The potential of academic expertise to support businesses to navigate issues around sustainability was discussed at a roundtable event.
Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid partners, members and businesses from across sectors came together at Chamber partner Cardiff Metropolitan University’s campus in Llandaff.
The event sought to understand the challenges businesses face regarding sustainability and how academia and business can collaborate to source innovative solutions and build useful strategies.
The university’s net zero research lead Dr Angesh Anupam and his colleagues from the School of Technologies were in attendance for the discussion with representatives from Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid, Chamber partners Acuity Law and CGI, Chamber members Auditel, Ogi and Wardell Armstrong, and host Business News Wales.
Following refreshments and networking, the roundtable got under way with participants discussing key points including:
- The most significant challenges their industry faces in achieving decarbonisation
- The role of carbon capture, utilisation and storage technologies, promising digital advancements and technological collaboration to support decarbonisation
- The policies and regulatory frameworks that can support innovation in decarbonisation and how industry can collaborate with stakeholders to achieve their goals
It was mutually agreed that obtaining data on emissions outputs and energy usage was a notably big challenge for all businesses. Acuity Law shared how carbon reduction data played a huge role in their decision to move into modern office accommodation and CGI and Auditel championed measuring outputs wherever possible, including analysing the emissions of new machinery or technologies that a business is looking to invest in.
However, as other panellists like Ogi and Wardell Armstrong raised, there are significant issues in calculating scope three emissions if working with a number of contractors or part of a larger supply chain where there are different levels of understanding regarding decarbonisation and sustainable goals.
A holistic approach to technology and best practice was put forward as a way to tackle this and other stumbling blocks businesses face such as engaging with clients and stakeholders to join them on their sustainability journeys and understanding the different types of carbon capture technology available.
Many of the participants highlighted that sometimes the only way to get businesses to act is to legislate, but challenges exist here too. Businesses may see actions to achieve net zero as further costs and taxes on their balance sheets so clarity is required to showcase the significant savings that can be made in the longer term.
Policy and regulation can often be outpaced by advances in innovative technology, so the introduction of flexible policies that are able to adapt quickly to changes is important. Likewise, a balance must be struck between policies and regulations that businesses must be compliant with and creating too much red tape which hinders a business’ ability to act.
