The company Telecity realised it was pumping a lot of hot air into the atmosphere and when designing its new data centre in Paris it coupled with a company to take away its heat.  The French national agronomic institute built a greenhouse next to the data centre that will allow scientist to study how plants adapt to global warming.  In Amsterdam the waste heat is used to warm an office block and heat the water supply of a hospital.

Telecity estimate that the data centre will save 2500 tonnes of CO2 each year.  They will also have a white roof to reflect solar rays and therefore stop the sun heating the building.

So there we have an example of how a company has looked at their waste and come up with a solution to help other businesses.  Good stuff!  Hopefully Telecity will act as an example to other companies about how to cut their CO2 emissions.

The powers that be think that by reducing the amount of meat they buy in it will reduce their carbon footprint.  It is true that the NHS is one of the biggest buyers of food in the UK but even so is this really the best idea they can come up with?!  In the UK the NHS accounts for more than three percent of carbon emissions in England which isn’t bad considering it is the largest employer in Britain and the third largest in the whole world.  The NHS also has a lot of properties throughout the country.

Whilst it is true that the carbon footprint of food is quite high there are other things the NHS could do to reduce its carbon footprint.  However, instead of cutting down on meat products perhaps the NHS should actually buy in locally sourced, fresh produce rather than microwave meals that come from goodness knows where.  In fact this might keep patients healthy, they might actually enjoy the food and it is better for the environment!

We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see the full outline of the plans to reduce carbon emissions and go carbon neutral.  We’ll keep you posted!  Ethical and Green wonder what Jamie Oliver will make of this considering he is promoting British meat at the moment?!

Those of us who are interested in buying ethical and green products will no doubt have noticed that more and more online shops are popping up.  This can only be good news for the environment.  One of the latest green online shops is Big Green Smile.

Big Green Smile sell a wide range of green, ethical, recycled and eco-friendly products.  Their unique selling point is that they offer the largest range of water saving products in the UK.  Great if you are on a water meter!!

We checked out the site and found it easy to navigate and packed with lots of info on how to go green and reduce your carbon footprint. We liked the eco MP3 player but are not sure if it will give the iPod a run for it’s money just yet.  Perhaps we’ll have to buy one and give it a go!

BigGreenSmile.com work closely with their suppliers to ensure that all products are the most environmentally friendly of their type on the market.  They also have a wide selection of products in almost all categories you can think of.  As BigGreenSmile.com Director Nicholas Buhler says ‘The site allows people to make small changes in the way they shop so they can help protect our planet’ which is a fab outlook.

So if you are interested in checking out the site the address is www.biggreensmile.com  It’s worth looking at as there are some tips to help save money in the credit crunch as well as saving the planet.

It doesn’t stop there.  Sky are also committed to helping their customers live more sustainably.  They are doing this by using the medium of TV by increasing the number of environmental programmes they show.  Sky engineers also gave customers energy efficient light bulbs when they installed various Sky products.

You can also download Sky’s Rough Guide to Saving Energy and Reducing Your Carbon Footprint which shows you how to go carbon neutral and save money.  There are more ways in which the company is helping the environment which you can find by visiting their website.

It’s good to see a company like Sky using their medium of TV and advertising to do something positive for the environment.  It’s even better that they are setting a good example by being completely carbon neutral and still striving to do more.  This makes me feel a lot better now when I sit down to watch TV using Sky Plus.  Not only is Sky Plus (in my opinion) one of the best inventions it is also guilt free now I know Sky is carbon neutral.  The fact you can also get broadband from Sky and do online shopping, therefore reducing your personal carbon footprint is even better.

If you want to sign up to Sky in an effort to reduce your carbon footprint and get Sky Digital TV, Broadband, Phone for £26, order online!

Since 1966 BT has reduced its carbon footprint by 58% which is pretty amazing.  Their new target is to achieve an 80% reduction in CO2 production by 2020.  Even better they are to propose a new model to encourage global businesses to follow suit.  Good on BT.

Now I have to admit that I have found customer service at BT slightly wanting but knowing how committed they are to the environment makes it worthwhile.

