Is ‘carbon insetting’ the new carbon offsetting?
In 1997, more than 170 countries adopted the Kyoto Protocol that committed 37 countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 2012. This was extended at Doha last year with targets now set for 2020. Under the Kyoto Protocol, countries must meet their targets primarily through national reduction efforts. However, the Protocol also offers them additional means to meet their targets by way of three market-based mechanisms which create different... Read More
Circular economy: bringing ‘closed loop’ into the boardroom…with a bit of help from Dame Ellen
Elllen MacArthur is aiming to get 100 businesses to sign up to Circular Economy alliance Having done a lot of sailing myself, I am unsurprised by former sailor Ellen MacArthur’s Damascean conversion to the environmental cause. The ‘Dame celebre’ recently announced that she was well on her way to getting 100 business leaders to sign up to her Foundation’s Circular Economy alliance (CE100) which promotes, as the name suggests, regenerative system... Read More
Fantastic without the plastic: turning plastic waste into eco friendly initiatives
The amount of plastic bottles and cans generated globally that ends up in landfill is estimated to be around 340 billion. That is a lot of bottles. We’ve been working with SodaStream to raise awareness of the environmental impacts of plastic bottles. We’ve found communities in the world who have turned this plastic waste mountain into eco-friendly initiatives. Some of the examples were too good not to share: 1. The house that plastic built Meet... Read More
How to break down Green Deal sales resistance with better content marketing
It shouldn’t be difficult to convince people to pay for home improvements from energy savings, especially when there is no upfront cost. And yet, as we discussed last week, there are many obstacles to overcome. The customer’s big Green Deal fear factor The Green Deal customer’s big fear factor comes from the fact that much of the help is in the form an interest-charging loan – or debt to be more precise (the repayments are made via your energy... Read More
Energy and water: our utility companies are failing us but we can take action
We’ve all felt the pain of crippling increases in our energy bills. And this week, it was the turn of the water companies to announce that they were hiking up their prices – those rises due to come in April will average around 3.5 per cent in England and Wales. So why are we paying more for our water? Talk to the water companies and they will tell you they are having to invest billions of pounds in improvements. But these are privately-owned... Read More
The seven habits of highly effective sustainability managers
We all hear about companies who lead in sustainability and their superstar sustainability leaders. So what are their secrets of success? Our research and experience working with a range of companies has uncovered seven habits of highly effective sustainability managers: 1. Don’t use the word sustainability ‘Sustainability’ is out – ‘value creation’ is in. Sustainability is poorly understood by many people and even harder to define clearly.... Read More
Find new ways to drive business value by innovating through sustainability
Next week (Nov 27-28), the Sustainable Brands conference will be hosted in London for the first time. It’s worth checking it out, not just because you’ll be able hear from some of the biggest brands – Adidas, Unilever and Coca Cola – and how they are innovating through sustainability, but because of the backdrop against which it will be taking place. 4000 miles away from London in Doha, Qatar, the UN Climate Change conference will have... Read More
Carbon footprint: following in the footsteps of Ancient Greece
Now London 2012 is over and the dust has settled, I have been writing up a legacy case study reviewing the lessons learned from the Games Carbon Management Strategy. Whilst flicking though the many earnest reports, facts and figures generated by myself and colleagues since London 2012’s carbon footprint was first estimated in 2007, I came across a light-hearted piece which ruminated on the likely carbon impact of the ancient Games. Sadly, this entertaining... Read More
The latest evolution of sustainability: value
A high level timeline of the history of sustainability is emerging, which we have confirmed in discussions with many of our peers. It goes like this: • Environment: Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, published in 1962, kicked off the environmental movement with a strong focus on the role of man in harming the natural environment and the impacts on humans via the ecosystem. • Ozone layer: A 1976 report by the United States National Academy of Sciences,... Read More
The great resource scarcity debate, but who’s listening?
Bill Clinton at Re|Source I had the opportunity to go and listen to Bill Clinton speak about resource scarcity in Oxford last week. I was eager to hear what this great orator had to say on such an important subject for the future of our planet. Was this going to prove to be a landmark speech on pressing issues such as food and water supply? What did the former President of the United States and founder of the William J Clinton Foundation have to say... Read More
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