archiveFebruary 2023

The UK Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 aims to restore nature and improve the environmental quality of air, water and land.  With new powers and duties from the Environment Act, Agriculture Act and Fisheries Act the new Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 provides a comprehensive delivery plan for the government’s approach to halting and then reversing the decline in nature. The new plan covers how government will: Create and restore at least 500,000 hectares of new wildlife habitats, starting with 70 new wildlife projects including 25 new or expanded National Nature Reserves...

Low carbon transport plans will be drawn up by a new research hub that aims to decarbonise the UK transport system. Low carbon transport is needed to ensure the UK meets its net zero targets. The scale of the challenge is illustrated by the fact that transport accounts for 27 per cent of the UK’s emissions, the largest contributor of any sector. And for transport systems to be able to continue to operate they will need to be able to adapt to more extreme weather, whether it’s hotter and drier...

The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 is a comprehensive, ambitious and long-term plan to protect nature and reverse the degradation of ecosystems. The EU biodiversity strategy aims to put Europe’s biodiversity on a path to recovery by 2030 for the benefit of people, climate and the planet, and contains specific actions and commitments. It is the proposal for the EU’s contribution to the upcoming international negotiations on the global post-2020 biodiversity framework. A core part of the European Green Deal, it will also support a green recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic....

Non-executive directors have a vital role to play in corporate governance to ensure ESG commitments are met. With a growing expectation for companies to care for more than just their bottom line, this pressure is being directed at the top. Non-executive directors (NEDs) and board members must be more devoted to good corporate governance more than ever before, otherwise they could fall foul of shareholders, court cases and increasingly critical public, media, and national and international legislation. “For non-executive directors, whose job it is to keep executives and boards in...

There are almost 20,000 businesses currently in the net zero economy which are contributing £71bn to the UK economy according to a new report The total gross value added by businesses involved in the sustainability economy is more than twice that of the energy sector itself, finds the study by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), CBI Economics and DataCity. It also shows that 840,000 jobs are supported by businesses in the net zero economy, with an average wage of £42,600 compared to the £33,400 national average. The sustainability economy...

Food systems must be transformed to align with action on climate change and biodiversity loss, according to a new report from Chatham House. Food system transformation is critical in enabling meaningful, joined-up global action on both climate change and biodiversity loss, the Chatham House report urges. International cooperation on climate, biodiversity and land issues, biodiversity and climate has not been aligned with global treaties to tackle these critical issues, and the decade ahead must be a major turning point to avoid the worst impacts. Current global biodiversity and climate change...

With new laws requiring greater validity of reporting and ongoing doubt about the credibility of carbon offsetting, there is an urgent need for more transparent, credible, and standards-aligned environmental reporting solutions. Key to meeting this need is robust, comparable data along with alignment to new financial reporting frameworks. With over 600 environmental reporting frameworks and standards worldwide, according to Ernst & Young, the alphabet soup of reporting requirements can leave organisations needing clarification regarding the correct route to take in credible reporting. Positive steps are being taken, with 97 per...