By Fiona Conor. Isn’t it inspiring to think that right now, we as business owners could make a crucial difference to the future of our planet?
Everyday, we read more about the impact that the human race is having on our planet.
It can be quite disheartening but also inspiring, depending on how you view the situation.
OK, right NOW, our impact is largely negative and has been for many, many years but any day in business can mark the turning of the tide. We can draw the line in the sand ourselves and start to think about what WE can do differently.
Isn’t it inspiring to think that right now, we as business owners could make a crucial difference to the future of our planet?
That’s the decision we made earlier this year at Trust when we set up a project team to tackle this very issue.
Where are we now?
What is our impact?
What are we doing well and what could we do better?
How can we make changes and what resources and decisions (fiscal and cultural) need to be made to start to tip the balance back so that we begin to contribute to the solution, rather than the problem.
It is a challenge we have taken on outside of our own business too.
Earlier this year, I joined West Yorkshire’s first ever Manufacturing Task Force, which aims to propel local businesses towards a digital, global and green future.
The Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracey Brabin, outlined the concept in late 2021, bringing together representatives from manufacturing companies and alliances across the region to assess the landscape and identify opportunities to support the continued growth of the sector.
Together as an industry we are exploring best practices and finding solutions to immediate and future challenges, including; the transition to net-zero, new trading relations and low productivity and efficiency levels, and developing an action plan with recommendations to help local businesses remain competitive.
It is fantastic to see so many other local businesses joining us and it reinforces our own efforts here at Trust, which has seen us working on a wide range of major projects focused on reducing the impact on the environment and on energy bills – a win/win for all.
This year alone we have installed over 300 radiators at the University of Leeds after a beta-test across one floor and helped cut energy bills in half at over 20 properties for a housing association in Horsham.
We’ve also created a dedicated team to work on the complex needs of village halls and churches, whilst the latest EPC guidance around carbon emissions has seen business boom in the private landlord sector.
It ultimately comes down to choices and control and whether it is developing solutions for the elderly and the vulnerable, the education, public or private sector, there should always be one key factor in mind… a sustainable future.
Here’s to playing our own small part.