KPMG identifies companies are not utilising the link between sustainability and savings to the bottom line...
A recent report from KPMG has once again highlighted the inconsistent approach the corporate world has to issues of sustainability. The research published in a study called ‘Corporate Sustainability: A Progress Report’ surveyed 378 senior executives from around the world and found that the good news was that nearly two thirds (62 per cent) had a working strategy to address their environmental impact. Unsurprisingly, the bad news is that this meant a third hadn’t.
There is awareness amongst half of those surveyed of the direct link between sustainability and savings or contributions to the bottom line and accordingly around 70 per cent of those firms with no strategy in place expect to develop one over the next five years.
At DAS we know quality is always sustainable and in all areas of our business our written goal is to recycle or go green. We know products that last in the most demanding environments lower costs and minimise environmental impact over their lifetime. A ten year guarantee underpins our long term commitment to customers and ensures your peace of mind.
Our latest range is 99 per cent recyclable, making the o8 desking system the perfect choice to achieve exceptional LEED and BREEAM scores. This year we have worked on a number of award-winning projects achieving the highest accredited scores at Watermark Place and Ropemaker. We still aim to further reduce carbon emissions by 30 per cent and recycle 95 per cent of waste products.
We see the future developing in this vain, with every company needing a sophisticated environmental strategy alongside an operational strategy that form the foundation for the sustainability, operational efficiency and ultimately the long term profitability of any company.
UK Businesses wasting over £6 billion a year on energy, say Carbon Connect
UK businesses may be wasting more than £6 billion each year according to a new report from Carbon Connect, a not for profit organisation that campaigns for better understanding of the issues surrounding the transition to a low carbon economy.
The report, which can be seen here, claims that the wasteful use of energy will only become more expensive over time as prices rise. Ofgem has estimated that over the next ten years, energy prices will rise by around 40 per cent in real terms.
As is often the case, the report is also a call to arms. It wants government to take the lead, with a range of fiscal incentives, legislation and advice including the introduction of an Energy Management Hierarchy, which would outline the opportunities for cost and energy saving in four areas: avoidance, reduction, substitution and compensation.
We cannot help but agree. As we reported recently, a large organisation can save as much as 15 per cent of its energy bill by taking a number of intelligent measures that look at every aspect of its business.
Nomura's new award winning European Headquarters, in excess of 1800 o8 Air
"The DAS team deserve the highest praise possible for what is the largest installation of cooled trading desks in the world.
The ability of your staff to work with the other contractors in the most efficient and co-ordinated manner, delivering c.2000 trading positions in a very tight timescale was a key factor in our success in completing this project on-time and to budget.
My sincere thanks on behalf of Nomura and my team for DAS support and contribution to the success of what is London's most prestigious trading room project in 2010"
Tony Bartle / Head of Real Estate EMEA Nomura International
...managing carbon is not only good environmental practice, it’s sound business practice too.
We keep banging the drum for this at DAS and it seems perfectly obvious in many ways, but it’s great to see research proving that cutting and managing carbon is not only good environmental practice, it’s sound business practice too. According to a report published in January by management consultants AT Kearney, more than half of large businesses and a quarter of their suppliers have seen cost savings as a result of embedding sustainable practices into their procurement functions.
The Carbon Disclosure Project 2011 Supply Chain Report, which can be downloaded as a PDF here, is a survey of the activities of 57 of the World’s leading corporations and around 1000 of their suppliers. The firms surveyed represent a broad cross section of industries including PepsiCo, Reckitt Benckiser, Sony, Dell, Rolls Royce and L’Oreal.
Since the 2009 survey, there has been a marked increase in the number of firms implementing new strategies. The 2011 report finds that 79 per cent of the firms surveyed were employing a formal climate change strategy, up from 63 per cent. Interestingly, one of the key elements in this strategy is supply change management, with 86 per cent of the companies surveyed reported that they had been able to develop mutually beneficial strategies by working closely with suppliers, up from 46 per cent in 2009.
This focus on carbon management is having a profound effect on the supply chain and suppliers are going to have to keep up with the rapid pace of change in this area. The CDP Report found that the percentage of businesses which track and report supply chain emissions had more than doubled to 45 per cent and that the proportion who saw this a key decision making factor had risen to 17 per cent from 11 per cent. The report also concludes that this will be 29 per cent in 5 years time.
