We may not all hug trees but most of us get the connection. And, letโs be honest, we miss them when theyโre gone. Which is why, like loved ones who pass, their pre-felled images are often treasured by those who valued them most.
Whether itโs the Sycamore Gap Tree and a National Trustโs project to record its second life through memorial saplings or the painstakingly documented pieces made from a diseased Ash in a furniture bossโs garden, we treasure the idea of knowing something precious lives on.
You only have to look at the countless social media posts depicting before-and-after images chainsaw artists post on Instagram to get a feel for that.
But I suspect thereโll be less affection among the small business community reading the small print of the burgeoning EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
On paper (yes, deliberate pun) it will be a positive step in tackling deforestation by ensuring the likes of crates, boxes and pallets come from properly managed forests. And that means businesses exporting into the EU or relying on source materials that use its supply chains, will need to declare where the wood came from, right down to the forest where the tree grew.
For larger outfits, that could mean just another level of compliance, another area of dedicated responsibility for another team to devote time to, rather like GDPR, money laundering, health and safety or that, often too quickly forgotten area, training. Or for the most tech-savvy, a simple case of upping the software quotient.
But for small and medium-sized businesses, even sustainable ones, itโs just another in a growing list of challenges that can often appear to overwhelm any CEO wearing many hats, and that excludes industry specifics such as those involving the likes of financial services or, say, food safety or alcohol licensing.
For those close to the subject area, this comes as no surprise. One such is eco Entrepreneur Rachel Watkyn whose Sussex-based Tiny Box Company turns over a cool ยฃ10 million. Her team have been reviewing EUDR implications for ages and working closely with suppliers to ensure critical data is captured at source.
But even she admits it represents, โa huge effortโ which โfeels like weโre trying to rebuild the foundations of something we already thought was sturdyโ. On the upside, she notes itโs โa chance to demonstrate what weโve been advocating for years: that transparency and traceability are not just ideals, but achievable and necessary goalsโ.
I also noted a comment made by Barbara Bradbury, MD of the management consultancy Halland Solutions to the insurer Markel that โbeing responsible for everything โ admin, finances, marketing etc. as well as deliveryโ was one of the main challenges for a business owner. But what resonated was when she said: โUtilising your own professional network can be a massive help when facing this challenge, as you may find that your peers could provide you with the tools and knowledge you need.โ
One of the common themes I revisit often when looking for feature ideas across myriad sectors in quite diverse European markets is collaboration. Iโm always struck by the way business leaders recognise the value in terms of new market access, risk mitigation and efficiency.
Almost as an added bonus, comes the concept of knowledge-sharing, particularly in R&D, and the cost and reach benefits of joint events and promotions.
The EUDR debate has a long way to go, given that its implementation has been delayed while attempts are made to simplify the rules. But it does serve as a timely reminder that, when it comes to facing new and much-needed challenges, collaboration is key.
