Archive for April, 2008

Thom Yorke reduces Radiohead’s carbon footprint

April 28, 2008 · Filed under CO2 emissions, Carbon Dioxide emissions, celebrities going green, reduce carbon footprint · Tagged , , , ,

It was announced last week that Radiohead will be performing on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on Wednesday.  As you may know Radiohead are a British band firmly committed to reducing their carbon footprint.  Thom Yorke is even designing his house so that it is heated naturally using soil (more on that later.)  In order to reduce their carbon footprint on this occasion they have opted to appear on the show by satellite link.  

This has caused a huge backlash for Radiohead with plenty of American fans being outraged by the move.  By not flying over the Atlantic Ocean they’ll be saving resources for Gaia.  Some fans are wondering if they should reduce their carbon footprint by not turning up to the show.  This seems harsh considering the band are just leading by example.

Radiohead are so committed to reducing their carbon footprint they have bought two sets of instruments stored on different continents for when they do world tours.  Thom Yorke has also teamed up with Friends of the Earth to promote their climate change campaign The Big Ask.  As part of this Thom Yorke has edited the March edition of the Observer Magazine.

So there we have it.  Is Thom Yorke and Radiohead right to stick to their guns and not travel to America or are they depriving their fans who keep them in business?  The team here at Ethical and Green think that Radiohead deserve respect for standing by their beliefs and leading by example.

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Scientific breakthrough in cutting CO2 emissions

April 27, 2008 · Filed under CO2 emissions, Carbon Dioxide emissions, carbon footprint · Tagged , , , ,

The University of Newcastle has published research that can help industry reduce their CO2 emissions.  The team led by Michael North, Professor of Organic Chemistry, have developed a highly energy efficient way of converting waste carbon dioxide into cyclic carbonates.  Not being scientifically minded we won’t go into the complex way this is done but here are some of the key points.

The new technology could help reduce UK CO2 emissions by around 4% per annum.  This equates to some 48 million tonnes of waste CO2!  The cyclic carbonates can then be used in producing solvents and biodegradeable packaging and other such products.  One exciting use of the cyclic carbonates is in anti-knocking agents in petrol.  These make petrol burn better and therefore increase fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions.

Overall it appears that this new technology could have great implications in the reduction of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.  The technology however still has be trialled outside of the lab so fingers crossed it works!

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Black cabs to go green

April 27, 2008 · Filed under CO2 emissions, Carbon Dioxide emissions, Companies going green, carbon footprint, reduce carbon footprint · Tagged , , , , , ,

If you were to ask your average UK citizen which word they associate with black most would say cab.  There are around 20,000 licensed black cabs on London roads with the first engine powered cab being introduced on 1903.  However, the black cab is set to have a makeover and become green by 2009.  Fear not though- this is not a physical colour change, more a change in environmental credentials.

The traditional black cab is made by Manganese Bronze who are teaming up with the specialist electric car designers Tanfield.  Black cabs already have good green credentials such as lasting 20 years and having a higher mileage rate of diesel engines compared to petrol.  However, by introducing an electric version (and therefore zero emissions) of the TX4 their carbon footprint will be drastically cut.

The new green cab will be able to run for at least 100 miles on one charge.  It is estimated by the Licenced Taxi Drivers Association that the average cabbie runs up around 120 and 150 miles a day.  So the electric car may just last a whole day.  How easy it will be to re-charge the cab is still to be seen.  According to the makers the battery takes six hours to charge from flat with a fast charge of 25% in one hour.  Better not forget to plug the cab in at night then……..

It’s not just the environment who will benefit from the introduction of the new cabs.  By running on electricity the cab will have running costs of just 4p per mile compared to 9.3p on diesel.  The downside is that the new car will cost more than the standard version which currently stands at around £37000.

If the launch is successful Manganese Bronze have plans to try the same in China through a joint venture with Shanghai LTI.  So there we have it.  Another company going green and helping reduce CO2 emissions in London.

