steve kelsey |
Location
London, UK
Role
ConsultantJob Title
DirectorCompany
pi3Comments
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Cost-short term versus long term
Interesting debate. I am in complete agreement that there are some short term solutions that can also deliver cost savings. However, the incremental sustainability benefit that this delivers may not support the longer term reduction goals. Mass reduction and efficiency improvements are good short term solutions but we will reach diminishing returns quite quickly (Germany experienced this problem in the 80's which is where my firm first learnt about the problem). We need to deliver better than incremental gains to meet future growth needs to ensure that environmental impact is decoupled from economic growth so there will be a need for significant investment in new materials and methods. In addition to this investment cost, existing plants will need to be written off. To an extent this is just business as usual, however the rate of change required could increase the cost burden as it may not be feasible to wait for end of life before replacing existing plants. This may seem like tomorrow's problem, but be we always advocate allocating some resources to looking further out as this can lead to smarter solutions and even bigger cost gains.