Posts Tagged ‘consumption’
Grocery Waste Reduction Targets: Courtauld Commitment [2]
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on April 29th, 2010
Source: Food Climate Research Network
Image: scrapthispack via flickr CC
The Courtauld Commitment (UK) is a voluntary agreement aimed at improving resource efficiency and reducing the carbon and wider environmental impact of the grocery retail sector. Phase 2 follows the original Courtauld Commitment (Phase 1), launched in 2005. At the launch of the Commitment (Phase 2) on 4th March 2010, 29 major retailers and brand owners had already pledged their commitment to this voluntary agreement. Using 2009 data and working to a 2012 deadline, Courtauld Commitment 2 moves away from solely weight-based targets and aims to achieve more sustainable use of resources over the entire lifecycle of products, throughout the whole supply chain.
The three new targets are:
* Packaging – to reduce the weight, increase recycling rates and increase the recycled content of all grocery packaging, as appropriate. Through these measures the aim is to reduce the carbon impact of this grocery packaging by 10%.
* Household food and waste – to reduce UK household food and drink wastes by 4%.
* Supply chain product and packaging waste – to reduce traditional grocery product and packaging waste in the grocery supply chain by 5% – this includes both solid and liquid wastes.
The original Courtauld Commitment has succeeded in stopping growth in packaging despite increases in both sales and population in the UK. Some 500,000 tonnes less packaging was used over the period 2005 – 2009 – that’s enough waste to fill a queue of refuse trucks, bumper-to-bumper, stretching from Southampton to Newcastle.
Liz Goodwin, WRAP CEO, said: “One of the biggest challenges society faces over the next decade is reducing the environmental impact of the things we buy. This new agreement will bring about changes ranging from more efficient methods of production right through to the impact of household consumption.”
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Plastic Bag Tax: Consumption Drops By 19 Million
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on April 21st, 2010
Source: Treehugger
Image: samuel mann via flickr CC
From Plastic Bags Used in DC Drops From 22 Million to 3 Million a Month by Brian Merchant.
Washington DC’s 5 cent tax on plastic bags, instated just this past January, has already proven to have a phenomenal impact: the number of plastic bags handed out by supermarkets and other establishments dropped from the 2009 monthly average of 22.5 million to just 3 million in January. While significantly reducing plastic waste, the tax simultaneously generated $150,000 in revenue, which will be used to clean up the Anacostia River.
Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), sponsor of the bag tax bill, said the new figures show that city residents are adapting to the law far more quickly than he or other city officials had expected.
The tax, one of the first of its kind in the nation, is designed to change consumer behavior and limit pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Under regulations created by the D.C. Department of the Environment, bakeries, delicatessens, grocery stores, drugstores, convenience stores, department stores and any other “business that sells food items” must charge the tax on paper or plastic bags.
I love this–I really do. A simple 5 cent tax–with revenues going towards an environmental cause voters rallied around–and consumer behavior is changed for the better in a truly big way. I love that 5 cents, which makes up a tiny percentage of total cost of your purchase even if you were just buying a bag of chips and a beverage, was enough to make consumers reconsider taking a plastic bag.
We’re going to have to wait to see if this trend continues, of course, but the results are nothing short of stunning so far–there are 19 million less plastic bags in a landfill because of this tax.
Let’s hope other municipalities–and dare I suggest, states?–are paying attention.
See the full article by Brian Merchant on Treehugger.
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E-Waste Take-Back: Retailer Service
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on April 1st, 2010
Source: Ecolect
Post: Don’t forget to e-cycle by Elizabeth Soucy
Best Buy (USA) has a new service that, no matter where you bought it, they’ll recycle it, to encourage customers to bring in their old electronics. E-waste is a growing problem in third world countries where many “recycling” programs ship our used devices to be sorted by the surrounding communities.
