Why the energy crisis could finally be the catalyst for clean renewable energy

In order to combat the energy supply crisis, we need to switch to cleaner renewable power now, according to new research from ESCP Business School.

Switching to cleaner energy over a sufficient time will help countries maintain their price and carbon intensity of energy.

The findings suggest that clean firm resources such as hydropower, geothermal, long-duration energy storage, and biomass are needed to support variable clean resources, such as wind and solar energy, because in times of the year where these sources of energy are harder to obtain, countries are having to rely on the expensive and carbonising natural gases.

Germany for example, decided in 2011 to fully phase out nuclear power by 2022 and as a result left the country increasingly reliant on natural gas, proved by the nation having the highest energy carbon intensity in Europe.

Amid the energy supply crisis, it is more crucial than ever to decrease our reliance on natural gas and clean firm resources can help achieve that. The research suggests that by following the example of France in beginning to switch to clean firm resources, countries will be able to maintain price stability and decarbonize the power system, helping residential customers to pay less for electrical consumption. France currently has the lowest carbon intensity and retail rates in Europe.

Only 30% of UK businesses have a Net Zero Strategy

Only 30% of UK businesses have a Net Zero Strategy

Research by Veolia shows that less than a third of UK businesses have a strategy for reaching carbon neutrality, despite growing environmental concerns. Plus, 42% of UK businesses are feeling overwhelmed by the steps they need to take to reach this goal.

The survey by YouGov on behalf of Veolia, of over 1,000 senior business decision makers, found that less than a third (29%) of UK businesses have a strategy for reaching carbon net zero. However, more than half of larger companies (250+ employees) surveyed (52%) had a net zero strategy and 61% of these also felt their reputation would be negatively affected if they failed to commit to achieving their carbon targets.

Positively, environmental concern was the biggest driver (72%) for businesses with a net zero strategy trying to meet their carbon targets, with reputation second (60%). Despite low numbers committing to a carbon net zero strategy, 80% of those who did are very confident of achieving their goals.

Further key points:
– Investment (40%) and Government legislation (39%) were the most popular types of support businesses with a net zero strategy would like to see to reach their carbon targets. 12% said they did not need any external support.
– 56% of those businesses with a net zero strategy have set a budget for their carbon strategy
– 40% of UK businesses surveyed are currently employing third parties for carbon offsetting practices

Gavin Graveson, Senior Executive Vice President Veolia Northern Europe Zone said:
“Just over forty percent of UK businesses may feel overwhelmed by the steps they need to take to reach carbon neutrality, but every step businesses take makes a difference to our planet, protecting it for future generations. We need to see more industries commit to a robust strategy to reduce their environmental impact, whether that be through use of electric vehicles, cleaner energy supplies or reduced packaging. In the wake of COP26, we need to work together, share expertise, innovate and research new sustainable solutions so carbon net zero can become a reality, rather than a goal.”

Is creating a net zero strategy for your business one of your key 2022 resolutions?

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1022 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 19th – 25th October 2021. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of British business size.

Lucy Goaman

Levelling up the UK will take years, be costly and likely cause job losses if not carefully prepared and managed

The government’s move towards an economy with high-skill, high-wage and high productivity will likely cause economic disruptions and job losses if the government is not preparing and organizing the transition, according to an expert from Durham University Business School.

Professor Bernd Brandl, who for years has researched the governance of wages, skills, and productivity in different countries, and what the role of interest organizations is in the governance has examined the consequences of the government’s transition on the economy, businesses and workers.

Professor Brandl says that this move may be highly beneficial for businesses and workers in the long run, however, without planning, it will cause painful disruptions over the next few years as the change will not be quick, and could take years or even decades for some businesses. In the short run, many existing companies will not be able to afford higher wages and go bust, causing job losses and industrial conflict. In the long-run the economy could benefit because more productive, skill-driven and innovative companies would be able to succeed on the market.

However, the success of a successful transition is not be taken for granted but needs to be accompanied by policies that support business and workers. A smooth transition will be costly for the government due to the need to invest in infrastructure and training facilities

Professor Brandl says “many British businesses have been previously running on a low-wage, low-skill, low-productivity business model, due to two main reasons; in the past decades there was a constant influx of migrant worker who were willing to accept low(er) wages, and second, apart from the minimum wage, there was almost nothing in place that prevented companies from keeping wages low.” Therefore, many businesses competed with each other by keeping wages and working conditions low and they had little incentives to invest in skills of their employees in order to gain a competitive advantage.

