Greenbang first encountered starter packs when she was a wee young lass and her parents wanted her to learn an instrument. For months she stood in front of a clarinet starter pack failing to get a note that resembled anything close to a C sharp. Since then, she has learned that she may not be quite cut out for music, but also that starter packs come many more guises.
The Food Marketing Institute, in the US, has just announced its starter pack for the industry to implement sustainable measures. The work, which examines six major steps the food industry should be taking, is sponsored by several organisations including the ‘Warholled’ soup company, Campbell’s.
As stated in the the starter pack’s executive summary, the “FMI has found that most retailers are already engaged in various activities that relate to sustainability but few have coordinated them in a strategic way. The Starter Kit is designed to help develop a strategy and implementation plan for sustainability.
“In developing the business approach to sustainability, the Starter Kit provides a framework to help companies understand where opportunities exist that have the greatest financial value. Currently, many retailers are reviewing the environmental footprint of their operations. And, while this is a good starting point, independent research has found that internal operations only account for about 10-15% of a retailer’s environmental footprint. In fact, the bulk of impacts are generated in the supply chain. With this in mind, the Starter Kit helps companies think about their business in a more holistic way or from a value chain perspective. It promotes relationships with suppliers and other key stakeholders in the value chain.”
Aviva’s just put out its 2008 CSR report and, rather handily, it’s even divided into sections so Greenbang can skip all the dull bits and just go straight to the bit marked ‘environment’.
Luckily for you, Greenbang’s gone even further and just pulled out the good bits from that section. Maybe you could take it even further and just highlight the words you like.
Here come the highlights:
As the first insurer to make our global operations carbon neutral, we offset our outstanding carbon emissions by retrospectively investing in projects that generate carbon credits, either through carbon mitigation or renewable energy.
The schemes, administered in 2007 by carbon brokers Climate Care and CarbonAided, are a balance of commercial and social projects, and include:
biogas projects in Sri Lanka, which use methane for cooking and lighting rather than wood, an
increasingly expensive and scarce fuel source
human-powered treadle pumps, vital for irrigation in rural areas like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, India,
where rented pumps require expensive and polluting diesel
wind turbines in Hebei Province, China, and Tamil Nahdu, India
more efficient cooking stoves in Africa
‘green cement’ in the Netherlands and Ireland. […]
Early in 2007, the newly formed Energy Steering Group issued a UK energy policy and a ‘5, 4, 3’ strategy to reduce like-for-like usage of electricity by 5%, gas and CO2 by 4%, and water by 3%. More than 50 energy-saving initiatives have been employed, including removing backlights from drinks machines, trialling a device that stops boilers firing up unnecessarily and investigating automated power-saving modes on PCs. The reductions achieved have generally exceeded expectations: water use was reduced by 4.8% and gas by 12.3%. Electricity use also fell, by 3.9%, and although we use zero emission electricity, the equivalent saving is still more than 314 tonnes of CO2.
To save energy, Aviva Australia phased out the use of screensavers during the year, and all computers now switch to ‘sleep’ mode after 10 minutes of idle activity.
In 2008, we have set ourselves a global reduction target on carbon emissions of 5%. […]
In 2007, 61% of our worldwide electricity was purchased from suppliers providing renewable and zero emission electricity generated by wind, solar, biomass, hydro, and combined heat and power (CHP) sources, an increase of 6% from last year. […]
Aviva Group Centre achieved an 8.6% reduction in electricity consumption through simple initiatives such as ‘The Big Switch Off’, in which all non-essential lighting and equipment are turned off at night
In a recent visit to the Aussie town of Exmouth, Greenbang was told this story about the town - home to massive naval radio communications towers - by a local, whose fellow townsperson had got talking to a Russian fellow on a visit to London.
The Russian had enquired where our Aussie called home. “Exmouth,” said our Aussie friend. “In Western Australia. Do you know it?”
“Ah yes,” said the Russian. “I have seen the communications towers there.”
The Australian enquired what else of his home town the Russian had seen.
“Nothing,” said the Russian. “I was looking through a periscope.”
If the Russian had looked harder, he would have noticed that Exmouth is also home to a Boeing, which provides support to all those comms towers.
All of this, of course, is just a long segue into this: Greenbang has been leafing through the Boeing 2008 Environmental Report and has culled the highlights to keep you abreast of what the aircraft maker’s been up to.
Over the last 10 years, Boeing has reduced absolute energy use by 37 percent and hazardous waste by 52 percent.Reductions in hazardous waste were driven by more efficient, Lean+ manufacturing methods, such as kitting chemicals to reduce excess waste and expired material; using more environmentally progressive materials, such as a low solvent top-coat painting to reduce the amount of solvent used in painting processes; and improving material management systems.Our energy conservation efforts, driven by reduced demand for production requirements, investments in more efficient building systems and equipment at our sites, Lean+ methods to reduce consumption and waste, and employee awareness campaigns highlighting behavioral conservation opportunities, significantly reduced our energy consumption.
It’s a good start, but we are committed to doing much more.