Best Buy certainly made a statement with their advertising. Their billboard in Times Square is composed of reclaimed electronics. To check out more on how to recycle through Best Buy and the ethical and environmental standards they strive to uphold with their program, click here.
Switch Off for Earth Hour: Saturday 27
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on March 25th, 2010
Source: Climate Action Calendar
Image: Perth Skyline by EarthHourGlobal via flickr CC
Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Approximately 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses took part in the first year. In 2008, Earth Hour involved between 50 and 100 million people in 370 cities and towns around the world, including Chicago, Toronto, Copenhagen, Dublin, Atlanta and Bangkok took part. An independent survey found that 58 per cent of people in Australian capital cities joined in by switching off their lights.
In 2009, the concept truly went global, with Earth Hour triggering people to “switch off” all over the world – from the Eiffel Tower in Paris to Times Square in New York. Millions of people in over 4,000 towns and municipalities in 88 countries took part. 2009 was also an important year for the UN climate negotiations. In December 2009, world leaders and climate negotiators gathered at UN climate talks in Copenhagen to agree to a deal to follow the Kyoto Protocol, which Australia ratified in 2007.
Switch off your lights for an hour at 8:30pm this Saturday, March 27
Visit the website for more information on actions in Australia & around the world.
1970s 2-bedroom flat: Medium-density retrofit
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on March 23rd, 2010
Source: Ecovation via The Ecologist
From “Eco-renovation of a 1970′s 2-bed flat“:
“Our 1970′s flat in North Oxford had had very little work done to it since it had been built. We bought it a year ago and have undertaken an eco-renovation, learning as we went along. This was made slightly more challenging by living in it while all the work was done but at least we knew what was going on! Our intention was to create a light, low energy, low-water usage, low-carbon, healthy living space for ourselves. Where it has not been possible to reuse, we have tried to use products that are natural, have low embodied energy, use minimal energy, are from an ethical source and that have minimal toxicity. We are hoping to demonstrate to our neighbours and others that one does not need a huge house in the country and pots of money to “go green”.”
The rest of this excellent article goes into detail about problems, solutions, materials, products and suppliers. The decisions and compromises that the occupants made are carefully outlined. This article is a rare insight into retro-fitting (or “eco-renovating”) a flat rather than a house. -KA
Wangaratta High School: Applied ESD
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on March 10th, 2010
Source: Green Building Council Australia (GBCA)
From the Green Building Council Australia Fact Sheet
Wangaratta High School in north-eastern Victoria was awarded a 4 Star Green Star – Education PILOT rating in August 2009 for Stage One in its three part redevelopment plan, becoming the first Green Star certified school in Australia. Utilising environmentally sustainable design (ESD) principles, the Taylor Oppenheim/Meinhardt Group project team aimed to reduce the new senior school’s negative impact on the environment, while at the same time, providing students and teachers with a healthier, more productive space. With US studies revealing green schools foster higher reading retention, better test scores and greater staff retention, it is easy to see why educational facilities around Australia are considering greener alternatives.
Ground heat exchange system
During project consultations, Wangaratta High School and the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development outlined their vision for the new school to be as energy efficient as possible, reducing the electrical power demand on-site as well as the recurrent energy costs accrued by the school. This brief was realised through the implementation of a ground heat exchange (GHE) system which would service the majority of the facility’s heating and cooling needs. This geothermal technology uses the earth as both a heat source and a heat sink, circulating water in a series of grid loops under the earth’s surface to cool or warm the building above. The system circulates water through a grid of 42 loops extending 100m below, using heat pumps to push the water through hydronic pipes in the building’s floor slab. Because heat energy naturally flows from areas of higher temperature to those of lower temperature, the GHE heating and cooling system is a highly efficient, renewable energy source that maintains a pleasant temperature range of 20-26°C throughout the year, with little need for supplementary heating or cooling.
