Sustainability Discussion & Dinner with Bank of Scotland

Influential leaders from central Scotland gathered at the Bank of Scotland, Edinburgh headquarters, on Wednesday 5th June for a round table discussion on the important subject of sustainability.

Sustainability is moving from the corporate side-lines into the mainstream. Faced with a future of uncertain energy costs, increasing regulation on carbon emissions, concerns about access to raw materials and the availability of natural resources, companies  are waking up to the reality that sustainability is a key business consideration.

Key note speaker, David Cutter, Diageo’s recently appointed Chief Sustainability Officer (and President, Global Supply & Procurement), led the conversation on the challenges and opportunities around sustainability and shared some best practice around this important area.

The evening progressed with a dinner, over which guests had really meaningful conversations around how sustainability affects their own corporate industries and sectors.  Key themes emerging from the discussion included:

• Sustainability now permeates every aspect of business, from ethical sourcing and manufacture to delivery and disposal from an environmental perspective
• Sustainability and profit are inseparable
• With sustainability growing in importance and relevance, the next generation of business leaders will need to have a developed appreciation of what the businesses they are taking over are doing to become more sustainable
• Sustainability is a key feature in attracting new talent into business. Businesses need to focus on having a strong sustainability policy in order to remain attractive and relevant to a generation that regards responsible behaviour as natural or expected
• There needs to be a key focus on building employee engagement with sustainability

The overall discussion was exceptionally lively and thought provoking .

If you would like to discuss any aspect of this dinner and the topic please contact Ailsa Sutherland, ailsa@fwbparkbrown.com.