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BBC tackles ethical fashion with Thread magazine

April 21, 2008 · Filed under CO2 emissions, Companies going green, Fairtrade, carbon footprint, ethical fashion, reduce carbon footprint · Tagged , , , , , ,

The latest company to jump onto the green bandwagon is the BBC.  The BBC are targeting the niche of ethical fashion.  Recently ethical fashion has become a hot term amongst fashion designers and those who consider themselves to be trendy.

These days it’s not enough to wear the right clothes- the clothes have to be ethical and green.  Stella Macartney has launched an ethical fashion range and the pages of Cosmopolitan and the like are full of ethical fashion tips.

The magazine Thread, launched by the BBC commissioned research that found that 31% of people between 16-30 years old wanted to buy more ethical fashion.  They found that as yet people are unsure where to turn to find what’s hot and what’s not.

This puts pressure on fashion retailers to provide information about how their clothes have been produced and where the materials come from.  At the top of the list of what people are most concerned about was the working conditions of the people making the clothes.  This was followed by organic labelling, the use of chemicals, how to recycle the clothes and the energy used in producing them.  

Soon then we could see how large an items carbon footprint is!  Will this put companies off having their clothes made on the other side of the world?  Only time will tell….

We’ll bring you more about ethical fashion telling you where are the best places to buy clothes and more about how they are produced.  We’ll look at the best and worst retailers of ethical fashion and see if it’s affordable.

Good luck to the BBC and Thread.  We hope that they’ll be able to bring more people to ethical fashion and wider ethical issues.

Whilst writing these posts it seems that we are going full circle.  Hundreds of years ago each country was responsible for growing it’s own food and making its own products, be these clothes or toys.  These days most things we use seem to be made in a foreign country.  If we do go full circle and only use the resources on our small island this will have an effect on the economy.  As yet we don’t know if this is good or bad but it will help the environment.

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Screwcaps have bigger carbon footprint than cork!

April 20, 2008 · Filed under CO2 emissions, Carbon Dioxide emissions, Companies going green, carbon footprint, reduce carbon footprint · Tagged , , , ,

Today the team here at Ethical and Green discovered that screwcaps on wine bottles have a larger carbon foortprint than the traditional cork ones.   The reason the wine industry had to move away from cork was due to a worldwide shortage in cork and therefore it was not sustainable to continue using it.  Most producers have now switched to screwcaps and some admit that they did not look into the carbon footprint before jumping aboard the revolution.

Some figures

 The French closure company Oneo Bouchage has calculated that producing screwcaps gives off in excess of 10.6kg of CO2 per tonne compared to only 2.5kg tonnes of CO2 when producing corks.  This then is a huge difference.

The composite DIAM produces 4.3Kg of CO2 per tonne.

So what to do?

This is clearly going to be an issue for the wine industry.  Once official regualtions come into play regarding reducing a companies carbon footprint they will have to look more carefully into packaging.  Who knows in the future we may all drink wine from cartons?!

For the consumer all we can do at this stage is keep recycling our wine bottles and the screwtops.  We’ll keep you posted if we learn any more about how the wine industry is dealing with this issue.

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The NHS goes Green

April 16, 2008 · Filed under CO2 emissions, Companies going green, carbon footprint · Tagged , , , , ,

We’ve been looking at how companies are doing their best to ‘go green.’  Today we’ll look at what measures the NHS are taking to become carbon neutral and reduce their carbon footprint.

The NHS is the largest employer in the UK and the third largest in the world!  As you can imagine then it has a huge number of employees, has millions of visitors to its premises a year and has a vast number of properties.  Some statistics we found estimate that the NHS has 1 million patient contacts every 36 hours!! With this in mind how are the NHS stepping up to the challenge of reducing their carbon emissions?

The think tank NEF (the new economics foundation) has written a report entitled ‘Taking the temperature: towards an NHS response to global warming.’  Whilst looking at how to reduce carbon emissions the report also looks at how a warmer climate and freak weather conditions, will affect the health of the population.  The NHS must reach the targets set by the UK Energy white paper to reduce emissions by 20% by 2010 and by 60% by 2050.