That’s why we have established five-year targets to reduce energy use, greenhouse gas emissions intensity and hazardous waste and to increase recycling rates. By 2012 at our major manufacturing facilities, we are targeting 25 percent improvement goals for solid waste recycling rates, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions intensity; and we have set a comparable goal for hazardous waste reduction.
This equates to an absolute 1 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, hazardous waste and energy use and an improvement in recycling rates from about 60 percent to 75 percent of solid waste during a time of significant growth. While aggressive, these targets are achievable and will ensure that we hold waste and emissions down while growing our business. To achieve these, we must drive environmental thinking and action into every facet of our business.
Our commitment to environmental stewardship extends beyond our operations to our products. Boeing Commercial Airplanes has committed to continue our dedication to environmental design innovation by:
Improving fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions for each new generation of airliners by at least 15 percent.
Directing more than 75 percent of research and development to benefit environmental performance, including work on fuel efficiency.
Improving the performance of worldwide fleet operations, focusing on an industry goal of 25 percent improvements in worldwide fleet fuel use and CO2 emissions by 2020.
Between 1999 and 2005, Lean improvements have produced notable results
in specific areas:
Boeing Commercial Airplanes: 737 Airplane Program
23 percent reduction in hazardous waste
24 percent reduction in acreage
41 percent reduction in factory size
52 percent reduction in power consumption
Integrated Defense Systems: F/A—18 Super Hornet Program
73 percent reduction in hazardous materials
Built in program requirements for hazardous materials management
Introduced a non-ozone depleting fire suppressant
Shared Services Group: Enterprise Energy Conservation
Are you familiar with the term cognitive dissonance? It’s a ponced up equivalent of saying ‘feeling a bit weird when you realise you should be thinking something other than what you’re thinking’. Like when a politicians realises he actually is a machine for vomiting half-truths and bendy promises rather than a lovable public servant or a cult realises that despite prophesying the end of the world for last Friday, everyone seems to be getting on with doing the shopping and watching Coronation Street rather than being blasted into smithereens by the hand of God a few days back.
Greenbang wonders if the folks in charge of BP’s newly released CSR report ever experience that feeling. You know, when they’re filling in the section about how they’re working on fighting climate change, all the while selling petrol.
Anyhoo, here’s a sample what BP says it’s been up on the green front over the least year:
In 2007, we continued to build BP Alternative with Associated British Foods and DuPont to Energy, our business that invests in new, develop a major commercial bioethanol plant low-carbon energy options for power and and a business with D1 Oils to plant jatropha transport. We began the expansion of solar curcas, a biodiesel feedstock. We also selected plants in the US, India and Spain. With our academic partners in the US for the Energy partners Babcock & Brown, we built the 300MW Biosciences Institute, which we are supporting Cedar Creek wind farm in the US and with $500 million over 10 years.
We supported inaugurated our first wind farm in Asia in Dhule, initiatives to promote responsible biofuels Northern Maharashtra, India. We created a joint production, such as the Round Table for venture, Hydrogen Energy, with Rio Tinto, to Sustainable Biofuels. Our targetneutral™ develop hydrogen-fuelled power projects with programme received contributions from carbon capture and storage. We formed several customers and BP sufficient to offset around biofuels joint ventures, including a partnership 52,500 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions.
In case you think Greenbang’s being a bit churlish about the whole thing, you’re probably not wrong. BP has a shedload of renewables initiatives underway, for example. If you want to have a gander about them, you can find them in the full report, which is here.
With the Measures for the Disclosure of Environmental Information coming into force on May 1, all enterprises in China are expected to timely and accurately make public their ecological footprints.
This will bring to an end the embarrassing practice that multinational companies are virtually left free to shirk the standard operating procedures of their countries of origin by not publicizing pollution information.
Looks great, but let’s look a little closer.
On the one hand, at least it showed the government’s determination to crack down on pollution and make this issue more transparent.
But what Greenbang doesn’t’ like it is its pointed criticism toward multinational company. Who are the biggest polluters in China? I don’t think it’s the multinationals.
Since there are no official ecological -ootprint surveys of companies and manufacturers in China, there is no evidence to prove which one, multinational or local, should shoulder the major responsibility.
Why does it seem that polluters are all multinational companies and they are in the headlines most of the time? Maybe, first of all, because it is easier for locals to do PR in China; secondly, isn’t it more eye-catching to point at a famous multinational company than an unknown small local one.
However, this is not to say the richer you are, the better you protect the environment; it is all about environmental consciousness and more importantly - the system that checks their environmental behaviour. Therefore, those environment-protection regulations should apply equally to all companies, no matter multinational or local.
The seven dwarves must have a fairly large carbon footprint. For a start, they work in mining, which isn’t exactly well known for environmental credentials and they’re also a decidedly small business.
Apparently, insurer AXA reckons small businesses are absolutely chucking out carbon - some 110 tonnes every year it reckons.
And they’re not daft about their climate consequences either - 55 percent of SMEs told AXA they’re contributing to global warming.
So what are they doing about it? Not overly much, you might be forgiven for thinking.
