Strategy

Fitting sustainability effectively alongside the day-to-day pressures of running a business 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 the passage of the agriculture and environment bills through parliament having resumed, 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 will see 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 likely outcomes. According to UK Government figures, 30% of the food consumed in the UK comes from the EU, and even the 50% 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, unavailability of labour has already become an issue and even after formal withdrawal , there remains little clarity over the outcome on this issue or elsewhere.

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. The UK’s hosting of COP26 in Glasgow in November 2020 will keep carbon and emissions in the spotlight. With good connections with academics and think-tanks looking into the implications for the sector 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.