Dubbed ‘the Sustainable Generation’ because they have grown up with issues like environmental protection and social responsibility as a constant feature in their lives, this new generation describes itself as knowledgeable about sustainability and confident in what they will do in the future to address it.

These young business leaders are also sending a clear message to HR directors about the importance of sustainability credentials to their own career plans. In Sky’s survey, 34% of respondents see creating social and environmental value as an overall career goal, just 1 percentage point behind earning personal financial rewards.

However, despite their drive towards embedding sustainability into business, they have mixed views about how the current crop of corporate leaders are faring. Just three per cent believe UK businesses are succeeding in their efforts to integrate sustainability.

Their views are hardly surprising in this respect. There seems to be an awful lot of announcements by organisations about their intentions, but far less comparable evidence of of concrete achievements. When the best example of a UK business walking the walk, talking the talk remains M&S with Plan B, that’s really not good enough, is it?
May be it’s just the general appetite for climate change and sustainability-led issues. Certainly, as the national newspaper and broadcast media coverage of Durban, has shown climate change is no longer front-page news. It’s not even page seven. Al Gore has made it his mission to make Americans treat climate change as a priority. What does that mean in real terms? To make it a top ten issue. Right now, it’s nowhere near. For example, more than half of Tea Partiers do not believe in man-made climate change. So much for sustainable generation on that side of the great pond!

UK future leaders, however, are a more certain and ready to lead bunch if Sky’s survey is to be believed. 70% agree that sustainability can create new opportunities for business. And the despite the woes of the economy, 68% believe that it should not be an excuse for businesses to ignore sustainability.

The Sky survey raises questions about the quality and quantity of sustainability training provided by business schools and businesses. Just over a third of the 750 graduate trainees, middle-managers and MBA students polled do not believe that their employers are providing adequate levels of training or education on sustainability. For many current MBA students dedicated tuition on sustainability does not feature significantly in their business courses.

Yet despite all of this they are optimistic because they feel that the business case for sustainability cannot be ignored, and with much of the groundwork (in the area) being tackled by today’s leaders, they are confident that they will be able to go much further themselves. In this latter respect, the sustainable generation has a ‘five-point plan’ to go further than their predecessors in integrating sustainability when at the helm of the UK’s businesses. This plan includes collaborating across industry to share best practice; taking more responsibility for supply chain sustainability credentials; integrating sustainability into values and decisions; using new technology to improve business performance on sustainability; and improving employee engagement.

DECC has published research showing that between 1 April – 16 November 2011 companies announced plans for almost £2.5 billion worth of investment in renewable energy projects in the UK. If all of these planned projects go ahead, they would create 12,000 jobs across the country over the next few years.

A regional map (see below) provides a breakdown of where the projects and jobs are taking place, or slated to take place. A handful of projects make up around a quarter of these new schemes. These include:

• Two 299MW biomass plants by Drax Power in Yorkshire, which will create up to 1500 jobs.
• 49MW biomass plants by Air Products in the north east, up to 750 jobs.
• A £600m investment into 299MW biomass plant by Anglesey Aluminium Metals Renewables in Wales, creating up to 700 jobs.
• Vestas is planning a wind turbine factory in Sheerness in the south east, designed to create up to 2000 jobs.
• Energi Coast – an alliance of 19 north east businesses – is aiming to create 2000 new jobs.

Against this background of green investment and green jobs, the Energy Secretary Chris Huhne and Chancellor George Osborne have seemingly been at odds over the contribution of the renewables sector to Britain’s economy for much of 2011.

Osborne has blamed green taxes for high energy bills. At the Conservative conference in the autumn, he said: “We’re not going to save the planet by putting our country out of business.”

Mr Huhne struck a different note yesterday. He said: “Renewable energy is not just helping us increase our energy security and reduce emissions. It is supporting jobs and growth across the country.” However at the same time he also sounded defensive, almost apologetic, perhaps not wishing to inflame Mr Osborne, when he added: “Our renewable target is less demanding than other EU member states”. Less demanding in the sense that Britain has set itself a target of sourcing 15 per cent of all energy from renewable sources by 2020. The EU-wide target is 20 per cent.

