Strategy

Fitting sustainability effectively alongside the day-to-day pressures of running a business or other entity can often be a challenge, especially for smaller organisations. Green Knight can help you find the right balance so that neither suffers, by helping with the development of environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies and undertaking the actions necessary to deliver them. With wide-ranging policy changes reflecting increased stakeholder expectations there will be significant changes in a number of areas. Resource management and producer responsibility are key amongst there and the scope for carbon sequestration in agricultural soils opens the possibility of engagement from other sectors.

Britain’s agricultural and food businesses particularly are seeing major impacts as a consequence of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union with changes around the availability of workers, regulation and tariffs all emergent outcomes. According to UK Government figures, at farm-gate prices 26% of the food consumed in the UK in 2019 came from the EU, and even the 55% produced in the UK can be dependent on links with the EU. With a significant presence of people from elsewhere within Europe working on farms and in factories, uncertainty remains over future impacts on the UK’s food supply now that the country has withdrawn from the EU’s single market.

The importance of agricultural and food products from the EU will continue whatever the UK’s political relationship with European nations, and the bloc’s environmental and social standards will be important factors in future agri-food flows. These challenges are not limited to the food sector and our client list includes third-sector bodies, component manufacturers, chemical and apparel businesses, and the construction sector.

The UK’s hosting of COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021 will keep carbon and emissions in the spotlight. With good connections with academics and think-tanks looking into the implications of regulatory change whether driven by these initiatives, ‘Brexit’ or other considerations, Green Knight is well-placed to help keep you up-to-date with developments and to navigate their implications.