Led by Pureprint Group Director, Richard Owers, this dinner discussed how businesses (SMEs in particular) can drive environmental performance as a source of business value, instead of justifying it as a corporate social responsibility cost. Richard has a wealth of experience in leading this agenda at Pureprint, a UK-based print and marketing solutions provider, where sustainability is at the heart of business growth and innovation.
Blue-chip companies dominate the headlines in matters of business and corporate leadership on environment and sustainability, while smaller businesses generally struggle to capture the value of environmental leadership in quite the same way. Yet SMEs make up the bulk of most developed economies – in the UK they account for 60% of private sector employment, 47% of all private sector turnover (£1.8 trillion) and almost 99% in number of all businesses: the potential to make a larger positive impact on environmental issues is vastly under-exploited.
Over dinner the group discussed how SMEs can capture this opportunity and secure business value through environmental and sustainability initiatives, without having to turn their businesses inside-out, or selling out.
If you'd like to learn more about the key topics of discussion, please read our post-event blog which captures the key learnings and takeaways from the dinner.