Bosses of RSHP, Allies & Morrison, PRP and SOM among signatories of letter urging prime minister to deliver on climate promises
More than 30 chief executives of firms working in the built environment sector have urged Liz Truss to push harder to achieve the government’s net zero targets.
Bosses from RSHP, Allies & Morrison, PRP, SOM and Arup are among the signatories of a letter urging the new prime minister to “strengthen delivery mechanisms across the whole of government” for carbon cutting objectives.
The intervention comes less than two weeks after Truss announced plans to tackle the crisis of soaring energy bills with measures that included the issuing of more than 100 new licences for oil and gas exploration and a lifting of the ban on fracking.
A total of 116 chief executives from across the economy signed the letter, representing a combined 425,000 employees and a market capitalisation of £1.8 trillion.
The letter says: “As leading UK businesses and financial institutions from across the economy, we are committed to protecting and restoring nature and delivering a net zero economy in support of the UK’s targets.
“For us to play our part, we need a robust plan from government on how to deliver these targets, both in the short and long term.
“This will require delivery mechanisms to be strengthened across the whole of government, including in areas such as planning, building regulations and agriculture.”
The letter adds that a comprehensive package of support to make homes and businesses more energy efficient, and a strategy to decarbonise industry, could improve domestic energy security, shield the UK from global fuel price volatility and achieve net zero promises.
“Acting now to accelerate the energy transition, could both support UK households with the cost of living and deliver huge economic benefits, unlocking opportunities for the UK to be a leader in clean growth,” the letter argues.
Truss’s energy support package announced two weeks ago would see the government borrow an estimated £150bn – more than twice the cost of the covid-19 furlough scheme – to keep energy bills at around £2,500 for the average UK household.
The package will also see the temporary removal of green levies, namely taxes added to energy bills which are used to pay for sustainability initiatives such as renewable energy.
Support for businesses, which was outlined in more detail this morning, will consist of capping the wholesale price of electricity at £211 per MWh and gas at £75 per MWh, less than half the wholesale prices anticipated this winter.
The scheme will run for an initial six months, with a review after three months to help the government identify vulnerable users and determine how they should be supported when the scheme comes to an end in March.
Letter from business leaders to Liz Truss
UK businesses call on you to prioritise net zero and nature restoration to build a resilient UK economy
Dear Prime Minister,
Many congratulations on your appointment in this role.
As leading UK businesses and financial institutions from across the economy we are committed to protecting and restoring nature and delivering a net zero economy in support of the UK’s targets. For us to play our part, we need a robust plan from government on how to deliver these targets, both in the short and long term. This will require delivery mechanisms to be strengthened across the whole of government, including in areas such as planning, building regulations and agriculture.
As skyrocketing energy bills inflict considerable costs on businesses and push vulnerable households into poverty, we would like to see you continue to prioritise policies that will address this crisis, as part of a robust net zero strategy. The policies and market frameworks that will facilitate an accelerated rollout of low-cost clean energy, a comprehensive package of support to increase energy efficiency of homes and businesses, and a strategy to deliver industrial decarbonisation, could improve national energy security, shield the country from the volatile global fossil fuel prices, and enable the UK to deliver its world leading climate promises.
Acting now to accelerate the energy transition, could both support UK households with the cost of living and deliver huge economic benefits, unlocking opportunities for the UK to be a leader in clean growth. Industry experts predict this action could reduce yearly household energy bills in the UK by 7 per cent by 2025, rising to a 50 per cent reduction by 2035. And focussing investment on building and industry energy efficiency could yield a £46 billion return and create 215,000 new jobs over the same period.
At the same time, restoring nature through a comprehensive environmental improvement plan, a strong national adaptation plan, and setting ambitious long-term targets will help build the UK’s resilience and support the economy by reducing threats to food security and the economic and social damage of climate impacts. Official figures show that nature represents an asset of around £1.2 trillion in its value to the UK economy. The economic loss from flooding over winter in 2019/2020 was estimated to be £333 million, with this year’s long period of hot weather and resultant drought likely to have a similar economic impact.
Clearly, you take on your new post at a challenging time with many competing policy issues to resolve. However, we strongly believe that prioritising policies that accelerate the clean energy transition and create positive impact on nature will increase our resilience, spur investment to support economic growth, create jobs and level up. A recent paper for the World Economic Forum estimated that such policies globally would have the potential to create around $10 trillion of new business activity and hundreds of millions of jobs.
