Editors' blog
Hannah Bullock, 5 Nov 2008
The low winter sun that blinded me from behind the City buildings did look s...
Articles in this issue
Articles in this issue:
Petrodollars fund solar showcase
Jon Wallace 25 January 2008, Construction, International, Solar energy/PV
Oil sheikhdom plans new zero carbon city
Abu Dhabi has big plans. It may sound an unlikely candidate for world leadership on solar power. But that’s what is coming into focus as plans take shape for an entire new city in the desert, powered almost completely by its most naturally abundant resource – not oil, but sunshine.
Green uplift
Hannah Bullock 25 January 2008, Asia, Retail
Sri Lankan bra makers set eco-benchmark with M&S
If Marks & Spencer puts into practice its promise to work with suppliers on sustainability, set out in last January’s Plan A, it has a whopping 15,000 suppliers to green. So what better place for the chain store to start than at a lingerie factory in Sri Lanka?
Hydrogen first makes renewables last
Neil Wilks 1 February 2008, Hydrogen/fuel cells, Wind power
Yorkshire technopark pioneers green hydrogen as energy store
A business park in south Yorkshire should see the UK’s first commercial hydrogen mini-grid in operation by the end of the year.
Human warming
Giovanna Dunmall 4 February 2008, Construction, Energy sources
Swedes channel excess heat from people to positive use
Just think about the excess body heat of a crowd of commuters. A turn-off, or turn on? A quarter of a million people a day pass through Stockholm Central station, but it’s not a problem – they’re seizing this opportunity to heat an adjoining office, hotel and shopping mall.
PV good to go
David Howells and Jon Wallace 4 February 2008, Africa, Solar energy/PV, Telecommunications
Solar technology breaks new ground on cheap and durable chargers
A Cardiff-based company is about to ship the first of a new kind of solar charger, more durable than the conventional silicon cell type. The technology it uses has been a long time coming to market, but promises to be well suited to the needs of the developing world
La Défense of the planet
12 February 2008, Construction, Solar energy/PV
Eco office block to give more than it takes
Planning is under way in Paris for the first large scale, sustainable office block that will produce more energy than it consumes.
Wight turns to tide
Julian Rollins 29 February 2008, Carbon reduction, Wave power/tidal
'Eco Island’ plan combines carbon cuts with biodiesel, biogas and tidal turbines
Plans to harness the power of the tides are at the heart of an ambitious project to make the Isle of Wight carbon neutral within 15 years.
Leaders and laggards
Julian Rollins 29 February 2008, Corporate responsibility
Businesses “must try harder” on sustainability and climate change, reports say
Leader businesses may be vying with one another to seize the opportunities of the sustainability agenda – but much of the business world is still in a state of doubt and confusion about it.
Cradle-to-cradle in North Carolina
Nick Hunt 29 February 2008, Housing
America’s first ‘restorative’ development planned by green design guru
Crops growing on landscaped roofs should quickly tell you there’s something green about Greenbridge...
How green is my lecky?
Rebecca Willis 19 March 2008, Energy sources
Is your green electricity tariff just a con? Rebecca Willis picks a way through the minefield to resolve the current chaos.
Kicking ahead
Mark Hillsdon 19 March 2008, Carbon offset/neutrality, Carbon reduction, Sport
The beautiful game plays the green card – but Mark Hillsdon wants more.
Ethical oilman
Mary Zacaroli 19 March 2008, Biofuels
As the biofuel debate becomes a snakepit, Mike Lawton sets out to make good business from jatropha oil – in every sense. Mary Zacaroli checks his profile.
Carbon markets: time to clean up
Terry Slavin 19 March 2008, Carbon offset/neutrality, Carbon reduction, Climate change impacts
The Clean Development Mechanism is widely derided as a source of easy pickings for wealthy polluters. So how, asks Terry Slavin, can it be made fit for purpose?
Big wet footprints
Peter Denton 20 March 2008, Green Futures partners, Water
Just got to grips with working out your carbon footprint? ‘Water footprinting’ is the next big thing. - WWF
Calling on the lifeline
Chris Alden 20 March 2008, Telecommunications, Young people
When is a phone not a phone? When it’s a mobile support centre.
A new generation of ‘mobile natives’ – teenagers who have never known a world without mobile phones – is tapping into the technology for its vital needs. VODAFONE
Tradition with a new face
Julian Rollins 20 March 2008, Eco-products & services, Energy conservation & efficiency, Green Futures partners, Microgeneration, Wind power
A wind-powered Aga… whatever next?