Associate for the Building Science & technology Group at Meinhardt, Dr Mirek Piechowski says: “By tapping into the renewable energy stored in the ground, the GeoExchange technology offers the most energy efficient heat transfer mechanism for climate control system. The other significant feature of the GeoExchange technology is the fact that in the heating mode only up to 25 per cent of the heating energy is derived from fossil fuels, i.e. electricity, while the remaining 75 per cent is renewable energy. In contrast, in traditional gas heating systems 100 per cent of heat is derived from burning gas,” he explains.
A feasibility study conducted by the Meinhardt Group predicted the GHE system would save the school around $35,000 in energy bills, as well as a reduce CO2 emissions by 253 tonnes annually. Combined with other energy efficient measures, this system achieves energy savings of up to 75 per cent, compared to conventional buildings of the same size.
Slowing Down for Better Business: Maersk
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on March 1st, 2010
Source: Treehugger
From Danish Cargo Ship Fleet Cuts Fuel Use 30% By Going Half Speed, by Brian Merchant
Until two years ago, the Danish shipping conglomerate Maersk had been sending its cargo ships across the seas at full throttle, vying to get supplies to their destination as fast as possible–and every other shipping company was doing the same. It seemed at the time the most efficient way of doing business. But in order to do so, the company was running its ships at far beyond the maximum fuel efficiency levels. So, two years ago, Maersk decided to slow things down. Now, a trip that used to take 3 weeks instead takes a month. But they’re reaping huge savings in fuel use, costs and greenhouse gas reductions–by as much as 30%.
The New York Times reports:
In a global culture dominated by speed … the company has seized on a sales pitch that may startle some hard-driving corporate customers: Slow is better. By halving its top cruising speed over the last two years, Maersk cut fuel consumption on major routes by as much as 30 percent, greatly reducing costs. But the company also achieved an equal cut in the ships’ emissions of greenhouse gases.
Which is pretty phenomenal when you think about it–in the midst of a complex global recession and fast-rising oil prices, a solution as simple as easing up on the accelerator was able to help the company drastically cut costs and stay competitive. According to the Times, Soren Stig Nielsen, Maersk’s director of environmental sustainability, says that slowing down is “a great opportunity to lower emissions ‘without a quantum leap in innovation’,” and he notes in presentations to clients that “Going at full throttle is economically and ecologically questionable.” And he’s right.
Just by slowing down, Maersk is able to lower the prices they charge in the face of rising oil prices – something full speed competitors simply cannot do. And the reduced greenhouse gas emissions make this one of the simplest ways for companies to green their supply chains and lower their overall carbon footprint. In other words, if a company is willing to wait an extra couple days for raw materials or goods, it can both save money and tout a commitment to the environment. Just by waiting.
Read the full article by Brian Merchant on Treehugger
Don’t Forget The Green Bag: Rewards-Tagged Eco-Bags
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on February 24th, 2010
Source: Japan for Sustainability
Image: Toppan Printing Co.
An experimental project to develop and research a system to revitalize shopping districts through the use of eco-bags with Integrated Circuit (IC) tags was carried out in Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward in December 2009. 30 stores in the Kami-ita Minami-Guchi Ginza Shopping District took part. The purpose of this experiment included reducing the use of plastic shopping bags by distributing eco-bags to local shoppers, promoting visits to shopping districts, and testing the development and operation method of a distribution system that circulates points accumulated on the IC tag in the community as a form of local currency.
Toppan Printing Co. distributed free eco-bags with IC tags to 300 shoppers. Those who brought the eco-bag to the participating stores between December 7 and 23 received points by holding the bag out to the IC tag reader/writer which is connected to a PC. Accumulated points were saved on the IC tag, while the PC recorded the ID of the IC tag as well as the date and time of the store visit.
After December 23, a gift card draw based on the total points accumulated on the IC tag took place.
Read the full article.
