Carbon equals dollars
By Rob Riegert 

MELBOURNE, July 23rd, 2009 – One thing is certain amongst the all the confusion around the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme - the responsible management of sustainability must now be an integral component of any business strategy. The transition to a low emissions economy has already started.  The existing and proposed legislation is complex and multifaceted; however the solution need not be complex or expensive.
 
Most of my efforts for the last three years have been addressing this precise issue for business.  We could see the need for business to carrying out environmental audits to make firm decisions, take corrective actions, and receive the associated financial benefit. There are tools not unlike the more familiar financial systems, that do all the sums for you. 
It is an old cliché, but burying your head in the sand is not sound business practice. Organisations need to perform compliance related tasks such as carbon foot printing, managing risk exposure, and even calculate the cost of going carbon neutral, just like any other financial practice they perform.
Climate Change must be tackled from all three critical angles - economic, government policy and the environment. Getting the Emission Trading Scheme wrong will have a major impact on your balance sheet and or cash flow. Early adaptation is a commercial advantage and consumers are now making purchasing decisions on the basis of a green brand.
A powerful ingredient in your Carbon Strategy needs to be understand your consumption which leads to indentifying and assessing potential abatement projects. Carbon equals dollars and action is required to put organisations ahead of the game in the new Carbon Constrained future.

Rob Riegert is the Managering Director of Prima Consulting.

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