It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Donald Ward, Operations Director at Midlands-based metal recycling and waste management specialist, WARD.
We can’t escape the fact that COVID will continue to play its part in bringing ongoing uncertainty to business and present further trading challenges at a local, regional and national level. However, Midlands businesses have shown incredible resilience and are becoming increasingly used to adapting to uncertainty.
Adaptation will also be a key theme to progress the sustainability agenda. To deliver on the COP 26 outcomes and shift to a circular economy focus, adaptation, mitigation, finance and collaboration will be essential to reduce carbon emissions. We need to deliver investment in climate goals and encourage working together to achieve real impact and change.
As a business, we are well on the way with our sustainability road map to 2030, the Ward Way. Since 2019 we have already realised a 28% carbon reduction across our operations and as part of the Pledge to Net Zero we have evidence-based targets to achieve around energy efficiency, delivering social value, developing economic and environmental sustainability in the year ahead.
Unfortunately, the first half of 2022 is likely to present more tough trading conditions. Realistically, there will be ongoing issues with logistics and shipments, which we expect for at least another six months. However, we are finding alternative ways to move materials and have made provision for this in our plans for 2022, such as moving to rail. We’ve also been looking ahead and have invested in and secured the plant and equipment we need to support our plans for the growth of our bulk metal recycling operations in 2023 and beyond.
This will be a year where the wellbeing of all staff both physical and mental is even more paramount to beating the daily issues we face from the changing world. We should have a greater sense of empathy and compassion, stay connected, be aware of and be kind to each other both inside and outside of work.