Now the new economic vision of the PM looks to replace mass immigration with higher wages and better working conditions to encourage people into key sectors under the guise of moving the British economy “towards a high-wage, high-skill, high-productivity economy”, in which “everyone can take pride in their work and the quality of their work”.

Professor Brandl says there are three key elements to make the transition work. The first is patience, the transition could take years for some sectors, and even decades for others, it’s not a quick change. Secondly, the transition is costly and the government must be prepared to invest in infrastructure and training facilities. Thirdly, the process is likely to be painful for many business and workers since there will likely be job losses and social disruptions in the years ahead.

However, in order to accelerate and facilitate the transition the government should manage and coordinate the transition process. Preferably together with representatives from employers and employees so that no one is left out and the expertise of everyone is taken on board. The way how the government manages the transition will also show how conflictual the years ahead will be since the transition could be socially and economically cushioned.

Therefore, Professor Brandl states that the transition of the British economy “towards a high-wage, high-skill, high-productivity economy” is not as easy as it looks and might lead to substantial disruptions and conflicts in the years ahead. The transition process can be expected to be time-consuming, costly and likely to cause some damage in the short-term. However, in the long-run it could be highly beneficial for businesses and workers.
Professor Brandl says “it takes a lot of “guts” for the government to initiate this move since voters in the next election might go to the ballots on basis of the short-term pain they already see instead of considering the long-term gains.”

This research was carried out through Professor Brandl’s investigation of how and why countries operate in different skilled models, and the effects of collective wage bargaining on wages, skills and productivity in a country.

Lucy Goaman

5 years after the Brexit referendum, 25% of people would change their vote

5 years after the Brexit referendum, 25% of people would change their vote

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Brexit referendum where the British people voted to leave the European Union. With this in mind, KIS Finance conducted a survey which asked 2,000 people whether they would change their vote if they had a second opportunity.

Key statistics

•25% of those who voted in the referendum would now change their vote.

•11.4% of those who voted Leave would now vote Remain.

•13.6% of those who voted Remain would now vote Leave.

•16.7% of those who didn’t vote would now vote Leave.

•39% of those who didn’t vote would now vote Remain.

The survey revealed that 25% of those who voted in the referendum would now change their vote.

This is made up of:

•11.4% of those who voted Leave would now vote Remain
•13.6% of those who voted Remain would now vote Leave

However, perhaps even more notably, out of those who didn’t vote in the referendum:

•16.7% wish they had voted Leave
•39% wish they had voted Remain.

It is estimated that Brexit cost the UK economy £400m – £800m per week by the end of 2019. The survey respondents were given this information so it could be taken into consideration when making their decision.

This is a staggering cost after the Leave party won partially on the promise of saving the £350m per week sent to the EU and using that to fund the NHS instead.

This data has clearly had a significant impact on how people feel towards leaving the EU.

Based on these survey results, the outcome of the 2016 referendum could have been very different.

 

Lucy Goaman

There is not enough available land to hit UK tree-planting targets


There is a large hole in the amount of available land to hit UK tree-planting targets, NGOs urgently call on Corporate Landowners to get involved to accelerate action.

New eco-transparency platform Vana finds the corporate landowners who own 130.9% of potential woodland opportunities land needed to hit England tree-planting targets


The UK has set out ambitious targets to establish forests in areas where there was no previous tree cover. For England, this is 180,000 hectares (336,372 football fields) by 2042. Recently the UK Government has committed to 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this Parliament. But the targets are behind plan[3], as it is proving difficult to access available land. Whilst officials have knowledge of where suitable land is geographically located[4], the challenge is the lack of knowledge of who owns it.

However, the game changed when HM Land Registry made their corporate land ownership data for England and Wales available for innovative start-ups. CEO Jaya Chakrabarti of B Corp  tech social enterprise Semantrica Ltd devised a cunning plan to rapidly increase the rate of afforestation and nature restoration in the UK, using that data and supply chain transparency legislation to do it.

