Posted by on December 20th, 2007
What do you get if you multiply green by green? Double plus green? Maxi green? Uber greenness? Some sort of technological overlord of green?
Well, looks like we’re about to find out for the Environment Agency is on the hunt for a green IT supplier — to the tune of £700m.
Paul Leinster, Director of Operations at the Environment Agency, said: “As a fast-changing organisation that is responding to the threat of climate change, we need the very best, innovative Information Technology (IT) services to help us.
“Our IT services need to help us face the increasing future demands of our organisation. Although our IT supports us well now, we need more flexible and adaptable systems that will allow future development. We’re looking to work with a partner who can step up to this challenge, ensuring this is the most environmentally sustainable government IT contract ever.”
Posted by on December 5th, 2007
PC World, the retailer, has designed a delivery lorry shaped like a mouse.
Such a story would be well-placed within the pages of an animal curiosity blog if it weren’t for the fact these bad-boys are apparently more environmentally friendly due to their aerodynamic shape.
Look out for 75 mouse-shaped lorries distracting people, causing accidents, and saving the environment all over the country some-time next year. Crazy!
Look here as well:
The more serious side of the project is that the new lorries mean each journey can be carried out using ten percent less fuel even though they provide ten percent more storage capacity, thus creating a twenty-percent improvement in overall fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
Posted by Greenbang on November 26th, 2007
Smooth
This CBI blah that came out today is really generating a lot of press releases from companies that boast they’re up to the challenge.
Here is one such company - although it’s still not been proven smoothies are actually good for you… 
Innocent, one of the first three companies to sign up to the Carbon Trust labelling scheme, is delighted to announce we’ve reduced our carbon footprint by 15% in just six months.
On the back of our audit with the Carbon Trust, we got to work on a number of initiatives to reduce our carbon emissions, including rolling out a 100% PCR bottle and encouraging our suppliers to go green.
Here’s what they claim:
- First ever drinks company to offer 100% recycled plastic bottlesIn September we became the first ever drinks company in the world to put 100% recycled PET packaging on shelf
- No virgin material is used in the making of our new bottles. They are fully recyclable at the end of life and use 20% less plastic overall than our original packaging
- The move will see a dramatic 55% reduction in the overall carbon footprint of our drinks
- Four of our recipes are currently available in the new 100% recycled plastic, and the rest of the range will join them in January 2008
- Moving suppliers to greener options
- As part of our drive to turn our suppliers green we have been paying them all a visit to discuss sustainable initiatives to help reduce their carbon footprint
- One of our co-packers has already achieved a 54% reduction in waste to landfill within six months, and hopes to achieve a 10% energy usage saving by the end of this year
- Encouraged by the results, they recently made the ultimate carbon commitment of purchasing 100% renewable energy for their site. Just like innocent.
Jessica Sansom, sustainability manager at innocent drinks says “We are all really proud of what we’ve managed to achieve following our carbon audit. We’d encourage everyone out there to take a look at their carbon footprint – this year has shown that a few simple measures, and some hard work, can make a real difference. We have lots more to do next year to continue to reduce our environmental impact”
Posted by on November 21st, 2007
In a sort of aviation ‘we will fight them on the beaches’ declaration, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has thrown up its hands, harrumph-ed a little bit and said it will most certainly put up its dukes and fight a planned European emissions trading scheme.
The scheme would mean any airline flying in and out of Europe will be forced to take part in a carbon trading scheme from 2011 aimed at cutting emissions. And the IATA doesn’t like it much, saying its members are a bit hard up, the scheme doesn’t really work and it would rather see the whole thing go global anyway.
The Independent tells us:
[Giovanni Bisignani, IATA chief executive], said the EU could play a more constructive role by implementing a “single sky” agreement unifying air traffic control across Europe, which Iata says would slash flight times and CO2 emissions. “We have a European parliament that does not understand that implementing economic measures such as a trading scheme are not the solution. We can take away 12m tonnes of carbon dioxide with a single European sky, but the only discussion is about a trading scheme. It’s ridiculous.”
