Cowan, along with our Director of Sustainability, Jae Mather who brings over 15 years of industry experience. Together they have a clear grasp of the issues, risks and opportunities presented by today's climate change and sustainability challenges. The team provide clients with key insights which will help dictate future strategic decisions. For more information please contact the Sustainability team: Russell Nathan Simon Mott-Cowan Jae Mather
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