Posted by Yan Yan on October 18th, 2007
Richard Branson says Virgin will test-fly a renewable fuel-powered plane in early 2008, as part of its plans to produce clean biofuels by the start of the next decade.
An article in Red Herring notes that Virgin is working with GE and Boeing to develop new kinds of airline fuels, as part of Branson’s efforts to fight global warming.
Virgin hopes to provide clean fuel for buses, trains, and cars within three or four years, Branson told a Mortgage Bankers Association meeting in Boston.
In the meantime, Virgin will be conducting a test jet flight on renewable fuels. “Early next year we will fly one of our 747s without passengers with one of the fuels that we have developed,” Branson told the annual conference.
Posted by Yan Yan on October 5th, 2007
Ze Germans are coming, into the US market at least. Big utility firm E.ON has taken a $1.4bn bite into the American renewable energy market, reports Reuters.
The deal includes a bunch of wind farms and gets it into some 210MW of capacity in the US and Canada, with another 880MW coming on board by 2009. Plans are in place for another 6000MW, taking it to a total of some 7000MW over time.
Earlier this year, the firm bought into similar schemes in Spain and Portugal, so it’s betting large on renewables. We’re sure it’s shareholders will be watching closely to see whether the gamble pays off…
Posted by Greenbang on October 2nd, 2007
And it’s good news for lawyers today.
“Directors of companies incorporated in the UK could face action from shareholders in British courts for ongoing damage to the environment or communities in any part of the world under new Companies legislation which takes effect on Monday (1 October) according to lawyers at LG, a London-based business law firm.
“This legislation opens the door for directors to be sued in British courts for damage to the environment in any part of the world,” said LG’s Paul Lester, a partner specialising in corporate law.
“This is genuinely ground breaking in that it is no longer going to be enough for directors solely to focus on the bottom line when assessing their company’s performance - they will also have to consider what impact the company’s activities might have on others and be able to demonstrate that they have fulfilled their corporate and social responsibility as well.”
“The new Companies Act pushes the environment higher up the directors’ agendas - and will force companies to be able to demonstrate and verify their environmental and social practices around the world,” said Colleen Theron, head of LG’s environmental practice. “The impact is potentially much greater, as businesses will be forced to carry out internal risk assessments and review all their policies and procedures on the environment and social issues to avoid the risk of lawsuits.”
Posted by Greenbang on September 19th, 2007
Usually when Greenbang talks about chips, it’s the kind that power a computer.
But this time it’s the staple-diet-of-the-UK kind.
McCain, the oven chip manufacturer, is installing three, 80-metre wind turbines at its Whittlesey plant.
The company claims this will cut its lecky bills by 60 per cent.
Well done McCain - Greenbang’s not really into your food, but he likes the way you’re thinking.
This from the press release:
The 80 metre high turbines, will be the highest ever on shore in England, and will power the entire site at certain times of the year, providing up to 60% of the annual electrical power required to operate the plant. The turbines can produce 3 mega watts of electricity each, the most powerful currently in use in the UK, and when the plant is not operating, unused electricity will be put into the National Grid.
The turbines will be erected and operational in November 2007 and aim to ensure the long term viability of the Whittlesey plant. The wind turbines are just one of many environmental initiatives that McCain has introduced. Across all of its UK facilities, McCain is continuing to innovate and introduce new technology designed to limit the company’s impact on the environment. These include:
- The imminent investment in a combined heat and power facility at the Whittlesey plant which will run on a renewable energy supply generated by biogas from an on-site waste water treatment plant digester
- The issue of food miles is addressed through using potatoes exclusively from the U.K to make McCain chips. All potatoes are sourced as close to the factories as possible
- The recent introduction of double deck delivery vehicles, reducing road miles by 20%
- McCain also recently invested in heat recovery systems at its Scarborough site which recovers waste heat from the fryers and uses it to heat water used in the preparation process.
Posted by Greenbang on September 14th, 2007
It’s not much to look at, but Fujitsu Siemens Computers has unveiled its first “green PC” for consumers.
The Green Edition SCALEO PC runs software purposely developed to reduce power consumption and meets the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s stringent Energy Star 4.0 guidelines for energy efficiency.
The PC also features a “green” manufactured internal circuit board, reducing the size of its carbon footprint. The SCALEO PC Green Edition will go on sale from October 2007 with prices around £349.
The SCALEO PC Green Edition features an Intel® Pentium® Dual Core™ processor, 1GB RAM working memory, a 160GB hard disk, a multinorm DVD writer with Double Layer support, an 11-in-1 card reader for all the usual card formats and runs Windows Vista® Home Premium operating system.
Posted by Yan Yan on August 28th, 2007
Greenbang is rather partial to trees. They’re lovely things to look at, rest under and run through (our local jogging route is through a lovely little forest)–and they’re also critical for the well-being of the planet. Which is why this job sounds pretty cool: a forests campaigner for Greenpeace.
“As well as understanding the challenges facing the world’s ancient forests and the plants, animals and peoples that depend on them, key to your success will be a focus on results and knowing how to make things happen. Your track record in challenging corporations and governments, inspiring people and leading projects will also be important.”
The role involves strategy development, research, non-violent direct action and lots more (as well as lots of train-based travelling). And it’s based in Amsterdam, which is also a good thing.
Get all the details here.
Posted by Greenbang on August 20th, 2007
Business chiefs are failing to set a green example for their staff, research indicates - just look at Michael Dell driving a Hummer around town.
One in five businesses is not doing enough to protect the environment, according to a survey by Zipcar.
Research into the attitudes of London businesses towards the environment revealed that these companies are confused about how to make an impact, concerned but not doing anything about it or completely unconcerned about the environment.
The survey indicated that almost two thirds of firms believe that recycling paper, card and plastic is making enough of an impact to the environment, but they are falling short of their obligations according to 84% of workers, who do not believe they are doing as much as they can to help. Two-thirds of those surveyed believe that their employers should be spending more money on initiatives to help the environment. …
Posted by Dan on June 20th, 2007
Morning Greenbangers
Got a big day ahead, a ton of deadlines, a few meetings and no doubt a hundred calls from PRs to juggle. But this just caught my eye…
Obviously it suits the company, Adstream, to do this - so let’s watch out for the real motives. The guy in the photo just happens to have a company T-Shirt on. Bless.
But then again, so many companies are now trying to do the right thing in a bid to stay in the business world.
Adstream, provider of digital asset management and distribution services for the global advertising market, has launched an International Tape Amnesty.
On Wednesday (13 June) a team of Adstream staff visited a number of broadcasters and agencies around London, including the BBC, Sky, Buena Vista and Mother, in a bid to raise the awareness of the environmental damage caused by tapes. Adstream collected 4 tonnes (roughly 20,000) of tapes and now plans to roll-out this campaign internationally to its offices throughout Europe. All of the redundant tapes are going to be recycled and turned into pads and pencils and sent to underprivileged schools in the UK and abroad – as well as to participating companies.
