*1.2. COVID-19 and Sustainability*

The lockdown enforced in various countries globally and the operational impacts of COVID-19 have had negative impacts on economies and severely impacted the sustainability of businesses. To stimulate economic recovery and towards business continuity, countries have initiated various measures, see Table 1, from financial stimulus packages to delay in loan repayments to waiver of loan fees to technology support. The measures introduced by a few countries are detailed below.



The diversification of business offerings from products and services to business supply chain influences the business ability to respond to business disruptions and uncertainties. Alcohol producers in the UK such as William Grant & Sons and Diageo have begun producing hand sanitizers, whilst chemical company INEOS set up a hand sanitizer facility manufacturing one million bottles per month, which began production on 31 March 2020 [17]. A ventilator consortium was set up in the UK to address the need of increased demand. The consortium consisting of various businesses such as Airbus, BAE System, Microsoft, Accenture, Ford Motor Company, and Rolls-Royce announced on 2 April 2020 they are to produce 1500 ventilators per week based on the Penlon and Smiths design. The consortium is reported to have received an order for over 15,000 units from the UK government alone [17]. These businesses may not continue manufacturing the products post COVID-19, but it allowed the business to be operational and productive during a disruptive period.

A key consideration in business sustainability is environmental sustainability. The environmental impact of COVID-19 globally is initially quantified to be positive [18] due to reduced traffic, movement, air travel, and energy demand. Rugani and Caro [19] determined a 20% reduction in carbon footprint in Italy for the months of March and April 2020 in comparison to the same months for the 2015–2019 period, an actual reduction between 5.6 and 10.6 Mt CO2e.

However, there are concerns the post COVID-19 environmental impacts might be neglected in the drive to stimulate economic resurgence. Helm [18] states COVID-19 responses may result in significant post COVID-19 growth which could have a negative impact on climate change. Rosenbloom and Markard [20] state that the US may be revitalizing the fossil fuel industry via stimulus funding, whilst a report by the German Council of Economic Experts neglected to mention climate change or sustainability. However, 17 European climate and environment minsters requested a Green Deal be incorporated in the recovery plan. Rosenbloom and Markard [20] recommend the recovery plan include funds to support low carbon energy technologies/projects that reduce or mitigate carbon emissions such as renewable technologies, energy storage, and electric vehicle. They further recommend support and development of remote working, video conferencing, e-commerce, and reduced travel, whilst suggesting using the current destabilization of business and economies to accelerate transition

towards clean options. Other considerations for climate change include the impact of elevated alcohol manufacture and application as a preventative measure as well as the impact of COVID-19 waste on the environment.