Britain will need to play catch up fast to meet the 15 per cent target. Although the government yesterday pointed towards an increase on the previous year in energy sourced from renewables, it still only accounted for 3.3 per cent in 2010. Various industry experts believe that a minimum of 4 per cent will need to be achieved for the current financial year (2011/2012). Given the economic problems that have beset the country and the fudging of legislation around the RHI and Feed-in Tariffs that target may be optimistic – and it will need to climb to around 7.5 per cent by 2015/2016.

DECC’s statement of 29 December 2011 can be found in full by clicking here.

Energy efficiency also saw the highest number of deals in 2011, with a total investment of $223 million. While solar was the most attractive in 2010, energy efficiency technologies have been steadily attracting more investment and deals in 2011. There has been a clear shift in cleantech investment strategy in 2011. Many venture capitalists for example are moving away from high-risk, capital-intensive investments in solar and are favouring technologies that are likely to generate more predictable returns such as energy efficiency projects.

So let’s have a look at a few of these energy efficiency companies that are leading the way:

Novacem produces carbon negative cement which absorbs and stores more CO₂ than it emits. The cement is based on a non-carbonate raw material and uses a low temperature production process. Novacem cement reduces CO₂ emissions by up to 850kg compared to ordinary cement.

Project Frog designs and manufacturers smart, modular buildings that are energy efficient, sustainable, fast-to-build and cost effective. These “kit-of-parts” buildings typically cut energy costs by 25% compared to conventional buildings. They use materials that provide high levels of insulation, make maximum use of natural light and conduct real time energy monitoring.

Climate Well has developed an indoor climate solution that stores thermal energy using salt and converts hot water for cooling and heating without the need for electricity. This technology can be used to heat and cool residential, commercial and industrial buildings, saving energy and reducing electricity bills. Through using Climate Well, an average family can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 15 tonnes per year.

Juan Costa Climent, Ernst & Young’s Global Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader said, “The enormous projected funding gap revealed by this report suggests continuing economic uncertainty is pushing a low carbon economy further out of reach.”

The report was released just prior to the COP17 summit in Durban. The summit, which ended on 11 December, saw mixed reactions with ministers reaching an agreement to negotiate a legally binding treaty by 2015.

As well as the political and regulatory risks that private sector investors have to consider, there are also financial risks associated with renewable energy projects. According to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) the renewable energy sector must improve risk management to secure investment and reduce the funding gap.

Agostino Galvagni, CEO of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions said, “Additional investments into renewable energy are needed to achieve the transition to a low-carbon economy, and risk management measures such as insurance will be key to encouraging further private sector investment.”

While this paints a rather bleak picture for the cleantech industry, 2011 actually saw an increase in total investment in renewable energy, with $6 billion being invested in offshore wind. In 2010, investment was less than $3 billion after a 70% decrease on 2009 figures.  To reach a low carbon setting in the UK it is estimated that at least $200 billion of investment is needed this decade. To come anywhere close to this, it is essential that uncertainties related to national regulatory policy and support frameworks are resolved and risk management is improved.

Whether COP 17 goes somewhere to help this remains somewhere to be seen. Abyd Karmali, Head of Carbon Markets at Bank of America in London was optimistic, describing the Durban deal “is like a Viagra shot for the flailing carbon markets” and may boost prices today.

But now two, nearly three years on, the idea of creating a climate that encourages people and business to take an active role in their communities feels like one of the smarter moves to create jobs and drive growth.

The Fire Station is a pioneering partnership between the private, public and third sectors that mines this potentially rich vein by helping disadvantaged individuals develop skills and find work.

Set up by PwC, which restored an old fire station building as part of its office development in More London in Southwark (historically one of the capital’s most deprived boroughs), The Fire Station also involves the likes of Dragons Den success story chef Simon Boyle, the School for Social Enterprise, Blossoms Healthcare, Social Enterprise UK and De Vere Venues.

Set over three floors, the building aims to fulfil a number of purposes, from providing workshops to apprenticeships in the hospitality and catering industry through Boyle’s Beyond Food Foundation, through to business consultancy and training from PwC volunteers, as well as a level of healthcare support to those working at the Brigade, the aptly named kitchen team run by chef Simon.

