The UK government announced a programme to support carbon capture and storage projects. But opinions differ on whether this is an appropriate use of public money in terms of reducing emissions.
The G20 rich nations failed to agree on cutting emissions which means we will see many more extreme weather events in coming years. Recent disaters - floods, fires, heat - will become commonplace.
The UK government and citizens will have to make some tough decisions to hit the target of reducing emissions by 2030. But will China reduce its dependence on coal?
The European Commission has published a very useful new guide to support procurement of social value in the public sector -but much of it is relevant to private sector firms who are pursuing sustianability and purpose too.
Procurement with purpose is powerful because of the collaborative and multiplicative effects. Buyers are also sellers, and vice versa, so as more and more organisations embrace these concepts, good ideas and good practice will spread rapidly.
The Dasgupta Review - “The Economics of Biodiversity” - looks at how we could value the assets of the natural world in an economic sense. That would drive conservation and sustainability.
David Shields, with the Contract for Change initiative, under the auspices of Social Value UK, is bringing his great energy and drive to UK public sector procurement with purpose.
The concern is that the positive steps we have seen in recent years around sustainable and purposeful procurement will go into reverse. Who cares about de-forestation or modern slavery when millions of jobs in the developed world are at stake?