Latest Poll

US cuts green watchdogs funding is this a sign of things to come?

CommentsGreen Credentials
By Karen Conneely
Every organisation is under increasing pressure from customers, employees, shareholders and government to be more environmentally aware. But the green bandwagon has proved too tempting for some organisations looking to boost ethical credentials via headline grabbing policies way before they have achieved tangible change. The increasing pressure on UK businesses for green credentials will create a significant cost for them unless organisations get their asset registers in order.

Assessment of environmental practices and reporting is certainly on the increase for business and generic statements about green strategies from procurement to recycling, carbon footprint to flexible working will not suffice in the long term: organisations will have to prove their commitment through information transparency and auditable policies.

At the heart of such transparency will be consistent, detailed information about the life cycle of every asset...[comment was too long]
Green Credentials continued......
By Karen Conneely
from country of origin through maintenance schedules to final disposal.

Existing green policies such as the WEEE directive and measuring carbon footprints assume a level of asset management far beyond that achieved by the majority of UK business. How many UK businesses can accurately identify the location of their WEEE equipment within the organisation and confirm when it was purchased and from whom? By linking the asset register to a document management system organisations can create the required audit trail, gaining valuable insight into their own assets and adapting to the green economy .

Karen Conneely
Group Commercial Manager
Real Asset Management