We hope you will not delay in continuing to take these necessary and important actions to deliver a better society, environment, and economy for all. As businesses, we are committed to support the delivery of the UK’s targets and stand ready to work with you and your government.
Signatories
1. Jo Bacon, Managing Partner, Allies and Morrison LLP
2. John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager and Vice President, Amazon
3. Amanda Fisher, CEO, Amey
4. Gregory Borel, Managing Partner, Ampersand Partners
5. Peter Simpson, Chief Executive, Anglian Water Services Ltd.
6. Stuart McLachlan, CEO, Anthesis Group
7. David Partridge, Chairman Related Argent, Argent LLP
8. Nigel Tonks, Sustainable Development Director UKIMEA, Arup
9. Mike McNicholas, Managing Director Infrastructure UK & Europe, Atkins
10. Peter Herweck, CEO, AVEVA
11. Amanda Blanc, CEO, Aviva Plc
12. John Wilkinson, COO, BAM UK & Ireland
13. David Thomas, Chief Executive, Barratt Developments Plc
14. Sue Riddlestone OBE, Chief Executive, Bioregional
15. Steve Burr, Director, Black Architecture
16. Anne Marie Verstraeten, UK Country Head, BNP Paribas
17. Rachel Elwell, CEO, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership
18. Simon Carter, CEO, British Land
19. Chris Oglesby, CEO, Bruntwood
20. Carlos Jaureguizar, CEO, Bupa Global & UK
21. Sarah Prichard, UK Managing Director, Buro Happold
22. Martin Garratt, CEO, Cambridge Cleantech
23. Paul Margetts, UK Managing Director, Capgemini
24. Ian Hawksworth, Chief Executive, Capital & Counties Properties PLC
25. Ciaran Bird, Divisional President, Advisory Services, CEO UK & Ireland, CBRE
26. Iggy Bassi, Founder & CEO, Cervest
27. Kirstie Donnelly, CEO, City & Guilds
28. Alexander Uregian, MD, City Sanctuary Developments
29. Stephen O’Malley, Chief Executive, Civic Engineers
30. Dean Frost, Managing Director, Clade Engineering Systems Ltd
31. Clare Miller, Group Chief Executive, Clarion Housing Group
32. Stephen Moorhouse, General Manager, Great Britain, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
33. Tim Attwood, Managing Director, Conisbee
34. Gilbert Lennox King, CEO, Construction Carbon
35. Dougie Sutherland, CEO, Cory Group
36. Steve Foots, Group Chief Executive, Croda International Plc.
37. Richard Hall, General Secretary, Danone UK & Ireland
38. David Morley, Founding Partner, David Morley Architects
39. Will Gardiner, Group CEO, Drax
40. Sir Nigel Knowles, CEO, DWF
41. Michael Lewis, CEO, E.ON
42. Stuart Lemmon, CEO, EcoAct UK, an Atos company
43. Gareth Griffiths, Chief Executive, Ecology Building Society
44. Colin Matthews, Non-Executive Chairman, EDF in the UK
45. Keith Chanter, CEO, EMCOR UK
46. James Brueton, CEO, EnviroBuild
47. Nick Dilworth, Chief Operating Officer, Esken
48. Paul Sutcliffe, Co-Founder and Executive Director, EVORA Global
49. Michael Pawlyn, Managing Director, Exploration Architecture Limited
50. Rich Speak, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Finance Earth
51. Andy Bord, CEO, Flood Re
52. Basil Demeroutis, Managing Partner, FORE Partnership
53. Simon Prichard, Senior Partner, Gerald Eve LLP
54. May Al-Karooni, CEO, Globechain
55. Toby Courtauld, Chief Executive, GPE
56. Ian Manocha, CEO, Gresham Technologies plc
57. James Raynor, CEO, Grosvenor Property UK
58. Tom Steel, Director, Heyne Tillett Steel
59. Simon Oldham, Joint Managing Director, Highland Spring Group
60. Simon Bell, Director, HLM Architects
61. Brian McConnell, Chief Executive Officer, Hydrock
62. David Kavanagh, Managing Director, Iceni Projects
63. Peter Connolly, CEO, igloo Regeneration Ltd
64. Peter Jelkeby, Country Retail Manager and Chief Sustainability Officer, UK and Ireland, IKEA UK and Ireland (IKEA Ltd.)