Coalbrookdale in Telford, Shropshire, has a record when it comes to innovation. It’s where the 18th-century ironmaster Abraham Darby first tried using coke instead of charcoal to make cast iron. - AGA Foodservices Group
Green tea
Chris Alden 20 March 2008, Corporate responsibility, Farming/Horticulture, Green Futures partners, Organics
Sustainable tea can be big brand tea. UNILEVER teams up with the Rainforest Alliance.
When fuel grows on trees
Julian Rollins 20 March 2008
How good old wood can help Yorkshire cut its carbon and boost its economy. - YORKSHIRE FORWARD
Just a generation ago Dearne Valley, on the outskirts of Barnsley, was a post-industrial wasteland. Today, the coal industry has been replaced by newer, cleaner businesses, and at its heart a derelict marshland has been transformed into an RSPB wetland reserve.
Tasty money
20 March 2008, Banking, Green Futures partners, Social enterprise, Socially responsible investment
Why do ethical consumers have a blind spot when it comes to choosing a bank? If you care about the environment, you probably recycle, buy organic food, and may even have promised to cut down on air travel. But have you greened your bank account, too? - TRIODOS
Rural renaissance
Julian Rollins 20 March 2008, Carbon reduction, Railways
Village pioneers are finding positive answers for low-carbon local development. Now the government needs to get on track. - The Commission for Rural Communities
And another thing
Martin Wright 24 March 2008, Asia, Cars, Poverty/social exclusion
“What happens when improving people’s quality of life runs slap bang into environmental limits? The Tata Nano does exactly that.”
American Eye
Polly Ghazi 24 March 2008, Americas, Carbon offset/neutrality, Carbon reduction
Most Americans have two religions: their faith and their sports team. Suddenly, says Polly Ghazi, some powerful players in the sports world are beefing up their green credentials. Will the fans follow?
Whitehall Watch
Peter Madden 24 March 2008, Carbon reduction, Commuting, Cycling, Local government, Mass transit/Public transport
As London’s mayoral elections turn up the heat on transport policy, our national politicians need to look and learn, says Peter Madden.
Innovation with that ‘wow’ factor
Chris Sherwin 24 March 2008, Innovation
Innovation’s the lifeblood of the mainstream business world. Sustainability advocates are starting to give it a central role in their work too. Think ‘sustainable innovation’, though, and you might struggle for examples.
Changing the limelight
Claire Wyatt 24 March 2008, Culture, Energy conservation & efficiency
London theatre stages first sustainable production
Hydrogen fuel cell powered stage lighting was one of the stars making its debut, along with a raft of other clean green initiatives, when Simple8’s production of The Living Unknown Soldier opened earlier this year at a London studio theatre.
Village greening
Jon Wallace 25 March 2008, Awards & grants, Community energy, Microgeneration
Locals press forward on waste elimination, parish hall retrofits
St Arvans, two miles outside Chepstow, has set itself the target of becoming the first zero-waste Welsh community. Residents already recycle an impressive average 77% of waste with the help of weekly collections by Monmouthshire Community Recycling, a social enterprise established by local people.
Not just rearranging the loungers…
Alison Winward 25 March 2008, Construction, Health
iv.jpg)
Titanic Spa aims to set an eco-example
It says it’s “the UK’s first eco-spa”. It opened last year inside Titanic Mill, a luxury green apartment complex conversion in a former textile mill near Huddersfield.
London charging ahead
Iain Aitch 25 March 2008, Congestion, Mass transit/Public transport
Congestion charging scheme and Paris’s free bikes share US award
Porsche drivers and mums in 4x4s on the school run might loathe both him and it, but Ken Livingstone’s congestion charge keeps winning plaudits.
Eggstra leg room
25 March 2008, Consumption, Farming/Horticulture
The Co-op is the latest supermarket to stop selling eggs from battery hens.
Following a consultation with its members, in which a quarter identified animal welfare as a priority, the retailer removed the offending items in February.
Two wheels better
Roger East 25 March 2008, Cycling
Heartening signs for cyclists and pedestrians
Hot on the heels of Sustrans’s success in winning
£50 million of lottery money for its Connect2 cyclepaths scheme comes the announcement of a £140 million three-year plan at the Department for Transport to boost cycle training for children, connect more schools to the National Cycle Network, and help towns run cycling pilot projects.
Lights! Camera! Climate action!
