What we learnt at the Innovation Zero conference
The youdo team spent 2 days at the recent Innovation Zero Conference listening to some sharp minds debate how the UK is going to reach the carbon emissions reduction targets contained in the Climate Change Act; 68% emissions reduction by 2030 and Net Zero by 2050.
From the front row, this is what we heard:
Measurement is important but it needs to be coupled to an onward action.
Regulation needs teeth, ie targets and penalties - without it, there’ll be no serious change.
Government action - or lack thereof - is slowing change and uptake. We are not moving as quickly as the EU.
UK Measurement standards need to be consolidated - we heard any number of different views of how to measure the same thing. We need one agreed direction.
We learnt a new (old) term - ‘Green-hushing’ - which is used as companies try and catch up and make good on sustainability marketing claims they released 2 years ago.
WIth point 5 in mind, the business case for sustainability needs to move from Marketing into the Finance function and be owned by the CFO.
Banks and Investors need to play their part and make the risk of non-disclosure actually mean something.