65. Jon Khoo, Head of Sustainability, Interface
66. Stacey Parrinder-Johnson, Chief Investment Officer, Investec Wealth & Investment Limited
67. Stephanie Hyde, Chief Executive, JLL UK
68. Liam Condon, CEO, Johnson Matthey plc
69. Mark Allan, Group Chief Executive, Landsec
70. Sir Nigel Wilson, Group CEO, Legal & General Group Plc.
71. Roy Bedlow, Chief Executive, Low Carbon
72. Hero Bennett, Sustainability Director, Partner, Max Fordham LLP
73. Robert Lambe, Managing Director, Melius Homes
74. Phil Bentley, CEO, Mitie
75. Sarah McMath, CEO, MOSL
76. Mark Everard, Executive Director of Property Services, MTVH
77. Fabio Barbosa, CEO, Natura &Co
78. Julia Szajdzicka, Managing Director, ND Metering Solutions
79. Stefano Agostini, CEO, Nestlé UK & Ireland
80. David Fairbrother, Managing Director, NSR Management
81. Mark Hoyland, Group Chief Executive, Orbit Group
82. Andy Briggs, Group CEO, Phoenix Group
83. Harry Hyman, CEO, Primary Health Properties plc
84. Andrew Mellor, Partner, PRP Group
85. Kevin Ellis, Chair and senior partner, PwC UK
86. Greg Laker, Director, Operations, QuestGates
87. Philippa Spence, UK Managing Director, Ramboll UK
88. Mary-Anne Bowring, CEO, Ringley Group
89. Stephen Barrett, Partner, RSHP
90. Zahra Bahrololoumi, CEO UK & Ireland, Salesforce
91. Saul Humphrey, Managing Partner, Saul D Humphrey LLP
92. Keith Anderson, Chief Executive, ScottishPower
93. Peter Duff, Chairperson, Shoosmiths LLP
94. Carl Ennis, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens GB&I
95. Stephen Rouatt, CEO, Signify UK&I
96. Kent Jackson, Partner, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
97. Dana Strong, Group CEO, Sky
98. Mark Smith, Chief Executive, Southern Co-op
99. Becky Valentine, Co-owner, Lead - Sustainability, Wellbeing & Building Health, Spenbeck
100. Alistair Phillips-Davies, Chief Executive, SSE plc
101. John Wright, ESG Director, Stride Treglown
102. John Scanlon, Chief Executive Officer, SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK
103. Alistair Allison, Managing Partner, TFT
104. Sarah Bentley, Chief Executive Officer, Thames Water
105. Tom Druitt, CEO, The Big Lemon CIC
106. Shirine Khoury-Haq, Chief Executive Officer, The Co-operative Group
107. Andy Mitchell, CEO, Tideway
108. Bevis Watts, CEO, Triodos Bank UK
109. Paul Sheedy, CEO, Unifi ID Limited
110. Keith Riddle, Senior Vice President (Sales & Marketing), VELUX
111. Dave Worthington, Managing Director, Verco
112. Jakob Sigurdsson, Chief Executive Officer, VICTREX PLC
113. Tani Dulay, CEO, Woodbourne Group
114. Tim Wheeldon, Managing Director, Zeal hotels
115. Colin Heal, Director, Zeho Projects Ltd
116. Tim Bailey, CEO, Zurich Insurance UK Supporting business groups and networks:
117. Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive, Advertising Association
118. Nick Molho, Executive Director, Aldersgate Group
119. Alison Heppenstall, Executive Director, Climate Action for Associations
120. Adam Woodhall, CEO, Lawyers for Net Zero
121. Kinvara Carey, General Manager, Natural Source Waters Association
122. Dan McGrail, CEO, RenewableUK
123. Sandy Begbie CBE, CEO, Scottish Financial Enterprise
124. Jade Lewis, Chief Executive, Sustainable Energy Association
125. Halla Tómasdóttir, CEO, The B Team
126. Eliot Whittington, Director, UK Corporate Leaders Group
127. Julie Hirigoyen, Chief Executive, UK Green Building Council
128. María Mendiluce, CEO, We Mean Business Coalition
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