Greener Matters is proud to support the Better Business Act, a campaign to change UK law to ensure that company directors are responsible for advancing the interests of shareholders alongside those of wider society and the environment.

I am so excited about the proposed Better Business Act now being discussed here in the UK.

Hundreds of businesses have already signed up to create a cleaner, greener, fairer future for all. Together, we will ask for the government’s leadership to help deliver this new contract between business and society.

This proposed legislation asks for changes to UK law to ensure that every company here — whether big or small — puts balancing people, profit and planet at the heart of their purpose and the responsibility of their directors.

First, if the supporters of this Act are successful it means the wellbeing of people and the planet are at last put on equal terms with profit as a priority for businesses. No more indiscriminate polluting of our air, oceans and soils. No more reckless destruction of our planet and natural resources.

Secondly, even if the Act is not successful right now (Heaven forfend!), just the fact that it’s being discussed and mooted is another sign that time’s they are a changin’… and they’re changing fast. The greener business snowball is picking up speed. An Act like this will come to pass, it not an ‘if’ it’s a ‘when’. Forward-thinking businesses are already planning for this and making the change to a sustainable business strategy.

It can no longer be a choice for companies to consider their impact on the future. Those that don’t must be held accountable… or we have no hope of meeting our 2030 and 2050 emissions targets and are on a fast-track to an unliveable planet.

So yes, our business, Greener Matters, has joined this coalition of businesses supporting the Better Business Act. It’s a campaign to rally business around an ask to government to amend section 172 of The Companies Act. This will ensure that company directors are responsible for advancing the interests of shareholders alongside those of wider society and the environment.

Join us! The Better Business Act is a business-led campaign, driven by leaders who recognise that the law has fallen behind business culture and who have proven that this approach to business works for everyone. See the attached deck for full details or head over to the Better Business Act campaign website.

The aim is to secure as many pledges of support as possible for the campaign principles and then to work with the government and parliamentarians to get legislation passed. We know that there is a lot of support in Westminster for this but that this must be an “ask from business” rather than something they are seen to be imposing on business.

Part of our message to government is that the Better Business Act is a unique opportunity to demonstrate UK leadership on the global stage – creating a competitive advantage, driving innovation, accelerating progress to net zero, and aligning with the government’s ambition to build back better.

I think the conditions are absolutely right for change to happen. The outdated ‘business as usual’ model is over. In its final dying throes. The business people who read the writing on the wall and get an early bird seat on the sustainable business bus will be positioned to thrive and grow in the inevitable low carbon economy that is now forming on the horizon.

To sign up as a supporter of the BBA, just fill in this form – it will serve to help amplify our voice and reinforce all that you as a business stand for.

Join us, act now: www.betterbusinessact.org.

Follow the campaign on Twitter @betterbizact

If you need help making the shift from business-as-usual to future-proofed and ready for the low-carbon economy, talk to us at Greener Matters – hello (at) greenermatters.com. We are sustainability consultants whose mission is to simplify sustainable business, our speciality is the media sector.