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The economy may be slowing - but remains strong according to Georgia Southern expert
Georgia Southern’s Economic Monitor Q1 reports regional economy slows, retains strength Georgia Southern University’s latest Economic Monitor, which reflects Q1 2022, reports that growth in the Savannah metro economy moderated during the opening quarter of the year. “The broadest indicators of economic activity — overall regional employment and electricity sales to residential, industrial and commercial users — continue to signal strength,” stated Michael Toma, Ph.D., Georgia Southern’s Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Economics. “After good performance in the fourth quarter, there was a mild pull-back during the first quarter in tourism and port activity. In general, the regional economy maintained its forward momentum, but slowed its rate of acceleration. Toma also noted that the Savannah metro economy will grow approximately 2% through the remainder of 2022, noticeably slower as compared to the rebound year of 2021. The economic future is somewhat murkier now as inflation surges, the Federal Reserve tightens, and global energy and commodities markets remain rocked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said. Overall Strength, but Some Sectoral Weakness The business index for the Savannah metro economy increased 1.3% in the opening quarter of 2022, roughly half the pace of the previous quarter. The index of current economic activity increased to 207.3 from 204.7. The index was buoyed by solid employment growth of 1.6% during the quarter and electricity sales growth of 2.1%. Indicators of port activity, tourism and retail sales slowed during the quarter. Metro Savannah employers added 3,100 jobs pushing total regional employment to 197,500 — more than 5,000 jobs and 3% higher than the pre-pandemic peak of 192,100 in the fourth quarter of 2019. The Georgia Department of Labor recently completed its annual benchmarking process for employment in which the monthly payroll survey data is benchmarked against headcount data. Total employment data did not change significantly but business and professional industry services were revised downward while the information sector, including the film and entertainment industry, was revised upward substantially. A full media release detailing key indicators such as Employment Trends, Housing Market, and that Slowing Regional Growth Expected is attached. About the Indicators The Economic Monitor provides a continuously updated quarterly snapshot of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area economy, including Bryan, Chatham and Effingham counties in Georgia. The coincident index measures the current economic heartbeat of the region. The leading index is designed to provide a short-term forecast of the region’s economic activity in the upcoming six to nine months. Looking to know more - then let us help. The Economic Monitor is available by email and at the Center’s website. If you would like to receive the Monitor by email send a ‘subscribe’ message to CBAER@georgiasouthern.edu. For more information or to arrange an interview - simply reach out to Georgia Southern Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.
Georgia Southern University’s annual economic impact soars to more than $1B
The latest report released by the University System of Georgia (USG) shows that Georgia Southern continues to have a strong economic impact on the region it serves and significantly contributed to the USG’s $19.3 billion total economic impact between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. The report indicates that Georgia Southern’s annual economic impact has soared to more than $1 billion for FY 2021, a 7.4% increase over FY 2020. The report found these economic impacts demonstrate that continued emphasis on colleges and universities as a pillar of the state’s economy translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater production of goods and services. “We faced unprecedented challenges in FY 2021, but we’ve come out stronger than ever,” said Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero. “With more than $1.03 billion of direct impact on southeast Georgia, Georgia Southern will continue to create more academic programs that meet specific needs for economic development. Informed by our regional academic plan and University strategic plan, we’re committed to making our region a thriving economic hub in Georgia.” There are 3,250 jobs on Georgia Southern’s campuses in Statesboro, Savannah and Hinesville. Because of institution-related spending, 6,363 jobs exist off-campus. Georgia Southern’s “initial spending” is $806,753,630. That breaks down in three areas: $235,513,929 is spent on personnel services $161,882,006 is spent on operations $409,357,695 is spent by Georgia Southern’s students Included in the initial spending by USG institutions are rounds of funding from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), which are federal funds allocated by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act that provided emergency grants for postsecondary education. The study is conducted on behalf of USG by Jeffrey M. Humphreys, Ph.D., director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. If you are a journalist looking to know more about the positive economic Georgia Southern is having - then let us help. Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero is available to speak with media - simply reach out to Georgia Southern Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.