Although The Fire Station opened its doors in September, Global Entrepreneurship Week (17 November) provided the platform to showcase the partners’ ambitions.

Through a scheme called Freshlife for example, Simon Boyle aims to engage around 500 homeless and disadvantaged people in short-span food workshops. Of this number, it is hoped that nearly a third will participate in work experience. Establishing seven full time apprenticeships is the modest but manageable yearly target.

Blossoms Healthcare has embraced the idea of the social enterprise culture of The Fire Station by providing support to the businesses that come through it. And The School for Social Entrepreneurs and the separate body of Social Enterprise UK are aiming to carve out opportunities within the business environment where social enterprises can thrive.

PwC in the Community has a hefty involvement in the venture. It has committed the firm to establishing The Fire Station as a centre of excellence that will power a new breed of social entrepreneurs. PwC’s people are expected to play a significant role in delivering the services through the firm’s volunteering programme.

“We’re never short of volunteers for mentoring and supporting in social enterprise. The principles of business remain the same but the challenges, and the scale are different. It’s a real eye opener for many of our people who could have spent 10-15 years in a big corporate environment,” says Gaenor Bagley, PwC head of people.

“I firmly believe people learn more on the job than you do in a classroom. Volunteering your ability to explain a concept, build teams and relationships, get results – all the things we value in our people. It accelerates the way you learn, gives you a much broader perspective, and is personally very rewarding.”

John Laughlin, HR senior manager at PwC is mentoring a graduate from The School for Social Entrepreneurs. He became involved in mentoring having completed a coaching diploma a few years ago. “I liked the idea of tapping into a whole new sector that I didn’t know a lot about and working with someone who does something very different to what I do,” he says. “I want to get a broader perspective and a new way of looking at things and of course I hope that I can help my mentee develop his organisation for his benefit and for those that he’s working to help.”

On the ‘client’ side, Alistair Wilson, Chief Executive of School for Social Entrepreneurs, is equally enthusiastic: “I’m really excited to see what will come out of The Fire Station – I think it will be an incubator space for some really big and interesting social enterprise ideas.”

The initiative was developed by Sterling Waterford Securities  in response to the low take-up of carbon offsetting among businesses and high levels of confusion about the role of offsetting for consumers.  The Carbon Lottery founders believe that in order to change behavior one needs to incentivise the consumer to do so. Social media, particularly Facebook, plays a major role in spreading the message and driving engagement.

The Carbon Lottery is encouraging companies and their employees to get involved. It is primarily focusing on large consumer brands which need to offset the footprint of their various product lines. I guess they are thinking of the likes of Unilever and P&G, brand owners of global scale that have also made significant commitments and strides towards sustainability.

The Carbon Lottery claims that these types of brands will benefit in a number of ways. First, by providing a fun online consumer-led offsetting solution. Then, by creating a new customer marketing tool. Third, by giving brands access to a potential new revenue stream (by selling tickets to staff and their clients), and finally, by providing the brand with added presence in the social media space by encouraging players to share their lottery experience with their Friends. In other words, they’re hoping you will brag about your carbon offsetting to your mates and potentially form syndicates to increase your carbon lottery spend and thereby offset more carbon.

The Carbon Lottery is some way down the line in attracting corporate clients. It’s using the hook of the big jackpot prize to encourage staff or clients to buy tickets. It also offers a revenue share to B2B partners, giving them a chance to become a single large lottery ticket purchaser or to ‘white label’ the concept to clients. The benefits reward responsible behaviour; in the company’s words by offering players ‘the dream’ – a large jackpot prize, currently up to €4m. Players can track the offsetting projects that their tickets are supporting at all times via The Carbon Lottery website and, of course, they can Facebook it.

Ultimately, The Carbon Lottery is confident that the initiative will take off because it makes carbon offsetting more social, and in particular, because it converts something that could be described as dull and worthy, into a game.

