Small manufacturers forced to answer 300 questions on net zero
By Paul Homewood
h/t avoncliffnorthmill
It is little wonder that our economy is rapidly going down the plughole:
Small manufacturers are being forced to fill out 300-question spreadsheets on their eco-credentials as part of a net zero drive by big business.
Some companies have had to take on new staff to complete paperwork being sent to them because of this new burden, while others are being asked to sign up to strict audits that ensure they follow green guidelines.
The demands are being driven by regulatory changes expected to come in next year which require large businesses to measure and disclose their “scope 3” carbon emissions, a definition that includes indirect as well as direct pollution caused by an organisation.
In many cases, sustainability advisors are being hired by multinationals to collect information from suppliers and are sending each one a long questionnaire to fill out.
Cambridge-based Goodfellow, which employs around 100 people, said it now had six full-time staff to handle compliance issues such as green regulations, sanctions and Brexit issues.
Simon Kenney, chief executive of the advanced materials producer, said the lack of a widely-adopted standard on net zero rules for supply chains had created a void that a rash of environmental, social and governance (ESG) consultants were seeking to fill.
He added: “We heard the other day from an accreditation company that effectively registers companies as being ESG-compliant, which was working with one of our customers.
“As a result, we got a spreadsheet to fill in with 342 lines of things that they wanted to know. Considering we have 6,000 customers, if every customer sends us that it will be unworkable.
“It is just crazy. And of course, particularly for small businesses, it is going to impact productivity.”
He suggested that the Government should step in to make clear what the minimum reasonable expectations of small firms should be to ensure they were not simply being passed pointless extra work.
Several small manufacturers also said they had been asked to meet new environmental audit standards by their customers, such as the ISO 14001 regime, as a condition of securing contracts.
The audit regimes typically require companies to pay thousands of pounds in fees and submit to annual checks – as well as paying for extra audits if they fall short.
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
So much for the post Brexit bonfire of red tape.
Those in charge love control
Not just manufacturers.
Anyone seeking to improve matters through innovation partnerships.
After a hiatus stand down caused by Covid on an eco idea worryingly deemed ‘ahead of its time’ that had awards and public engagement to die for 25 years ago, I figured industry suits might be more amenable now.
Of course not. It is still the targets-based labyrinth only a bean counter could love, with an added #NetZero cherry on top.
Government ‘initiatives’ to ‘support’ green ideas from anything but the cynics in the subsidy industries wait ready to crush anybody not offering a full diversity review before even considering an application.
I thought I had covered one to ‘Innovate UK’ before realising the bits after the idea, research, triple bottom line, etc were drop down of drops downs requiring spreadsheets, my gender…
So I gave up and regrouped.
Then one of too many local council ‘initiatives’ advertised an event for local entrepreneurs. They even hinted ‘addressing climate change’ as a favoured area.
So I turned up with a few others to face a Dragon’s Aspirant Rejection Middle Manager bench with council types, banker types and supposed funding experts all there just to be noted for an attendance fee.
One of the other my side was a hairdresser, one was a wellness coach, with no clue on IP, growth paths… I knew a little more, especially on what I needed, and a little knowledge can ruin a pitch opportunity.
So I pitched that I was looking forward to get a team in complement and hence needed help with that. Not necessarily money.
Red rag. They were there to spaff money up an unaccountable wall on something BIG, ticking all the right boxes, that no consumer wants unless it is subsidised … and is hence unsustainable.
But perfect all the way up a greasy pole even to legacy EU money that still sloshes about.
Anyone got an idea for a biodegradable submarine?
https://www.greenprophet.com/2024/02/esg-weapons-ukraine/?
What about commercial confidentiality? Gandhian non-compliance needed now, and not just in this case.
This is down to the idiot Mark Carney and his chums who foisted their crazy ESG regulations on business. Carney famously gloated that firms which fail to comply will go bankrupt.
So will the ones that do comply.
High energy costs lower margins. High overhead costs eliminate them. Businesses that can’t compete go under.
Also New Labour inserting environment and community into the UK Companies Act 2006, section 172 and in reporting under section 417.
Large company directors are now so risk averse they seem by default to “play safe” and interpret “and in doing so have regard to” to a requirement.
There has recently been the start of a pushback by big business against the ESG madness, e.g. as listed in this Net Zero Watch samizdat: https://mailchi.mp/thegwpf/net-zero-backlash-intensifies-201076?e=69a42f046a.
The net zero madness gets worse. Who or what can stop it?
Have a word with your local Reform Party candidate. They talk a lot more sense about net zero than the other parties.
I do and I refer everybody to the Clintel ‘World Climate Declaration’.
https://clintel.org/world-climate-declaration/
The only “sense” to be talked about NetZero is to point out that it is based on religion, not statistically significant empirical data.
I was leaning towards Reform, but they’ve gone full warmongering nuts in their Foriegn Policy statements. Rabid pro western deep state imperialism. So thats them off the list as well. Back to voting Monster Raving Looney as the most sensible Party standing. Why is the UK so wedded to warfare?
Defence is the most important duty of any government. Reform seem the only party to accept that.
