Prosper Autumn, Black Country Chamber of Commerce magazine

THIS IS THE BLACK COUNTRY: SPOTLIGHT ON TODAY’S CHALLENGES
“We need to address long-term
problems in the UK economy, such
as low productivity, skills shortages
and unequal growth across the UK”
Sarah Williams (left)
Continued from page 31
Do you believe that the recent
support announced for businesses in
terms of energy costs went far
enough?
S Will: I don’t think it did, no. I think it is
good that Government recognised the
pressures on businesses caused by the
energy cost crisis, but I think more could be
done to support business.
JD: Short answer? No.
S Wdl: No. For many sectors the shortterm
solution will make it difficult to create
future certainty.
CW: The Government has offered a 50 per
cent reduction for six months. My concern
is: what happens in March? Will companies
hold back now for fear of uncertainty,
making short-term decisions to get through
the current challenges rather than having
longer-term objectives? Will they play it safe?
RL: In a word, No. The promise to cap
prices for the next six months is welcome
but as a business, we need stability and
clarity over a much longer timeframe – at
least 12 months, preferably two years.
What more would you like to see?
S Will: I think more could be done to
support SMEs and freelancers specifically.
JD: Support has to be for longer than six
months and we need incentives in the
form of grant aid for green investment.
S Wdl: We need clarity on what happens
at the end of the six-month period. Longterm,
businesses need to be incentivised to
become energy efficient and there must be
a plan for secure, clean and affordable
British energy. Britain can go green, but
businesses must work together.
CW: Clear and concise communication
about the energy plan from Government,
specifically in relation to next steps and
achievable timescales for businesses to react.
Also, they should be discussing that
longer-term view.
RL: The recent announcements have given
us some understanding of the landscape
over the next few months but for my
long-term planning, it’s not enough. The
problem we all have is, if prices rise from
one of my other suppliers, I can take steps
to get round them: source a new supplier,
or change what I buy. I can’t with energy;
no matter where I go, the costs are the
same. We have no control over the price.
What are your priorities towards
achieving net zero in your sector and
what is limiting any impact?
S Will: Sustainability is one of the Four
Pillars which underpins all activity within the
Business School. We have a sustainability
policy which is managed by a working
group to drive change and sustainability
features highly in our curriculum. We are
working on research and projects relating
to waste management, recycling and the
circular economy.
JD: Crowe UK has committed to set
near-term company-wide emission
reductions in line with climate science with
the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
We are currently identifying opportunities
and implementing actions to reduce direct
and indirect emissions.
S Wdl: Our Green Committee lead the
firm’s environmental and sustainability
initiatives. As members of the Legal
Sustainability Alliance, we are committed
to reducing the impact of our operations
and services on the environment and
running as sustainably as possible. We
encourage behaviours that reflect this,
inside our business and with our suppliers,
clients and contacts. We take an holistic
approach with regards to sustainability but
our priority is to look at the infrastructure of
our property and the supply chains in which
we operate.
CW: What a company does on the
environmental front is increasingly an
important consideration for would-be
employees. They want to know a company
is doing the right thing.
Pertemps has made a commitment to be
net zero by 2030, and we’ve undertaken a
number of initiatives to achieve this. We
report performance under the Streamlined
Energy & Carbon Scheme, we’ve switched
more than 50 per cent of our vehicle fleet
to hybrid or electric and through internal
policies, we have saved three million pieces
of paper which equates to saving 312 trees.
Additionally, by joining the Woodland
Carbon Scheme, Pertemps has supported
the planting of 2,377 UK native trees which
will sequester around 557 tonnes of carbon
throughout their lifetime.
RL: We’ve approached the Net Zero
challenge from a number of directions. Our
priority is to install solar panels on our
head office and run on renewable energy,
putting excess power back into the grid,
while at the same time we’ve focused on
our operations and reduced energy use
where possible. All staff are now in electric
vehicles, but even then we’ve asked them
to cut down on road mileage and always
consider whether the journeys are
necessary. In addition we’ve introduced a
salary sacrifice scheme for those who want
to cycle to work.
What other areas do you think
government should be prioritising at
the moment?
S Will: We need to address long-term
problems in the UK economy, such as low
productivity, skills shortages and unequal
growth across the country. Without
32 PROSPER AUTUMN 2022