A group of Guernsey employers have set up a forum to collaborate and share knowledge to help Guernsey meet its 2050 net-zero pledge and safeguard the island.
Sustainability is two pronged and covers local actions that contribute to global efforts to tackle climate change, such as the localised impacts of businesses on water, waste, air emissions, and CSR and land/building improvements that in turn to help protect our local natural environment.
The Guernsey Green Forum was formed out of a belief that every business must play its part to create a sustainable future. The Founding Members believe that whilst any single business can and should manage its environmental impact, much more can be achieved by working together as a business community.
The Forum’s committee has drawn senior business leaders from various sectors, including financial services, retail, law, utilities, communications and sustainability services.
The group plan to work proactively with other stakeholders with the aim of sharing ideas and best practice across as many organisations as possible. It aims to complement the work of other sustainability groups by creating practical resources that can be put into practices by organisations of all sizes and to collaborate on initiatives that benefit our local environment and community.
Jo Huxtable, a tax partner at Deloitte, will Chair the committee, and Alex Herschel, Environmental Sustainability Manager at Guernsey Electricity, takes the Vice-Chair role.
“The idea for the Guernsey Green Forum evolved from conversations between local business leaders, and it was clear there is a will to collaborate and a shared belief that business has a critical part to play in reaching the island’s environmental and net-zero ambitions,” said Jo Huxtable, Chair of the Guernsey Green Forum.
“The Founding Members represent a wide variety of sectors, reflecting larger organisations and smaller enterprises as we believe that through sharing experience and knowledge, our whole community will benefit. We hope that other business leaders and employers will get in touch and want to get involved.”
The Founding Members have identified five workstreams that will provide a focus for fact sheets, case studies and other resources. The workstreams are:
- Energy, waste & water
- Travel & transportation
- Lifecycle & supply chain
- Corporate social responsibility and culture
- Pensions, rewards & compensations
The open-source materials will share ideas and best practices and can be downloaded by any organisation. It is hoped that over time, more resources will be added and founding members are encouraging all employers to share information and ideas.
The Forum will be sharing resources via its website.
The main photo shows the forum’s committee, from left to right – Andrew Munro, Stephen Ainsworth, Sonia Kirk-Hamon, Michelle Le Clerc, Kenny McDonald, Alex Herschel, Jo Huxtable, Nichole Culverwell, Glen Tonks, Amy Pickering, Victoria Sloan. Committee members not present for the photo are: Peter Miller, Dawn Gallienne, Mark Le Page.
