In 2019 the UK Government set the goal of achieving Net Zero – where the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced are equal to or less than the amount removed from the atmosphere – by 2050. This is a commitment that will impact on all businesses, including the more than 5.9 million of firms in… Read more
Rising costs are causing serious and widespread problems for rural businesses in parts of England which is curtailing their ability to invest and grow, according to a major new survey from the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE). Two-thirds of rural firms in the North East, South West and West Midlands – increasing to… Read more
Firms’ increasing use of digital technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic has been widely highlighted. At the same time, evidence of the growing climate crisis also points to the need for firms to move towards more sustainable, low carbon ways of operating. The implications of these digital and net zero transitions for firms’ productivity upgrading are… Read more
On the eve of COP26, attention is firmly focused on the climate challenge and the need for action by governments, big business, and households. Yet there will be no transition to net zero without small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Why would small business leaders adopt net zero practices? Many SMEs are still reluctant to… Read more
When it comes to climate change, most attention is placed on the need for action by governments, big business, and individual householders. There are nearly 6 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, employing 16.8 million people, yet they attract far less scrutiny for their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, and tend to… Read more
