I was recently taken to task for saying that I fully support green business "so long as it is not to the detriment of the company". My protagonist is of the view that green practice must be put ahead of profit without exception or excuse. I hope you will agree that this is just not practical?
Healthy, fast growing and profitable companies can afford to work in a responsible and sustainable manner. Companies living from hand-to-mouth are unable to take a long term view or follow best practice on anything.
I am convinced that the planet needs to reduce its carbon footprint and this can only be achieved if Government leads the way and everyone, including business, plays a part. I have no doubt that green business is good business; in fact it is essential because of the adverse economic impact of climate change and I am keen for Access to do its bit.
Any company changing to a greener business model now will have greater opportunity to excel in a future carbon efficient economy. In addition to initiatives to reduce power consumption and waste in the office I am keen that the business cut its use of fossil fuels by reducing journeys, sharing cars and using trains where possible. The benefits of phone conferences and on-line demos are compelling BUT only where they are appropriate and do not put customer satisfaction or business opportunity at risk. Where we can engage with like-minded customers who appreciate a “greener” approach to their relationship then all parties win.
As a business we take a long term view of everything we do and I am personally very happy to take an up-front capital hit by investing in sustainable practices which offer a pay back over a large number of years. For example with property I would invest in renewable energy and sustainable building methods. What I am not prepared to do is compromise our ability to compete or compromise on providing the ultimate in customer service - because this is what funds our opportunity to take a long term view on everything else.
In a black and white world of extremes where people are either extremely green or not green at all I hope you will join me in taking the middle ground whereby we all do proactively and willingly all that we can whilst protecting our profit opportunity.
Alistair O'Reilly
Group Managing Director
Access Technology Group
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