 

Here are some statistics on the NHS carbon footprint as provided by the NHS Confederation:

  • The NHS emits 1 million tonnes of carbon a year
  • The NHS energy bills cost £400 million per year
  • 5% of all UK emissions from road journeys can be attributed to NHS related journeys
  • A total of 25 billion kilometers were travelled by those visiting, using or working for the NHS
  • One in every 100 tonnes of domestic waste in the UK comes from the NHS
I think you will agree these are staggering figures.  If the NHS can successfully reduce it’s carbon footprint it will have a huge impact on emissions for the UK.  Not to mention that the money saved could be pumped into improving patient care.  If energy consumption could be reduced by 15% £50 million a year could be saved every year.  This equates to 7000 heart bypass operations!
The NHS plans to save energy and reduce their carbon footprint in much the same way that other business’ are and how we can at home.  It really is amazing how by doing such simple things on a grand scale can make such a difference to how much we spend on energy alongside reducing carbon emissions.  Some of the ideas the NHS are going to employ are:
  1. Turning off computer screen (which generates 90 kilotonnes of CO2 a year)
  2. Recycling
  3. Improving building design in ways such as having proper insulation
  4. Having motion activated lights to eliminate the problem of lights being left on in rooms that are not used
The team here at Ethical and Green wish the NHS all the best in reducing their emissions.  One thing we do ask is that if possible posters are displayed in waiting areas about how to reduce your carbon footprint.  If 1 million people visit the NHS every 36 hours imagine the audience you could reach.  Why not get in touch with your local NHS and suggest this?

 

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UK to use biofuels. Good or bad?

April 14, 2008 · Filed under CO2 emissions, Carbon Dioxide emissions, carbon footprint · Tagged , ,

As of midnight tonight forecourts will have to sell petrol and diesel that contains 2.5% of renewable biofuels.  This is the standard set by the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO.)  However not all biofuels are good and Oxfam claims that ‘bad’ biofuels contribute to human rights abuses and rising food prices in some developing countries.  In fact, it is also claimed that the method of making some biofuels actually has higher CO2 emissions than using petrol!

What are biofuels?

A biofuel is said to be ethanol and diesel made from crops including corn, sugarcane and rapeseed.  Biofuels are said to reduce carbon dioxide. Burning fuel releases CO2 but by growing the plants some gas is absorbed.

Biofuel-the positives

First lets look at the positives.  The Government feels that the gradual introduction of biofuels will cut millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide.  In fact a government publication revealed that biofuels can reduce carbon emissions by 50-60% compared to fossil fuels.  The Government is then trying to move away from the use of fossil fuels.  But how many of us even knew there was going to be a change in the make up of our petrol?  

The truth is that none of us will actually know where the biofuel has come from so if we wanted to make an ethical stand it would mean leaving the car at home and for some of us that’s just not possible until public transport is improved.

So we’ve seen the theory behind the use of the biofuels which it has to be said is, in essence, a good idea it’s just the application of the theory that seems to have gone astray.

Biofuels- the negatives

So to the bad news about the biofuels.  There us evidence that people in poor countries are being driven from their homes and land in order to make way for new plantations.  Food prices are being driven up and people are working for a small wage.  Add to this the fact that rainforests are being destroyed and it doesn’t look good.

The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has estimated that 60 million indigenous people will be moved from their land so palm oil plantations can be made, which is used for biofuel.  By clearing rainforests climate change and deforestation will rise.  Surely this is what we want to stop?

 

It would appear then that the new biofuel policy is not all good news for the environment and reducing the carbon footprint.  At the moment consumers hands are tied as there is no way to find out of the biofuel you are using is good or bad.  If we can find more information on this we’ll let you know!

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Go carbon neutral by offsetting or reducing emissions?

April 14, 2008 · Filed under CO2 emissions, Carbon Dioxide emissions, Companies going green, carbon footprint, carbon neutral · Tagged , , , ,

Going green and making your business carbon neutral has, over the last few years, come high up on people’s agenda.  Consumers are now looking at how green or carbon neutral a business is before deciding wether or not to use them.  That coupled with government and worldwide directives to reduce carbon emissions means that there is big business in carbon offsets.  In fact, such is the importance of going carbon neutral that KPMG actually has a Carbon Advisory Team!

