Op-ed by Natalie Dunbar, principal consultant at Consultus Sustainability.
For many years, the UK has mainly been asked to view sustainability through the lens of moral obligation – setting ambitious net zero targets, publishing pledges and working to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
For businesses, many were initially driven by government net zero commitments and investor pressure trickling down through corporate supply chains. However, sustainability’s positioning as something ‘good to do’ has been drastically challenged by our geopolitical, economic and future reality.
The UK has experienced a series of compounding global shocks – from the war in Ukraine to persistent energy volatility and historic inflation – that have drastically reordered business priorities. Faced with soaring operational overheads and tight margins, corporate sentiment has shifted quite dramatically.
Data from the British Standard’s Institute’s Net Zero Barometer published earlier this year, highlights this pivot. The proportion of UK firms committed to net zero dropped from 83% to 64% in a single year, with 86% citing the cost of action as their primary barrier.
But as we have seen over the past year alone, when survival takes centre stage, sustainability initiatives become an all too easily demoted ‘nice to have’ rather than being prioritised for its true future-proofing power.
Lost in translation
One of the fundamental issues is that green language no longer cuts through the corporate barrier. Terms like ‘climate emergency’ can sound like scaremongering to a CFO managing daily cash flow, while broader buzzwords like ‘net zero’ have become watered down to the point of noise.
As sustainability experts and consultants, if we want business owners to engage, we need to reframe, reposition and potentially even rebrand the information we are putting out. It is no secret that the discussion needs to move away from moral arguments to speak the language of commercial reality; financial protection, risk management and operational resilience.
The impacts of climate disruption and global instability are no longer distant theoretical scenarios. This year we have seen the tangible impacts showing up on balance sheet events.
In the food and beverage sector alone, heatwaves and supply disruptions cost the UK economy an estimated £4.4 billion in lost productivity while cutting agricultural yields by up to 50%. In hospitality, energy waste accounts for 10% to 20% of operating costs.
Whether it is struggling transport infrastructure delaying shipments, unhedged fuel costs eroding margins or rising compliance penalties, climate change is actively threatening profit lines.
Drowning out the ‘front of meter’ noise
When navigating energy crises and geopolitical turmoil, business leaders can feel helpless against external market forces – or what we consider ‘front of the meter’ factors. You cannot directly control global oil price spikes or political rhetoric.
However, what happens ‘behind the meter’ within your own operations, facilities and supply chains is entirely within your control. This is where true resilience begins.
Taking control of your energy strategy and efficiency measures is not about virtue signalling, but energy security. Building management adjustments, LED retrofits and waste audits cost relatively little yet deliver immediate financial return, serving as a powerful defence against inflation.
Mitigation and adaptation
Building a resilient, non-reliant business requires balancing two distinct pillars – mitigation (reducing carbon impact) and adaptation (preparing for physical disruption). You cannot have one without the other.
We also have to be pragmatic about the transition. We understand that there is no switch to turn off fossil fuels tomorrow – the UK’s energy infrastructure is not yet equipped for an overnight shift.
But taking structured steps today – reducing grid reliance, optimising heavy heating and cooling assets and using bespoke strategy packs to map vulnerabilities – protects a company against whatever geopolitical turbulence comes next.
From compliance to strategic advantage
The regulatory landscape is evolving and while SECR remains the framework for reporting energy use and carbon emissions, the proposed UK Sustainability Reporting Standards are expected to extend reporting to climate-related risks and opportunities. ESOS requires qualifying organisations to assess energy use and identify efficiency opportunities, while TCFD and PPN 006 bring climate governance, risk and carbon reduction planning into wider corporate and procurement decisions.
These requirements should not be treated as isolated tick-box exercises. Together, the data, risk assessments and action plans produced through SECR, ESOS, TCFD and PPN 006 can shape business strategy by identifying reduction opportunities, anticipating climate disruption, prioritising investment and strengthening long-term resilience.
The advantage lies not in the frameworks themselves, but in how effectively their insights are used.
Tailoring the conversation
To drive change from the top down, messaging must be tailored to specific roles within the executive suite:
- For the CFO: The conversation centres on capital preservation, energy volatility hedging and protecting against non-compliance fines
- For the COO: The focus is on supply chain continuity, logistics security and workplace productivity
- For the Board: It is about long-term business valuation, investor demand and futureproofing the company
Reframing sustainability as business resilience changes the fundamental question in the boardroom. It moves the debate from “What is this going to cost us?” to “How do we ensure our business survives and profits over the next decade?”
By prioritising energy security, operational preparedness and pragmatic risk management, businesses can stop reacting to crises and start building an enterprise designed to endure.
Learn more about Consultus Sustainability at www.consultus-sustainability.co.uk
