Soon 2018 will be over, and it’s time to take a serious look at the hot summer and the climate alarm bells that have been ringing in Sweden, California and other parts of the world. Trump (who seems chronically deaf on climate issues) believes that money can buy climate immunity. I disagree; it’s time to broaden the responsibility for saving the climate. We all have to take part in this.
Biking is good, but not for all occasions
It doesn’t have to mean that we start cycling to customer visits across Sweden for your company, although it can certainly be both relaxing and an experience. Still, we need to put in an environmental shift, even if we don’t cycle. We are encouraging customers to buy energy-efficient solutions over energy dissipating ones or encouraging customers to choose a responsibly produced product made in Europe, rather than a cheaper climate-changing Asian solution where the waste ended up in the wild. Why not propagate investing in solar cells locally to power your wireless installations (I’m interested in collaborations if anyone knows someone keen on solar cells) to reduce our carbon footprint? Invest in sustainable transport with minimal impact.
Tax on chemicals for companies
A completely different environmental factor that has surprised and pissed me off this fall is the fiddling with local tax on chemicals we have in Sweden. This is an environmental tax that applies to all the electronic components that are sold in Sweden. There are more than one occasion, where I have seen companies bending the rules, I’ve seen several examples of. All imported electronics containing various chemicals are charged a chemical tax based on the weight in Sweden. The weight is calculated on the complete package with accessories like antennas, chargers, power supplies, mounts, and so on. In one case I was in contact with, a lower tax is declared by “forgetting” to weigh the complete package and only certain parts. In another case, they simply did not know what they were doing and did not declare. In both cases, it was a question of offering a product at a lower total price and thus winning business. The fact that they were cheating on environmental taxes could be ignored. Both of the cases I mention are, of course, about companies that are not members of SKEF, but let us work together to ensure that environmental responsibility becomes a competitive factor and a competitive advantage in 2019 and that it is a responsibility that we all accept.
Many have an advantage with a local business because journeys are shortened and carried out using environmentally friendly vehicles. Our minimal impact can become a competitive advantage instead of calling in people from long distances. The more we can reduce our impact, the greater our competitive advantage.