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12 Summer 2022 GOING FOR GREEN C onsumer pressure for more climate-neutral, sustainable options has been growing for several years – to the point where, as of March 2022, nearly 90% of Gen X consumers said they would be willing to spend an extra 10% or more for sustainable products. Deloitte reported in 2021 that 28% of UK consumers had even stopped purchasing certain brands or products because of ethical- or sustainability-related concerns. Pressure to become more sustainable also stems from stakeholders. In 2020 KPMG2 reported that businesses face increased scrutiny over sustainability from “from nancial stakeholders, especially asset owners and managers”, becoming markedly more intense and demanding over the last three years. 28% of employees would even consider quitting their current role and transitioning into one which was o ered by a more environmentally- responsible company. Businesses may be motivated by consumer purchasing, the ‘big resignation’ and retaining employees, or may simply acknowledge that a business is a societal actor holding a responsibility to create a more climate-resilient future. Ultimately, sustainability strategies can be driven by a blend of all these reasons as a business looks to foster longevity – creating long-term value and resilience by taking into consideration how it operates and impacts the world on an ecological, social and economic level. ABAX, a company that provides live tracking technology for vehicles, machinery and tools, helps businesses tomonitor the environmental impact of eets, by recording emissions, driver behaviour and enabling route optimisation. e company’s UK Commercial Director, Kevin Bull said: “On average a eet vehicle idles for 32 hours a year. Per driver, that’s 284 kg of CO2. Telematics can easily help organisations cut this idling and make an immediate positive impact on its emissions. With recent data from the UN panel on Climate Change reinforcing the link between the rate of global warming and human in uence, it’s high time we all act where we can – without delay.” Data gained through telematics can enable eet managers to evaluate the usage of assets (including vehicles, tools andmachinery) to ensure their better maintenance, adding to the assets’ longevity. It’s common for modern appliances, machinery, vehicles and tools to be tted at the point of manufacture with a telematics device – but for many rms these devices aren’t practical because multiple brands of machinery are used in any given day, meaning multiple platforms would need to be accessed to view the data. ABAX’s newly-launched Smart Connect SaaS solution removes this barrier by providing an all-in-one platform that connects the multiple di erent telematics devices – meaning managers can simply log in once to view all the data they need without the need for any additional hardware. For each subscription purchased, ABAX plants a tree as part of its collaboration with reforestation organisation WeForest. e result is an additional 200,000 trees growing in the afromontane forest of Mount Mulanje in 2021. Bruce Atle Karlsen, Chief Performance O cer at ABAX, said: “All companies should scrutinise how their business impacts the world, and this is more important in 2022 than ever before.” ABAX Sustainability Consultant, Taryn Sumpton said charity initiatives are important, but far from the whole solution. “We know our products can help businesses become greener, and that we’re making signi cant contributions to environmental organisations. But, to be truly sustainable, we need to look at our own manufacturing and supply chain to ensure we’re doing all we can. “It’s no secret that the last couple of years have been fraught with supply chain challenges. We had previously moved to a model where the manufacture of our product was completed in Europe. Supply challenges meant we had to diversify from this – but that’s why we’ve since included in our 2021 sustainability strategy to de ne a green supply chain as a carbon neutral supply chain, and we’ve made the decision to calculate the product carbon footprint of our hardware so we can act upon that e ectively. “We don’t shy away from the fact that the road to sustainability has its bumps. But that’s why we’re transparent as we have adapted to still work towards our climate-resilient goals – without this our customers can’t make informed choices, and we can’t genuinely provide the greener option on the market.” IS A MORE CLIMATE-RESILIENT FUTURE ON THE HORIZON? For each subscription purchased, ABAX plants a tree as part of its collaboration with reforestation organisation WeForest.