David Picton, chief sustainability officer of the services and construction company Carillion has been appointed a commissioner on the new Industry and Parliament Trust Sustainability Commission. He joins parliamentarians including MPs Joan Walley, Adrian Bailey and Jeremy Lefroy, and Lord Whitty, as well as business people and academics.
The Sustainability Commission is a new series of events exploring how businesses approach sustainability issues and what can be done to promote more sustainable business practices. Organised by the Industry and Parliament Trust and the University of Birmingham Environment & Energy, Economics & Management Cluster, the Commission will meet for six evidence sessions before a report in February 2015 outlines their findings.
The commission suggests that to meet the challenges of the 21st century, governments and businesses need to adapt critical systems, innovate and transform their processes and products to be fit for the future. In a rapidly changing world, companies are increasingly realising the correlation between risk management and sustainability. Leadership is required by industry and governments to go beyond ‘business as usual’ and build on the framework put in place by the United Nations Rio Summits that began in 1992 to promote sustainable development. The IPT Sustainability Commission aims to investigate what the UK Parliament and future governments can do to better understand sustainability and create an environment to promote sustainable business practices.
The Sustainability Commission was launched in the House of Commons, with Professor Stephen Brammer providing an overview of what the Commissioners are looking to achieve and Adam Elman, Global head of delivery for Plan A at Marks & Spencer, speaking about their approach to sustainability envisaged through the Plan A 2020 commitments.
The Industry and Parliament Trust will be documenting each session of the Commission with regular blog updates and podcasts, and comment from prominent members of the Commission. The report will be led by analysis from parliamentarians and industry and suggest a framework for industry to foster a more sustainable approach to business.
A podcast featuring Professor Stephen Brammer and Adam Elman, is available to download on the Industry and Parliament Trust’s Soundcloud page: www.soundcloud.com/indparltrust.