Chris Alden 25 March 2008, Climate change impacts, Culture, TV
Campaign to get better grip on London film industry’s emissions
You can’t accuse film-makers in London of being blind to climate change. Only last summer, the disaster movie Flood depicted what might happen if the Thames was overwhelmed by rising seawater
Newsreel
Roger East 25 March 2008, Budget/Taxation, Policy
The biggest green stories in government - in bite-sized chunks
Patent clarity
Iain Aitch 25 March 2008, Innovation
Companies show less protective streak over IP to save the planet
Businesses usually fight tooth and nail to protect their intellectual property. But now IBM, Nokia, Sony and Pitney Bowes are taking part in what is being described as the Eco-Patent Commons.
Cadbury boost for producers?
Julian Rollins 25 March 2008, Africa, Corporate responsibility, Farming/Horticulture, Poverty/social exclusion
Partnership approach backs cocoa farmers in sustainability drive
Our love affair with chocolate would have a pretty flaky future, if growers couldn’t make a livelihood out of the beans.
Sun down under
Julian Rollins 25 March 2008, Community energy, Solar energy/PV
Outback town plans world first in solar power
The Queensland town of Cloncurry is aiming to transform itself into the world’s first fully solar-powered community. The centrepiece of the plan will be a 10MW solar thermal power tower, generating around 30 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year.
High card, low carbon
25 March 2008, Culture, Young people
.jpg)
Top Trumps, the cult card game for kids, has had a makeover from the environmental charity Marches Energy Agency.
Gallic twists on tomorrow’s transport
David Howells, Rhiannon Lewis and Roger East 25 March 2008, Freight
Who’s on message?
Julian Rollins 25 March 2008, Awards & grants, Communications/Reporting, Corporate responsibility
Reporting awards encourage focus on sustainability – not just CSR
BT’s 2007 sustainability report has been judged Britain’s best, and Unilever’s is runner-up. But the judges of accountancy organisation ACCA’s annual awards were disappointed to find that most of the contenders were still stuck in the language – and mindset – of ‘corporate social responsibility’ rather than ‘sustainability’.
Raising the bar for water
Matt Radcliffe 25 March 2008, Behaviour change, Water
London restaurant banishes the bottled stuff in style
Could this be the beginning of the end for bottled water? For years now, aspirational consumers with scant regard for sustainability have been lapping up the wet stuff from ever more exotic sources like it’s going out of fashion. And now, happily, there are signs that it is.
Take-off for biofuels?
Hannah Bullock 25 March 2008, Aviation, Biofuels
First ever biodiesel flight launches amidst controversy
A Virgin Atlantic test flight has boosted biofuel enthusiasts’ belief in its technical viability as aviation fuel. Yet the breakthrough comes as European targets to raise overall biofuel use are called into question – over the environmental and food security implications of large-scale production
The new mile high club
25 March 2008, Aviation, Carbon offset/neutrality, Recycling
Airlines get passengers offsetting and recycling
When’s the best time to get air passengers to sign up to carbon offsets? When you can prick their conscience the most – on the plane. Virgin Atlantic is now offering offsetting to customers in-flight, along with the duty-free.
Feeding our cars
Hannah Bullock 25 March 2008, Cars, Waste to energy
General Motors turns food waste into fuel
It seems that everybody wants a share of our household food waste. Over in the US, General Motors is planning to transform the stuff into ethanol to fuel cars.
Ships take a blow
Jon Wallace 25 March 2008, Shipping, Wind power
Merchant shipping tries out carbon-cutting solutions as true extent of emissions emerges
Hybrid container ships have arrived on a commercial scale.
Hybrid, that is, as in partly wind-powered. In a world first for a container vessel, the 10,000-tonne MS Beluga SkySails has been fitted with a computer-guided kite to help blow it along – taking some of the load off its oil-powered engine.
Bucking trends and breaking records
Jon Wallace 11 July 2008, Biofuels, Sport
Green powerboat takes on the world – and wins
Pulling into the Spanish port of Sagunto a full 13 days, 21 hours and 9 minutes ahead of the official circumnavigation record, it was a case of around the world in 60 days for the crew of Earthrace, the hawk-like biodiesel-powered trimaran.
Editorial
Roger East 26 March 2008
The issue is rising up the nation’s consciousness. Some of the major players have announced pioneering initiatives. The Budget promises imminent government action. And personally, I’m glad to say, I rank close to the angels on this one. I refer, of course, to the challenge of combating… free plastic carrier bags.
Facing up to techno-fix?
28 March 2008, Information technology, Society & culture
Web-based services have got me thinking. Sparked off by a particularly interesting panel session at the recent Guardian Public Sector Summit, I started listing the possible environmental benefits of investing more public money in these technologies – from better home delivery services and reduced car use, to savings in town hall energy and water consumption, and cutting down on paper waste by emailing council tax bills rather than sending them out in the post.
Registered charity number 1040519