The BCC and the Business Community will commit to:
Placing Climate Change at the heart of business decision making
Adopting practices to reduce carbon emissions
Spreading the messages of energy efficiency to promote best practice
Taking a lead role in enacting practical behavioural change
Work in partnership with government and other stakeholders
Through training and continued communication encourage all employees to be aware of the company's social and environmental responsibility and give them a clear understanding of why we are committing to this and what we hope to achieve
However the business community cannot solve the effects of global warming on its own. The challenge to mitigate the effects of climate change must be a collaborative partnership between the business community and Government.
To this end we call on the Government to:
Provide a clear and certain regulatory environment that allows business to plan, invest and operate successfully
Ensure that green regulation and taxation is genuinely focused on achieving defined environmental goals
Provide a clear and open assessment of the implications of green regulation on business, and SMEs in particular
Provide support and assistance to the SME community so that it can asses and reduce its environmental impact
Support an incentive led approach to behavioural change, rather than a punitive one
Employ innovative and market based strategies to meet emissions targets
Engage in active and regular dialogue with the business community so that the Government’s target of a 60% reduction in emissions is delivered, and delivered in the manner that is least costly to British business
Support and encourage business opportunities in green technologies and eco-markets, establishing UK as a centre of excellence for green business
Current Accredited Chambers signed up to the BCC Climate Change Charter
