Enigin Update - Call for Government and Industry to Work Together to Save Energy
GOVERNMENT and industry need to work together to use fewer resources, improve energy efficiency and encourage businesses to come up with solutions, the Confederation for British Industry (CBI) announced yesterday.
Businesses are increasingly seeking to improve their resource efficiency, particularly energy efficiency, because it offers them a competitive advantage and reduces their dependence on volatile prices and supplies.
Dr Neil Bentley, CBI Deputy Director-General, said: “The CBI has worked hard over a number of years to show leadership on climate change. We want to do the same with the much broader issue of resource efficiency. There’s a business case for acting, and a threat to our growth prospects if we don’t.
“Too many different government departments at too many different levels are coming up with their own ways of dealing with this problem. We’re looking to the Business Secretary and the EU Commissioner to give us the right policy framework.
“The CBI continues to believe you need to be green and grow. At the front of our mind should be how we can use this agenda to increase our competitiveness, deliver growth and ensure security of supplies well into the future. Framed correctly, environmental goals can help us achieve our economic goals.”
Setting out three steps to achieving a constructive dialogue between government and business, Bentley added: “The first is to recognise that resource efficiency is central to our future economic prospects. The second is to establish a shared understanding of what we really mean by resource efficiency. The third is to tackle the policy and market risks that can hold back investment in resource-efficient products and services.
“Given our economic circumstances, it is private capital that will have to fund progress. What we hear from those looking to invest is that unlocking this capital is almost within our grasp, but frustratingly we’re not there yet. Businesses need, above all else, policy certainty, consistency and clarity over the long-term.”
A recent report by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development said the demand for energy and material resources could rise to 170 percent of the planet’s generative capacity by 2040. Figures published in a recent McKinsey report also show the scale of the challenge but also the size of the opportunity, if savings can be made.
Enigin Distributor across the UK, and globally, are helping industry to benefit from the cost savings by improving energy efficiency in their facilities by using Enigin plc's EnergyMaps programme allied with their energy efficiency technology and systems.
Picture of K Hartrigge Industrial Estate, Jedburgh © Copyright Walter Baxter and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
