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GREEN MAN'S BURDEN
Page 3
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Mane . ---wanakiakijodslinewjm One of the burdens of running a business in the 21st century is a responsibility to deal with the umpteen decades of environmental abuse carried out by those who went before us. Whether we like it or not, we must all shoulder that burden. If we don't there won't be much of a world left to pass on to those who follow.
This might sound like enviro-envangelism, and it will mean big changes in the way you do your business in the coming years, but get used to it. It's the way government thinks, from local councils to parliament; even the faceless global corporations are "What we can and should now taking the environment seriously, demand is legislation that is With such unity legislation cannot be far behind. We can and should expect sensibly implemented IF nothing different. What we can and should demand, however, is legislation that is precisely crafted and sensibly implemented.
Take the news this week that the haulier's friend, Ken Livingstone, is on the verge of declaring London a 'low-emission zone' and you can see these attitudes are starting to bite. The general principle that trucks generating needlessly high levels of pollution should be driven off the road is one which we have to concede makes sense, although it's ironic that by scrapping old trucks we create increased production of new, in itself bringing an added ecological impact. As usual the introduction of the legislation is a muddle.
For starters, EU rules — yes, them again — say that if you declare a low-emission zone the government isn't allowed to offer grants for cleaning up the vehicles. What's more Transport for London won't say what the emission standard is, nor where it will apply, until just six months before the standard is due to come into force. What rot!
If this industry is to be expected to comply with new low-emission standards for entering the UK's cities, and let's face it London is likely to be the thin end of a very thick wedge, then investors in the sector (that's you) will need clarity and, we'd venture some assistance in meeting the targets.