CPA Bulletin

www.cpa.uk.net CPA Bulletin > November 2022 17 CPA CONFERENCE: 6 Practical measures taken have included installing 95 solar panels on the roof of one of the Genquip Groundhog factory buildings, leading to an impressive 33 per cent reduction in electricity costs. The company is in the process of building a newmain production plant opening next year, which will have no fewer than 568 solar panels. Genquip Groundhog has also joined the Confor sustainable forestry organisation, through which the company will plant trees on adjacent land to offset its remaining carbon footprint. Huw Longton of the ERA said that the EU had devised a programme of carbon reduction for adoption among member states, with the aim of achieving a 55 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and to be net-zero by 2050. The ERA itself has developed a number of free ESG tools for hire companies to use, including an equipment CO2 calculator, a Sustainable Supplier Framework to promote best practice throughout the supply chain, and a CSR (corporate social responsibility) KPI Guidance Framework to help hire companies benchmark themselves against their peers. The Association has also published a Manifesto document highlighting the environmental benefits that arise out of hiring equipment rather than purchasing it, and obtaining the maximumworking life from it. Huw added that the ERA’s 2023 Convention in Maastricht on 7th and 8th June will focus on elements of ESG such as employee health, inclusion and building a good corporate reputation to help attract the best people. Rachel Preen of Prolectric Services described how the company had benefited from commissioning a report into its environmental status by a specialist consultancy as a benchmarking exercise against which reductions could be implemented and monitored. This had examined the firm’s production processes, its workplace environment and its community involvement, amongst other criteria. Appropriately enough, given the nature of its products, Prolectric has fitted solar panels to the roof of its premises which generate 33 per cent of its electricity requirements. Moreover, the company has calculated that the equipment it supplies reduces emissions by a level equivalent to £9 million worth of diesel. The company is also adopting simpler measures like installing ‘Hippo’ blocks in toilet cisterns to reduce water usage per flush. Personnel are also encouraged to contribute their own ideas for achieving environmental benefits and Rachel said this instilled a sense of engagement and fun, whichmatches Prolectric’s approach to business. Indeed, she suggested that it was all too easy to over-analyse ESG responsibilities and that if you take relevant actions, business success will surely follow because it is essentially sensible commercial practice. She also cited research saying that 80 per cent of graduates now only want to work for organisations that are adopting sound ESG practices. This was echoed by Genquip Groundhog’s Peter Beach who questioned why the path to net zero was so frequently described as a race. He believed it was more meaningful to proceed in a measured way, not over- reacting to every possible ESG consideration but concentrating on those with realisable, practical benefits. In this way, blind alleys and costly mistakes would be avoided. Finally, Merrill Lynch considered the massive progress that had been made in technological developments over the past 20 years, such as the introduction of Stage V engines, better solar panels and machines using battery technology. These were helping business meet their ESG obligations. Who knows what the next few years will hold, but the ESG journey is certainly an exciting and valuable one. Given the frequent references during the Conference to ongoing political turmoil and economic turbulence, it was hugely ironic when during the lunch break news filtered through of Liz Truss’s sudden resignation as prime minister. However, delegates just continued with the business at hand, again showing how the plant-hire industry retains a steadfast focus on the important matters with resilience and confidence.