Ten steps to levelling up Britain in the aftermath of COVID-19

Last week the government revealed its ten-point plan for its version of a green industrial revolution.

Its aim is to advance key sectors, including offshore wind, nuclear technology, zero emission vehicles, green public transport and carbon capture and storage. 

It’s hoped the proposed £12bn injection into the country’s green sector could create 250,000 jobs across the UK; while additional investment from the private sector will catalyse further growth. 

The plan is a big step in the right direction in terms of facing up to the environmental crisis. The green jobs drive will help to rebuild the economy as the pandemic’s restrictions subside. 

Although it includes ambitious targets for levelling up the UK’s green industries, however, the plan focuses largely on the what rather than the how.

The Ten Point Plan aims to make the UK’s recovery from coronavirus green. But the strategy must also factor in the widespread impact of the crisis on deprived areas of the UK, which have been hit hardest by the pandemic. Earlier this year, the Social Mobility Pledge identified some of the areas most likely to suffer a double hit on opportunity in the wake of Covid-19, with northern and rural areas set to be worst affected.  

There is a unique opportunity here for the Prime Minister to put levelling up and purpose-driven business front and centre of his government’s net-zero commitment.

By developing green industries in the communities that most need them, we can tackle both the climate crisis and low levels of social mobility, which has remained stagnant for years.  

The government can help to close the opportunity gap by embedding it into the ten-point plan. By locating green industries in disadvantaged areas, we can put them on a level playing field, creating more jobs and opportunities for the communities that will value them most. 

It was this approach that drove the push to bring Nissan to Wearside in 1984. The government signed an agreement with the Japanese company to build one of its car plants in the UK, offering the site in Sunderland at agricultural prices as an incentive. 

Today the plant still plays an integral role in Sunderland’s community and the wider North East economy. It employs 6,000 people and supports 27,000 jobs across the UK’s automotive supply chain, three-quarters of which are located in the North East. 

Meanwhile, in September this year, we launched the One Planet Pledge, which calls on businesses to commit to net zero emissions. Industry giants E.ON, Direct Line Group and Barratt Developments were among the first to sign the One Planet Pledge and in doing so, make a public commitment to achieving their own net zero target date. 

The climate crisis is one of the UK population’s chief concerns, especially amongst our young people. The public’s expectation for Britain’s businesses to play their part in protecting the planet means corporate responsibility can no longer be treated as an advertising, PR or marketing tool. It must come from board level and it must be woven into the very fabric of the organisation. 

Linking up people and planet is vital because they are two sides of the same coin. Through the Social Mobility Pledge, we have seen businesses implement innovative strategies across outreach, recruitment and progression to ensure that people from our country’s most deprived communities are offered the opportunities and support they need to get on in life. 

Working with over 500 businesses and higher education institutions, we have seen what a real commitment to social mobility looks like. When organisations are deeply embedded in a community, working with them consistently year on year, they begin to make real change that goes far beyond a marketing campaign. 

Now we need more businesses and organisations to make this same level of commitment to the planet. 

Rt Hon Justine Greening

Founder, One Planet Pledge & Social Mobility Pledge

Former Secretary of State for Education, Minister for Women and Equalities, Secretary of State for International Development, Secretary of State for Transport, Economic Secretary to the Treasury