Summit to look at benefits of operating ethically

Posted on March 1st, 2018

Customers are becoming more conscious about how their money is spent, leading to demand for businesses to be able to prove they operate in a sustainable and ethical way.

Where once just a nice ‘add on’, customers now demand proof that their hard-earned pounds are financing only the things they believe in, from energy-efficiency to free-trade and the like.

Companies that fail to meet expectations are seeing customers taking their trade elsewhere, principle often outweighing price as a driver of sales.

This shift in discernment will be the subject of a summit organised by East Midlands Chamber* next Wednesday (7 March).

Free to attend – although due to demand booking is essential – the Sustainability Summit, at the Riverside Centre, Derby, will explore some of the ways in which businesses can engage in this agenda and, consequently, become more attractive to customers and potential employees.

Ian Bates, Sector Forums Manager at the Chamber, said: “With the range of information now available at people’s fingertips, customers and potential employees can find out almost instantly whether a company’s ethos matches their own and, where it is found lacking, quickly move on.

“This is not only impacting sales, it also, potentially, means prospective suitably skilled employees might prefer to work for other another company.”

The Sustainability Summit will provide a range of speakers, covering topics such as forthcoming energy tariffs changes, the direction of travel of the energy markets, ‘responsible’ business and combining profit with people and the planet.

It will also look at understanding the changing demands of public sector procurement in relation to environmental policies and the circular economy.

There will be an opportunity to get information about fully-funded support and grant funding for capital equipment to help reduce corporate carbon footprints through use of, for example, LED Lighting, energy efficient boilers and solar panels.

For further information about the summit, which will take place between 8.30am and 1pm on 7 March, and to book your place, visit http://bit.ly/2AOg2VV.

In conjunction with the summit there will be a report, created from original data from the Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey, on the opportunities in the low carbon goods and environmental services sector in the region.

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