The Re-hiearchy, and who rules? With what?

How much Co2 in a Coke?

And how much PR, CSR and sales from ADDING reuse to the deal.

Of those listed, two are tamper-evident users. Coke of course owns Oasis, which is applicable, too.

RE:tie anyone?

That said, I do wonder if any consumer will really get their heads around all these numbers as they peruse the aisles. So.... maybe having a freebie with an end-benefit built-in may add to the appeal?

Numbers games

I am guided in the value of much that is 'green' by enviROI.

Whilst based on a rather less than thrilling hypothetical (I hope) concept, I found this, and the comments provoked... interesting:

The carbon footprint of nuclear war

Maybe they don't know what they are?

Nearly half of FTSE-250 companies keep their carbon footprints hidden

Bet they all have awesome CSR reports, though.

Another day, another 'Day'

It's more a 'why not' than a BTN, but I will still pass it on:

National Carbon Footprint Day

I will pass personally however, as I do most other such days, weeks, pledges, etc. They tend to blur into one another, and I am coming to wonder what the total enviROI adds up to vs. not having any at all, and simply applying the cash and energy to doing more enviro stuff than getting on the awareness/measuring roundabout. And I am still rather unclear what a carbon footrpint is.

But I guess some need rallying points. So here is another, neatly hyperlinked for your convenience: www.nationalcarbonfootprintday.org

Half the equation

Calculating your home's carbon footprint

I share this because I mainly agree with, and applaud it, but also because it serves as a good example of how over-enthusiastic enviro-converts either miss, or gloss over realities. And basic science. And human nature.

Measuring stuff is great... and necessary. And can be useful. But to be meaningful and truly useful you need controls, and.or comparisons. Plus a whole wadge of information to help you in a direction once you have the data.

I remain totally bemused by the fact that a pack of crisps contains 75g of carbon. So..er.. what? Buy another pack? Don't buy it at all? What?

It's better with energy consumption, but in isolation hard to see what I can do with it save buying a bunch of kit (I have) and spending a ton of time (I do) to get depressed (don't ask).

Using the methodology shared here I can and will do the necessary calculations to measure my home's carbon footprint annually, but remain unsure as to how this, in isolation, is a great way of reducing the contribution it makes to climate change.

OK, if I drive the number down (especially as the £ per unit of energy goes up rises) I will feel better, but it seems a little vague to me on real impacts.

BA fleet goes hybrid

When I saw this headline I had this peculiar vision of rows of Boeing 747-800 Prius models lined up at Heathrow, with tons of batteries in their holds getting charged up off the mains!

But, alas, no. This story from FleetNews.co.uk reports that BA are going to equip its sales force with a fleet of Honda Civic Hybrids.

“We have set ourselves targets not only to cut emissions in the air but also on the ground and each driver will be reducing their carbon footprint by one third every year through this strategy.”

I suppose every little bit helps.

Bad news may actually be good news!

Sounds rather daft doesn't it, but this from The Business reports on a survey (yes, yet another one!) of British companies that looked at how many businesses, across various sectors, were actually measuring their carbon footprint, may just actually be good news from what are apparently bad results.

"The education, hospitality and manufacturing sectors were among the worst offenders, with just 10%-15% saying they measured their carbon footprints, compared with 78% in the leading sector, aerospace. About 40% of companies cited the cost and limited range of environmentally-friendly equipment as the most significant obstacles to going green, while around a third said there was no competitive advantage."

Yet, as commented by the UK Social Investment Forum, "A few years ago, the percentage would have been vanishingly small. To me, this report contains much good news.”

So there you have it, bad news can actually be good news.

_____________
Hmmmmm, "The research follows a report in September by UHY Hacker Young, the accountants, that indicated green taxes were reaping the government 50 times what it handed back in tax breaks for environmental initiatives." I'll have to see if I can find any references to that particular report! But I have to admit that it doesn't surprise me.

Important Addendum:
Just checked back and Peter did actually post a piece about a concurrent report back in September - see "it must be true; its on the BBC".

The strange thing is that the report the Beeb referred to was by the Taxpayers Alliance, which seems, at least to me, to seriously underestimate the scale of the problem. Take a look at this from politics.co.uk. Scary stuff!!

"The UHY research claims official Treasury figures reveal the government accumulates £29.3 billion in green levies, of which only £549 million – or 2 per cent – is handed back to the taxpayer to encourage environmentally conscious activity."

Now if that's accurate, it is not just unethical, it is downright heinous, almost bordering on the bloody fraudulent!

“The concern is that revenue raised from green taxes is being used to fund other government pet projects such as the Olympics.”

Now given the absolute shambles that the grants systems for renewables and insulation etc. are in, then who's conning who?

Try googling bandwagon

Google goes green with carbon footprint project

Weeee! The more the merrier. Actually, I'm thinking of launching a web-based project that enables people to calculate which carbon calculator to use.

Hey, any info on sensible reduction is fine. However, one does have to wonder what most will make of it and hence whether the money could have been directed in areas more tangible in reducing emissions to a decent enviROI+ level.

And is this the coolest job title in the world or what: geospatial technologist. Beat my Spellcheck even.

Good luck to 'em. With their resources and pooling the info as indicated I think they may be in with a better chance than most of making a difference. Just... how many people and how much time is overlapping in this sector now?

I have already been through the horror of the ActONCo2 effort and never went back. Now, at first click/glance, I am faced by yet another truly inspirational landing page that really looks an effort.

