What does 2014 hold for sustainability?

It’s always foolish to make predictions for the year ahead but I’m going to do it anyway and take a stab at what significant developments we’ll see in sustainability this year.

1) The Green Deal and Energy Companies Obligation will be changed for the better. I don’t really see how the policy can get much less impressive and there’s still a desire in the government to make it work.

2) Biodiversity will be the the bold new frontier of sustinability. It’s not been at the forefront of many industry minds in the past but plans to introduce a “biodiversity offsetting” system are going to push this up the agenda.

3) The Renewable Heat Incentive’s launch will be a success. Unlike the Green Deal, industry expectations of this policy’s potential have been kept in check, meaning it’s quite possible that they will be met.

4) Firms will reach agreement on how we report their sustainability credentials. This is perhaps more of a hope than a prediction but it seems inevitable, if clients are to weigh up competitors, that some agreed forms of reporting must emerge beyond the (often unhelpful) things companies have to record by law.

Let’s see how far off the mark I am in 12 months’ time. If you’ve got your own ideas on what 2014 holds for sustainability, leave your comments below.