Industry collaboration is key to achieving net zero goals
Joanna Gilroy, Balfour Beatty’s Group Sustainability Director offers valuable insights into the current state of ESG regulations and the challenges on the path towards achieving net zero. “This is not a race. We have to stop competing on something that is integral to the success of our industry as a whole.”
Industry collaboration is key to progress. That’s what Joanna Gilroy, Group Sustainability Director at Balfour Beatty believes. And she highlights how collaboration should be central to any strategic activity as it’s a skillset the industry is well placed to capitalise on. “The construction industry is built on collaboration. If you think of all successful major projects, they’re a collaboration between multiple contractors. When we're able to collaborate and integrate, as an industry, we build incredible things.”
Gilroy identifies the need to avoid tunnel vision blindness by making sure the industry works together. “The reality of achieving net zero is at least as complicated as some of the major projects that we build. So, we have to apply that same collaborative thinking.”
The significance of meeting net zero is ‘very real and is connected to the success and the longevity of our industry’ according to Gilroy. And in this context, there are some key areas to focus on that are critical for progress, including significant behaviour change and a ‘fundamental understanding of what it’s going to take’.
Gilroy underlines the importance of putting the imperative of sustainability into the language of business because collaboration also means taking others with you on the journey to net zero. ‘Thinking carefully about who we’re trying to influence and being a bit more thoughtful about the wider messages. After all, nobody likes to be preached at, whatever your agenda is. The danger is always that sustainability activity gets treated either as a marketing exercise or becomes evangelical.' She also feels strongly that there needs to be a cultural shift towards innovation and experimentation, stressing the importance of being willing to try, fail, and learn in order to develop and succeed. ‘Essentially you’re saying to an engineering community, I need you to leap and I need you to trust that before you hit the ground, your wings are going to be there - it’s a big ask.’
When the pandemic hit, businesses had to make big changes almost overnight. Gilroy points out that ‘despite knowing that the way that we make money and profit today in a very linear and fundamentally wasteful fashion is having serious consequences for humanity, we cling to doing business as usual. But we are running out of time unless we start doing things differently.’ Everyone needs to play their part in this journey of adapting to new behaviours and ways of working. ‘The industry needs to ensure every employee across the workforce understands what is required in their specific role’, says Gilroy. “We need to make it as simple as we can and invest ideally in digital solutions which will take away a lot of the manual decision making and data processing.’
A more collaborative approach, with clear and supportive policies, aligned industry standards, and a culture of innovation, is essential for driving meaningful progress toward net zero.
The critical role of the supply chain
Gilroy also highlights the crucial role of the supply chain in achieving net zero goals. These businesses are integral to any progress. “What they do counts more than anything else, so as an industry we need to be sending really clear messages to the government about what is needed in terms of effective policy perspectives to support our supply chains."
In relation to this, Gilroy notes the increasing pressures on suppliers to meet growing demands for data and compliance and suggests there has been overemphasis on data reporting that has tilted the balance too far away from the big picture. ‘No one's looking at the tapestry and how the tapestry all interlinks; they're just coming up with more and more requirements. And all that's happening is businesses are having to do endless reporting and less of the actual doing.’
It remains true, however, that understanding a company’s data set is central to long term success. 'To have a positive and long-lasting biodiversity impact, you know you've got to have data sets whereby you can aggregate this information up and understand the true sustainable profile of your process and the technology that you've adopted.’
Measurement and understanding of data are a key part of managing progress toward sustainability goals. To do this effectively, Gilroy says that organisations across the industry need to improve their foundation data and digital foundations as an ‘indispensable’ part of the net zero journey.
The importance of skills development around data and technology and how that relates to a changing workforce is also highlighted by Gilroy, noting that ‘human interpretation and data input’ into a new system is central to success.
Overall, Gilroy believes the journey to net zero is ultimately about continuing to provide value - environmental value, economic value and social value. ‘If businesses in our industry focus on providing sustainable value, we’ll continue to be operational and desirable. Younger generations will want to work for us - easing one of the current biggest barriers to growth, and suppliers will want to work with us. We will retain our relevance in a changing world. If the industry doesn’t get on board with this, there will be a slow decline.
“Companies that embrace this, and truly adapt for the future, will win more work, increase their market share and ultimately reap success in a challenging future.”
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