Green Growth Survey and Programme aim to present “the ‘best of’ sustainable manufacturers anywhere in the world” – Chris Harrop OBE
ON Tuesday 13 July, Made in Britain held its inaugural webinar as part of a series on Green Growth. The session was hosted by Victoria Page, Green Growth Programme manager, and featured John Pearce, CEO Made in Britain and Chris Harrop OBE, chair, Made in Britain.
The panel began the discussions with a thorough exploration of the definitions of green growth, which encompasses sustainability, sustainable development and responsible business. Essentially, green growth “plays into helping businesses sell more of what they make” said John Pearce. He continued, “We want to help businesses tell their green growth story and signpost them to free advice on where to fill in the gaps in their journey.”
The panel then moved on to discuss why the issue of being more sustainable is so important for businesses and why now is such a critical moment. “This is about survival and competitive advantage,” began Chris Harrop OBE. Climate change, plastics, decent work and depletion of raw materials are all huge issues facing businesses today. From a government procurement perspective, from September businesses over £500m must commit to net-zero to supply the UK government. From a consumer perspective, research tells us that consumers more frequently make informed, active product choices based on ethical and environmental factors. It’s the responsibility of businesses now to respond to these risks, and make the changes their stakeholders are demanding.
To help businesses respond, Made in Britain has created the Green Growth Survey, developed in collaboration with the Cambridge Judge Business School. The survey is designed specifically for manufacturing businesses to respond to at any point in their sustainability journey, around six core themes, linked to goal 12 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which deals with sustainable consumption and production. The themes include: governance, raw materials and waste, environmental performance, customers, social impact, and lastly, connectedness to Made in Britain members. The survey exists to build trust and reliable information for all stakeholders, and provides guidance on which issues businesses should respond.
The survey is the gateway to the Green Growth Programme, a bespoke programme to help businesses progress their sustainability journey. Focused around three pillars: education to share knowledge, application to direct members to the right accreditations to make changes relevant to their businesses and coaching to provide more guidance on a one-on-one basis.
“We’re really proud of what our members are achieving already, and we think we’ve got a really strong story to tell together," said John Pearce.
In their closing remarks, John Pearce commented, “The Green Growth Survey and Programme has the potential to change the perception of SME and larger manufacturing forever.”
Chris Harrop OBE closed the webinar stating, “The beauty of British manufacturers is their creativity and their innovation. They are uniquely positioned to meet the new challenges of sustainability and climate change, so Made in Britain should be the ‘best of’ sustainable manufacturers anywhere in the world and our skills and expertise should be sought after.”
You can watch a recording of the webinar below.
The survey is free for members and registration is via https://green.madeinbritain.org/
For more information, comments or queries, please contact green@madeinbritain.org
By Made in Britain 2 years ago | By Made in Britain