News in Atlanta is attracting from across the country. A Starbucks tucked away in the Ansley Mall in midtown Atlanta became the third of the popular chain's locations in the state to unionize. Georgia is not known a union strong state. But efforts are also on to see an Amazon warehouse in Gwinnett County organized as well. The union push in the Peach State is getting a lot of attention. In a state that has been historically non-union, the battle to organize in Georgia has often been uphill. And in a workforce of 5 million, most efforts may have a minimal impact. Yet in recent months, there have been public signs of union activism: among low-wage marginal workers, long-time unionists pushing for better contracts and — most visibly — upstart efforts in high-profile, non-factory settings like Starbucks and Apple. Maybe it's the tight labor market that gives workers more leverage. After all, the historically low unemployment rate during a time of economic growth has many employers desperate for workers, less able to dictate terms and pay, said Anthony Barilla, Ph.D, economist at Georgia Southern University, who has researched labor issues. "There is a shortage of workers willing to work at the minimum wage or at a wage that simply doesn't mesh with the area's standard of living," he said. "When labor deserves a higher wage, organizing is simply a tool to be used in accomplishing this." July 07 - Atlanta Journal Constitution/Miami Herald There's a lot of interest in the union push in Georgia and a lot of questions to ask: Are perceptions of organized labor changing in the south? What's motivating the union drives? Is it time larger corporations took notice? If you are a journalist looking to know more about this labor trend - then let us help. Anthony Barilla, Ph.D., is an associate professor of economics. He has published research in the fields of labor economics, sports economics and the aspects of economic education. He is available to speak with media about these recent developments - simply reach out to Georgia Southern Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.
The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement is costly, what does the UK need to do? | Aston Angle
As far as trade is concerned, the EU exit has been rather costly to the UK. At the Centre for Business Prosperity, we have been tracking the performance of UK trade in recent years. The UK’s trade dropped sharply during COVID. Like other nations, this was due to the global recession and supply chain disruptions. However, the UK failed to recover and enjoy the boom, despite the tariff-free terms of trade in goods set out in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The UK now trades less with the EU, its largest trading partner, than in 2019. During the same period, Germany and the Netherlands grew trade with the EU by nearly a quarter, and US trade with the EU has also grown considerably. Reports suggest, including those from the British Chambers of Commerce, that exporting to the EU has become much more costly and in some cases, unviable. It appears that the “certainty” provided by the TCA has not reversed the declining trend of the UK-EU trade so far. Our new paper for the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) has found that UK exports experienced a large, negative, statistically significant decline in 2021 at the end of the transition after the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was put into force. We estimate that this amounts to a 22% reduction in exports to the EU and a 26% reduction in imports from the EU over the first half of 2021, relative to the counterfactual scenario of the UK remaining in the EU. How did this happen? After all, the TCA ensures that goods moving between the UK and the EU have no tariffs or quotas, so long as the rules of origin are complied with. Rules of origin help you work out where your goods originate from and which goods are covered in trade agreements. Our research found that non-tariff measures (NTMs) were responsible for the adverse TCA effect on UK trade with the EU and that the magnitude of loss was significant. It was equivalent to a reduction of £12.4 billion in UK exports over the first six months period of 2021. This equals 16% of UK total exports in the first half of 2019 and 70% of the documented total reduction in the EU exports in the same period. A number of factors can be attributed to the decline of UK exports to the EU. In particular, the increased trade frictions that occurred mainly due to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and technical barriers to trade (TBT) as a result of entering the TCA. Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures refer to the EU controls to protect animal, plant or public health. And technical barriers to trade (TBT) refers to mandatory technical regulations and voluntary standards that define specific characteristics that a product should have, such as its size, shape, design, labelling/marking/packaging, functionality or performance. On average, for the first six months of 2021, a 1% increase in SPS resulted in a 13–15% reduction in exports to the EU, most notably in the food and drink, wood and chemicals sectors. Furthermore, a 1% increase in TBT led to a 2–3% reduction in exports, especially in metals, equipment, machines and miscellaneous industrial products. What next? Since the post-Brexit dysfunctions are now diagnosed, in theory we could move on. The UK can directly tackle the trade challenges, so long as other things, such as politics, do not stand in the way. Fundamentally, what needs to happen is the removal or relief of the root causes coded by the TCA – the trade barriers newly erected. This is a key task; it is challenging but not impossible. Trade frictions due to the SPS measures are an acute problem of Brexit. Reducing some of the non-tariff measures between the EU-UK would help by exploring other mechanisms such as equivalent SPS measures or other ways to reduce businesses burden to a minimum. The technical barriers to trade are more complicated and challenging and they could potentially cause significant damage to the UK economy. Despite its limitation, maintaining and broadening the established arrangements of the current TCA provision, through some form of mutual recognition of specific practices or international regulations for selected sectors, should be the ambition of UK government to help ease the TBT trade barriers. Future EU-UK co-operation is critical and mutually beneficial but requires political will and strong leadership. In the short and medium term, supporting firms should be the priority, especially small- and medium-sized firms that are productive enough to have exported to the EU in the past, but now face hurdles to continue exporting. These firms tend to be limited on resource but have the infrastructure and ambition to internationalise. Targeted support for specific challenges could be also fruitful. The UK Department for International Trade Export Support Service, the British Chambers of Commerce and local growth hubs have the expertise and experience to help firms export. Therefore, resources should be made available to allow for customised and responsive support with exports, as well as taking advantage of technologies that can identify and reach businesses who require support. Provision should also be made to collect feedback on the quality of the support provided, to enable further improvement. Helping businesses continue to access EU markets, while enabling the economy to take advantage of welfare-enhancing benefits from trade, remains imperative. Given the economic benefits of the roll-out, the new free trade agreements are expected to be limited and effective only in the long term. UK domestic policies should be the focus to improve the competitiveness of exporters and their ecosystem. By Professor Jun Du Director of the Centre for Business Prosperity Professor of Economics, Finance and Entrepreneurship, Aston Business School Lecturer in Politics and International Relations School of Social Science and Humanities Dr Oleksandr Shepotylo Senior Lecturer, Economics, Finance and Entrepreneurship, Aston Business School
There's some important research taking place by an expert at Georgia Southern University - and the findings could result in serious and positive changes to nutrition for those living in rural, remote and under-served communities in Latina America and around the world. Ana Palacios, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Public Policy and Community Health in the Jiann Ping Hsu College of Public Health, is working on a clinical trial with a community in Honduras to find out whether giving eggs to kids between the age of 6 to 24 months will help them in terms of growth, food security and dietary diversity. Her work was recently featured in Forbes Magazine. "My heart, of course is in Latin American populations, and I have a community-based trial in Honduras that is assessing the effectiveness of an egg intervention," she says, adding that this community-based participatory research project is covering about 600 young children from more than 30 rural under-served communities in the Honduras Highlands. "Some evidence has shown that eggs can improve linear growth in some populations of Latin America," she says, "We are passionate in that this will provide a replicable, inexpensive, scalable and sustainable alternative to improve young children's nutrition, dietary diversity, food insecurity, economic development and overall reduce disparities." Palacios hopes the study will provide a solution that can be used in a wide variety of contexts in under-served rural areas throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and other regions around the globe. June 16 - Forbes It's a fascinating topic - and research that could truly be impactful on a global scale. The full article about Palacios' work is attached. If you are a journalist looking to know more about this research - then let us help. Palacios' research is focused on addressing disparities in access to nutrition, health, and education in under-served populations. She is available to speak with media - simply reach out to Georgia Southern Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.
