British Gas, the UK energy supplier owned by Centrica, has launched a year-long social experiment to show how households can become more energy efficient. The initiative, Green Streets, was launched on October 16 and will be independently monitored by the Institute for Public Policy Research.
Eight households in each ‘green street’ in eight cities across Britain have been selected to show what can be done to reduce domestic carbon dioxide emissions. Each street is being given £30,000 to spend on energy saving equipment such as energy-efficient light bulbs, cavity wall insulation and solar panels. The homes that reduce their carbon dioxide emissions the most by next year will receive £50,000 worth of energy saving equipment to invest in a local community project. The cities involved are Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Plymouth and Southampton.
A new report from the think-tank, the New Economics Foundation, has found that Britain is becoming “increasingly dependent” on China to “fuel our high-consuming lifestyles” and that this has lead to a rise in carbon emissions.
Chinadependence: The Second UK Interdependence Report found that imports from China have risen 18% since last year and that “because China’s energy mix is more fossil-fuel intensive than those of Europe, Japan or the USA, it also means that outsourcing to China creates more greenhouse gas emissions for each product made”. Among other things, the report calls on the British government to commit to year-on-year greenhouse gas emissions reductions in line with an 80% reduction by 2050, to commit to greater energy security and independence, and to compensate developing countries where a skills drain of professionals benefits the UK. The report was published on October 6 in association with the Open University and is the second overview of the UK’s place in the international system and how British consumer trends impact on the rest of the world.
The majority of UK consumers are unable to name a leading brand on climate change according to a report from The Climate Group. The Climate Brand Index, released on October 15, has found that even though consumers are demanding increasing green action from brands, 69% of the British public still cannot name a brand at the forefront of the battle against global warming. The study found that consumers want brands to tackle climate change and admire brands that do but that awareness of what companies are doing is low. It recommends that brands take a leadership role to build consumer trust and loyalty. The index tracks year-on-year consumer perceptions of how brands are performing on climate change. The top five British brands in this year’s index were Tesco, BP, The Co-operative, M&S and Sainsbury’s. The research was also carried out in the US and found that 74% of Americans could not identify brands taking a lead on global warming but that US consumers wanted businesses to take greater action. The top five brands in the US were GE, Toyota, BP, Ford and Honda.
The steel industry has promised to address its impact on the environment. On October 9, leaders in the sector endorsed a global approach to tackling climate change at the annual meeting of the International Iron and Steel Institute in Berlin. The plan involves the collection and reporting of data on carbon dioxide emissions by steel plants in all steel producing countries including Korea, the Ukraine and Brazil. The IISI represents around 180 steel producers, national and regional steel industry associations and steel research institutes including Nippon Steel Corporation, AcelorMittal and Tata Steel.
Insurance companies are facing up to the challenge of climate change and developing products and services to turn the risk into opportunity according to a report published by Ceres on October 28. From Risk to Opportunity 2007 found that some of these products and services include green building products for homes and discounts to policy holders who drive more environmentally friendly cars. Renewable energy-related insurance products are also being developed that provide insurance for wind farms as well as to allow companies to be involved in renewable energy and carbon emissions trading schemes. Companies mentioned include Willis Holdings, Lexington Insurance Company and Japan’s Sompo Insurance.
People in emerging economies are more concerned about climate change than those in other countries according to a new study from Accenture, the management consulting and technology firm. The Climate Change study found that 80% of respondents in developing countries would avoid taking the car unless it was absolutely necessary but that only 68% of respondents in developed countries would do so. The study, published on October 17, further found that 89% of consumers would switch to energy providers that offer alternative and energy-efficient services and products. Accenture surveyed 7,526 people in 17 countries across North America, Asia and Europe.
Al Gore, former vice-president of the US, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were jointly awared the Nobel Peace Prize on October 12 “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change”. http://nobelprize.org
Panasonic, the Japanese electronics company, has added ecological goals to its business plan that runs until March 2010. The plan aims for sustainable growth over the next three years, and the environmental aims represent the company’s “renewed commitment” to tackling climate change. Panasonic aspires to reduce the environmental impact in all areas of its business and aims to reduce its carbon emissions globally “rather than on a per basic unit basis”. www.panasonic.com
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