Almost a third of businesses claim to have delayed innovation projects in the last 12 months due to the political uncertainty over Brexit, research from Schneider Electric has revealed.
The research, published in the company’s ‘Rethink Energy’ report today (15 October), found 31 per cent said they delayed projects while 13 per cent had cut budgets for key projects, including those aimed at tackling sustainability.
In total 400 large businesses were surveyed, along with 120 SMEs and 2,000 UK consumers.
While sustainability remains “firmly” on the boardroom agenda, the number of businesses choosing to delay projects has increased by 25 per cent in the last two years, Schneider claims.
The research found that while businesses view sustainability and efficiency as a long-term necessity, 74 per cent fear that implementing sustainable working practices will have a negative impact on their bottom line, up from 54 per cent in 2017.
Meanwhile 85 per cent of business leaders reported feeling torn between doing the right thing for society and doing the right thing for the performance of their business.
The biggest drivers of sustainability initiatives for large businesses are long-term financial stability and improved brand reputation, while meeting government sustainability targets and helping to mitigate climate change were also top 5 drivers.
SMEs were six times more likely to make changes to their business to reduce their impact on the environment only if legislation demands it. This, Schneider suggests, means a tougher line from the government may be required to drive large-scale change.
Meanwhile for consumers, the rising cost of energy bills is the number one incentive to reduce energy consumption, with financial incentives from government the number two driver for change.
Reducing the impact of carbon emissions for future generations is now a key consideration for a third of the British public (34 per cent) up from 25 per cent just 12 months ago.
Mike Hughes, Schneider electric zone president UK and Ireland, said: “It is going to take hundreds of billions of pounds to decarbonise Britain and achieve the UK government’s net-zero 2050 target, a target which we fully support.
“It is clear that the government is looking to the business community to fund a significant portion of the investment required, and alongside cost there is also opportunity.
“But as our research clearly shows, no business is going to risk committing millions of pounds to projects, particularly those involving new technologies without a stable environment in which to invest.”