Sustainability Is Key To Building A Country That Works For Everyone

Schneider Electric‘s zone president UK & Ireland, Tanuja Randery, has commented on the impact sustainability can have UK energy industry and the wider digital economy.

Though the government’s investment into the country’s digital infrastructure is welcomed for economic growth, she questions if a society ‘that works for everyone’ can succeed without a renewed focus on energy efficiency and sustainability.

In addition to her leadership role at Schneider Electric, Tanuja is on the CBI’s Energy and Climate Change Board – where she works alongside a group of business leaders and the government to set the right conditions to attract investment in low-carbon solutions and drive consumer demand for sustainable projects in order to tackle the UK’s triple challenges of energy security, affordability and de-carbonisation.

“Earlier this month Foreign Minister, Boris Johnson, signed the agreement to ratify the Paris Climate agreement, firmly re-stating the UK’s commitment to cutting carbon emissions. With that in mind, it was disappointing to see clean energy and climate change slip off the agenda of the Autumn Budget statement.

The way energy is currently managed is unsustainable, and with cities set to grow to accommodate an additional 2.5billion people by 2050, we must act now

“The way energy is currently managed is unsustainable, and with cities set to grow to accommodate an additional 2.5billion people by 2050, we must act now. Government support, through grants, levies and regulations, is critical if we are to affect real change and meet our climate change goals.

“The Autumn Budget statement’s focus on investment in furthering the UK’s digital infrastructure is a positive step for our industry. It is the digitisation of our cities, businesses and industries that will propel us forward economically. Through connectivity we can energise work and living spaces, whilst ensuring the energy efficiency of homes, businesses and infrastructure. This, in turn, will drive down power consumption and help reduce the UK’s carbon footprint.

“When you digitise infrastructure, insights gleaned from the data they produce provide the platform to change energy habits and put a collective effort behind our energy climate commitments. However, this is not enough. We need to see a similar focus on how the UK’s triple challenge of energy security, affordability and de-carbonisation can be addressed. Investment and planning in providing the UK with alternative and greener energy sources is a must.

“I’m firmly behind the Chancellor’s ambition “to build a country that works for everyone”. But, without a focus on clean, sustainable energy could this become an insurmountable task?”