Green governance: how business ownership affects sustainability

A report of the January 2010 meeting of the FEC’s Business Forum

Building a sustainable economy calls for major new investment in low-carbon technologies and infrastructure, renewable energy and ecological protection. Yet only some of this investment will yield conventional productivity returns on a timescale appealing to global capital markets. It follows that greening the economy may call for new models of investment that value ecological and social returns, and for innovative forms of business ownership.

Are we investing enough in sustainable development and, if not, what are the barriers? Are some forms of business intrinsically more sustainable than others? Do businesses that value social returns, such as mutuals, operate any more sustainably than plcs in practice? What regulatory or other factors shape business ownership and investment?

The January meeting of the Food Ethics Council’s (FEC) Business Forum discussed such issues. We are very grateful to Sir Don Curry, chair of NFU Mutual, Roger Levett, a leading consultant on sustainability, and Tom Athron, Finance Director of Waitrose, for speaking. The chair was Helen Browning OBE, Food and Farming Director of the Soil Association and chair of the FEC.

Click on the link below to download a report of the meeting.