I know that the notion of Nero fiddling while Rome burned is wrong on many levels, not least because the violin had not been invented at the time he ruled the Roman Empire. However, this was the overwhelming image that came to mind as I read a back copy of Transform, the official magazine of IEMA. I was struck by a couple of articles that appeared quite close together in the April edition. One was reporting on Michael Gove’s address to the recent Broadway Initiative conference in London and the other was about revision of the Annex SL requirements of various management system standards, including ISO 14001. These are both important developments but seemed trivial in relation to the scale of the issues we face.
Greta Thunberg has urged us all to react to climate breakdown as though our house is on fire – because it is! The people of all ages who joined the Extinction Rebellion protests in London and other cities across the world over the Easter weekend were giving us a similar message, urging radical and rapid action to avoid the environmental catastrophes that are unfolding.
I am a member of IEMA and I have a great deal of respect for the organisation and the work they do. They have raised awareness of environmental issues with business and provided a forum for environmental professionals to meet and exchange ideas. More recently, they have begun to lobby government on environmental impacts and their management.
But should IEMA, and other organisations for environmental professionals such as CIWEM, CIEEM and CIWM, not be taking up the challenge posed by Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion and taking more radical action? Instead, we continue to act as though business as usual is an option. We listen to government ministers offering platitudes, and we participate in international committees that may deliver an outcome in two years time.
We don’t have another two years to talk about this! We need to be taking action now. As environmental professionals, we should know, better than anyone, that business as usual is not an option. Media reports and television programmes tend to focus on what individuals must do, such as buying fewer products with less packaging; eating less meat; taking fewer holidays; avoiding flying; and insulating our homes. These are all vitally important but we have to look to business to take action too. The environmental impact of a business far outweighs that of an individual or a group of individuals.
The companies we work for must change their business models, change them fundamentally and change them quickly. Government is currently in a state of paralysis but as a nation, we pride ourselves on the role of business in our society and economy and champion business as providing leadership. Now is surely the time for the highly paid Chief Executives and Boards of Directors to show their worth and to lead their businesses into a carbon-free future. These newly invigorated businesses could demonstrate how we can care for and nurture the fragile environment on which we all, individuals and businesses, depend.
Having an effective environmental management system in place within our businesses is important and in “normal” times would be something we should strive for all businesses to embrace. But these are not normal times. Every business decision has to take into account its environmental impact and this should become a more important decision-making criterion than either the social or financial impact because without a functioning environment, the social and financial issues will become irrelevant as our business sector ceases to exist.
We need to consider the basics of the business and its products or services. Does the product or service your business provides enhance or harm the environment? What are the raw materials that are used in the production; how much energy does it take to produce; how is it packaged and what are the life-cycle impacts of that packaging; how is it delivered to the customers; what real benefit does it provide to customers and their lives? Does your business embrace the circular economy or is it still locked into outmoded linear models? If the environmental costs outweigh the benefits provided to customers, should we be producing that item or should we focus our resources on something different?
This can begin with us, the people who have been working in the environmental sector for so long. Our time has come but we have to lead – both in our words and in our actions. This is no longer about tinkering at the edges of existing businesses but changing them fundamentally. Our role, as environmental professionals is to highlight how precarious our position has become, to make sure it is at the top of the agenda for every board meeting and to challenge the directors of our businesses and other organisations to justify their decisions on the basis of environmental impact. We need to be able to look Greta Thunberg and the members of Extinction Rebellion in the eye and assure them we are doing everything we can to avoid climate breakdown. Otherwise, we are just like Nero, fiddling while our world burns!