As human activity puts the Earth under increasing stress, three major environmental challenges pose fundamental questions for society, and for business - climate change, resource depletion, and water shortages. We recognise that other issues, including biodiversity and species loss, pollution and toxins are important - but our focus is on challenges where we believe we have the greatest ability to act and influence.
Climate Change
The Earth's climate is changing, with an overwhelming scientific consensus that global warming is a grave threat to the planet, and that human activity is the primary cause.
Only by acting together can businesses, consumers, governments, NGOs and faith groups address the threat. The influence and creativity of business has a key role to play in finding solutions.
The effects of global warming pose a direct threat to our business. Unpredictable weather events, increased drought, flooding, storms and forced migration pose a threat to our facilities, our employees, our supply chain in the UK and overseas, and our consumers. But there is also an opportunity to create new climate-change-resilient supply chains and products, to drive greater efficiency in our use of natural resources, and to find innovative ways to lower our carbon footprint.
In 2007 the Carbon Trust worked with us to prepare a detailed risk analysis for key supply chains in our business. This research found a range of physical, reputational, market and regulatory risks and opportunities for PIUK.
Figure 1: Key PIUK climate change risks (Source: Carbon Trust and PIUK)
Figure 2: Environmental risks, opportunities and impacts (Source: Carbon Trust and PIUK)
Resource depletion
The Earth today supports over 6 billion people, and its population is expected to rise to 9 billion by 2050. But if our society maintains its current lifestyles and business models the planet will not be able to support us. Research suggests that humans use energy from fossil fuels at 10,000 times the rate the Earth is able to produce it. There are finite limits to key natural resources such as coal, oil and gas. In addition forests and agricultural land are increasingly under threat. If everyone in the world lived as most Europeans do, we would need three planets to support us, and the average North American lifestyle requires the equivalent of five planets. These effects are already being seen as population growth and increased competition for land, and changing food consumption in Asia, impacts on demand for commodities and raw materials.
Natural resources are vital for our business as well as the planet. Our products completely depend on agriculture, which depends in turn on a certain climate (which forests significantly regulate), water provision, and fertile land to grow crops successfully. In addition almost every single stage of our supply chain is currently dependent on fossil fuel.
Water
Fresh water is vital to sustain life, our business operations and supply chain, and is critical to the agricultural raw materials that our products are made from - such as potatoes, oranges, apples, oats and corn. Economic growth, increasing population, and the effects of climate change are placing a growing strain on water resources now and will in the future. Competition for scarce water resources is risking community conflict and disruptions to supply, as it has done throughout history.