 

According to Adrian Wilcox of KPMG’s Carbon Advisory Team many businesses have rushed into offsetting their carbon emissions before looking at how to reduce them.  As a result it is estimated that between 2008 and 2010 the carbon offsetting industry will grow to in excess of 60 billion euros!  Instead of rushing into carbon offsetting companies should look at how to reduce carbon emissions and therefore have a smaller carbon footprint.

We have already looked at how we can reduce our carbon footprint in the home so how can businesses do this?  Well there are a number of ways.  One of the most simple ways is to educate your staff in how to reduce carbon emissions by turning appliances off at the wall instead of leaving them on standby, switching off lights and only boiling the water you need when making a drink.  And lets not forget the three Rs- reduce, reuse and recycle!

On a larger scale businesses should look into switching to renewable energy sources such as solar power.  When purchasing electrical appliances businesses should be mindful as to their energy efficiency.

Some companies are encouraging working from home and doing conference calls thus cutting down on the travel that staff do as part of their work.  In the same vein, sourcing supplies from local suppliers can reduce your carbon footprint.

Obviously carbon offsetting is a great idea but in order to be as effective as possible reducing the carbon footprint should also be at the top of the agenda.  Carbon offsetting schemes include the planting of trees and investing in renewable energy research in the developing world.

 

Are you a business trying to become carbon neutral and reduce your carbon footprint?  If so get in touch and let us know what you are doing.  Alternatively maybe you have some suggestions.  Feel free to leave a comment.

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NFL tries to reduce it’s carbon footprint

April 9, 2008 · Filed under CO2 emissions, Carbon Dioxide emissions, Companies going green, carbon footprint · Tagged , , ,

Whilst reading the news pages this week I can across an article about the NFL Environmental Programme.  Over the last few years a large proportion of companies have jumped on the green bandwagon and tried to reduce their CO2 emissions.  So it was with interest that I learnt that the NFL’s environmental programme has been in place for 15 years!!  Yes 15 years and is still going strong.

 

Originally the NFL started their environmental policy by recylcling.

It is estimated that the NFL Super Bowl creates 500 tonnes of greenhouse gases.  The NFL are planting 10 000 trees in Arizona.  However because of the soil quality and drought in the reason it is thought that less than 50% of these will survive.  Is this enough to offset the carbon emissions?  Well probably not but it is a step in the right direction.

Alongside the planting of trees the NFL is donating food, using energy efficient vehicles and using renewable energy such as windpower.  As yet there are no reports about how successful the NFL’s Environmental programme is but it seems to be a positive move to combat global warming.

In a year when the Academy Awards had an environmental policy and where the environment is on the agenda for the Olympics it is a clear message that worldwide event organisers are starting to take reducing their carbon footprint seriously.  Surely this must be good news?

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The green credentials of Heathrow’s T5

April 7, 2008 · Filed under Carbon Dioxide emissions, Companies going green · Tagged , , ,

Recently T5 at Heathrow airport has been in the news due to the delays passengers are facing.  Even before this the airport was in the news because of environmental issues surrounding the opening of the new terminal that cost a huge £4.3 billion.

So what are the green credentials of Terminal 5?

The head of corporate responsibility at British Airways has said that the environment is at the heart of the T5 project and will continue as it operate.  Some of the main points that makes the site more environmentally friendly are highlighted below:

The site was built on reclaimed land and now has 4000 trees and over 30 000 plants on site.

97% of construction waste was reused during the project.  There are also recycling  facilities within the terminal.  Just as well considering the amount of litter that will have been generated by the thousands of waiting passengers!

 

The terminal is largely made from glass therefore allowing in natural sunlight and decreasing the need for artificial lighting.

85% of water that falls on T5 will be collected and reused.

The building is said to have 85%  of its heating needs supplied by waste heat from the existing airport.

 

We’ll bring you more about how British Airways are trying to incorporate environmental issues into their business.

 

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