Economy Seven Article - Ascendant Ventures

If ‘going green’ improves business productivity and reduces costs, of course there is a case. But it is a medium term aspiration.
 
The short term, sick state of UK plc means many businesses are ticking over and waiting for a decisive pick-up in the economy before making investment decisions. Many are managing purely on a cash basis and there is nothing in the kitty for new initiatives, however sensible they appear.
 
Things may look pretty bleak but there are reasons to be optimistic about prospects for some businesses and some sectors.
 
When recovery commences, businesses that have survived may face fewer competitors. They may also find that business and public perceptions of green issues have decisively moved on as environmental concerns are becoming mainstream.
 
Companies that supply the growing demand for environmental goods and services, including sustainable energy, may be better positioned to capitalise on this new orthodoxy.
 
Our funds seek to support such businesses, providing the commercial case is sound. This partly reflects the general, secular shift toward environmental and sustainable thinking, and partly the growing awareness of energy security and energy policy as a business cost driver and social cohesion factor.
 
The funds are supported by capital from the public sector, where environmental sustainability and the low carbon agenda are central considerations. Indeed, they are a clear ambition of both the South West Regional Development Agency and Convergence and Competitiveness Programmes.
 
The funding is, first and foremost, dependent on a sound commercial case but it is now vital for businesses seeking public sector support in the South West to address the environmental aspects of their operation. Even if starting from a low base, an improvement in practice is recognised as an improvement.
 
It is best practice to drive costs out of a business. We have done this with our own business, making it more profitable and resilient against future energy price rises.
 
In the medium term, generally, energy and environmental costs are likely to increase in the UK. These are likely to present even greater challenges to those of us facing the issues of distance and economic peripherality, such as in Cornwall and remoter parts of Devon, Somerset and Dorset.
 
Additionally, we must not lose sight of the number of people facing fuel poverty in the South West.
 
Environmental challenges are creating, and will continue to create, huge challenges to social cohesion. Our business community must play its part in delivering a solution while avoiding becoming a casualty of the same pressures.