There’s no doubt that the company has integrity. The carbon offset projects are thoroughly verified and screened. At least three of the projects that ticket sales currently support were developed in collaboration with Eco Securities. The Carbon Lottery is licensed and regulated in Malta and falls within UK jurisdiction. The large prize is funded by insurance contracts (brokered through Lloyds of London) and the website is useful and informative. The Carbon Calculator is a useful tool for HRDs. It shows just how many tickets an employee or the company as a whole needs to purchase to offset their footprint.

Carbon offsetting is not to everyone’s taste. Although as a strategy it cuts carbon dioxide emissions and raises awareness of climate change, there is a danger that offsetting can undermine practical efforts that individuals and companies take to reduce their footprint. However, helping to reduce carbon by buying a lottery ticket is a simple and easy to grasp concept, and creating an internal market among staff or using it as a reward / incentive scheme seems like a no-brainer.

The Carbon Lottery is relatively new and lacks a profile that is commensurate with its ambitions. It has placed a lot of value on social media to engage players, but its own presence in the space is low. What it must be hoping for are a couple of things to accelerate its awareness: a large brand to take plunge and to create the first Euro millionaire from offsetting carbon. Now, that really would put The Carbon Lottery on the map.

Most organisations have a clear idea about what they want to achieve when they start their journey and putting an employee engagement programme in place is typically a cornerstone of a responsible business strategy. None of us would debate the logic of this: value-driven individuals are like gold. Get them correctly motivated and briefed and they will go above and beyond, not only deliver the changes that matter to your organisation, but also provide ideas to drive the programmes forward.

However, organisations are not always adequately set up to capture ideas in easy, cost-effective and practical ways, which means they are potentially losing out on invaluable insight. Indeed, according to a survey by Brighter Planet, a company dedicated to the mitigation of climate change through personal action, the more an employer has a system in place to share ideas and best practice, the more likely that initiative is to succeed, almost 3 to 1.

One approach is to use technology as an enabler or driver of ideas’ sharing and behaviour change. CloudApps has developed an interesting solution for HRDs in organisations which are targeting CO2 reductions. Called SuMo (it stands for Sustainability Momentum), it is a desktop dashboard that provides each employee with all the tools to record, track and share their personal contributions to the company’s carbon footprint, and the means to propose new ideas for sustainability initiatives.

HRDs can set SuMo to compare individuals’ CO2 information to colleagues in their workgroup, in other departments and regions, or any other classification they wish in order to create some healthy competition within the organisation. The SuMo ideas tab is a key feature. Once an idea is posted, employees can vote on it and it will be ranked on a leaderboard. This allows HRDs and others to understand staff motivations, chart ideas and potentially fast-track these into development.

Already SuMo has attracted the interest of some large companies. It is being actively trialled by a major US retailer, a global construction company, one of the leading global waste management operators and a top two UK retailer. Ashridge Business School has introduced SuMo into the classroom as a teaching tool.

“Employee engagement is all too often ‘management by poster slogan’,” says Peter Grant, CEO of CloudApps. “What SuMo does is link every worker’s daily efforts to the strategic sustainability of the business in a very measurable way,” “With SuMo, each employee has personalised and verifiable targets to achieve and its effect is to increase employee engagement naturally over time as work habits change. HRDs and employees alike can now share increased visibility directly from the frontline of the business by using SuMo’s real-time feedback.

He adds, “We now have the ability to collaboratively change actual working habits, not just ‘hearts and minds’ and deliver on the corporate sustainability which many have promised, but few to date have achieved.”

There is scope too for the SuMo dashboard to play a role in rewarding green bonuses to high performing staff, structure that is gaining ground as companies turn their back on the traditional approach of linking bonuses to profits. For example, TNT has rolled out a sustainability-linked scheme, so too has DSM in The Netherlands. While all 600 executives at AzkoNobel, another Dutch company, will only receive bonuses based on how much they have contributed towards reducing injuries among staff and cutting carbon, energy, water and waste. Indeed, deployed in setting green bonuses, SuMo gives HRDs some extra muscle that its acronym implies.

So here is a really useful website to help visualise your CO2 reductions. It was created by David McCandless on behalf of GE. Just tap in your data and the website will provide a range of visual metaphors. It’s really neat and well worth sharing.