Localisation not Globalisation
Sustainable production:
If we have learnt one thing in recent years, it is that if Britain is to thrive, we have to become more self-sufficient. We need to create more opportunities as a force for good, lifting people out of poverty, enabling social mobility and creating wealth that will not only benefit local economies, but pay for the broader national services that our country needs.
Sustainable production is, in our view, the key to achieving this, producing as much as possible within and for the local community to ensure better self-sufficiency and security, keeping more wealth within local communities and out of the pockets of global brands/financial services.
By encouraging creative and inventive minds and finding ways of rewarding businesses that have a desire to create sustainable products, solutions and services that have the potential to win back market share from the major multinationals, we can keep more money in our local economies.
Breaking the dominance of multinationals and foreign imports:
To do this, we need to break the power and influence of multinational organisations, providing a better alternative provided by businesses that have an interest in the communities that they serve.
To succeed, this may require supportive government policy and tax breaks that encourage more local businesses to set up, innovate and manufacture, returning the UK to a more self-reliant and self-sufficient footing for the future, keeping more local money in the local economy.
This will require investment in advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture, as well as the encouragement of sustainable consumption practices, reducing waste, and decreasing demand for imported products; in turn lowering environmental impact.
From clothing to high-tech devices, innovative approaches need to be encouraged and supported by government, entrepreneurs, and investors so that a better, more sustainable future for Britain is possible.
By reducing reliance on foreign imports, by incentivising local production centres, and by establishing a more robust domestic supply chain, Britain has the opportunity to enhance its resilience to global supply chain disruptions and geopolitical uncertainties, safeguarding our wider national interests and maintaining strategic autonomy.
Steps toward a more sustainable future
Our challenge is to find the best ways to manifest change, and to identify the steps that need to be taken to realise a better, more sustainable future for Britain.
Quality over consumerism:
To be truly successful, a sustainable future requires a change in consumer habits. There needs to be a move from fast fashion and big brand mentality to a society where quality counts; where the lifetime value of well-made, local products become increasingly desirable. We also need to encourage repair, renewal and refurbishment.
Our challenge is to turn the tide on our throw-away society, and to build the value of locally made goods that can compete by taking advantage of lower transport costs/innovation at the same time as delivering lower societal cost - be that socially, or environmentally - helping to avoid the unnecessary and avoidable pollution created by imports.
LOCALISATION IS THE NEXT INDUSTIAL REVOLUTION