Six percent have green energy suppliers, 36 percent recycle, 25 percent use “environmentally friendly” products and a similar percentage have been prodding staff to cut energy use.
Apparently, that’s working about as well a solar powered torch, or a Kentish Job Centre employee.
Another SME survey, this time sponsored by E.ON (PR surveys are like crack to Greenbang at the moment), says two fifths of staff aren’t toeing the company line and following green policies.
A rather sweet little nugget from that self-same survey said that 58 percent of employees could be encouraged to make green changes to their office lifestyle with ‘financial incentives’.
Vodafone is going on a carbon cutting mission, taking a great big carbon coloured knife to its emissions. Big Red has its sights set on trimming half the carbon off its baseline (it’s a veritable game of carbon tennis!) of 1.23 million tonnes by 2020.
Thankfully, it’s not turning to the usual ‘we’re going to plant a few more trees and turn off our kettles’ but is instead going for more investment in renewables as well as doing more work on its energy efficiency. So there might be a bit of kettle-switching off, then.
The mobile operator also reckons it’ll be encouraging its users to take up products that cut down on their own emissions - like “solar-powered phone chargers and universal phone chargers for Vodafone-branded handsets”. Would a universal charger for all mobiles be too much to ask? Would it? Harrumph.
Anyway, here’s more from the folk at Newbury:
We have reviewed the options, including carbon off-setting, and have concluded that the most effective strategy is to cut our CO2 emissions directly. There are no simple solutions to what is a complex challenge, but through operational changes and technological innovation we will focus on improving energy efficiency in our networks, which account for 80% of our emissions. We will use renewable energy when and where we can.
Give computers too much intelligence and you end up with Terminator 2 and I, Robot. Greenbang shudders to think about it - imagine a future where Edward Furlong or Will Smith are our only hope for saving the world. But give computers a little intelligence and you have Pac Man and a utopia of green energy saving.
Verizon (rhymes with horizon) Wireless is one of the biggest mobile operators in the US and it’s been flashing its energy saving success, thanks to computers that don’t need to be told by their users when to shut off.
Now that’s clever. Hopefully won’t lead to the apocalypse either.
It’s also got a shedload of thin clients - which you’d have thought would be quite tricky for an American company.
Here’s more from Verizon:
Over the past year, Verizon Wireless has deployed 1E WakeUp, which ensures that all PCs, whether on or off, can be patched immediately, and NightWatchman®, which significantly reduces the power consumed by PCs. This power management software is now available on 63,000 managed desktops company-wide, resulting in a 24 percent reduction in both PC power consumption and CO2 emissions. The initiative reduces annual energy costs by $1.3 million and carbon emissions by an estimated 7,700 tons.
In addition, Verizon Wireless has deployed “thin client” solutions – virtual technology that provides users access to centrally-stored programs and software – in 17 of its call centers. Thin clients require less power and generate less heat than full workstations, so the company enjoys the benefits of powering a more compact unit, while also saving on cooling costs. Power consumption test results performed by local power companies for two call centers in Irvine, Calif., and Chandler, Ariz., found energy savings ranged from 50 to 60 percent.
The smaller footprint of thin clients requires fewer manufacturing materials, reducing the environmental impact; thin client life-spans are longer and their failure rate is lower, which reduces replacement purchase and disposal costs.
When Greenbang thinks of the connotations of bottled water, she think of the fake gay suicide pact in cult 80s movie Heathers, where a bottle of the clear stuff is left by a murdered man to mislead the police into believing the victim gay. “This is Ohio,” says the killer. “I mean, if you don’t have a brewski in your hand, you might as well be wearing a dress.”
These days, bottled water doesn’t carry any sexual connotations that Greenbang is aware of (please enlighten her if she’s wrong. No, really, please) but it does carry a fair degree of consumer guilt.
Just the sort of thing that a new eco-labelling action plan from standards body NSF International and food and drink industry consultancy Zenith International hopes to solve. The Carbon Action Plan (CAP) will “extend carbon footprints right up to the shop shelf and will cover a range of sustainability ratings” and force beverage makers to cough up on these metrics:
•
the amount of renewable energy used
• the percentage of recycled material in the packaging
• the number of water litres used to make 1 litre of product
• the extent of a company’s carbon reduction in the previous two years and
• the amount of carbon emissions verified as having been offset.
All those metrics will show up alongside nutritional data on the label. Clever, no?
The bottled water industry will implement the scheme first - Highland Spring have already trialled it - while other pilots are ongoing with soft drinks companies set to be next in line. The scheme will then surface in other food and drink sectors, according to NSF.
Greenbang is out on a press trip in Iceland at the moment. Hitachi has been kind enough to bring a few journos and bloggers (well me) to see a geothermal power plant that fuels some of its data centres.
Greenbang first encountered starter packs when she was a wee young lass and her parents wanted her to learn an instrument. For months she stood in front of a clarinet starter pack failing to get a note that resembled anything close to a C sharp. Since then, she has learned that she may not be quite cut out for music, but also that starter packs come many more guises.
