Procurement with Purpose Newsletter no. 82 – September 3rd 2024

WITH CLEAN WATER, ECOVADIS CRITICISM, UK DECARBONISATION PLANS, AIRCON AND MORE READING FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS!

It is blackberries rather than raspberries in the garden now, as meteorological autumn started in the northern hemisphere this week. But the first day of September saw a range of temperature records broken around Europe. Slovenia smashed its monthly national record high with 36.1C recorded in Bilge. Dozens of locations in Germany, France and Switzerland broke their September records, including 31.3C in Zurich and 32.8 in Frankfurt. The records for the highest minimum temperature over 24 hours (if you see what I mean – hot nights, basically) were also smashed. However, the UK has seen its coolest summer for nine years, according to latest statistics from the Met Office. ?Do we shout “boo” or “hooray”? It’s hard to know these days.

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March for Clean Water

You may remember that Mark Perera and I have donated profits from the Procurement with Purpose book to two charities, my choice being Practical Action who provide usable technology solutions to developing world issues. Mark, being a surfer dude in his youth (I know, hard to imagine when you see the mature business magnate he is today…) went for Surfers against Sewage (SAS).

And on October 26th there will be a march in London organised by a number of environmental organisations including SAS to highlight the issues around sewage going into rivers, lakes and oceans around the UK. I haven’t been on a march since the Anti-Nazi League’s “Rock against Racism” event marched from Trafalgar Square to Victoria Park in 1978, with the promise of a concert featuring The Clash, Steel Pulse and X-Ray Spex at the end of it. First time I ever had a McDonalds too…

Anyway, the “March for Clean Water ?is a national gathering of all those concerned and outraged about the state of our waterways.?Together, we can resolve this public health emergency by demanding the new government enforce the current law and deliver new legislation that will end all pollution, and restore our rivers, waterways, seas and reservoirs to full health by 2030”.

The route has not been published yet but Parliament Square is mentioned on the website so I assume it will be around there. I think I will actually attend… sign up here.

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Can Labour lead the UK to decarbonised power generation by 2030?

No, is probably the answer. The other issue is the cost implications as the UK moves towards a de-carbonised system. So I’ve been doing some reading on this in the last few days and I am not optimistic.

This article on Substack from analyst and writer David Turver lays out the pricing trends for different types of power and shows that prices fort renewables have diverged (not in a good way) from the forecasts made by government, often in its own 2023 Generation Costs Report ?which “made some extraordinary claims that are proving to be untrue” says Turver.

In terms of the feasibility of the 2030 target, a formal letter from the new energy Minister, David Milliband , to Fintan Slye, Director of the ESO (electricity system operator), has caused much comment. “This advice should consist of a range of pathways that enable a decarbonised power system for Great Britain by 2030 and an enduring contribution to economy-wide decarbonisation beyond 2030”.

Some critics have responded by saying this goes to show that Ministers don’t actually have a clue as to how they will achieve the target. I suspect it is more the case that they need a formal set of options from the guy in charge before they can announce a preferred route. One would certainly hope that Milliband and co actually know most of this stuff and that serious work has already been done!

But when you see the questions from government laid out in the letter, it does look like quite a task lies ahead. Cost comes into it again, as well – if we end up having to import huge quantities of gas into the UK, that will increase consumer costs even if it helps towards the 2030 target. ?

(A longer version of this summary is available on the Procurement with Purpose website ).

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Air conditioning – increasingly essential but …

The dilemma, maybe even paradox, with air conditioning is that the planet and its people need more as the temperatures rise, yet the additional air con in itself drives more power usage and (at the moment at least) more emissions.? An excellent article on the Tortoise website contains fascinating information I didn’t know – for instance that 60% of households in China have air conditioning already, or that in Delhi and Mumbai, air con accounts for up to 60% of all electricity consumption. In countries such as China and India, a large proportion of that power still comes from coal, although China is de-carbonising quite rapidly, as we’ve discussed.