All the while sticking two fingers up at Europe over carbon, it looks like airlines are trying to encourage their customers to get on the offsetting bandwagon: all Virgin Blue customers are given a gentle nudge on the subject whenever they fly.
Posted by on November 20th, 2007
Don’t blame it on sunshine. Don’t blame it on moonlight. Don’t blame on Greenbang. Blame it on the Government.
The blame game is the name where British businesses are concerned according to a new survey by Saga Heartbeat. The findings assure us that whereas most businesses feel it is important to be environmentally friendly, only 12 per cent think the Government is doing enough to help them.
What do they expect?
Well 79 per cent said they would like more tax benefits. That’s right. They want more money. You could knock down Greenbang with a feather. Attached to a baseball bat. Attached to a freight train.
More realistically, 55 per cent would like the Government to raise awareness of the benefits of being environmentally friendly. Which means the efforts of the Energy Saving Trust and the Environment Agency are going to waste.
Or are British businesses just looking for an excuse?
Posted by Greenbang on November 19th, 2007
He’s not just famous for cutting up animals and putting them on display, the Guardian says...
Damien Hirst is breathing fresh life into the renewable energy industry by ordering the country’s second largest solar power system. Hirst is to spend up to £1.5m on a 310kw solar power system for his studio buildings in Stroud, Gloucestershire.
Only the Cooperative Insurance Society Tower in Manchester has a bigger system. Hirst’s solar panels will generate enough electricity to power up to 150 homes, and it is not clear whether it will feed into the national grid.
The panels will spread over some 1,800 square metres and will cover all three of Hirst’s warehouses, one of which is his formaldehyde studio, presumably where his famous preserved shark was prepared.
This category is brought to you in association with Tandberg
Posted by on November 13th, 2007
Presidential also-ran and celebrity environmental doomsayer Al Gore is lending his Nobel Prize winning bulk to a green VC firm.
Face-of-all-things-green Gore will take up a job at VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers looking after their green tech.
From The New York Times:
Kleiner Perkins, based in Menlo Park, Calif., last year earmarked $100 million of its $600 million investment fund to startups that work on reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The firm expects to dedicate one-third of new funding to clean tech by 2009.
The article goes on to quote Gore as saying:
“What we are going to have to put in place is a combination of the Manhattan Project, the Apollo project, and the Marshall Plan, and scale it globally.”
Starting small, then.
Posted by on November 8th, 2007
The Greenbuild Expo - a homage to all things green tech in construction - has kicked off in the States, with former president Bill Clinton in attendance (perhaps Al Gore was busy?).
The sax-playing intern fan was out to promote the Clinton Foundation’s plan, along with the City of Chicago, to retrofit a whole host of council buildings to be more energy efficient, including whacking on some new green roofs.
Full story and video from the Chicago Tribune here.
This category is brought to you in association with Tandberg
Posted by Greenbang on November 5th, 2007
Annual reports produced by Britain’s biggest companies destroy forests the size of London’s St James Park every year.
Research, conducted by The Interactive Annual Report Company, claims each FTSE 350 company destroys 168 trees on average every year.
Simon Noakes, managing director of The Interactive Annual Report Company, said:
“In an age of environmental awareness it is an outrage that so many trees are needlessly destroyed.
“A small number of companies are doing a significant amount of damage, and the most frustrating thing is it’s so easily avoided.”
The firm surprisingly says it can provide reports without doing this. Caw.
“We are only scratching the surface of identifying poor environmental practices, particularly when it comes to paper wastage. Companies are producing more reports every year. Not just annual reports but interim reports, reviews and, ironically, corporate social responsibility plans.
“We need to start somewhere and the Annual Report & Accounts, being the flagship publication of these companies, is a very good place to start,” Noakes said.
The company was also pimping up its carbon calculator.
