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Long-term fix for climate
Thursday May 01st 2008. Posted: 16:27
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Mike Rake was part of a panel answering questions on climate change issues
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BT chairman Mike Rake has today (Thursday) highlighted the importance of companies making long-term investments in tackling climate change issues and not simply looking for a quick fix.
Mike was taking part in a question and answer session during the Prince of Wales’s May Day Business Summit on Climate Change, which BT hosted at BT Centre in London. Around 160 chief executives gathered at BT Centre to discuss measures taken to reduce carbon over the past 12 months, and commit to further action. Using BT technology, the event was broadcast live via webcast to a further 1,550 chief executives, directors and senior managers at 12 simultaneously linked events across the UK. Mike was a member of a panel that also included Stuart Rose, chief executive of Marks & Spencer, Sky chief executive Jeremy Darroch, former US senator George Mitchell, and Steve Sharratt, chief executive of Bio Group. Responding to a question about what impact the current economic downturn is likely to have on the response of companies to the climate change issue, Mike said it was important for companies to take a long-term view and do things that are truly sustainable rather than to react on a quarterly basis. He said the younger generation of people coming through around the world wanted to see companies that have a high integrity and responsibility towards tackling environmental issues on a continuous basis. Mike highlighted BT’s wind farms programme aimed at generating 25 per cent of all BT’s energy needs by 2016 and said early projections had indicated the project would break even. “It was very easy - a five-second discussion," he said. "How long do you have to think about it? As the thing has evolved it has become clear it will be a cost benefit. It’s a question of focusing on the things where you can really make a difference.” Mike said he agreed with the argument that tackling climate change is a global issue and that companies should use their leadership to inspire other organisations globally to join them on the journey. “I think it’s incredibly important that we see those initiatives pursued and it’s very important for large companies to lead by example,” he said. He said countries like India were taking steps to provide clean water and put in place the technology to reduce carbon emissions that are causing damage to the environment. But he added: “They don’t want to be lectured.” During the summit, Jonathon Porritt, co-founder and programme director of the UK sustainable development organisation Forum for the Future, announced that 830 organisations have signed up to the Prince of Wales’s May Day initiative on climate change - 40 per cent of them employing fewer than 250 people. He said 51 per cent of these companies had now measured their carbon footprint and reported on it and 41 per cent have selected carbon reduction targets.
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Last updated:
13:55