Birmingham’s business community will fail to meet regional and national climate change targets unless it adjusts how it uses power and transport systems, according to the director of a support services company.
Keith Sexton, environmental director of infrastructure support services business Amey, says it is not enough solely for individual businesses to work towards being energy efficient as there needs to be concerted effort from the whole community.
Mr Sexton warns all businesses need to acknowledge that energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions can lead to reducing costs. He said: “The magnitude of the targets will require fundamental change in the way we organise our transport systems and generate power. They will not be met by individual businesses becoming marginally more efficient.”
He said businesses which fail to adapt do so at their peril and claims the American car industry failed to adjust to rising fuel costs which has impacted on the sales of sport utility vehicles.
He said: “The perils of failing to foresee the way the world is changing, and to adjust their business model accordingly, is vividly demonstrated by the current problems of the American car industry.
“For many years the US car industry has continued to produce gas guzzling SUVs stimulated by a domestic population used to low petrol prices that failed to reflect that oil is a rapidly dwindling resource.
“The good news is that many businesses have woken up to the potential future rewards of responding to the low-carbon challenge.”
Mr Sexton said Amey - which works to maintain the motorway network around Birmingham and has six city offices - has been able to switch to low-carbon alternatives including video conferencing, home working and using alternatively fuelled vehicles in their fleet.
He also says he is aware that businesses have to be mindful of making changes that are commercially viable.
“Rational businesses cannot afford to push the boundaries of commercial viability too far in adopting new low-carbon technology if it puts them at a competitive disadvantage,” he said.
His views were supported by John Lamb, from Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, who said many of the 3,500 Chamber members were keen to introduce low-carbon working, but they were also facing other economic pressures.
“Our members are more aware of the impact of failing to change and so businesses, like the public, are becoming more and more conscious that something needs to be done,” he said.
“Businesses could do with a bit more help with becoming energy efficient and the government could definitely help with this.”
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Read Keith Sexton's Agenda article for the Birmingham Post >
