Barely three weeks into his new job, minister Dan Rogerson has circulated a letter within our sector, informing us that from April 2014 Defra will in effect withdraw from its leadership role in moving forward the UKs resource agenda. While one cannot argue with the premise that government should only act when and where it needs to, the letter also states that governments role should reduce as businesses increasingly realise the economic and commercial opportunities that arise from resource efficiencies and tackling environmental challenges.
The assumption that businesses automatically align and adjust their commercial interests to wider environmental concerns and that the two go hand-in-hand is highly questionable. Relative to many of the environmental pressures we face, including resource scarcity and security, businesses tend to take a short-term view focused on the health of their bottom line. Wider environmental considerations are either not recognised (because they are too far removed from day-to-day commercial dealing) or in order to retain a competitive edge, not properly costed into the goods or services on offer.
Commercial imperatives
Either way, the environment cannot look after itself the economic signals are simply not strong or visible enough for the average company to spontaneously change the way it does business. Viewed from the narrow perspective of a business in these economically challenging times, more often than not commercial imperatives clash with and run counter to environmental considerations. Examples are legion overfishing, loss of biodiversity and degradation of air and water quality being just three that fall within Defras remit. Managing the UKs resource needs is no different.
Environmental considerations aside, our sector also holds out the prospect of creating new green jobs and contributing to sustainable economic growth. Rather than taking a back seat we look to Defra for vision and strong leadership. We hope that the minister develops a more considered, forward-looking agenda for 2014/15 and beyond.
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