Business confidence in Yorkshire fell 11 points during May to 19%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. Companies in Yorkshire reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down 21 points at 20%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, down four points to 17%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 19%. Yorkshire businesses identified their top target areas for growth in the next six months as evolving their offer (31%) investing in their teams (30%) and introducing new technology like AI (24%).

The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.

A net balance of 3% of businesses in the region expect to reduce staff levels over the next year, down four points on last month. Overall UK business confidence dropped five points to 28% in May. Despite the dip, every UK nation and region report a positive confidence reading. As the country celebrated the Coronation, London reported the highest levels of business confidence at 43% (down four points on last month), followed by the North East at 35% (down six points month-on-month). The West Midlands, South East and South West, also reported high readings in May, all at 30%. Firms remain optimistic about their own trading prospects, with a net balance of 34% expecting business activity to increase over the next 12 months, down just five points on last month. Steve Harris, regional director for Yorkshire at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Despite there being a slight dip in overall business confidence for the region this month, it’s encouraging to see that Yorkshire firms remain broadly optimistic and are looking at evolving their offer as an avenue for growth. “To avoid any delays and to capitalise on opportunities quickly, businesses should ensure they have the working capital to help with short-term finance needs. We’ll be by the side of businesses as they target growth in the coming months.”  Confidence among manufacturers increased to a one-year high of 40% (up from 29%), while retail registered a more modest two point rise to 26%, and construction remained robust at 34% despite its monthly nine point decline. Services confidence, however, fell back to 26% from 36%, almost erasing last month’s rise. Overall, confidence across the broad sectors remains above levels at the start of the year. Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist for Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “As the economic environment remains challenging, compounded by stubborn inflation and higher wage pressures, business confidence has dipped slightly this month as firms feel cautious about the wider economy and their own trading prospects. “However, while firms’ trading prospects and economic optimism both eased back, they still remain in positive territory as the UK has avoided an outright contraction in GDP – indicating a certain amount of underlying resilience in the economy.”

The Humber’s place promotion organisation has shared the region’s vision for a clean, green, prosperous future to an international audience.

Future Humber presented the Humber 2030 Vision at the Innovation Zero Congress, held at the London Olympia, alongside key partners in the region’s drive to a sustainable net zero economy. The Innovation Zero Congress is the UK’s largest event to drive businesses towards low and zero carbon solutions. It hosted more than 12,000 visitors and featured 200 exhibitors and 350 speakers across eight stages over two days. The Humber 2030 Vision is the prospectus of decarbonisation projects that represent a potential £15 billion investment in the UK’s Energy Estuary, including Humber Zero, H2H Saltend and Gigastack. It details how these projects can establish the UK’s first low carbon industrial cluster in the Humber by 2030, unlocking significant investment and creating tens of thousands of jobs. The vision also highlights why the Humber, as the UK’s largest carbon emitter, represents the single biggest industrial decarbonisation opportunity. Future Humber, alongside 10 partners including RWE, Phillips 66, Drax and SSE Thermal, created its own ‘Humber Pavilion’ to showcase the vision at the congress. The 16m by 6m pavilion featured nine separate stands representing individual decarbonisation projects under the Humber 2030 Vision. It also had a central networking area where members of the Future Humber team and partners were able to interact with thousands of visitors to the pavilion. Future Humber was launched last month to replace Marketing Humber, with a renewed strategy and focus on its powerful network of Bondholders that spans the private and public sectors across the region. The repositioning includes a refreshed and expanded Board of Directors to further strengthen Future Humber’s voice across all sectors and give the region national and international influence. The change to Future Humber more accurately reflects the organisation’s wide-ranging work to make connections, build partnerships to promote the Humber, and help secure investment to drive growth. The Future Humber team at the Innovation Zero Congress included Managing Director Dr Diana Taylor. She said: “The Humber has huge decarbonisation ambitions and we’ve made important strides on our journey to net zero – but we must grasp the opportunity before us. “Now is our time and, by working together under the shared messaging of the Humber 2030 Vision, we can achieve our ambitions of creating a sustainable, thriving green economy. “As a convenor, Future Humber, supported by the strength of our network of Bondholders, is helping unite the region and share its story to influential decision-makers. “There was an incredible amount of interest in the Humber 2030 Vision across the two days at the Innovation Zero Congress and visitors to our pavilion were fascinated by the level of activity, investment and potential for our region to lead the UK’s green economic recovery.” The Future Humber team were also joined by Henri Murison, Chief Executive of The Northern Powerhouse Partnership, who is also a member of the new Future Humber Board. He presented the collaborative voice for the industrial clusters of the North and amplified the narrative for the Humber as a major player at a session titled Regional Net Zero Regeneration: Future Growth Opportunities. He said: “We need to put real energy into collaboration across the North, not competition, to achieve our goal of a prosperous green future. “There’s been an incredible amount of work carried out across the Humber to get where we are, and significant progress has been made, but we’ll only get to where we want and need to be internationally by the scale of the prize for decarbonising industry on the Humber being secured. “The Humber 2030 Vision represents a potential £15 billion investment in the region, which would be truly transformative. We need government to move more quickly to secure this investment and gain the benefits to UK plc of it being spent.”