Aston University helps celebrate Apprenticeship Levy Transfer scheme success
• Celebration to recognise 2,500 apprentices who started work across the region • Aston University worked with the WMCA to increase the number of apprenticeships that SMEs can offer by using levy transfer to help fund apprentices • Levy scheme benefitted nearly 800 local SMEs who have been able to take on apprentices thanks to the funding. Staff from the Aston University degree apprenticeship team attended a celebratory event hosted by West Midlands Combined Authority on 11 May to recognise how a pioneering funding scheme has helped nearly 2,500 apprentices start work within businesses across the region. The Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Scheme, which was set up by the WMCA three years ago, covers small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) training and assessment costs of taking on an apprentice. It uses money pledged by big business from their own unspent Apprenticeship Levy – a Government charge on all employers with a payroll of over £3 million to pay for apprenticeship training. This unspent money would normally go back to Government but under the initiative it is transferred via partnership with the WMCA to fund apprenticeships at smaller local firms. At the event, which was hosted at The Eastside Rooms in Birmingham and attended by levy transfer employer partners, apprentices and businesses from across the West Midlands, attendees had the chance to hear from SME employers and apprentices about how they have benefited from levy transfer. Over the past three years, the levy scheme has funded apprenticeship training for close to 800 local SMEs and nearly 2500 learners, keeping levy money within the region to help local businesses grow and upskill their staff. Degree apprenticeship development manager, Sheila Rattu, from Aston University, said: “Aston University has always supported its SME community and this has been another great way for us to celebrate our non-levy employers and champion a more diverse set of learners whether through Aston University pledging its own surplus funds or utilising the scheme for our own apprentices.” Aston University has worked with the WMCA to increase the number of apprenticeships that SMEs can offer by using levy transfer to help fund apprentices. This has resulted in securing £381,355 for local businesses. The impact from Aston University’s £200,000 levy pledge has also led to: • 23 apprentices having their training and assessments costs covered • 11 local businesses benefitting from our apprenticeship levy donation • increased job opportunities and a boost in skills and productivity across the region. The WMCA set up the Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Scheme to cover 100% of the training and assessment costs of apprentices at SMEs in the West Midlands, using the unspent levy pledged by big employers. During the celebration event David Gaughan, head of employer services at WMCA, shared the current economic situation in the West Midlands highlighting that employment rates are up to a record high, and unemployment rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Mayor of West Midlands, Andy Street, also attended the event to celebrate and highlight the commitment for Levy Transfer investment within the West Midlands. Qualification level in West Midlands remains below national average, however apprenticeships actively act as a bridge to support residents with skills and generate a skilled workforce ready for growth. Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA, said: “The Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Scheme has been a resounding success for our region – improving skills, providing jobs, and changing lives. I’m pleased therefore we have been able to take a moment to celebrate what we have achieved around apprenticeships in the West Midlands. “Linking up our local talent with the plentiful opportunities on offer in industry is central to my 100k jobs plan as we bounce back from Covid. We must provide routes into high-quality well-paid employment so that the young people in our region have prospects ahead to excite them and keep them and their families here in the years ahead.” The transfer deal agreed with the Government in 2018 was the first of its kind in the country helping to boost skills, job opportunities and productivity by supporting more young people and adults of all ages into work. For more information about degree apprenticeships at Aston University please visit our webpages. For media inquiries, contact Rebecca Hume, Press and Communications Manager: r.hume@aston.ac.uk
The Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) has partnered with NatWest for the Time to Change report It sets out ten evidence-based recommendations for advancing the growth potential of ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) including increasing their GVA contribution from the current £25 billion a year to £100 billion The report is being launched at a special event on 10 May at NatWest Conference Centre in London with keynote speaker Sir Trevor Philips OBE. A new report from Aston University has set out a plan for advancing the growth potential of ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) in the UK. The Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) has partnered with NatWest for the Time to Change report which sets out ten evidence-based recommendations to promote greater success and inclusion of ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) in finance and business support in the UK. Experts say the implementation of the recommendations could help tackle the multiple barriers faced by EMBs, particularly in accessing finance, markets and quality business support, and could increase their GVA contribution from the current £25 billion a year to £100 billion, highlighting the significant potential of EMBs to the UK economy. The report says that to combat racial inequality, there should be a UK-wide support for ethnic led businesses should be a standard feature of all future plans. This includes integrating them into broader policy agendas of inclusive growth, productivity and innovation. A more inclusive approach to enterprise is key to tackling wider social structural barriers such as unequal access to employment opportunities and product markets, and gender and ethnicity pay gaps. Concerted action is needed to support the growth ambitions of EMBs, particularly in light of damaging consequences of the pandemic for ethnic minority communities. The report calls for a strong action to eliminate the longstanding challenge of discouragement of ethnic minority entrepreneurs from seeking finance and business support. It found EMBs have been particularly hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic due to the sectors in which they tend to operate and recommends recovery support is focussed on the businesses that need it most. The report also highlights the need for greater accountability of organisations across public, private and third sectors, including business support agencies, finance providers and large purchasing organisations, for their business engagement with EMBs. Professor Monder Ram, director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship at Aston Business School, said: “This major report sets out an ambitious yet practical agenda to realise the potential of UK’s ethnic minority businesses. “The entrepreneurial ambition of ethnic minorities can play a crucial role in the UK Government’s vision of ‘Levelling Up’ prosperity across regions, promoting trade opportunities of ‘Global Britain’ and creating a more cohesive society. “Drawing on the latest research and examples of international best practice, the report presents a comprehensive approach to tackling the barriers faced by firms owned by ethnic minority communities. “We pinpoint key challenges and present recommendations – informed by extensive consultation with business support practitioners and entrepreneurs – that invite policy-makers, corporations and entrepreneurs to collaborate in a new partnership to advance entrepreneurial activities and the UK’s diverse communities.” The report calls for central government and local decision makers to develop clear objectives for inclusive entrepreneurship, informed by evidence, and ensure that EMBs can access quality business support that helps them grow. Dr Eva Kašperová, a research fellow at CREME, said: “To address the barriers faced by EMBs and help them realise their entrepreneurial potential will require commitment and leadership from the government as well as local business support ecosystem actors. “The current lack of an explicit UK-wide policy on inclusive entrepreneurship could mean that some parts of the country are left behind in terms of tackling structural inequalities and enabling entrepreneurs from ethnic minority communities and other under-represented or disadvantaged groups to access finance, wider markets and quality business support. “If past experience is a guide, ensuring commitment from key stakeholders may be the biggest challenge.” Andrew Harrison, head of Business Banking at NatWest Group, said: “As the UK’s biggest bank for business, we’re committed to championing small businesses and supporting growth, but we know that there are barriers which disproportionately affect Ethnic Minority Businesses (EMBs). “This is why we aim for at least 20% of the places on our 13 nationwide accelerator hubs to be for ethnic minority entrepreneurs. In 2021, 26% of businesses in our hubs were EMBs. “Only close collaboration can deliver meaningful change to ensure EMBs get the support they need to reach their full potential. Now is the time to accelerate action, and at NatWest we commit to playing an integral role in the change that is required.” The Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) will share this report, inviting policy-makers, corporations and entrepreneurs to come together in a collaborative and strategic partnership to champion enterprise and advance entrepreneurial activities and the UKs diverse communities, further building an inclusive entrepreneurial eco-system supporting businesses to thrive at a launch event at NatWest Conference Centre in London on 10 May.
