If you haven’t heard of TruCost yet, you’ll hear more about them over the coming months. I came across them last week at a Conference I was chairing and a recent BBC article details the work they have recently conducted for Puma in creating the first Environmental Profit and Loss (EPnL) accounts that bears proper scrutiny. Although not a complete picture of the company’s environmental impact (the cost of waste and land-use change has yet to be calculated and included later in the year), it goes further than most in reversing the trend of ‘greenwashing’ I talked about recently.

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As the wider public became more demanding of the ethical standing of the companies they bought from or dealt with, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) statements started to be added to annual reports and corporate web sites. Later, it became, certainly for UK companies, a legal requirement to report on a company’s impact on the community and the environment under various sections of the Companies Act 2006.
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“Business confidence in this government’s sustainability credentials have been severely shaken with the policy acrobatics around the Carbon Reduction Commitment and Feed-in-Tariffs.” - Trewin Restorick’s recent comment in an article, warning that the government’s softly, softly approach to energy efficiency is harming the UK’s low carbon prospects.
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Two items this week question not only the government’s true commitment to the green agenda but cut deeper and question the government’s actual grasp on basic economic facts.
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Recent research by the Carbon Trust reveals Britain’s business leaders believe the UK is lagging behind Germany in the race to capitalise on green business opportunities. The research, which coincides with the launch of a new Carbon Trust “Green Growth” campaign, reveals that “three times as many top UK decision makers believe Germany is better prepared than Britain to take advantage of the £3.2 trillion global environmental market”.
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Climate Change Secretary, Chris Huhne, spoke earlier this week (17th February) at the Royal Geographical Society Environment and Society Forum, on the increasingly loud topic of climate change. He did, however, at least make reference to the fact that we need to “get off the oil hook”, adding that the answer lies in a low carbon economy strategy.
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“The future of the planet depends on you!” is the cry becoming louder and louder as we approach Climate Week (21-27 March 2011).
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The Green Investment Bank (GIB) is (was/will be – delete as appropriate!) a mechanism devised by George Osborne, the Chancellor, whilst in opposition, to stimulate private sector investment in the low carbon economy.
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2011 kicked off with an interesting deviation in the reporting on the science of climate change.
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In a lecture at the end of December, Lord Stern reiterated his message that the business community and politicians need to act, and act now, on carbon emissions if we are to avoid, what he termed, a catastrophe by the next century.

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