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As in previous years, the Show provided a varied programme of seminars, exhibitor sessions and networking opportunities for those working within the industry or searching for the most up-to-date information.  General feeling seemed to concur, however, that this year’s attendance was considerably lower than in previous years, and there was much discussion amongst the stands on what the reasons for such a lower turnout might be. Economics would be the obvious response but other important events have occurred over the past twelve months that have most certainly played a role.  Last year, for example, the Show opened ahead of the commencement of the Carbon Reduction Commitment, and there was a consequent rush from organisations trying to understand its implications and the tools available to address it.

Turn the clock back twelve months from 2011 and you would also have felt a distinct policy buzz on issues of carbon emissions and climate change, engendered by the previous Labour government and which seemed, at the time, set to amplify when the new Tory PM announced his intentions to make this ‘the greenest Government ever’ (www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/14/cameron-wants-greenest-government-ever). Since that announcement, however, all sorts of changes have taken place at policy level. The Carbon Reduction Commitment was changed from a competitive to a mandatory scheme; the rules regarding the Feed-in Tariffs have been altered; support for renewable energy has been reduced; the Sustainable Development Commission has been scrapped.  Even references to carbon reduction and climate change have all but disappeared from Government-speak at higher levels. Perhaps predictably, only Chris Huhne (Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change) seems to keep this subject in the public and policy-makers’ eye, when in the previous government there wasn’t an official speech which didn’t mention Britain’s green ambitions.

Whatever the reasons, there was a feeling was that the sense of urgency seemed to have disappeared from the Carbon Show this year. Was that a reflection of the Government’s silence on this issue? Maybe it was pure economics. Or maybe whatever information people needed in terms of available tools and resources for carbon management, climate finance, green technologies and the like had already been obtained in previous years. Perhaps the Carbon Show, in this guise, has already satisfied the sector’s requirements, and the 2011 Show did not contain anything really new to capture people’s attention – maybe whoever needs carbon services is already being taken care of. Indeed, this is a services market that is quickly becoming saturated and, if anything, the implication was that we can expect this industry to consolidate significantly over the next few years.

This last point highlights the risky situation that any organisations which haven’t been addressing the carbon issue may find themselves in. As the market matures and consolidates – and the major players standardise their carbon management approaches – any businesses not keeping up with this shift will find themselves swiftly consigned to the role of peripheral players, with all the implications this can have for business successes and opportunities. Cornwall is already at the geographical (and in many cases economic) edge of the UK and the region’s businesses should have no enthusiasm at all in being also located on the margins of the carbon agenda. Just as the old Aggie has evolved to become a shiny commercial centre, so the Carbon Show will need to evolve if it is to remain pertinent for the ‘big players’.  And so projects like Clear About Carbon will become even more vital in hastening the adaptation process of Cornish organisations if they are to keep pace with this new business reality.