WATCHING the world progressively locking its communities down due to the rage of Covid-19, with the previously unthinkable suspension of a large swathe of business activity, including asking us all to stay at home unless our work is essential, forces us to fundamentally reassess everything we are familiar with and have previously taken for granted.
We literally don’t know at this stage where and when the resulting damage to our economy will bottom out. As a global business community, we need to realise that our current national and international financial modelling has never had to consider such a massive challenge.
The banking crash of 2008 was nothing to what we now face. We will be challenged not only to re-build our economy, but also improve health outcomes, build community resilience, and substantially reduce our environmental impact for future generations.
Our political leaders are challenged by the sheer scale and speed of this virus and how to limit the damage to all of our community. The newly reformed Assembly had a short honeymoon period after agreeing New Decade/New Approach before facing this unexpectedly huge challenge.
However, this should in fact be the dawn of a new era of closer collaboration between elected representatives.
We are adjusting to an exceptional way of life in many ways. The new practices of social distancing may be with us for the foreseeable future to avoid another potentially more lethal virus outbreak.The exception thereby becomes the ‘new norm’.
It is, however, this new norm of a spirit of collaboration which our society must demand from elected politicians, and ensure they factor in the advice of professionals to determine the structural principles and practice for re-building a truly sustainable society.
RICS requires its members to put sustainability at the forefront of business practice and behaviour. Our ‘Value the Planet’ campaign and #myfutureplanet initiatives provide members with the support to follow UN Sustainability Principles.
We are fully committed to helping ensure a built environment that supports a world fit for future generations and RICs is well placed to support governments worldwide as we get to work on global recovery.
The UK Government has acted quickly and strongly in providing financial support to ensure jobs are supported in the short term, but a much stronger and sustained financial support system must also be put in place to prevent substantial business failure. Long-term thinking must also be employed to provide for growth recovery.
There is a strong precedent for acting now on medium to long term solutions, before this pandemic has completely subsided. A full year before the Second World War ended, the allied nations had convened a forum of its key representatives to deliver the Bretton Woods Agreement which fundamentally reviewed the world financial system, including agreement on new procedures for valuing each country’s key assets and stabilising international currencies.
Despite the current huge demand on national governments' resources, a similar initiative is needed now to prepare for the inevitable lag in economic recovery if we wait till it becomes apparent that many, many businesses will not survive in the medium to long term.
Northern Ireland is in a unique position to articulate the best example of recovery as we utilise our significant experience in building a lasting peace, with a fair and just society which treats each individual with equal rights to basic life essentials, regardless of their background or means.
We all need our politicians to show they have learnt the lessons of allowing entrenchment to rule their behaviour and show real leadership to effect a recovering economy, within a properly debated long-term strategic plan for what type of society we really need here.
:: Brian Henning is chair of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Northern Ireland region
