More than 200 leading UK businesses, investors and business networks have called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to deliver a Covid-19 recovery plan that builds back a more inclusive and resilient UK economy. In an open letter, coordinated by the Prince of Wales Corporate Leaders Group, CEOs from across the economy offered support to the Government in tackling the present health crisis and urged the Government to provide clear vision for recovery efforts that align with the UK's wider social, environmental and climate goals.
The letter, which gained 207 signatures, acknowledges the climate leadership of the UK and calls for continued ambition to drive action towards next year's COP26 summit and the G7, which will both be hosted in the UK. Businesses as diverse as Lloyds Bank, Asda, Siemens, Aviva, Sky, Mitsubishi and Signify called on the UK to deliver a clean, just recovery, that creates quality employment and builds a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient UK economy for the future with a plan that can:
- Drive investment in low carbon innovation, infrastructure and industries, as well as improved resilience to future environmental risks;
- Focus support on sectors and activities that can best support sustainable growth, increased job creation and accelerate both the recovery and the decarbonisation of the economy;
- Include within financial support packages measures to ensure receiving businesses are well managed and their strategies are science based and aligned with national climate goals.
The UK needs a strong, sustainable economy able to withstand future shocks, and the Prime Minister’s plans to support a recovery after the Coronavirus pandemic must be cost-effective and focussed on building back better. The evidence is clear that a clean, resilient recovery is best for jobs, business, society and our environment.
Eliot Whittington is Director of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s Corporate Leaders Groups – leading the team behind both the Corporate Leaders Group Europe (CLG Europe) and The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group (CLG) in the UK. Eliot’s work has a strong focus on climate change, but he also helps drive action on the circular economy, plastics and issues around the social and justice implications of economic change.
