One of our latest modules: Theories of Sustainable Consumption has, as part of our homework, a request from tutors that we all use blogs to write down our thoughts. It's a great idea for sharing ideas and resources.
I'm really looking forward to this course as it looks at some of more radical green ideas that people are doing now. In marketing and innovation we talk of diffusion of technology, here we're talking about the diffusion of ideas - I think the term is social diffusion of ideas. I remember recycling 10 years a ago and people thought I was a bit mad - well we've come a long way.
Perhaps the Transition Towns movement will eventually diffuse into society - who knows, but if we can find out what works early on then it becomes easier to reduce emissions. So, I'm looking forward to sharing all those crazy ideas and trying to be as open minded as possible.
Here's a quick reminder why we need to figure all of this out....
Friday 25 September 2009
Tuesday 22 September 2009
Climate Talks Jargon buster
With many thanks to The Guardian's Damian Carrington
Copenhagen: The venue in December for the final UN negotiations to deliver a successor to the Kyoto treaty. There are preparatory meetings in Bangkok and Barcelona before then.
Carbon intensity: How much fossil fuel you have to burn to make something or deliver a service. Reducing carbon intensity does not mean cutting overall emissions, but it does mean that a country can expand its economy without driving up emissions at the same rate.
Implicit targets: A diplomatic phrase deployed by India to describe targets India has chosen for itself and for which it will not be held to account by anyone else. Appearing to cave in to foreign demands for specific cuts would be political poison in Dehli.
Mitigation: This simply means actions to reduce global warming, most importantly cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
Afforestation: The replanting of trees. About 20% of all global carbon dioxide emissions come from the destruction of forests. Preventing that is the main focus of the UN talks but China is also keen on creating new forests.
Cap and trade: One way of setting a limit on greenhouse gas emissions for a region or industry. Polluters are given carbon permits that add up to the cap. They can then sell permits if the have cut their emissions to those who have not. In theory, it allows a market to deliver cuts efficiently.
Carbon tax: A direct tax on activities that result in carbon emissions. Much less bureaucratic than cap-and-trade but cannot deliver an exact cut in overall emissions.
Offsetting: Paying for reductions in emissions elsewhere to compensate for polluting activities. Popular on a voluntary basis for flights, but criticised on a national level for allowing rich nations to butt their way out of making cuts at home.
Peak emissions: The time at which global greenhouse gas emissions stop growing and begin to fall. Scientists say that year must be 2015 if dangerous climate change is to be averted but current trends will not achieve this.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): The international scientific body, involving thousands of scientists, used by the UN since 1988 to provide a neutral source of information on climate change. Its reports are approved by national governments. It was awarded the Nobel peace prize along with Al Gore.
Wednesday 9 September 2009
Carbon Combat!
As part of our consultancy project with Adnams I mentioned that we were on a quest to find the holy grail of carbon reductions. We ran a project with two Hotels in the Adnams group: the Swan and the Crown. Both are old buildings restricted by planning regulations and by-laws in Southwold, but the staff are keen and aware of environmental issues.
Our project, named Carbon Combat at the suggestion of the hotel teams, involved a competitive element and a financial incentive. For a four week period each hotel team battled to see who could save the most carbon emissions. Each week, after meter readings, posters were displayed in staff rooms and in other areas where staff would notice them. We used a baseline of the last three years' meter readings and the staff were told that all financial savings would be passed on to the hotel team that saves the most emissions.
The project ran at short notice and at the busiest time of the year for both hotels. Guidance was given on "quick wins" or low hanging fruit: switching off lights; keeping fridge doors closed; changing lightbulbs to low energy bulbs; switching off the gas when not needed in the kitchen. All staff - from cleaners, chefs, bar staff and waitresses - were encouraged to think about how to reduce emissions and guests were discreetly guided with quirky messages in their bedrooms.
The results are very interesting. The Swan won with a 32% reduction for the four weeks year on year. The Crown still managed a respectable 9% reduction. The Swan did have an advantage in that they had more efficient boilers and a newer kitchen. The Crown serves more covers using a more inefficient kitchen. However, emissions per room were higher for the Crown than for the Swan.
What's pretty clear, we think, is that around 9%-10% of the reduction in emissions was due to behavioural change - the switching off of lightbulbs and so on. Even the sceptics in the hotel still wanted to beat the other team and there was much discussion on the best method and how the figures were calculated. We're clear that "green teams" are not enough: there needs to be financial incentives -we recommend up to 50% of the savings to be passed on to the staff- with a competitive element attached to it.
What's pleasing is that the management team were very happy - they saved £1000 in the four weeks - and they're looking to extend the project all year round to all four hotels. We will also be recommending to Adnams that they extend the project to their retail outlets and offices. A 10% reduction is easily within reach and given that Adnams have signed to the Guardians 10:10 campaign - it's all come together nicely.
Our project, named Carbon Combat at the suggestion of the hotel teams, involved a competitive element and a financial incentive. For a four week period each hotel team battled to see who could save the most carbon emissions. Each week, after meter readings, posters were displayed in staff rooms and in other areas where staff would notice them. We used a baseline of the last three years' meter readings and the staff were told that all financial savings would be passed on to the hotel team that saves the most emissions.
The project ran at short notice and at the busiest time of the year for both hotels. Guidance was given on "quick wins" or low hanging fruit: switching off lights; keeping fridge doors closed; changing lightbulbs to low energy bulbs; switching off the gas when not needed in the kitchen. All staff - from cleaners, chefs, bar staff and waitresses - were encouraged to think about how to reduce emissions and guests were discreetly guided with quirky messages in their bedrooms.
The results are very interesting. The Swan won with a 32% reduction for the four weeks year on year. The Crown still managed a respectable 9% reduction. The Swan did have an advantage in that they had more efficient boilers and a newer kitchen. The Crown serves more covers using a more inefficient kitchen. However, emissions per room were higher for the Crown than for the Swan.
What's pretty clear, we think, is that around 9%-10% of the reduction in emissions was due to behavioural change - the switching off of lightbulbs and so on. Even the sceptics in the hotel still wanted to beat the other team and there was much discussion on the best method and how the figures were calculated. We're clear that "green teams" are not enough: there needs to be financial incentives -we recommend up to 50% of the savings to be passed on to the staff- with a competitive element attached to it.
What's pleasing is that the management team were very happy - they saved £1000 in the four weeks - and they're looking to extend the project all year round to all four hotels. We will also be recommending to Adnams that they extend the project to their retail outlets and offices. A 10% reduction is easily within reach and given that Adnams have signed to the Guardians 10:10 campaign - it's all come together nicely.
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