A Green Recovery
The constant stream of news coming out surrounding the coronavirus pandemic has been keeping people and businesses on their toes for a long time. From the bad news—the Bank of England warning of the sharpest recession on record—to some incredibly uplifting stories, such as Captain Tom Moore’s NHS appeal topping £32m on his 100th birthday.
One piece got a little less attention however; an open letter from the directors of more than 60 organisations—including Iceland Foods, Barratt Homes, Ben & Jerry’s and The Body Shop—calling on the UK Government to prioritise a resilient, green economic recovery in the wake of coronavirus.
As we move into the next stage of recovery as outlined in The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy, “the overriding priority remains to save lives”, but the letter highlighted a key focus for the longer-term economic recovery. Amongst the points raised, the letter made some key suggestions with significant implications for businesses which rely on a mobile workforce operations:
— Invest in infrastructure, skills and technology to create jobs which promote sustainability.
— Exclude companies in “polluting industries” that do not have a climate plan.
— Bring leaders together to plan for a sustainable economic recovery.
The suggestions are in line with what many organisations were working towards prior to the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic, and they highlight the importance for businesses of all sizes to continue to implement systems which promote a smaller carbon footprint in the wake of the pandemic.
A key driver for operational changes in field service organisations are those which promote greater efficiency. These efficiency savings often go hand-in-hand with changes which promote more environmentally conscious operations; reducing journey times and unnecessary call-outs, saving fossil fuel use; eliminating physical paperwork, saving materials; and encouraging their customers to use of more environmentally-friendly technologies to their customers, such as offering alternative product lines or ceasing support for high-carbon products.
By implementing a paperless workflow, companies can begin to embrace these greener technologies, move towards more environmentally-friendly practices and get ahead of the curve when the inevitable green policy changes come into effect.
So the question is… if you can bring in operational changes which save you money and are good for the environment, what’s stopping you?