Our Local Enterprise Office serves the city and county very well in bringing on new businesses and supporting existing ones. I would like to see their remit expanded, along with the necessary resourcing, to incorporate climate action into every single support plan for businesses. The LEO specifically supports our smaller local enterprises, but every one of these has a climate impact, and every one of these has the potential, with the right help, to reduce that impact.
Waterford City and County Council has already been innovative in the use of the business rates as a financial tool to influence local enterprises. Incentivising climate education and climate action through rates reductions has a financial cost, but at a time when many businesses are struggling, this type of action benefits businesses on the double.
The message needs to go out to local businesses, large and small, that climate action is not a cost, but an opportunity. As the economy moves towards a more circular model, the businesses which are adapting to this will be more resilient and will be better positioned to thrive.
I noted from the graph of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that some sectors contribute significantly more than others. While it is tempting to prioritise action in these sectors, we must not lose sight of the extent of the climate challenge which we are facing. To reach the ambitious, and necessary, reduction targets, every business in every sector must evolve and adapt.
I would like to see the need for climate action, and the benefits of it, being communicated to businesses, and their customers in innovative ways. Case studies, essentially stories of how a business has behaved, can connect with people on a personal level. Sharing stories of how local enterprises, big and small, are taking action can add to everyone’s understanding of the solutions, and generate pride in the fact that our local businesses are doing what they can for all of our futures. I would go beyond award ceremonies and instead look for ways to celebrate these successes in the public eye. Through social media, temporary signage on council vehicles, projections onto the Ardree or whatever let’s share these stories and build the narrative that Waterford is leading on climate action in businesses.