We often hear about the importance of ‘sustainable development’ (SD), but ask most people what it really means and they will struggle to tell you. At best, interpretations will vary widely.
What most EEF members want to know about SD is: ‘What is it?’, ‘Why should I care?’ and ‘What can I do?’ This publication answers these questions.
This new EEF Guide seeks to answer many of the questions that members frequently ask, specifically:
- What is sustainable development?
- Why should business care about sustainable development?
- What practical and realistic steps can business take?
- Where can businesses find out more?
At EEF we recognise that sustainable development has become, and will continue to be, an increasingly important issue for our members.
This is partly a result of external factors such as legislation or market pressure. But it is also a reflection of the fact that there are real money-making and money-saving opportunities for those who seize the sustainable development initiative.
Rolls-Royce, for example, has achieved significant energy and CO2 emission reductions resulting in a saving of £26 million per annum. More importantly, it is not just big multinationals that can benefit from these schemes; this guide outlines a number of examples of how and where SMEs have benefited from following a sustainability agenda.
This publication is therefore intended to provide a short practical guide to the steps that businesses can take both to improve their bottom line and, in doing so, to contribute to sustainability. It is our view that manufacturing must be at the heart of achieving sustainability.