God knows. Councils that have declared a climate emergency will be all over Scope 3 emissions like a rash. My own council leader is hot to trot on all this garbage. Probably lining himself up to take over Deben’s old job.
vote for Reform at the next general election.
Write out 300 times: “Net zero is suicidal economic insanity”.
It would be interesting to know what the answers are from those sourcing materials from China. Quite possibly a box ticking exercise. I get the distinct feeling that government is working to destroy value added manufacturing. I thought it 40 years ago as we started selling our technology and companies overseas and it’s totally come home to roost. I was shocked a few days ago to discover that govt employees get 27% contribution to their pensions. Makes a mockery of most of the private sector. Little incentive for the future.
On the good side … the west is increasingly incapable of going to war with anyone because we don’t have the means to produce anything.
And I’ll bet that not a single item on the spreadsheet has any real-world relevance and that not a single compliamce ‘officer’ has ever had a peoper job i.e. one that actually produces anything.
That, sadly, is true for so many of the ISO 9001, 14001, 18000 schemes etc. There are at least half a dozen in that ‘family’ of standards – maybe more nowadays; since ESG is fashionable, there will be one [or more] for that, if there isn’t already.
For those that want to improve their business, [Quality Assurance] take a look at the old ISO 9001 [1994, or even 1987] version [which was identical to BS 5750 – 1987 IIRC]. That was written for manufacturing business, but could be adapted for services – like ship management. Relatively simple, reasonably understandable, and – if you know your own business – straightforward to apply; you should be doing most of it anyway.
There is a fair-sized industry in the review and ‘improvement’ of these standards; and of course the courses to explain the changes; pre-audits to assure business, and the audits to enforce them. Nice earners.
I was in that business – many years ago. Don’t regret getting out, as a basic good idea had already morphed into a ever-increasing paper-chase of standards – even on safety-related standards.
And you get asked to produce these pieces of paper [ISO22000, or ISO 45000, etc.] saying you comply. Nobody takes responsibility any more – they rely on your ‘confetti’. And anyone can produce a certificate …
Auto
I forgot to mention – the bodies that monitor your standards are themselves monitored, and have to comply with an ever-increasing number of standards, sometimes specifically written – but also ISO 9001, etc. And the institutions that monitor them – themselves are subject to audit and compliance checks.
All these layers – Big fish have littler fish to bite ’em – and so on down ad infinitum!
None are producing anything – exactly as Gillian T indicates.
But they have salaries, expenses, pensions, training [I’m sure, now that includes DIE training!] and internal procedures. All that has to be paid for, by their clients, and so, eventually, by the consumer – usually indirectly.
Auto
From a business point of view this requirement is both pointless and costly.
More government nonsense
So comrades, Net Zero is having it’s desired effect. NEVER take anything which comes from the leftie word weasels on face value. Right out of the Kremlin playbook. Left is right, up is down. This is nothing to do with “thaving the pwannet”. It is all to do with strangling Western economies in anyway they can.
The Norwegian word weasels are no different. On one hand they appear to be encouraging oil and gas exploration and production but on the other they make it harder and harder to operate a field and make a profit. They insist any company should show it’s pointless “gween kweedenthials” and waste money on worthless wind and solar in order to be considered. Then comes the asininity and eyewatering cost of electrification of offshore platforms (unbelievably resulting in more flaring as a consequence), together with their equally asinine business strangling carbon taxes.
The end result will be the same.
I really doubt the ‘Kremlin’ has anything to do with this! Mixing up Russophobia with this is not helpful.
Eh?
wind your neck in.
Russophobia indeed! Oh dear oh dear.
You are sadly mistaken both in your presumed knowledge of my opinion and what I know about Russia and it’s people.
Perhaps your readiness to be triggered could be remedied by a little enlightenment. Look up the Frankfurt School and Critical Theory and yes this project was set up and funded by the Kremlin albeit back in the 1930’s.
I reference “modern marxism” which is nothing to do with modern Russia or it’s people, pretending to be socialism while at the same time embracing all of the tenants of Critical Theory. It is the same old evil just dressed up in a party frock. Leaving Frankfurt in the late 1930’s it was invited to resettle in Columbia University in the US where it was allowed to gestate unhindered before escaping the realms of questionable academia, firstly as political correctness and now as the fully developed woke mind virus. Perhaps you may be familiar with those terms.
Who do you think pays $oros to turn the west woke?
Part of the drive is to remove smaller and medium sized businesses all together. ‘They’ just want multi nationals to own everything.
Not sure if you’re right – that that is the aim …
But it certainly looks as if the effect will be precisely that. And many of the big businesses will be Chinese-owned [with Chinese standards – ‘Look, my certificate says so!’] – and subject to the benevolent oversight of Chairman Xi. Not everyone looks forward to that, I think!
If the questionnaire has no statutory enforcement tell them to ‘take a running jump ‘
‘
Or they could just lie on the forms.
Yep. I just guess and make stuff up for all silly surveys and forms. Not going to waste time measuring.
