Former industrial chemist now Business Sustainability/ESG consultant Dr Roger Wareing PIEMA, reports on the latest from the CNW Sustainability Group.
The CNW Sustainability Group was launched in Autumn 2024 to support CNW member companies to successfully navigate this emotive, complex, and often confusing space. We have since refined three clear themes which resonate with members’ needs and where we can be genuinely additive (see BOX below). These in turn are aligned with both CNW’s and the CIA’s mission to improve the sustainability, competitiveness, and image of our industry.
I was delighted to facilitate our third event at Daresbury in May where we were pleased to welcome more new member companies alongside those from previous events.
We kicked off our KNOWLEDGE theme with a short “State of Sustainability” presentation ahead of the main “Regulatory Update and Direction” session which, this time, focussed on two emerging developments.
The EU “Omnibus” proposals represent a seismic shake up of sustainability reporting requirements which is set to have far reaching consequences. This will be especially true for companies who fall/will fall under the flagship EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and those who supply to them. However, since this is also expected to influence UK developments - based on the international ISSB standards - the ramifications are likely to be even wider. As such, we will be monitoring developments and anticipated consequences closely.
Closer to home for many organisations, the International Environmental Management Standard, ISO14001, is set for its next evolution in 2026 having been last updated in 2014. Although ISO are only proposing “minor” changes in the draft which is currently out for consultation, the proposed changes will result in overall broadening of both coverage and depth reflecting the rising importance of sustainability in a business context and the need to align with increasing regulation and best-practice. Again, this is something we will be monitoring to give members a head start on confirmed changes to requirements.
We would like to thank those CNW members who completed the CNW Environmental Sustainability Survey as part of our ENGAGEMENT theme. This snapshot provides vital intelligence of where our peers see themselves in relation to our industry’s three key environmental sustainability challenges: net zero, sustainable resource use and product stewardship. The anonymised results (which are available on request) were presented and revealed a broad spectrum in current engagement and delivery with all respondents reporting some progress whilst acknowledging that they have some way to go. With this in mind, the information relating to perceived barriers and enablers will be particularly useful.
But what really matters of course is DELIVERY on the sustainability agenda, and so we were especially pleased to hear two Chemicals Northwest 2025 award winners present our first case studies. Elaine Littlewood from RS Clare & Co Ltd spoke candidly about what sustainability means to the business and some important achievements they have already delivered on. Elaine went on to expand on what is currently driving their sustainability journey forward including a very candid - and particularly useful - overview of some of the challenges they are working to overcome to realise their bold ambitions.
Suzanne Tse, from DSV – Global Transport and Logistics, also gave an inspiring presentation demonstrating the power of a local sustainability initiative within a large organisation. Suzanne’s story centred on how a “refusal” to bin unwanted office furniture generated through a local office refit and refurb program led to the “win-win-win” of quantifiable environmental impact reduction and community enrichment from reuse alongside the powerful internal and external “boost” which companies can enjoy through successful sustainability engagement.
We finished the morning, as always, with a lively lunch where the discussions continued. Our “superpower” is getting people with a desire to confront and help solve common challenges together so we can help to create the more resilient and prosperous chemicals value chain we want to see. We are always keen then to hear from CNW members about specific topics of interest to them and we hope that other CNW members – wherever their organisations are on the business sustainability spectrum – will join us in accelerating progress.
Thank you again to both speakers and the attendees for their positive engagement and thoughtful contributions during another well-received event.
Contact Alex or Roger to register your interest in the group and future events.
Dr Roger Wareing PIEMA
www.linkedin.com/in/rogerwareing
At the end of last year, DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) published its Simpler Recycling regulation with the aim of driving consistency and raising England’s performance in recycling across businesses and homes.
