CSR's Role in Protecting the Planet

This week saw good news for the UK. Our greenhouse gas emissions have gone through the floor. So is this the result of a mass movement to save the planet? Have businesses so invested in their CSR strategies that the problem is near to being solved?

Sadly, the reason for our environmental success story is our economic failures. The fall in emissions matches the dip in industrial output - as construction projects stalled and transport demand dropped.

On the positive side, emissions feel by 8.7% from 2008 to 2009. This means that UK Government targets are now within reach (which, frankly, they looked impossible to meet before).

So, job done? Absolutely not and this is where CSR comes into play. There is a risk that businesses could now stop investing in energy efficiency and renewables as the target is 'met'. We are still not out of the woods when it comes to cutting emissions and steeper targets are yet to come. We need to take a long-term view.

If companies fail to invest now, it will become much more expensive in the future. For companies which focus on renewables and environmental impact as part of their CSR policies, now is the time to ramp up activity.

Currently, we are still in the grip of the recession. If economic activity picks up swiftly, and we fail to make the necessary investment now, greenhouse gas emissions could easily return to their former heights.

Environmental campaigners, such as Friends of the Earth, claim that although reporting for 2008-9 told a positive story, data for 2009 is not so good. Quoted in The Guardian newspaper, Mike Childs, Friends of the Earth's Head of Climate said that although the recession had made a dent in emissions 'our economy remains heavily addicted to fossil fuels'. Mr Childs was optimistic about the Energy Bill, which is currently going through Parliament, saying it needed to include measures to, among other things, tackle the way British homes 'leak' heat.

British housing stock is among the least energy efficient in Europe. As a result, the CO2 leaking from our homes is almost the same as 20 years ago. This is despite attempts by the previous government, such as Warm Front, which provided grants for people to invest in double glazing and insulation.
CSR initiatives by energy companies have helped reduce emissions by 28%, but much of this is due to investment in gas, rather than renewables, as I covered in a previous blog.

The coalition government's Green Deal aims to get people to invest in insulation and double glazing as well as renewable energy alternatives. They will not have to pay up front but instead will pay back the money over the long-term, seeing reductions in their energy bills as a result.

Despite the recent fall in emissions, we'll need initiatives like the Green Deal to be adopted enthusiastically. Our targets depend on it.

Photo credit: Peter Grima