A reality check on the future. With so much riding on the current recession, the credit crunch, business survival and staying afloat, something has to give.
It seems the first thing to go in the cost cutting, is
going green. A survey by
The Environment Agency a week or so ago, highlighted that 55% of businesses plan to cut back on investment in sustainability, as a direct result of the economic situation.
It’s a fact of life that when times are tight, spending seen as unnecessary gets the chop by business. If you are one of the 55%, then click on this
link and it may persuade you to reconsider. Climate change, global warming, carbon, isn’t going to go away. It can’t be deferred or put off in the same way that you might defer an investment in key projects.
The clock is ticking and every day matters.
OK, if it’s the difference between survival or bankruptcy, make the call, no one would criticise you. When you start your next business, make up for it.
Everyone has a responsibility to do their bit, downturn or no downturn. Savings can be made with little investment, like turning off monitors, re-cycling paper, being more energy efficient, switching to low energy light bulbs. It doesn’t take a lot to actually reduce your energy consumption and reduce your energy bills and carbon footprint.
Tomorrow, I’ll be speaking at an
LGA conference in Manchester to drive home this point to the public sector and encouraging them to give as much incentive and reward as possible to business, but to also to continue to play a lead role in contributing to a low carbon economy.
Come to papa. More object d’esire from the
CES show in Las Vegas. An 82″LCD TV. Forget 42″, that’s a mere portable. Forget 50″, the world has moved on and now we have to all think about upgrading our fireplaces to hang this beauty above it (and the steel reinforcements for the brackets).
Technology prices have tumbled in 2008, you can buy a 42″ Panasonic Plasma for £429, they were over a thousand pounds a year ago. However, my
previous warning is that technology prices are set to increase in the UK as low global confidence in the pound continues.
Chatting with a colleague today, he made an interesting observation that consumers aren’t interested in anything unless it’s a pound or half price (commonly known as the BOGOF, buy one get one free). However, evidence clearly is there, that people with money still want the kudos of being first, of the bragging appeal of being an early adopter. I’m sure that Sharp will have droves of people finding the money for this monster television. I certainly need (not want) one.
It makes you think, have you ever thought about how much of your life is now viewed through screens? Think for a minute, SAT Nav, Mobile Phone, TV, Computer Monitor, Blackberry, Laptop, Portable Gaming Device, PDA. Now think how many hours a day you are sat in front of them? Are you getting worried?
The energy draw on running screens is large. They are a big contributor to global carbon emmissions. Our 82″ LCD TV will probably need a small sub-station installed once they’ve put the brackets up. But do you care? This is where the trade off starts. Gratification or Conscience?
Speaking at the Smart City futures workshop this morning,
Professor James Powell OBE, Pro Vice Chancellor of Academic Enterprise at Salford University, asked me how he could get private sector business more engaged in the excellent work that he and his colleagues are driving. My reply was: -
a) Businesses in Greater Manchester are suffering from initiative overload and fatigue. One downside of being in a progressive city is that there seems to be a small nucleus of key people who are passionate about it’s future, therefore they are asked to participate on just about every initiative going. Businesspeople need things rolling up, aggregating and turning into a more joined up piece of work (which James is striving for), with fewer people, tigher timelines and accountability.
b) Business is focussed on the “here and now”. Unprecedented times, recession, all hands on deck etc. The Universities could really assist Manchester business now by helping us all by throwing out the right questions to business, using their knowledge to optimise success in a downturn, giving thought leadership in the City region. Think Harvard Business Review with a Manchester feel. We have three brilliant universities in this City, with brilliant minds, all we need is the right translation to businesspeople.
c)
Business wants an ROI from the things it invests in. Be it money, time or human capital. Academia sometimes has a poor reputation with business as the rubber doesn’t go on the road often enough, seminars end up as talking shops, things take too long. I liked James, I think he is a doer, he deserves the support of business on the key elements of
Smart City futures that industry can take the lead on.
Businesses are the wealth creators in any region.
Smart City Futures depends on businesses to give their input and direction to its mandate.
Get involved, shape something, participate, create and help build a legacy for the city region.
Speaking at a breakfast briefing this morning,
Richard Holway of tech industry analysts TechMarket Review LLP used these words to describe the philosophy that he feels should prevail during these turbulent times, those that focus on doing the basics right, minimising costs, surviving, will be the strongest. Being boring is how many of the big players will get through.
I don’t agree, you should be doing the basics anyway, that’s the day job. I think it’s the year to innovate, to generate something new, to examine your business models to free think.
On the same panel was
Rory Cellan Jones, technology correspondent for the BBC and Philip Stafford from the
FT. Both predicted the year for “coldtech”, that is, people being focused on getting more for less. With major projects needing “fast ROI’s” and “now” benefits i.e., in the current financial year.
Both also commented in response to a question from me about “green computing” that business will put environmental issues lower down the agenda as they strive for economic benefits. Unfortunately, the
100Months tipping point in global temperatures can’t be reset, so there is a definite clash in KPI’s there (again) for those trying to reduce carbon output.
Everyone seemed to be excited about cloud computing , defiinite buzzword if you want to impress your tecchy friends that you are hooked into the latest thinking. To you and me, it’s hosting your data somewhere other than your office and having it delivered to you on your mobile device of desktop instead of constantly sitting with you on your PC or server. Bring it up at your next dinner party and see how long it takes for your guests to ask for a taxi.
By contrast, this afternoon I’ve sat on a panel to judge our
Office Heroes award in conjunction with
Growing Business magazine. Some fantastic people, providing the back office backbone to many entrepreneurs and growing businesses.
On the panel with me were two interesting guys,
Jamie Murray Wells, founder of
glasses direct and
Ben Way of
Rainmakers a technology incubator with around 25 businesses currently in the fold. Both are typical entrepreneurs, running highly successful businesses and it was interesting to hear their view of the world and business in general. UK plc need guys like this to turboboost thinking and launching new businesses as inspiration to others.
What does poor air quality look or feel like? If your an asthama sufferer, you can answer what it feels like. But how does everyone else know? Seeing the scenes at the Olympics earlier this year, you could clearly see what very poor air quality looked like, a fog or haze.
But what about Manchester or London on a Monday compared to a Saturday, there isn’t fog or haze but is the air of good quality with so much CO2 knocking around? In Paris, they have cleverly floated a balloon above the city which changes colour subject to how the air quality is, in real time. Using data collected, the balloon changes colour from red to green to give you a real insight into what is happening now.
I think this is a superb experiment and every city should do something similar to indicate to its residents the true impact of global warming.
Speaking at the CBI today, Gordon Brown told the CBI that the Government would support investment in low-carbon projects to help ensure that Britain made the most of opportunities in “the environmental revolution”. He said that worldwide, the green economy could be worth as much as $3 trillion a year by 2050, employing more than 25 million people. “I want Britain to benefit from these new jobs, with at least 1 million jobs in the green economy by 2030,” he said.
Wow, £3 trillion is 3 million, millions. An almight sum of money. If that isn’t a decent incentive to innovation, then I don’t know what is.