Findings point to potential new therapeutic targets for this highly aggressive, drug-resistant breast cancer subtype In breakthrough research at ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute, scientists have discovered that a protein secreted by tumor cells can switch off the body’s natural defenses against triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The study, led by Jennifer Sims-Mourtada, Ph.D., lead research scientist at the Cawley Center for Translational Cancer Research (CTCR), at the Graham Cancer Center, is reported in The Journal of Translational Medicine, available online. “What we found is that TNBC tumor cells can effectively shut down the body’s defense systems against the tumor by secreting a type of protein called IL-10,” Dr. Sims-Mourtada said. “The presence of this immune system protein forces the antibodies that would normally be created to attack the tumor to become non-reactive and not do what they are supposed to do.” The study was initiated in partnership with The Wistar Institute of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in collaboration with the late Raj “Shyam” Somasundaram, Ph.D., a cell biologist at the Melanoma Research Center. “Dr. Sims-Mourtada and her team have brought us tantalizingly close to understanding what drives the aggressive nature of triple negative breast cancer, a treatment-starved disease that disproportionately affects Delaware women,” said Nicholas J. Petrelli, M.D., Bank of America endowed medical director of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute. “Their work underscores our belief that scientific collaborations such as this one between our Cawley CTCR clinicians and Wistar scientists can smooth the way for new findings to become effective therapies, especially for hard-to-treat and aggressive forms of cancer like TNBC.” Understanding the mechanism behind TNBC Delaware ranks highest in the nation for incidence of triple negative breast cancer. TNBC is an aggressive form that affects Black women at twice the rate of white women with poorer outcomes. Patients have higher rates of early recurrence than other breast cancer subtypes, particularly in the first five years after diagnosis. Currently there is no targeted therapy for TNBC. “One of our missions within the Cawley CTCR is to understand the mechanisms behind TNBC and find a treatment for it,” Dr. Sims-Mourtada said. “Our study sheds new light on what is prompting the body’s immune response to the cancer cells and offers clues to potential new therapeutic targets.” Normally it is the job of the B cells to regulate the immune response against foreign invaders like cancer. Among other jobs, they control inflammation at the site of an attack by releasing proteins including IL-10 to signal the defender cells to stand down. “Previously it was thought that the immune cells were the ones to express IL-10 to regulate themselves,” Dr. Sims-Mourtada said. “But our study shows that the tumor cells also release this protein, which means they are driving how the immune system behaves.” Within the tumor microenvironment, IgG4 is one of four antibody subclasses expressed and secreted by B cells. Whereas another type of antibody would urge the immune system to press on with the attack, activation of IgG4 signals the job is done. TNBC and activation of IgG4 “Our findings support that TNBC may create a tumor environment that supports activation of IgG4, and messaging from IL10 is triggering the switch,” Dr. Sims-Mourtada said. As previously reported with other cancers, such as melanoma, this study confirms that the presence of IgG4-positive B cells within the tumor associates with advanced disease increased recurrence and poor overall breast cancer survival. It is also possible that IL-10 expression by tumor cells may also be a cause of poor outcomes in TNBC, and this may be independent of IgG4+ B cells. “At this point, we don’t know what causes tumor cells to start secreting IL-10, but we know that B cell-tumor cell interactions are involved,” Dr. Sims-Mourtada said. “We still have to look at what is really going on in the B cell population to determine which subtypes of B cells are affected by this tumor crosstalk and why some forms of TNBC express IL-10 (the ones with poor outcomes) and others do not. “We think that the presence or absence of other immune cells in the microenvironment may affect how B cells interact with tumor cells to drive IL-10 expression,” she said. Resources for the study, including blood and tissue samples from consenting patients, were obtained through the Graham Cancer Center’s Tissue Procurement program. Interestingly, in a small subset of samples, the researchers found that IL-10 expression was significantly higher in Black patients than non-Hispanic white patients. These findings need to be confirmed in a larger more diverse population with different TNBC subtypes. Understanding tumor-infiltrating B cells “Our growing understanding of the contribution of IgG4+ cells to the immune microenvironment of TNBC and what drives IL-10 expression may reveal ways in which tumor-infiltrating B cells can contribute to tumor growth and provide new targets to increase the immune response to TNBC,” Dr. Sims-Mourtada said. As partners for more than a decade, Graham Cancer Center research clinicians and Wistar scientists collaborate across disciplines to translate cancer research into more effective therapies for patients everywhere. In addition to providing high-quality, viable tissue samples for Wistar research studies, Graham Cancer Center clinicians actively participate in concept development, sharing their unique understanding of the everyday patient experience.
