Inaction not an option, says Carbon Trust
Published : September 2008
Companies that embrace environmental initiatives now could increase their value by up to 80 per cent. Companies that don’t could destroy their value by up to 65 per cent. These are the stark findings of a new report compiled by the Carbon Trust, based on analysis by McKinsay & Co.
The report found that the emissions targets necessary to tackle climate change will create significant business opportunities and risks. How well prepared companies are for the move to a low carbon economy will have a major impact on their future performance.
Both opportunities and risks are driven by shifts in consumer behaviour, technological innovation and, most importantly, regulation, the report says.
Tom Daley, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, said: “Climate change will cause a revolution in business and our findings should act as a trillion dollar wake up call to the investment and business communities. Companies and investors that prepare now and develop new strategies will reap the commercial rewards of the move to a low carbon economy. The financial risks of inaction are just too vast to ignore. We can see a trillion dollars of company value change, with leading, well-positioned companies gaining and badly positioned or slow companies losing out.”
The impact of climate change will vary, sector by sector, according to the report. The biggest risks are in the aluminium and automotive sectors, where 65 per cent of companies’ value could be at risk, while oil & gas companies could see one-third of their value disappear. The biggest opportunities lie in the building materials and automotive sectors, where company values could rise by 80 per cent and 60 per cent respectively.
A new e-book - You can't afford not to be green: 51 ways your business can save money and the planet - published this week lays out a blueprint for going green. The book suggests a number of practical measures business can employ to make up the £7m that the Carbon Trust calculates they lose every day through poor energy efficiency alone.
These include: getting tax breaks by using low-emission company cars; enjoying 100 per cent capital allowances on expenditure that is environmentally friendly; and replacing traditional publishing by switching to digital brochures.
Richard Stephenson, CEO of publishers YUDU, said: "In tough economic times, individual customers might regard the green option as a luxury. For businesses, however, the opposite is true. With profits under pressure, going green is one the best ways to save money. Even simple measures - detailed in our new e-book - can save large sums."
To read the book, go to www.yudu.com/greenbook