Business needs to raise its awareness of Carbon
The Australian Institute of Management surveyed a broad spectrum of industries, finding only 36 per cent were aware the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is to begin in two years. And 80 per cent said they “know very little” or were only “somewhat aware” of the scheme. The Australian Emissions Trading Scheme is part of the Federal Government’s plans to reduce carbon emissions.
Australian Institute of Management’s chief executive officer, Susan Heron, said the impact of the scheme would be felt across all businesses and industry sectors. She said that “The survey shows an alarmingly low level of preparedness for the emission scheme’s introduction with obvious implications for ETS readiness in 2010,” She also said it would put more pressure on the training, development and skill sets of Australian management.
A high number of those surveyed showed they had little understanding of their organisation’s energy consumption. Chief executive officer for the Climate Institute, John Connor, said the survey showed how little attention business was paying to energy efficiency and energy improvement schemes. “This is time to wake up and manage their businesses better to be part of the solution on climate change and move from ignorance to opportunity,” Mr Connor said.
“People will need to give almost as much attention to carbon management as they would to cash management,” Mr Connor said.
The Government hopes to lessen reliance on fossil fuels and encourage users to switch to other types of energy. The ETS would affect everyone and some businesses were in for a shock.
“Some businesses that may use more energy than they think they do may be in for a bit of a shock going forward,” he said. “They will be getting a taste for it at the moment through the oil prices, but the ETS will go beyond oil and into things like electricity.”
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