We are all members of the blackfoot tribe

I missed seeing this last night, but then I rarely see Corrie with anything more than half an eye open.

DEFRA has launched a £5Million ad campaign aimed at making us all more aware of our carbon footprints. Full story from The Guardian.

Nice use of an excellent Kinks track (Shangri-La), but will the man in the street even understand the ad, let alone the underlying message? Let's see.

Maybe we need a calculator to calculate the best calculator

Just watched on BBC Breakfast TV Environment Minister David Miliband (for some, unexplained, reason sitting in an internet cafe) talking about the latest 'carbon calculator'.

The first question from the interviewer was the best: why do we need another?

It's a fair point. There are many. According to Mr. Miliband it is 'the gold standard' (see my initial review below). So that's OK then.

And, having calculated away, I wonder what exactly I'll do except file and forget.

Why do I get the odd feeling that a few boxes got ticked in the Ministry and Television Centre (today's eco-slot... check), but little else will get done.

Anyway, it has been done, and as I was about to post I got this nice letter, which I duly pass on:

20/06/2007 08:00

Dear Sir

I know readers increasingly want to do their bit to help combat climate change - and knowing about your carbon footprint is a good way to start.

That's why we have this week launched a new online CO2 calculator, where people can find out their carbon footprint. The calculator will also suggest the practical steps we can take to cut our emissions and, often, save some money as well.

Things we do in our everyday lives have an effect - good or bad - on the environment. And more than 40 per cent of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions come from our homes and travel.

Most of us have become a bit greener already - for example, nearly all of us are into recycling now - but there are lots of other things we can do to reduce our impact on climate change.

Whatever your lifestyle, the Act on CO2 calculator will give you practical pointers about how to cut your emissions, tailored to the way you live.

To check out your carbon footprint, and find out what you can do about it, log on to: http://www.direct.gov.uk/actonCO2

David Miliband
Environment Secretary
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
London
SW1P 3JR

Sadly, having logged on, I was confronted by a wall of complicated, slow, time and energy-sapping fancy graphics that got in the way of simply getting to the point. So I gave up. And I have fast broadband. I wonder if others, and especially those at home with possibly slower lines, will be more dedicated.

Junkk.com gets a few justified brickbats for some aspects of design and navigation, but it gets a lot more bouquets for being quick, and giving you what you want, or pointing you at it, very quickly. And in a fun, interactive, real-person to real-person web 2.0 way.

So as an exercise in genuine ROI, I wonder how much this committee-created, ministry multi-layer sanctioned drain on the taxpayer cost, and what it will achieve for that money?

Should you have any thoughts, they are keen to hear from you: Feedback on the calculator can be emailed to calculator.feedback@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Of Pods, Vlogs and Wormcasts

I have just returned to the blogseat having had the privilege of sharing a breakfast networking event that had as its guest speaker Heather Gorringe of Wiggly Wigglers.

Beyond the obvious inspiration of her business success, as an engaging and highly entertaining speaker it was also fascinating to be given a true 'warts and all' account of her struggles to get going, get established, and overcome hurdles.

I also learned a neat trick for post-talk Q&A time: have some giveaways ready for the first to pipe up. Breaks the ice nicely. I was, I am proud to say, the first beneficiary of this clever motivational technique. What's more, I now have another nice book to add to my Junkk RE:view section collection (with a rather embarrassing backlog)!

My question was actually about her adventures into the world of web 2.0, which are many, varied.. and highly successful. Her weekly podcast recently won a top award, and is picked up worldwide.

I really need some help and advice to make more of all that Junkk.com can engage with in this regard, and she has kindly extended an invitation to chat more and see how we can help each other, though I suspect it may be more in my direction (that said, we did pop them on our diRE:ctory years ago).

Another nice part of the event was the realisation that this area does seem to be throwing up more than its fair share of entrepreneurial spirits to complement a fairly healthy level of official interest in all things environmental. So I was also pleased to reacquaint myself with Herefordshire's new Cabinet Member for the Environment, who I hope will take me up on my invitation to visit. I certainly feel there are synergies to explore.

I'll end with a but, if only a small one. In fact it simply highlights how so much that is green cannot be easily popped in black and white pigeon holes.

Readers will recall that recently I was enthusiastic about a local initiative to encourage the practice of macerating waste and sending it down the plug hole for recovery.

So imagine my surprise and disconsternation when Heather referred to this... and was not in favour. Showing the surprising breadth of representation our fair county can throw up, she was then challenged by Sir. Colin Shepherd, who declared an interest (he apparently pioneered such things) but really rather disagreed with her. Sadly the debate did not get taken to quite to the satisfactory conclusion I'd hoped. Nor, really, did a further point from the floor regarding the use of Green Cones, about which I have also blogged in the past (but can still not persuade the sales guys to take the 10 minutes it would require to add to our diRE:ctory). Again there was some debate, as Heather rightly pointed out its positive products are 'wasted'. However I do think there are other, practical aspects of consumer behaviour she may not have truly appreciated, and for which I will accord it a 'better than nothing'. Mind you, I am feeling a DIY Junkk.com solution may be in the offing.

In chatting to another guest, more than knowledgeable on the subject, I must say it is a tricky one. Obviously any form of useful reclamation is better than none. But, if we do look at my favourite umbrella measure, the enviROI, then if the priority we face globally is reduction in airborne greenhouse gasses, recovery must come at the top. Hence, for now, I do think I am erring on the macerator route as best for my kids... with some healthy composting on top in complement.

Unless, as I think they used to say on 'That's Life"... you know different!