Global leaders have come together for COP26 this week, and whilst the agenda is promising, the concern from many is that it will be all hot air and not enough action.
In my lifetime, (I’m only42!!), we have seen the global population nearly double as global biodiversity has diminished by 68% (according to David Attenborough!); we have seen average temperatures rise and generally much more pressure put onto our planet which is simply not sustainable. Yet we have also seen developing nations ‘succeed’ in a commercial world. That is, ‘succeed’ in terms of seeing economies grow, companies grow, and profits grow. Even in a post-covid world, where this ‘success’ may have faltered temporarily, the world is developing in ways that have to change for long-term good.
‘Sustainability’ and ‘Corporate Responsibility’ must be more than just buzzwords. Our view is that companies that have historically gone for growth, growth and more growth without assessing impact, are no longer attractive to our own people, potential recruits, existing or new clients, or indeed ourselves.
At Dalcour Maclaren, we understand our responsibilities; we understand our need to change, and we understand that there is an urgent requirement to do so. Whilst we expect to grow in future, it will be in a sustainable way and not at any cost to the environment, our people, our supply chain or the communities in which we work. We have committed to achieving Net Zero by 2030, but our commitments must extend much further than that.
We do not pretend to have our full Sustainability and Responsibility Strategy in place as of today. But we are clear on what we want to achieve; we will lead our sector in this new direction and will demonstrate our full commitment through a meaningful giving back approach.
For those willing to take this agenda seriously, these are exciting times that present a fantastic opportunity to us all. We must not see it as a box-ticking exercise or a subject simply requiring lip service.
We are not afraid of change at Dalcour Maclaren; bring on the challenge as well as the action!
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