As the chase for net zero gathers momentum SMEs are being increasingly challenged to not just create plans for sustainability but to achieve them. According to some reports, 50% of businesses have ambitions to achieve net zero by 2050 but only 11% believe they have the right strategy to get them there. The focus on the environment may seem like a relatively recent movement but for some it has been a philosophy for well over a century. Known as Lincolnshire’s favourite coffee roaster, Stokes Tea & Coffee is an award-winning family business with more than 120 years of experience in sourcing, roasting, blending and supplying the freshest coffees, finest teas, equipment, servicing and barista training. The company also runs multiple destination cafés and hospitality spaces. Stokes has built a reputation amongst its peers for leading the way in sustainable practices. This is in part, testament to some solid habits which are as alive today as they were when the company began back in 1902. The mantras of ‘make do and mend’ and ‘waste not want not’ together with an uncompromising commitment to world-class levels of quality, are not just standing the test of time, they’ve been instrumental for decades in delivering effective ethical and eco practices. Emma Olivier Townrow, Business Development Manager at Stokes, is helping to co-ordinate the sustainable efforts, she describes the journey so far. “Stokes has never been just about profit. The family has always given back to its communities, operated responsibly, ethically and sustainably. These are not just snappy sound bites. I can honestly say that these behaviours and values are quite literally built into the DNA of the company. Minimising waste, being efficient and valuing resources is the Stokes philosophy. “The company has just got on with it for decades and never been interested in virtue signalling or labelling its efforts when it comes to environmental or community activities. This has presented a very different challenge, as unlike many other businesses where sustainability initiatives are being developed to meet the requirements of things like B Corp certification, Stokes has so much in place already that is just business as usual. “The behaviours and practices require retrospective ‘labelling’ as it were, rather than having to start something new, it’s been a case of finding and formalising what’s already in place. I’ve been working on the B Corp application to help Stokes get formal recognition and certification for the amazing work it’s been doing. “There’s a vast amount already in place including investment in new heating systems and eco-friendly coffee roasters that significantly cut down on energy usage and emissions and a clear focus on minimising waste through upcycling, recycling and re-purposing. Stokes is close to its supplier base at home and abroad to ensure every penny spent benefits communities near and far. The company demonstrates that a team focus and strong principles can make huge headway when it comes to the sustainability journey.”   Emma’s Top Tips for Achieving Net Zero Targets: 1. Don’t be overwhelmed by the prospect of driving sustainable agendas, the UN targets all ultimately lead to overall benefits for businesses including efficiency, savings and greater business/community engagement. 2. Start small, for example by finding 3 ways to reduce single-use plastic, switch to greener suppliers or support a community project to develop a fresh perspective and approach towards tangible and sustainable business practices. Once you start looking, you’ll be surprised by how many ways you’ll find to reduce your carbon footprint. 3. Get your team onboard, share your ambitions and seek ideas from your people, better still create incentives or rewards for innovative ideas. Nothing breeds success like success, so find the wins and celebrate them. 4. Rethink how you dispose of your waste products – can they be reduced, reused or recycled? 5. Don’t be nervous about sharing your aims and ambitions with your customers, data shows consumers appreciate and value sustainable businesses. So, share your aspirations and seek collective solutions. Find out more at: www.stokescoffee.com