Richard’s blog

I know, – decision making in your business is difficult enough. But this is one of the most important courses we’ve put together.

The planet we live on and do business on is sick. Although we don’t need to look too far to recognise this, we still don’t factor it into our business decision-making either in the short or long-term.

It’s encouraging owners and managers of businesses to make changes in the way they think about the environment or the way they make business decisions.

There is no doubt that climate breakdown leads to drought, crop failure and hunger; or floods; or other extreme weather conditions. These, in turn, force people to leave their homes. But does this lead to cross-border migration?

I found myself spending some of the day thinking about the environmental impact of hill walking as an activity.

As a result of my financial contribution, the Trust was able to plant two native broadleaf trees in Ormsgill Wood, near Airton and a few days ago, we attended an Open Day to have a look at the series of woodlands that have been developed.

I was pleased to be invited to talk to the policy committee of Friends of the Dales about climate breakdown.

In his attempt to kickstart the economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK Prime Minister urged us to “Build, Build, Build!” . If this is going to happen, how can we make sure the new houses we need also coincide with our goals for a zero-carbon Britain?

Edge lands, “the urban fringe, the no man’s land between town and country”.

What we can learn from the Covid-19 lockdown for the longer-term restrictions in our normal way of life that are likely to arise from climate breakdown?  Are we heading for a climate lockdown?

A meeting was recently convened by Ben Kellard, Director of Business Strategy at Cambridge University’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL).  The meeting drew together a number of eminent thinkers from the field of business sustainability to discuss what they considered to be represented by the term “sustainable purpose”.

The future of the UK Motor Industry raises some interesting issues but before we can consider this, we first need to look at the current situation.

As well as government policy, environmental, societal and scientific factors govern all aspects of our daily lives and forming a new business is no different.

This is where Naomi Klein’s book and another favourite of mine tend to collide.

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 grew up in an old farmhouse on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.  Outside my bedroom window were a pair of telephone wires and, at some time in mid April, one or two swallows would land on the wires and begin their distinctive, quiet twittering song.