BT reveals strong desire to be Net Positive frontrunner

Outlining some of the key findings from BT’s first Better Future Forum held last month, Moss said that the information gathered would help inform the direction of the company’s overall programme and “specific intentions for our next steps”.

Three central themes will be explored as part of this – collaboration, establishing best practice models and delivering scalable change.

“We will be instrumental in establishing collaborative approaches working across sectors to move business as usual forward to help build momentum on Net Positive leadership,” Moss revealed.

“We want to work with others to develop and promote common principles around different models of approaching Net Positive.”

He added that there was a strong requirement to influence positive and scalable stakeholder behaviours.

“We recognise a key need to achieve the shift in consumer and investor mindsets and we can only do that by working together with other partners,” he maintained.

The Better Future Forum, which set out to explore the potential for businesses to make a Net Positive contribution to environment, drew 800 comments from nearly 200 participants across 22 countries.

Questions around sustainable consumption dominated the debate where it was broadly felt that current consumer models needed to be re-examined.

It was also felt that the debate around sustainability needs to be rearticulated in a way that will engage those currently outside of the CSR community, especially consumers and investors.

The Better Future forum is an extension of BT’s open-sourced approach to developing a carbon net positive framework that underpins its own ‘Net Good’ vision.

BT’s Net Good goal is to help customers reduce carbon emissions by at least three times the end-to-end carbon impact of its business by 2020.

Maxine Perella