Other green initiatives the company have are cutting down on paper bills.  If you elect to have your bill online you save £1.25 a month and The Woodland Trust will plant a sapling in a British woodland creation site on your behalf.

BT are also looking to their suppliers to reduce carbon emissions.  They are encouraging suppliers to promote sustainability and reduce impact on the environment.

BT has 18 million customers in 170 countries and therefore they are in a position to make a real difference to the environment.  The company has produced a range of energy efficient phones and by July 2008 more than 90% of their phone range will be energy efficient.  Cost to the customer?  Zero.

For businesses BT has produced a guide to help companies see how they can go green by reducing energy consumption and carbon footprints.

Well done BT- keep up the good work.

If you want to change your phone or broadband or indeed both follow this link BT Total Broadband – click here to order now

So here is the list:

• J C Atkinson and Son (Manufacturing)
• Carillion (Construction)
• Co-operative Financial Services (Financial Services)
• Pureprint Group (Printing and Publishing)
• Skanska UK (Construction)
• HBOS (Financial Services)
• Loughborough Student’s Union (Education)
• Saint-Gobain Glass UK (Manufacturing)
• MCM Architecture (Architects)
• The National Magazine Company (Media)

The list of cars ranged from Citroen, Ford, Fiat, Honda and surprisingly Lotus!  The Lotus was the one that caught my eye as you don’t expect a sports car to be green.  So what exactly are it’s green credentials?

The Lotus Exige 270E Tri-fuel runs on a mixture of gasoline, bioethanol and methanol.  The company is hoping to introduce the use of sustainable synthetic alcohols as fuels within 15-20 years.  It’s maximum speed is 158mph which is pretty fast.  The all important CO2 output is 100g/km running on E85 bioethanol or zero emissions on sustainable synthetic methanol.  This is less than the Citroen C1 which has emissions of 109g/km.  Well done Lotus!

So what does the car look like?  Well as you can see it doesn’t look any different from a regular Lotus.

Thankfully Greencare H2O are here to bring an ethical and green solution that is also stylish.  The company produce watercooling and filtering systems to turn average tap water into a tasty drink.  The interesting point about this company is that once the restaurant has it’s water it can put it into a branded bottle which they can then charge the customer for or give it away free.

Greencare H2O have seen their profits rocket over the last year which is great news for the environment.  It also shows that restaurants and other public places are taking environmental issues seriously and trying to reduce their carbon footprints.  Manchester United have got involved and installed the Greencare h2o system.  Trendy restaurant WaterHouse in Shoreditch, London have also installed the system and ask for a £1 donation of you have the water.

So there we have it.  Yet more good news that industries are making an effort to reduce their carbon footprint.

Firstly a businesses environmental management policies, environmental training and internal consultation, energy consumption, waste products and recycling were assessed.  Scores from this section accounted for 70% of the final ranking.

Secondly an employee survey was sent out to get their perspective on how their company was doing.  Responses counted for 30% of the final score.  The survey was a rating scale ranging from ’strongly agree’ to ’strongly disagree’ and included statements such as ‘my boss encourages me to think about energy saving‘ and ‘my workplace is too warm when the weather is cold.’  The survey was devised in conjunction with Bureau Veritas, an international firm of environmental consultants and Munro Global, a data analysis company.

Unfortunately only 88 companies registered for the competition as some where unable to provide the data required.  Also the company did not look at the greenest businesses in the country but how committed a company and it’s employees are to making a difference with the environment. If it were solely a list of the greenest companies, the top would be those focussing on renewable energy and so on therefore making the results somewhat unfair.

It will be very interesting to see which companies have made it on to the list.  We’ll also be looking at innovative ways companies are going green and of there are any tips we can take into our households.  It will also be interesting to see the impact this list will have on businesses not included or who did not enter the competition.  Will more companies apply for next year?  Will the environment and climate change come higher up on companies agenda as a result of such publicity?  Only time will tell….

So, stop by next week for the analysis of The Sunday Times Best Green Companies.