“Or they could just lie on the forms.” Back in the days when I would have to submit PQQs (Pre Qualification Questionnaires) for OJEU advertised contracts I had a real problem detailing my LGBTQ+whatever policy answers on account of there was only me! So I lied. Easy really
These consultants must be some of the promised ‘green’ jobs and, as most of us expected, add nothing of anything benefit to the economy but are a drain on it.
Just ignore it or make answers up, they will never check. It is just a pointless box ticking exercise. I used to have to provide a FMEA (Failure Mode Effect Analysis) for our products used in the automotive industry. As they were plastic we had to dunk them in every known liquid that they could come across in a car. I was always chuckled about testing in Human Sweat Akali and Human Sweat Acid. When you amalgamated all the component FMEAs for the vehicle the conclusion was that the car had zero chance of ever working reliably.
I had a small gararge business for 25 years which at its peak employed 4 people. I recieved a questionaire from I think DEFRA which wanted to know allsorts of information that didn’t apply to my business, all of the monitary questions had to be answered in multiples of £100 000.
I rang the helpline to put forwards the view that none of it applied to me and was told it was a legal requirement to return it. so I added ZERO to all the questions and sent it back.
Never heard a thing.
I used to apply for contracts that asked for my LGBTQ+ policies despite the fact there was only me and I really couldn’t be straight,gay, trans-sexual etc all on my own. So I copied and pasted a policy off the internet…fiction seemed to make everyone happy and ticked all the necessary boxes.
Indeed it does!
Maybe that’s what the ++++ is for, after the LBGQ ?
Classic fascism.
Big companies get burned by government, and then realize cooperating with government, helping to create regulation, is the only path forward. Because they can shape things to the DISADVANTAGE of their competition.
Small manufacturers are being forced to fill out 300-question spreadsheets
Well, of course. The purpose of the questionnaire is to destroy the small manufacturers. It’s what you get once corporations form alliances with government. The questionnaire is not the end of it; it’s the start, with the end goal of driving the little guys out of the market.
Don’t blame the corporations, blame government. Government forced them into it.
Many are seeing pre war events back in the day have worrying mirrors in things going down now.
Others are saying (see what I used there?) that is a load of Krupp.
It looks like the old gag
Q1 What is the population of China?
Q2 Name each one
When my sister said “people are starving in China,” Dad asked her to “name three.”
I had to do one of these DEI questionnaires for Nat West Bank.
I put down that I would only employ on merit, and would never indulge in petty racism to favour someone who could not be bothered to work hard enough in school or university.
I heard no more from them.
.
P.S. Why is this site so slow to type into??
R
“Our firm has hired a diversity compliance officer. Because our firm believes that everyone should have a chance to succeed, we hired a diversity compliance who is illiterate. He will be responsible for filling out this 300 question form you have sent our firm. Please be patient with our reply.
despite the fact that the lithium ion battery is/was a marvelous invention which has totally changed and improved our access to mobile electronics, not one truly ESG compliant lithium ion battery has ever been delivered!
an ESG compliant EV is not remotely possible!
just look at the process from mining to delivery!
The “net zero” religion must be resisted!
just make up the answers to the questionnaires based on an intelligent guess on the knowledge of the industry concerned. Let them then waste their time and more public money to prove them wrong.
Alternatively, just say they are closed for the day when someone wants to come round for a chat.
And people wonder why Russia can produce many times the shell output of the whole of wokedom put together.
I was reminded of my compliance job when the State Government introduced a trial run about Industry emissions. We had 2600 products and around 21 packages (paint etc.). and the idea was quite impossible. We copped an arrogant bureaucrat who had strange ideas about what was feasible – the least idiotic was to make a large flat pan (about 25 square metres) and weigh it with each solvent before and after it evaporated. Not exactly a way of reducing pollution.
Fortunately I was transferred to another position and an engineer with only a couple of years before retirement took over. As he told me, “if they want figures they will get them”. He took a spreadsheet in the total amount of product sold and the composition of each product ‘calculated’ the total amount of emissions. An Excell form of about 65 Mb with many pages, which meant that it would take hours to find one product alone (esp. if it was sold in 5 containers) as it required running through page after page. It didn’t allow for adjustments such as happened when virtual each product (about 2,600) was adjusted for viscosity every time.
This nonsense was accepted by the bureaucrats because it gave them figures and they demanded that all other paint companies do the same. There was a meeting with them (without bureaucrats present) and every company apparently complied with “if they want some figures even if there’s rubbish, then let them have rubbish”. Or as the engineer said “bullshit for those who want it”.
Ha Ha!
You have reminded me of a time when I conducted safety checks on fork lifts and the like, a weight test was part of the regime and as the large organization subscribed to the ISO:something or another standard I had to calibrate the 20kg CAST IRON weights used to make up the test load. how I smiled as I just ticked all the boxes. none of it stopped some of the operators who could barely drive a car to work smashing into everything in sight.
Those were the days.
Excellent.
So you can see how bureaucrats made Satan of Tim Leary and churned “figgers” to protect gin and cigarettes from safer competition.
Thanks everyone.
This comments page has been the best thing Ive read all week!
Chin up.
LL