The climate emergency is here. In their most recent and exhaustive report, the IPCC found conclusive evidence of global warming caused by human activity. The report also warned that further warming is inevitable. Whether such warming is within manageable levels or catastrophic for human life will depend on how greatly carbon emissions can be reduced in the coming years.
Already in 2021 we have seen the damage and loss of life caused by extreme weather events in Canada, Germany, Greece, India, Syria, Siberia – the list goes on. Even if you have avoided such events yourself, who hasn’t had a conversation about how strange the weather has been?
At Magenta Security, we have been committed to green business since our founding in 1995. What has changed is the urgency of the matter. While we all have a part to play in tackling the crisis, Managing Director Abbey Petkar urges businesses to recognise the responsibility they have in reducing emissions and the opportunities they have to make an impact.
“My point has always been that it’s better to do something than do nothing and sit on your hands,” said Abbey. “Everybody can do something, no matter how great or small. Whether they change their buying habits, whether they change their travelling habits, whether they are a bit more careful about how they do things.”
In discussions with his peers in the security industry and beyond, Abbey found that companies often underestimate the impact they can have by simply purchasing low emissions goods and equipment and the incentives that are provided to do so.
“It’s about educating companies about their buying power,” said Abbey. “People look at electric cars and say, ‘oh, they’re so much more expensive.’ But they don’t look at the tax breaks that they get, they don’t look at the amount of money they would save in fuel, they don’t look at the buying power that they have to negotiate with the companies selling these cars to get discounts.”
Regardless of whether a company takes action now, they will be expected to do so soon. Emissions reductions are no longer a fringe political issue and we can expect regulatory pressure to increase after the COP26 conference later this year.
“It’s better to stay ahead of the curve because then you’re in control, rather than playing catch up with legislative change which doesn’t give you the opportunity and the time to find the best solutions,” said Abbey. “While you’re ahead of the game, you can decide what you want to do, you can decide how you’re going to do it.”
At Magenta Security, we have managed to scale up our efficiency and reduce our emissions while remaining profitable and maintaining growth.
Over half of adults in the UK are frightened by climate change and its impacts. This fear and the resulting desire to take action are being felt in the business world as well, with companies increasingly putting pressure upon their supply chains to reduce the total emissions of their business activity.
“We are now talking to people who are looking to reduce their carbon footprint with their supply chain,” said Abbey. “That message is now coming out quite strongly, a lot of companies are now asking questions about their suppliers’ carbon emissions and how they’re trying to reduce them.”
For those still on the fence about reducing their carbon emissions: time is of the essence. With each passing year, more of the public want to buy from green companies and more green companies want to purchase from green suppliers. Government contracts are currently being tendered with a commitment to a carbon neutral supply chain by 2030.
Even if you personally do not care about climate change, you will eventually lose business if you fail to address your carbon footprint.
“Businesses are run by human beings, so what we need is a mindset change,” said Abbey. “We’ve got to convince people who are running these businesses and when that happens it will filter through to the staff.”
“Once people’s mindsets are changed that we need to do something, cost is less relevant, because you’re now looking at the impact that you are going to make on the planet, on our quality of life and on the survival of the human race.”
If you want to reduce the emissions of your business activity, there are a variety of organisations who specialise in assessing emissions and providing guidance on how to reduce them. We’ve written a short guide to introduce you to some of the options available to UK businesses.
Magenta Security provide award winning security services throughout the UK. We are in the top 5% of ACS approved contractors and were the first security company in Europe to be awarded ISO 14001 for our environmental management systems.
