
Prince Charles on business
Like many speaking at Davos this year, the prince’s emphasis was on the need to establish new global processes to tackle climate change. While Charles has been a passionate environmentalist for years, (he made his first official speech on environmental issues in 1968), in his Davos speech, he explained that it is the responsibility of the business world to flick the switch permanently towards sustainable practices. Charles made the speech to announce his “Sustainable Markets Initiative,” which aims to restructure business practices at the highest levels by uniting industry leaders across the public and private sectors under the banner of doing ‘greener business’ adding,?”we need nothing short of a paradigm shift.” The prince went on to say that old processes within the financial markets and in big business would be overwritten by “a higher purpose mission ? putting people and planet at the heart of global value creation.” While some might see his address as an emulation of the ‘call to action’ urgency that characterises activist?Greta Thunberg‘s climate change speeches, perhaps the prince’s initiative can force change at the more turgid institutional levels of influence. “We simply cannot waste any more time ? the only limit is our willingness to act, and the time to act is now,” said the prince.

Can SMEs better deliver sustainability?
Mackenzie’s response raises the question, could smaller businesses better manage the connection between purpose and implementation when it comes to doing business more sustainably? “The process of going eco-friendly is easier on a small business to a certain extent but the availability of products is much harder as the fabric companies only want to work with bigger brands. We have emailed various about costing to buy their fabrics and just had no response back at all. ? Janet Newman, owner, Phoebe Grace “There is a misconception that green practices are only reserved for the large corporates. As an entrepreneur running three businesses, with a team of less than 10, there are many ways to include green processes and sustainable strategies in the businesses. I use recycled paper, cardstock from sustainably managed forests and soy inks as much as possible. I plant trees for every stationery order that I receive. With an SME, the decision can be made much quicker to change practices. It is also more likely to be easier with an SME to get buy-in and support from employees.” ?? Vaishali Shah, owner, Culturally Minded “Without doubt, there?s a revolution happening at the SME end of the supply chain. 90% of our customers exist because they have been disappointed as consumers and thought the only way to change the world on the environment, ethics, and fair wage was to do it themselves. Our coffee brand customers lead the way on transparency, but it’s permeated throughout our SME customer base – to fashion, pharma and engineering. The reason we?re now here in the UK and have 20 people in Bristol, is that the market for inventory traceability – serial and batch tracking for example to prove the ethics in the supply chain and the sustainable source of raw materials – is booming.” ? Stephen Jones – consultancy team lead, Unleashed SoftwareShare this story