The app, named Vana (the Sanskrit word for forest, wood, grove, spring, abundance), aims to bring together tree-planting climate activist groups, government funding and corporate entities with environmentally critical landholdings. The land identified using the Vana system will then be used to drive projects to increase tree coverage and/or other rewilding action in the UK where landowners are willing. Whilst still a prototype it has already been dubbed a “carbon inset dating agency” by some. Corporates committed to proactive climate action are invited to take their first step by registering their interest with the Vana platform (https://projectvana.org/).

Data Cuttings from the Vana Prototype:
The Vana prototype connects multiple open data and silo data sources with live supply chain data, enabling the team to confirm that 29,792 corporate entities own 130.9% of the right type of land required to achieve afforestation targets in England alone. This is only 5% of total corporate landholdings, hardly making a dent in those aggregated land assets. Put another way, Vana has confirmed that corporates are overwhelmingly the best hope of enabling the UK to hit its tree-planting targets.

Unsurprisingly their prototype confirms that the top three sectors owning woodland opportunity land were Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing, Real Estate Activities and Construction. But more importantly, Vana has identified fragments of land all over England and Wales across all sectors that could be used to hit those ambitious targets. This “long tail” fills in many of the missing puzzle pieces, including which group structures and supply chains some of those entities are a part of.

Drawing from their experience in corporate compliance the team have identified which of the companies in scope of the UK Modern Slavery Act (companies over £36M turnover) own 23.8% of the 2042 target for England. The data can also be cut regionally, showing that in the South West of England 6601 organisations own 26% of the England 2042 target.

The Vana engine is already powerful enough to pull in other data sets and overlay them to address other environmental targets. Everything from flood risk mitigation to district heating planning proposals can be analysed through the corporate land and building ownership lens. Vana will use all available data to prioritise the lowest hanging fruit to achieve the most impact quickly.

What Vana is doing next and how to support it:
Now that Vana has successfully established the business case, the team needs funding to transform the prototype into a fully functioning platform to support working with corporates leading on afforestation and reforestation. Organisations wishing to support Vana can do so by pre-subscribing to the platform at a significantly discounted rate, or by sponsoring a live reporting map, region by region, showing afforestation and nature restoration opportunities and live projects as they get going.

https://techfund.tiscreport.org/project/vana-the-afforestation-and-reforestation-data-app/

Says Jaya, “We felt that the best place to start is by providing complete visibility on what is happening in the country right now. Not only would it help organisations and activists decide where they should be putting their efforts, but it would also help policymakers see the impact of current policy geospatially. As a B Corp social enterprise in need of funds to achieve our mission, this kills two birds with one stone.”

Project Vana aims to help on-the-ground technologies connect faster with climate-conscious corporate customers, again to accelerate impact. Innovative solutions companies are encouraged to make contact to form part of what Vana calls its “mycelium network” of high impact cleantech companies.

Time is of the essence. As Jaya says: “The human race is on. It’s the only one we have to win and it cannot be won without going beyond fixing what we have broken.”

Capacity for new joys and optimism

Uncertainty is challenging. The state of stagnant inertia we find ourselves in can have the power to put all of us in a holding pattern. If we wait for conditions to be perfect before fully engaging in everyday life again, we are missing out on precious time.

Uncertainty is tough. But everyday can be incredible. I am sure something in all of our everydays can make us stop and think, and hopefully smile. I am sure when this storm passes we may even miss the regularity, restrictions, routine and familiarity which we are fighting.

Walking in the snow today on the TarkaTrail was wonderful. Freezing, but wonderful. Stopping at Sandbanks Cafe for a friendly chat & takeaway tea was another highlight. A robin kept bobbing up and joining us as we walked back.

I returned home to find a box of freshly laid, beautiful blue eggs left on the doorstep, as a lovely surprise, by a great friend.

The symbolism – the pandemic has the power to make us all feel blue.  In contrast, it has the potential to slow us all down to notice, in awe, and appreciation, in the beauty of nature, in the wonder of love and friendships, and gratefulness for our ‘everydays.’

Life maybe taking on an unexpected hue, but nevertheless there is still the capacity for new joys and great optimism.

Shopping for Christmas

 

This morning I was listening to Amanda Holden on Heart FM as she decided the time had come to kick off Christmas on her breakfast show!  She started playing some reassuringly familiar Christmas songs, and for a little while, everything felt reassuringly familiar.

