Bureau Veritas estimates that in 2020 there will be major growth in compliance, leading testing and inspection. The certification authority revealed that the key trends in the year ahead will be tackling climate change, ‘Big Data’ as well as ethical supply chains.
Ken Smith, Country Chief at Bureau Veritas UK, highlighted that “as we look to the year ahead, considering ways in which a business can meaningfully help to tackle climate change will remain a top priority, and in many instances, this will be increasingly critical to their commercial success.”
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Notably, according to recent findings from an HSBC study, almost half of UK companies are planning to increase their environment-related spending between now and summer 2021, despite concerns over Brexit and a slowing economy.
The study, which surveyed 2,500 organizations, found that 69% will be looking to make their manufacturing processes more sustainable, 66% will be improving internal practices and 63% will be updating buildings and equipment.
The Country Chief added that in order to do well requires a holistic and well thought out sustainability strategy, by encompassing everything from energy efficiency through to waste management.
It can thus be an incredibly complex area; hence Bureau Veritas UK advises businesses to seek out expert consultancy in order to ensure any sustainability framework can be clearly verified and validated so that it delivers results in line with environmental objectives for 2020.
What is more, it was stressed that the pressing challenge for the food industry will be to demonstrate effectively how ethical standards around food products are being adopted at every stage of a global supply chain- from manufacturing, down to logistics and delivery right through to when the product is consumed.
Bureau Veritas adds that another key for 2020, will be how businesses use ‘Big Data’ to inform and improve existing compliance regimes, particularly in responding to changing future regulations.
Ken Smith said that
In the coming year, we expect this to be particularly prevalent for multinational entities looking to get ahead of fast-changing regulatory frameworks.
“At Bureau Veritas, we carry out millions of engineering inspections for audit and compliance purposes each year. More and more, however, we’re finding that companies want to compile and decipher the large amounts of data this generates to create a more agile and cost-effective approach to compliance, through sector and regional benchmarking in key areas such as H&S, quality and sustainability,” he said.
Lastly, there will be a need to be balanced against requirements under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), where firms must understand their data protection obligations in storing and using ‘Big Data’ or risk facing hefty fines.
Bureau Veritas recently launched Circular+, a platform that offers a holistic approach to process audit and management system services to help organizations manage their environmental as well as social impacts.
Recently, CLIA issued its 2020 State of the Cruise Industry report taking an in-depth look at the impact of cruising and the trends across the industry, including environmental sustainability, responsible tourism and unique passenger offerings. The cruise industry has cemented its role as a mainstream vacation choice with about 32 million guests expected to sail in 2020.
Key trends for the cruise industry for 2020 include environmental sustainability; destination stewardship; cruise and stay; the plastic-free passenger; generation cruise positive; lone cruisers as well as micro travel.