Last Minute Market – A 360° Action Against Waste
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on February 17th, 2010
Source: Food Climate Research Network
From the Current Interview on the Food Climate Research Network:
Last Minute Market (LMM) is a project where shops and producers who have unsold food which would otherwise be discarded are linked with people and charities who need food. Originating in Bologna, it is active in more than 40 Italian towns, with 2 new projects under development in Argentina and Brazil. LMM offers services to enterprises and institutions in order to prevent and reduce waste production at its origin. It also develops innovative services for the recovery and reuse of unsold goods. Since the introduction of the Italian anti–waste law in 2008, non-food items can also be recovered.
LMM has 6 different and interrelated areas of activities:
* Food- unsold food which is still edible
* Harvest- vegetables not harvested which would be rejected by retailers due to cosmetic reasons or weather damage
* Seeds- seeds that do not conform with market standards
* Catering- products not served by public and private catering
* Books- unsold books that would otherwise be destroyed
* Pharmacy- unsold pharmaceuticals which can be used to meet the health needs of socially disadvantaged people
LMM helps:
* companies to manage surpluses in innovative ways, which can reduce waste disposal costs and improve the company’s links with the local community
* public institutions and the community benefit from the reduction in the flow of waste to landfill and improve food availability for the sectors of society that need it
* the third sector reduce operating costs and release resources for other projects
How low can we go? Greenhouse Gas Reduction in the UK Food System
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on February 12th, 2010
Source: Food Climate Research Network
…the important point is that we are highly likely to need both technological and behavioural change to achieve reductions of this magnitude – and help avoid dangerous climate change.
From the report: How low can we go? An assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from the UK food system and the scope for reduction by 2050.
When it comes to environmental impacts, the usual suspects have been mobility (the way we get around) and energy (the way we heat and light our buildings). However, there’s an equally significant actor in the creation of greenhouse gases: food. Some 20% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to what we put on our plates.
The UK has its own legally-binding targets to reduce production emissions by 80% by 2050 under the Climate Change Act. In order to make a proportional contribution to these reductions, and taking into account the fact that we need to continue to eat, WWF-UK and the Food Climate Research Network (FCRN) suggest food-related emissions need to be cut by 70% by 2050. Achieving this is highly likely to require significant changes throughout the UK food system – from production and processing to cooking, the kinds of food we eat and what and how much we throw away.
The aim of this study was thus to determine the feasibility of a 70% cut, where in the food chain cuts could be made, and by how much. In addition, the work estimated the emissions arising from direct and indirect land use change attributable to UK food consumption. This was done by calculating how much land, including forest, is converted annually to agriculture and the CO2 emissions that arise from this process, and attributing an appropriate amount of these emissions to UK food consumption.
As such, this study provides the most accurate inventory of greenhouse gases attributable to UK food consumption to date: the results were striking – and disturbing. As stated above, direct emissions from the UK food chain are estimated to be about 20% of the UK’s total consumption emissions. However, according the method and assumptions used in the study, including the emissions attributable to direct and indirect land use change lifts the proportion of UK consumption emissions attributable to food from 20% to 30% of all UK emissions – or from 152MtCO2 to 253MtCO2. Reducing emissions from food will thus be key to tackling climate change.
This study investigated a range of approaches to making the cuts, constructing three broad thematic scenarios:
The first was an energy-based scenario in which the focus was on (a) the decarbonisation of non-mobile processes, such as food processing, cooking and refrigeration and (b) the decarbonisation of energy used in transport. The result? Cuts of some 57% by 2050. Not enough.
The second was an emissions-led scenario which centred on (a) reductions in direct GHG emissions, such as methane from cows and sheep and nitrous oxide from fertilisers and (b) improved production efficiency, including increased crop yields and improved livestock genetics. The result? Cuts of some 55% by 2050. Again: not enough.
The final scenario considered (a) conservation, through waste avoidance and using wasted food to generate energy and (b) changes to consumption patterns in the UK. The result? Cuts of some 60%. Getting there, but still not enough.