Small businesses may need help to do the right thing for planet
LAST week climate protesters from the Extinction Rebellion group blocked Castle Street in the centre of Cardiff to draw attention to the gathering climate emergency and demand that we take urgent action to address it.
This is the latest in a series of protests in major cities around the UK.
Both the Welsh Government and UK Government recently declared a climate emergency and in June the UK became the first major economy in the world to pass laws to end its contribution to global warming by 2050.
There’s no doubt that climate is an issue that is rising in the public’s consciousness.
In addition to climate change, people are worried about plastic in the oceans, air pollution, traffic congestion and what happens to their waste after it leaves the recycling bin.
These are all things that bother us as individuals, but they are also things that affect us as business owners. Just as there is at home, there are plenty of things we can do to help with environmental issues at work. However, for many businesses these opportunities are not realised.
For example, those who rent premises may not feel empowered to address their own concerns about energy efficiency or recycling.
The waste services to business by different providers may vary wildly, depending on where you live. If ‘doing the little things’ is to apply to environmental issues for business, we need to ensure that people are able to make the changes they need to make a real difference.
Here at the FSB Wales we talk to government at different levels about the support that will help small businesses improve their environmental performance.
But to do this effectively we need more information on the main issues that businesses face, what they have done and what more they can do to make our planet greener, which is
why we’re launching an online survey to ask businesses directly.
The feedback we receive will make us more effective in representing SMEs when talking to government. We also hope to develop some simple suggestions that businesses can do themselves to start having a positive impact.
Our survey also asks how environmental changes are affecting your business, looking to ensure that regulations and policies are fit for purpose and do not have unintended consequences. It is important that environmental policy has a positive effect on small businesses, which are the lifeblood of our economy and our communities.
Most of us want to do all we can to improve our environment and, as Theresa May says, leave the world a better place than we found it. But as individuals and particularly as small business owners, we sometimes need a bit of help if doing the right thing for the environment means adding to our bills.
The survey is open now until the August 16, and we hope that as many businesses as possible take part. If you follow @FSB_Wales on Twitter you can find links regularly on our feed.