Someone else’s problem

The news that supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has decided the UK is not going fast enough when it comes to emissions reductions is a very bold statement of intent. Its pledge to get to zero carbon by 2040 is ten years ahead of the Government’s own ambitious commitment.

The retailer will increase its use of renewable energy, while reducing overall energy usage. Fridges will be made as efficient as possible through the use of innovative technology and increasing the use of natural refrigerants– as well as increasing the percentage of its fleet using alternative zero and low carbon fuels to 20 per cent by 2025. By the end of 2022 all Sainsbury’s stores will be 100 per cent lit by LEDs.

Sainsbury’s action is being replicated across a whole host of other major organisations. And this example is now feeding to smaller organisations that have been notoriously slow in following suit. Now, 24 per cent of SMEs have improved the energy efficiency of their premises in the last year, while 22 per cent have utilised suppliers that offer greener products and services, according to a new survey from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking’s Business Barometer. 22 per cent claimed they are primarily motivated by customer and consumer pressure regarding sustainability and climate change.

So organisations are beginning to push forward change but the real change will need to come from you and me and how we change our behaviour in our own lives. A recent opinion poll in the i newspaper. The survey found high levels of concern over the threat which unchecked climate change poses to everyday life for people in the UK, with 67 per cent saying they expected it to have a negative impact, against just 12 per cent who still hoped it might be positive. However, it also revealed here is overt resistance to doing anything that would increase monthly fuel bills. Some 60 per cent say they would refuse to co-operate with any changes unless their overall bills actually went down considerably. Whereas 46 per cent reckon they could be using less energy (still lower than most other Europeans), only 14 per cent of us would ever consider changing boilers.

With business now leading the way in emissions reductions the huge obstacle to be overcome is our own attitude. It’s not someone else’s problem, it’s yours and mine.