We can't rely on the eurozone to boost our exports, says CBI's Sir Roger Carr As Britain's business leader-in-chief - tasked with not only speaking out for but rallying the UK's at times disjointed business community - it may not be surprising to hear such sentiment. But given the economic climate, Sir Roger's take on the health of the CBI's 240,000 members - which range from the smallest start-ups to FTSE 100 giants such as Tesco and J Sainsbury - is worth listening to. I think the mood of the members is, look it's been tough, it's still very challenging, but it could be worse. We're not doing badly. Speaking ahead of the CBI's annual conference - where he will find himself at the Grosvenor House Hotel for the second time in under a week - Sir Roger is determined UK plc needs to keep pushing forward. Number one on his agenda, partly influenced by his recent trip to Shanghai and Beijing, is exports. I think the export message has to be the story that continues, that has to be the growth engine that continues to rebalance the economy. We have to do everything we possibly can do at home and push on the export front. We simply cannot rely on the eurozone, which remains the macro piece out of our control. We've got to rebalance it by small, medium and large companies building up businesses in other parts of the world. As well as touring some of the UK's best-known companies while in China, Sir Roger also met investors keen to invest in Britain. There is no doubt there is an appetite within China for investing into this country. The message being given is, we are open for investment; you will be treated not as a foreign investor but on equal terms. In China, their growth is at 6pc, but it is still slower than it was. And their major concern is that a market area that is important to them, Europe, is unstable. Closer to home, Sir Roger's other key messages to the CBI faithful on Monday will centre on education, reputation and encouraging the Government to have the courage of its convictions. A research study into a fresh approach for schools will be launched ahead of the conference. We need to broaden the education piece so it isn't just academic, it's about the total person that's to be developed. Grounded and rounded is the phrase that I would use. He pinpoints youth unemployment as a key area of concern, warning it is "very dangerous for society" to allow one area of society to be shunned from the jobs market, and stresses business's responsibility in changing this. Sir Roger is also clear on the need to use the platform of the CBI conference to give the Government what he believes is a necessary prod in a number of areas. "I think the bedrock is financial rigour," he says. But you've got to be innovative and committed to those bits of the puzzle where you can pull the levers and drive growth. He references the upcoming 4G mobile spectrum auction - which is set to raise a minimum of £1.3bn - as one area where the revenue could be well spent, suggesting the proceeds should be directed towards growth opportunities. That's the kind of thing we're encouraging in behaviour terms; the innovative way in which money can be deployed in the best possible way. It needs to go to the big drivers of employment, that do trigger growth. Infrastructure is obviously one. Housing is another. And there are projects whether it's the A303 or the A14, there are projects that are ready to go which need to be activated by money and approval. The one area where Sir Roger's words might raise the most eyebrows is his thoughts on business reputation. We have to do more to demonstrate that it isn't a question of how much money you make, but it's as equally about how you make money. We've come through a period where we've seen some examples of bad behaviour, whether in the media or the banking industry. Therefore it's helped set this tone that big business is bad business. And we need to keep working on the correction of that, in the way we govern ourselves, the way we pay ourselves and behave as businesses in society. One obvious area where business needs to do more to reconnect with society is in banking, post the financial crisis, he says. No person who was seriously damaged either financially or reputationally by what happened by the banks can ever forgive what occurred. But I think if you look at the banking industry today, it has been from a management point of view and a practice point of view largely refreshed, and the people of today are trying to build the right sort of practice and right sort of conduct that are appropriate to society. He backs comments written by John Cridland, CBI director general, last week on the need to ensure that a new anti-banking industry is not created around payment protection insurance mis-selling, taken by some as overstepping the mark in pushing for the rehabilitation of the banks. "I think John took a specific [issue]," says Sir Roger. It is important we do not confuse those who did inappropriate things and those that are trying to build a business in the right way [who] should be supported. The whole point about the finance community in general is that we have a competence in London in this area which has been very valuable to the United Kingdom. It gives us an absolute international competitive edge... and is something that others in the world are very envious of. The energy sector - which Sir Roger is intimately aware of given his role at Centrica - is also one where he feels there has been a reputation disconnect. It's impossible to see the words 'energy company' without the words 'rip-off' being written almost in the same sentence. It has no basis of truth, the margins in the energy industry are small. But the belief in the population that is true is high. The facts are that the best performing energy companies in this country make profit margins of about 5pc or 6pc, and the less well performing make losses. If you look at the cost of energy to the consumer, the UK relative to certainly all its European counterparts still offers the most competitive price level by some margin. So the profits that are made and the prices that are charged on any normal measurement basis are absolutely, on a comparative basis, certainly not outrageous. He then goes on to cite the contributions energy companies make in terms of long-term infrastructure investment and tax paid - Centrica paid £800m in corporation tax last year, he stresses - and the perhaps less obvious benefits. "Without the commitment of energy companies, both as investors in the UK and the investment community wanting to invest in them, without that the UK will find itself in a very difficult place from a supply point of view," he cautions. Britain's business cheerleader is not going to be silenced by the detractors. Sir Roger Carr CV Family Married, one grown-up daughter Career 1994-2000 Chief executive, Williams; 1999-2000 Chairman, Thames Water; 2000-02 Chairman, Chubb; 2003-08 Chairman, Mitchells & Butlers; 2004-now Chairman, Centrica; 2008-10 Chairman, Cadbury; 2011-now President, CBI CBI facts The CBI was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1965, governed by its Council, which was made up of its members The number of companies - big and small - the CBI speaks for, as members As well as working across the UK, the CBI has four international outposts - in Beijing, Delhi, Brussels and Washington DC Nine The number of campaigns currently being carried out by the CBI, ranging from "increasing exports" to "maximising finance" and "ambition for all in schools"