Probably the most significant academic and practitioner way of thinking about law and business has been the ‘triple bottom line’ made famous by Elkington (1999). Therefore, the breakfast session at the Hilton Liverpool, was very interesting to me. We were all handed a copy of the CBI’ document ‘Protecting the UK’s foundations: a blueprint for energy-intensive industries’. Sustainability to me means, fundamentally, saving the resource of the planet for future generations, so it is of interest to me how all the major stakeholders, including Government and the major energy suppliers, are able to reconcile the maximisation of shareholder value, implicit in the success of a company under English law, with the need to protect people and the planet. Indeed, I asked a question on this precise subject on behalf of the BPP student ‘Legal Awareness Society’, based at the BPP Business School. The session was organised by DODS, and was very enjoyable. Dods specialises in services designed for organisations wishing to understand and engage with Parliament, the Civil Service, the wider public sector and the public affairs community.
A successful low-carbon economy will include industries that require a lot of energy. These energy-intenive industries have an essential role to play in delivering the UK’s transition to a ‘low carbon economy’. The cumulative impact of energy and climate change policy is putting the competitiveness of key UK energy-intensive industries at risk. Policy changes are needed to support energy-intensive industries. In particular, exemption from the carbon floor price is considered to be the “most effective immediate solution“.
In particular, the CBI recommend that the Coalition government, in conjunction with business partners, should explore the potential for giving credit for de-carbonising UK supply chains. Energy-intensive industries would benefit from being able to obtain credit while maximising potential for improved energy savings across supply chains. Rhian Kelly, the Director for Business Development, for the CBI provided that the low-carbon technologies do not attract a sufficiently high level of investment. They do not constitute not yet a safe bet and the odds are not high enough to make them worth a gamble. Nuclear plants require up to seven years construction, with no revenues, and may require over 30 years to reach payback. The UK needs to be thinking about off-shore wind, nuclear, CCS, energy from waste. There are too many options for it to be clear to investors who they should back. This is why the CBI has been discussing with the Treasury the Green Investment Bank and arguing that it must be able to take on risk that the market cannot take.
Meg Hillier (Meg_HillierMP), Labour and Co-op MP for Hackney and Shoreditch, established the viewpoint of the UK official opposition. The UK is rapidly losing the race to be the global powerhouse of the green economy, while other countries streak ahead in low-carbon technology investment and development, according to rankings published on Tuesday. Last year, the UK slumped from being third in the world in terms of investment in green growth, to only 13th place, according to a report by the respected US Pew Environment Group. This means the UK now ranks well behind developing countries such as Brazil, in sixth place, India in 10th place and China in first place. Investment in alternative energy and clean technology reached $11bn (£7bn) in the UK in 2009, but plummeted to only $3.3bn (£2bn) last year – a decline of 70%. This compares with $2.3bn (£1.45bn) investment in Mexico last year, $4bn (£2.5bn) in France and $14bn (£8.7bn) in Italy. Top of the league is China, with $54bn (£34bn), Germany with $41.2bn (£25.7bn) and the US, with $34bn (£21bn) of investment last year.
Meg had visited Sellafield recently, lending a big vote of confidence for the site’s future and a highly-skilled workforce. On her first Sellafield visit (while her three children were on a trip to nearby Muncaster Castle), Meg said she was impressed with operations and talked at length with site bosses and union officials about potential future opportunities. Meg has outlined that it is part of the green growth strategy and it is difficult to make the UK country greener without nuclear. If we get it right we will be ahead of the curve and be able to sell to other parts of the world.”
Dr Andy Spurr, the Managing Director of ‘Nuclear Generation’ of EDF Energy (@edf_energy), gave an overview of the importance of nuclear power in the energy industry. There were a number of important developments that contributed to a change in attitudes over a relatively short period of time. Firstly, the context changed – security of supply and price volatility, particular in respect of gas supplies, rose up the agenda; climate change became a mainstream issue, as did the provision of affordable electricity. Secondly, a more realistic view of what could be delivered through energy efficiency and renewables emerged – and, as important, there was recognition that all low carbon technologies would be needed to help tackle climate change. Thirdly, the Government needs to provide leadership. It gave a clear signal that it wanted to open a meaningful discussion about the country’s energy future and followed this with an Energy Review and an extensive Nuclear Consultation in which all stakeholders were encourage to express their views.
