A new council of corporate executives and UK government ministers met for the first time Wednesday in an effort to guide the country’s economy on a greener path.
The Green Economy Council is chaired by the UK’s business secretary, Vince Cable and also includes ministers from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Executives from a cross-section of industries and sectors will advise government on green and green growth policies such as infrastructure, innovation, investment, and unnecessary regulation. The state mission of the Council is to support the transition to a green, low carbon economy and minimize the costs for business while maximizing the opportunities.
The Council consists of two dozen executives from Ford UK (NYSE: F), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT), Siemens (NYSE: SI), Syngenta (NYSE: SyT), Intelligent Energy and other notable companies.
Council members will meet approximately three times a year, and working groups may be set up to examine specific issues.
Key issues on Wednesday’s agenda included the Green Economy Roadmap, which is being developed by all three government departments and will be published in the spring. This will set out the Government’s long-term strategy on climate change and the environment.
"The transition to a green economy brings both opportunities and challenges that we need to tackle now to achieve sustainable growth and meet climate change targets," Secretary Cable, said. "We need to minimize the burdens on business and industry during this transition, while we create the necessary conditions for green growth and investment in the green economy."
"We believe the imperative for sustainable action is strong, but sustainability has to be balanced across the social and economic aspects of society as well as environmental," Stephen Leonard, Chief Executive, IBM UK & Ireland said. "No one organization can achieve this on their own and there is a growing need for collaboration between businesses and government to create a shared vision. This vision will aim to drive the right investments and create a common strategy across all aspects of sustainability to maximize opportunities for the UK."
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