Retailers will be hoping that reassuring sense of a traditional Christmas will be be matched by consumer shopping habits this season.

A large part of any retailer’s annual sales and profits occurs in the three months before Christmas. For this to work perfectly, retailers know that having the right goods at the right price in the weeks leading up to Christmas is essential. But, this is far from a perfect year for so many reasons.

For the past six years, Retail Assist has conducted its annual Black Friday survey which gives a good insight into the mind space of consumers in the last few weeks to Christmas.  Whilst Retail Assist have asked many of the usual questions, they’ve added more questions to reflect the current COVID-19 situation and how it might affect consumer spending and behaviour.

This year, 1,200 people have been surveyed and some of the results are quite surprising, and in retail terms, there are some significant shifts predicted):
• This year, a whopping 67% of people said that they planned to shop Black Friday this year – a huge 10% rise on last year
• Whilst the majority of people (59%) said that Black Friday doesn’t usually kick start their Christmas shopping, 66% of people said that they were looking to start their Christmas shopping earlier this year
• 43% of people said that this was a budget-related decision, so they could spread the cost out. However, interestingly, the second most popular reason people chose was that it gave them something to do; as harsher restrictions were brought in in the run-up to Christmas, shopping from your sofa has become entertainment as much as necessity
• 40% of people said that they can get carried away with all the discounts – an increase of 20% from last year
• Every year, technology items have always been the most popular choice – but not this year. Clothes were the standalone winner at 55%, with beauty buys at 31% and technology shrinking to 24% of respondents.

To all colleagues who I have worked with on the seasonal gifting market, I do hope this is a good one for you.  And to all friends who run fabulous boutique businesses which desperately depend on Christmas sales, I hope you get the bumper Christmas you so dearly need and deserve.

 

Award Winning Real Shaving Company

 

There are lots of smiles in the office this morning as we have just received the Bronze Award in the Best New Male Face Product at the 14th Pure Beauty Awards in London.

The Awards celebrate innovation and creativity within the beauty industry and rightly recognise the most exciting and efficacious products (and as you can imagine it is a long old list!) launched within the past year.

These Awards are voted by Pure Beauty’s readers and retail store staff. Many thanks to everyone who voted for The Real Shaving Company as your favourite product and brand!

www.realshaving.com

Bideford Black: The Next Generation

New art commissions to explore science, industry and society in local pigment project

Nine  artists have been selected to make new work for the Bideford Black: The Next Generation project ahead of a special exhibition at the Burton Art Gallery in October 2015.

Bideford Black is a unique pigment found only in Bideford. This project connects the heritage of the area with the tradition of using it as an artist’s material, commissioning and documenting its use by contemporary artists, developing a greater understanding of this rare material in a contemporary artistic context.

Caption: Images of Neville & Joan Gabie's research into Bideford Black in plastics production. With thanks to Hampton Plastics.  Copyright Carolyn Black

Caption: Images of Neville & Joan Gabie's research into Bideford Black in plastics production. With thanks to Hampton Plastics. Copyright Carolyn Black

On the 11th March, there will be an early opportunity to meet one of the artists at the gallery when Luce Choules will be presenting her recent alpine fieldwork project Guide74 in a special ‘performance lecture’. She will also introduce Seam, the new choreographed exhibition she is creating for Bideford Black: The Next Generation. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Choules explores physical and emotional geography through experimental fieldwork.

Selected by open call last autumn, all of the artists are developing new artworks either with, or about, Bideford Black pigment, for the Burton’s permanent collection.

Devon-based artist Tabatha Andrews works in a range of media including drawing and casting forms in paper.

Artist duo ATOI, based in Cornwall, are exploring the transformation of material from one form to another. The pair are experimenting with using Bideford Black in false diamonds and even as a surface for martial arts.

Inspired by Bideford’s historic industries and their workers, and society’s pre-occupation with the natural, London-based artist Corinne Felgate will set up a temporary cottage industry at a North Devon location. Using only local natural materials, Felgate will create 100 small objects for applying ‘Bideford Black mascara’.

Prompted by Bideford Black, and using a shared sketchbook, artists Neville Gabie and Joan Gabie are holding a ‘dialogue of ideas’ with Cultural Geographer Ian Cook (University of Exeter). Together, the artists explore the physicality, social and geological significance of Bideford Black, creating an artist’s film and drawings.