Leo Quinn says transport, defence and energy projects are set to benefit from potential government-funded boom The UK Government has committed £4.8bn for infrastructure investment in towns across the country Balfour Beatty is working on a number of projects including Hinkley Point C and HS2. A decade of UK ‘infrastructure growth’ has been predicted by Balfour Beatty CEO and Aston University visiting professor, Leo Quinn, as the construction industry gets ready for a potential boom following financial commitments from the Government. £4.8bn has been promised for infrastructure investment in towns across the country and £26bn for public capital investment to hit emissions targets as part of the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda to raise living standards in regions outside of London. Leo Quinn said: “If you start to look at infrastructure and you look at either HS2, you look at nuclear - in terms of defence nuclear or civil nuclear - you look at the green agenda . . . we are entering into an era of 10 years of infrastructure growth. “I think the future looks very optimistic.” Balfour Beatty, the UK’s largest construction group, is working on a number of projects, including Hinkley Point C, the first new nuclear power station built in the UK in more than 20 years, and HS2, the high-speed rail link between London and the north of England. Overall, the UK group and French construction company Vinci have secured about £6bn in HS2 projects as part of a joint venture. This includes a £5bn civil engineering contract for the stretch of HS2 between Warwickshire and Staffordshire and a £1bn construction management deal for Old Oak Common station in north London, alongside engineering group Systra. The group was also awarded a £52m contract to deliver ‘environmental works’ across the HS2 route from the West Midlands to Crewe, creating new habitats along this 64km section of track.
The research looked into the means for achieving higher sustainability performance through circular economy adoption The project was led by Professor Prasanta Dey and Professor Pawan Budhwar from Aston Business School Data was gathered from around 100 SMEs from Greece, France, Spain and the UK. New findings from an Aston University-led study have found Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are likely to achieve higher environmental performance through circular economy (CE) adoption. CE is a systemic approach to economic development designed to benefit businesses, society, and the environment. In contrast to the 'take-make-waste' linear model, a circular economy is regenerative by design and aims to gradually decouple growth from the consumption of finite resources. The project was led by Professor Prasanta Dey and Professor Pawan Budhwar from Aston Business School along with Soumyadeb Chowdhury (Toulouse Business School), Krishnendu Saha (Birmingham City University), Debashree De (University of Essex) and Chrysovalantis Malesios (Agricultural University of Athens). Data was gathered from around 100 SMEs from each of the four selected countries – Greece, France, Spain and the UK using a survey to study the current state of CE adoption, and subsequently, focus groups were organised which involved SMEs owners and managers, policymakers, SMEs' customers and suppliers, in each country to derive means for improving sustainability performance. The study reveals that SMEs in all the participating countries are likely to achieve higher environmental performance through CE adoption. SMEs in France were likely to achieve higher overall sustainability performance than other participating countries. It also found products, processes and facilities design is likely to help SMEs most in all the participating countries to adopt CE, while their waste management all needed improvement. Professor Budhwar, head of Aston Business School, said: “Although from prior research there is evidence of SMEs achieving superior environmental performance by adopting CE, economic and social performances are not assured. This motivated us to undertake empirical research to reveal the means for achieving higher sustainability performance (economic, environmental, and social) through CE adoption”. “The findings of this research enable us to continue CE adoption not only in other European countries but also in India, Thailand, Vietnam and Kenya”. Professor Dey, a professor in operations and information management at Aston Business School, said: “SMEs in the EU countries are likely to have sustainable design practices aligned with the CE philosophy. On the contrary, SMEs in the participating countries are likely to have worst recover function. “This implies that customers' pressure works for SMEs to adopt CE principles as design function in most of the SMEs' businesses is governed by SMEs' customers. Whereas effective recover function depends on SMEs' self-motivation and policymakers’ pressure.” “CE adoption needs a structured approach of analysing current state of CE through analysing correlation of organisational value functions with sustainability performance, identifying issues and challenges, and suggesting means for improvement across value functions.” You can read the full report here.
