CBI: Covid-19 provides pathway to future of carbon reduction

An emerging, positive picture of how businesses will operate following the global pandemic has been revealed in a special survey by CBI/Ipsos MORI.

Published before the CBI’s Annual Conference, the poll of 573 businesses, sponsored by Accenture and Hays Recruitment, suggests businesses will look to build back better.

Making progress towards net-zero, improving work/life balance and strengthening employee relationships are all strong indicators of firms’ intentions to build back better. Increasing innovation is also revealed to be one of the key positive aspects arising from the pandemic.

Overwhelmingly, the data strongly suggests companies want to grasp the opportunity presented by the crisis to reassess their positive impact upon society. Chiefly, firms are keen to capitalise on improving employees’ work-life balance, reducing carbon emissions and accelerating innovation.

Firms responding cited the following specific activities beyond 2021 compared to 2019:  

• 67% say they expect to have increased activities to ‘support the net zero carbon emissions reduction target’ compared to 2019 (5% decrease). 
• 67% say they will have increased activities ‘to make our business more diverse and inclusive’ (1% decrease). 
• 57% say they will have increased activities ‘to support our local communities’ (3% decrease).

Josh Hardie, CBI Deputy Director-General, said: “Good businesses have a long-standing commitment to acting responsibly and showing their worth to society. The pandemic has accelerated these efforts.”

“Reputations are forged in a crisis. Business have once again proved they are fundamental to society. This will continue post pandemic with a welcome long term focus on benefits firms can bring to people, planet and place.”

Ben Page, Chief Executive of Ipsos MORI, said: “In a few short months the pandemic has dramatically changed business life in the UK.  What our latest research shows is that while parts of the economy face massive disruption, elsewhere there are likely permanent positive changes. These include less commuting, more distributed work forces, a better carbon footprint, a re-imagining of offices, and potentially better quality of life for employees.”

Read the full results here.