1. Outline
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) convened an expert advisory group to provide input from their respective fields around the different ways in which UK businesses can accelerate progress towards Net Zero, the barriers holding this back, and the opportunities that can be unlocked if business and Government take decisive action. The group was chaired by Shevaun Haviland, British Chambers of Commerce, and consisted of:
- Deborah Allen, BAE Systems
- Miranda Barker, East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce and Chair of RedCAT
- Bukky Bird, Barratt Developments
- Sarah Bradbury, formerly of Tesco
- Ged Ennis, Low Carbon Energy
- David Finlay, Ethical Diary
- Simon Gadd, L&G
- Paul Gordon, Lloyds Bank
- Neville Hargreaves, Velocys
- James Stephens, DHL
- Alex Sutton, John Lewis Partnership
- Solitaire Townsend, Futerra
2. Key messages
The key messages from the Expert Advisory Group were:
- Net Zero presents commercial and economic opportunities for the UK, and decisive action on Net Zero is central to UK business competitiveness.
- The private sector can support efforts for Net Zero beyond reducing operational emissions, by enabling change through supply chains and in broader society.
- However a number of key barriers are currently holding back private sector action, including inconsistency across voluntary business initiatives, delays to the provision of key infrastructure, the perceived higher cost of certain Net Zero interventions and limited finance and capacity – particularly among smaller businesses.
- Realising the full potential of business to support efforts towards Net Zero depends on Government addressing these barriers and putting in place a set of clear and consistent policies, incentives and regulations.
- Proposals to strengthen business action are framed around “Five I’s”:
- Integrity and transparency of impact and actions
- Investment into low carbon solutions
- Implementing Net Zero through supply chains, procurement and infrastructure
- Innovative industries and workers
- Influence on business and society
- The report presents a set of benchmarks to guide an effective business response to Net Zero, alongside key actions for Government to unlock this.
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