Does it matter if your adviser is committed to becoming carbon neutral? The short answer is yes, says Sioned Hughes
It matters that any type of organisation is committed to becoming carbon neutral. The evidence on climate change is clear, and the forward forecasts are frightening: If we don’t act now the damage is likely to be irreversible.
And with leadership from the government being limited and unambitious, it is up to us all as individuals and organisations to take responsibility.
All organisations should therefore be making the commitment.
That’s why we at Altair (alongside our sister companies ATFS and Oaks, which are part of the Aquila Services Group) have taken the proactive step to make a commitment to be a climate-conscious organisation and achieve carbon neutrality.
We think every organisation can make a difference. As a consultancy firm with around 90 employees, our impact on the environment is less significant than an energy firm, airline, manufacturer or even a housing association.
We don’t burn fossil fuels or build properties, but we do use the services of companies that do. It is important that we all play a role.
If as an organisation we can work to reduce and offset the emissions of our staff at work and support them to do more in their personal lives, that impact can only be positive.
We’re just at the start of the journey, and to be honest we don’t (yet) fully understand the impact we have, but the forward plan is clear and includes activities such as:
- Gaining support from our staff by setting up an employee-led ‘Green Group’ to drive the plan forward
- Mapping and fully understanding our existing impact on the environment – including carbon emissions, waste, supply-chain impact, etc
- Developing an agreed set of initiatives to reduce our impact where we can and offset the remainder
- Ensuring our own supply chain is sustainable
- Providing visibility of the plan and ensuring appropriate responsibility and accountability for delivery.
The benefits to us are clear. We are directly supporting action to tackle climate change, and this appeals to the values of our existing and future employees who also want to make a difference. We believe it is aligned to the values of the sectors in which we work.
But why should it matter to our clients?
After transport, the housing sector emits the most carbon in the UK. Sustainability, climate change, and carbon neutrality are starting to get a position on board agendas across the country, but progress is still slow.
If as a country and a society we are going to have a positive impact on climate change, we need the big sectors to not only take note but to take action.
Our annual joint Altair and Devonshires seminar held in Cardiff Bay in January this year, focused on the subject of sustainability and the specific challenges facing the sector in Wales.
Decarbonisation targets being set mean that housing associations should be thinking about how they can deliver their retrofit programmes along with their development programmes. The seminar identified the need for funding incentives for early adopters, collaboration for procurement of skills and components, a streamlined workstream to identify skills and training, a steady programme of work to ensure continued delivery, and finally clarity and easily analysable data in order to improve delivery and ensure a successful decarbonisation programme.
To help address these challenges, the sector will need to take a proactive approach and work with advisers and partners in its supply chain who are also committed to achieving carbon neutrality.
We can’t pretend that the plan will be cost or resource free. But we believe it is the right thing to do.
The overall purpose of the Aquila Services Group (parent of Altair) is making a better, more sustainable, and socially responsible world. So why wouldn’t we take direct action to make a difference?
Altair and Coronvirus contigency update
We are all adapting our working arrangements to protect our staff and customers to slow the spread of coronavirus. Altair is fortunate to have an agile workforce who are set up and committed to continuing to support our clients however we can, as we have done in our nine years of business.
As we all undertake our contingency planning for Covid-19, I would like to stress that should you require any assistance, be it additional resource to help plug a critical gap, planning, implementing, project managing or assistance with crisis management, please do get in touch with me or one of my colleagues. We will continue to work flexibly with you and can be with you virtually as well as in person if required.
Sioned Hughes is a principal consultant at Altair, contact Sioned.hughes@altairltd.co.uk or 07887 791381