And as the article says, AC is to a surprising extent responsible for modern Singapore. The first thing its founder did on becoming prime minister was install it in every building used by the civil service. “This,” said Lee Kwan Yew, “was key to public efficiency.”

The demand for AC is only going to rise. The population in the Middle East and Africa is growing strongly, two regions that will certainly need more AC. In Europe, only 20 per cent of homes have it but that will probably rise too. If the middle class in India gets AC, that will also hurt the poor as the “urban heat island” effect worsens.

So, apart from decarbonising the power network as fast as possible, what can we do? This is where estates and procurement professionals can play a role when it comes to building construction and management. The article says we need to rediscover “high ceilings, decent ventilation, shaded verandas and adobe walls. There’s also the thermostat and the humble ceiling fan”.?

And as 20% of office workers in air conditioned buildings complain of feeling cold in summer, don’t turn the AC up too far. Just as we tend to overheat our buildings in winter, wasting energy, we often overcool in summer so workers need woolly jumpers when it is scorching outside! ?Cool to 22C maybe, not less.? Adjusting the thermostat is often the easiest thing we can do in terms of both saving money and reducing emissions and as we move into autumn, set your thermostats at 18C, as we do at home. Put that sweater back on if you’re a bit chilly. Offices should certainly be no more than 20C and I’d go a little lower…

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Ecovadis – SustainabIlity pioneers face some pushback

So let’s be controversial… is Ecovadis still a force for good in the world of sustainable procurement, or has the firm become a hindrance to real progress?

I came across the firm in their very early days when I was running the Spend Matters website in Europe. I couldn’t see the value in what they were doing to be honest, which just shows I am a lousy judge of start-ups, as it is now valued in the billions!? ?But I interviewed founder Pierre-Fran?ois Thaler a couple of times and was very impressed by him - I felt he was really genuine about the firm’s mission and fundamentally a good guy. Soon it became clear that the founders has timed their move perfectly and Ecovadis became the “go-to” sustainability accreditor and adviser – much like Dun and Bradstreet were for financial information, Ecovadis was (and is) for sustainability ratings.

But there is increasing comment suggesting that there are two worrying issues emerging. The first is the cost of getting an Ecovadis rating. Is monopoly pricing coming into play, particularly as private equity firms now own a substantial chunk of Ecovadis’ equity, and is this a barrier to entry for new firms trying to get approved by potential customers? Secondly, is the rating itself really rigorous?

This LinkedIn post from Maria Tymtsias has caused quite a stir, suggesting that it is relatively easy to “game” the system and get a strong rating without really having a genuine and robust sustainability process in place,

I’m not making a judgement here, although I was disturbed to hear that the Ecovadis methodology is somewhat opaque. Openness and transparency seem to me key in anything of this nature. So I’m going to look into this further – and do comment here if you have experiences, good or bad, with Ecovadis.

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Reading highlights (part 1)

Last week I talked about two talented young female artists. Today, just so you don’t think I am only interested in attractive young women, heaven forbid, two male Irish bands, one of which features quite serious amounts of facial hair. Irish rock music is having a bit of a moment, with Inhaler and particularly Fontaines DC, tipped as a future headliner for big festivals. They were good at Reading but need a bit more stage presence / communication in my opinion.

But that was not an issue for the Scratch or Kingfishr. The latter have a lead singer who has one of the best voices you will hear in rock. It was a little Mumford’s at time ( a compliment), with a strong folk element (including a banjo) as well as the indie rock vibes. There was great audience engagement and a real warmth to the set. He told us that band members including him studied engineering at university and “me parents weren’t best pleased when we packed in proper jobs after two years to do this”! This is a lovely video too . ?

The Scratch are unique, combining traditional Irish folk with serious heavy metal. It adds up to a visceral experience and I defy anyone to sit still during their set. The group were part of a metal band and decided to do something a little different, to great effect. Half an hour went super-fast at Reading and I was left really wanting more - this is a good indication of what to expect .? It has a killer “drop” too!? OK, here is another one with a somewhat different style. I need to see both these bands live again!