Lanarkshire-based artist duo Littlewhitehead are interested in the environmental processes forming Bideford Black: what would the Carboniferous period have sounded like? Their developing commission is tightly under wraps, but may incorporate experimental sound recordings or Bideford Black discs resembling vinyl LP records.

Lizzie Ridout will set Bideford Black within a new taxonomy – or story – of the colour black. Incorporating her research into the subject, the Cornwall-based artist will create a printed publication, presented as a sculpture, pieces of which audience members may be able to take away.

The final artist, Sam Treadaway is working with Bristol botanists to create a scent inspired by Bideford Black. The scent will be interactively transmitted into the gallery space using a bubble-blowing machine developed by roboticists from the University of the West of England.

Film-maker Liberty Smith is documenting the Bideford Black: The New Generation project. As well as filming the eight artists and artist duos as they research and create their work, Liberty will film the landscape around Bideford and the North Devon coast. Smith’s film will be premiered as part of the project exhibition in October 2015.

To get an inside glimpse of those involved in the project do join the upcoming talk by Luce Choules on  11th March at 7pm at the Burton Art Gallery. This is a free admission event, but booking is advised  –  tel 01237 471455 or email burtonartgallery@torridge.gov.uk.

And another date for your diaries, “Bideford Black: The Next Generation Exhibition” opens on 3rd October at the Burton Art Gallery and Museum, Bideford, Devon, EX39 2QQ

 

 

Project Life

As I am growing older (but of course I still consider myself very young, especially when my bestfriend Bee and I take ourselves out for the night!) I have become aware of my changing position on mortality.  Difficult subject I know, and one that is not usually on a marketing blog.

Living in Devon I am surrounded by a relatively older community than in Burnham (Bucks), the village I grew up in.  In my youth, the idea of death was almost theoretical and only happened to my pets.  All of my goldfishes and rabbits were ceremoniously buried under a huge willow tree in the garden at home.  I remember death as something that would make me cry and feel sad, but I could bounce back.  Rather quickly in fact.  A glass of squash and a biscuit were always good distractions.

In my 20’s I bravely attended my Aunt’s funeral with my sister as my parents were away. I cried as soon as I saw the coffin and then huge loud sobs until the last hymn.  I had to attend the wake as I had volunteered to drive some family members.  I was hoping an ability to calmly, and with dignity, pay my last respects, would come more easily then, and indeed over the years.

During my 30’s  I would be consumed with a tsunami of sadness when I heard that someone had lost a friend or relative.  I could no longer bring myself to read order of service sheets at funerals.  My Father’s death, during this decade, is something that I still struggle to comprehend.

None of us is a stranger to death. Just this weekend I spent Saturday at a family funeral. Now in my 40’s I notice much more clearly how I am surrounded by people who can deal with death in much more rational ways than I have ever been able to, or perhaps ever will.

This morning I visited ‘Gran-Gran,’ my husband’s Grannie, who is currently a resident at a nursing home about 20 miles away. I fed her lunch, puréed roast chicken on a teaspoon, a mango yogurt, finished off with a sugary tea.  Suffering with severe dementia, Gran-Gran cannot remember me, but more sadly, she cannot remember my husband.  I found myself saying, “Simon is here today.  Simon has come to see you.”  Blankly Gran-Gran looked up, and after some time she said, “Simon.”  There was a slight smile.  Tears were streaming down my face.  Gran-Gran could remember Simon.

Perhaps there are times when death is simply the next chapter.  A release onto another journey. Poignantly, as I left the nursing home a 99 year old resident, of sound mind, who is bright as a button said to me “enjoy yourself, you are at a great age, I was in full health until I was 75, they were my great years.”

It’s official then, I have 33 great years ahead of me! With that thought I opened my notebook got out my favourite Sharpie marker and quietly started to write my 33 year plan – there is a lot of be done!

So as I kick off “Project Life’ top of my list is to live purposefully and with as much gusto as I can muster!  Following closely behind are plans and ideas that could grace the pages of Marketing Week!

To quote Napoleon Hill, “What the mind of man can see and believe, it can achieve.”

Now, let’s get on!