Workshop G Business opportunities from Climate Change – Will Climate Change equal profit or loss?  (Workshop report by Anthony Goggin - Bedfordshire ADER County Officer)

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Workshop discussion summary

Opportunities

There is opportunity in the following areas but they need to be investigated and exploited if they are to offer any long term advantage:

• There are ways to take advantage since we are in a low rainfall area?? Reservoirs.
• Maize is a crop which can lock up carbon but also be used as animal fodder. We need to put ‘good science’ to good use. Can GM be a positive benefit in this new agenda?
• Carbon Trading needs to be looked at. Ccan some industries, such as farming, be utilised to offset other industries’ carbon account? We need to look at big picture and the carbon footprint from each method of production – can a diary farmer in New Zealand really produce more milk extensively when it may need to be exported to UK with a large CO2 negative in food miles? There are positive benefits from biogas using waste and farm slurry and also biomass options using wood fuel.
• Bedfordshire has a lot of marginal land that could be used to grow bio crops and short rotation coppice. David Miliband has sent a very positive message to NFU relating how farmers can help with the climate change agenda – will this remain should he be promoted?
• Hemp is another renewable crop that can also be used to offset within the building trade – it is possible to build a carbon positive house locking up 30 tonnes of carbon with timber frames and ‘Hempcrete’ building blocks. The average redbrick house actually uses 100 tonnes of carbon to build!
• Farmers have a ‘Land Bank’ resource. In Holland, some farmers are paid to allow their land to flood when there is a danger of major damage to towns etc.

We either adapt to the threat of climate change issues and prepare for them or ignore them at our peril. Austria is now, after a turgid time with oil versus wood fuel prices, reaping a positive benefit for the country. There will be wins and losses – the Climate Change Bill sets out to capitalise on these opportunities for the nation so that we become a world leader in this field.

A local business, Adnams Brewery looked at the environmental issues around relocating their premises. They moved to the outskirts of a large town to reduce congestion for deliveries etc; they have grass on their roof to reduce water run off and improve insulation – this has had a soft benefit for them since Tesco now want to source products from company with ‘green’ credentials. The supply can be greener and companies can reap back lost profit by being more efficient and vigilant e.g. turning off lights, computers, reusing, reducing and recycling.

Issues/Barriers

We need financial encouragement to expand businesses in an environmentally friendly way and the grant route/system needs to be constructively designed to distribute monies to committed people within business not held up in bureaucracy.

Government bodies and banks see things in hard business terms. What is the return on capital? How many jobs created here? Is this a cost effective project? The ‘triple-bottom-line’ needs to account for the social and environmental benefits as well as the economic. Obviously, the latter is easier to account for in the short term. There needs to be an embedding of ‘ethical’ issues which feed into the decision. With some energy efficiency programmes the pay back period can be guaranteed e.g. Ashton Hayes publican saw an immediate saving of £200 per month on energy bills and this was reported to head office and it was able to be applied across pub chain.

Professional advisers are not aware or do not communicate about environmental issues. Accountants and bank managers need a paradigm shift in their mindset and take on board what is happening and bring this into the client conversation etc.

Transport within the rural community needs to be looked at – Travel and tourism issues – Nirah will put Bedfordshire on the map!

Policy shift needs to be up to speed with the issues that are happening in the wider world.

Concluding Comments

There were two main categories from our discussion

We voted on the most important one for each and,

New products would need to be encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities provided from climate change and the customer would have the greatest impact on the market since it was felt that they would determine which products they viewed to be the most important in reducing climate damage.

Key issues in feedback to plenary session

• Scope for new products and markets

• Need to change mindsets