Accountants should "take the lead" with energy sustainability

News Article - 21 February 2008
Category: Environment

It is up to accountants to take control in the promotion of corporate sustainability, it has been claimed.

Richard Spencer, corporate responsibility manager at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), has stated that UK businesses need leadership to bring about real change in energy planning and sustainability, making it a crucial aspect of any corporate strategy.

He said: "It is now time for accountants to take the lead not just in the reporting of sustainability initiatives but also on the more fundamental task of embedding it into corporate cultures."

Mr Spencer's comments follow an ICAEW conference in which James Murdoch, chairman of BSkyB and chief executive and chairman of News Corporation, Europe and Asia, addressed the issue.

UK businesses need "long-term certainty" with energy planning, Mr Murdoch claimed, adding that tax and investment incentives provided by the government would achieve this.

According to a report by the Federation of Small Businesses, 92 per cent of small firms are socially and environmentally responsible.

Article keywords:

---

More industry news

• Think tank warns UK may have already slipped back into recession
• Growing demand for HR staff in technology and international sectors
• Boosting business growth a ‘priority’ to avoid Eurozone slowdown
• HMRC launches alternative disputes pilot scheme this week
• December employment statistics disregard gloomy recruitment predictions
• Eurozone manufacturing PMI shows modest improvement
• UK scores highly for economic governance by ratings agency
• Government launches two-year project focusing on manufacturing sector
• Burden of regulation on UK businesses ‘too high’

Back to news home page »