Environment and sustainability news and comment CCB 107

Energy efficiency investment could save US $1.2 trillion
Improving energy efficiency in buildings could save the US economy $1.2 trillion by 2020 according to a study published by global management consultants McKinsey. The report, ‘Unlocking energy efficiency in the US economy’ published at the end of July claims that energy use in the US could be cut by 23% over the next 11 years with an investment of around $520 billion, leading to annual savings of $130 billion. According to the report the reduction in energy use would also result in the abatement of 1.1 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions annually – the equivalent of taking the entire US fleet of passenger vehicles and light trucks (over 200 million vehicles) off of the roads.
Contact: McKinsey & Company
www.mckinsey.com

Carbon Trust announces Big Business Refit to help SMEs slash energy bills
The Carbon Trust announced on August 26 that it is aiming to help thousands of small and medium sized businesses drive down their costs by as much as £40 million through a new programme. The Big Business Refit will offer SMEs expert advice and financial support to slash their energy costs by scrapping old inefficient equipment and replacing it with new energy efficient models. It follows a recession-driven surge in demand for the Carbon Trust’s interest-free business loans. In the first six months of 2009, hundreds of SMEs from bakeries to plastics factories have been given loans at zero-interest to equip their businesses with the latest energy-saving technology. As a result, they are saving an average of £14,000 each on their annual energy bills – a collective total of almost £6 million per year.
Contact; Carbon Trust
www.carbontrust.co.uk

Lifecycle assessment boosts transparency of sustainability performance
Retailers are demanding more information about their suppliers’ sustainability programmes and a higher degree of transparency about their sustainability performance to align with their own organizations’ goals, according to a white paper released by Deloitte on August 3. The paper, titled ‘Lifecycle Assessment: Where is it on your sustainability agenda’, aims to address the business implications of environmental lifecycle assessment (LCA) including key market drivers, business challenges and opportunities. Deloitte comments on Wal-Mart Sustainable Product Index, saying although it is still in the early stages of adoption, it is the first step of a collaborative effort involving dozens of retailers, suppliers, academics, non-governmental organization (NGOs) and other partners to create a global standards for measuring and communicating the sustainability impact of products.
Contact: Deloitte
www.deloitte.com

Dairy industry gets pat on the back for green initiative
Dairy UK, the trade group for the dairy industry, announced on August 6 that it is to team up with the Carbon Trust to develop a new guide for measuring and reporting on the carbon footprint of dairy products. The project will see dairy farmers, processors and retailers work with the Carbon Trust to develop a single set of guidelines for measuring the industry’s carbon emissions. The announcement comes on the same day that Defra published a progress report on the Milk Roadmap, showing that processors and farmers are on track to meet their first set of 2010 milestones. Some dairy companies are likely to exceed targets on incorporating recycled plastic into milk bottles, cutting energy use and environmental benchmarking. Comprehensive data collected by Dairy UK show that processors have gone further, cutting water use by 20%, energy use by 10% and raising waste recycling or reuse to 76% since 2006.
Contact: Dairy UK
www.dairyUK.org

New tool increase sales of sustainable seafood
FishChoice.com, a website providing a free service that connects commercial seafood buyers to a database of suppliers of sustainable seafood was launched on August 3. The service helps sustainable seafood producers connect with the growing marketplace of buyers seeking environmentally-responsible seafood alternatives. The site currently has more than 300 different products from 130 suppliers, offering sustainable versions of a variety of different species including shrimp, tuna, salmon, pollock, and tilapia- the top five most consumed types of seafood in America. FishChoice.com works with the six leading ocean conservation organizations: Marine Stewardship Council, The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program, Blue Ocean Institute, New England Aquarium, FishWise and SeaChoice – to ensure that the website has the most up to date seafood rankings and certifications.
Contact: FishChoice
www.fishchoice.com

Nissan turns over a new leaf
Nissan took the wraps off its electric car on August 2, naming the hatchback “Leaf” and taking a step toward its goal of leading the industry in the zero-emissions field. Japan’s No.3 automaker and its French partner, Renault SA, have been the most aggressive proponents of pure electric vehicles in the auto industry, announcing plans to mass-market the clean but expensive cars globally in 2012. Nissan will begin selling the first Leaf cars in the United States, Japan and Europe toward the end of 2010, adding two more models soon after. It expects production to start with around 200,000 units a year at the global roll-out in 2012.
Contact: Nissan
www.nissan-global.com

Hilton and Kimpton hotel chains go for the green
During August, The Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group and Hilton Hotels Corporation announced the opening of their first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) registered hotel and LEED Gold certified headquarters, respectively. The Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group’s hotel, the Hotel Palomar Philadelphia features energy-efficient mechanical systems, low-flow fixtures, a water filtration system to eliminate on-property use of bottled water, and in-room recycling containers. Hilton’s global headquarters is LEED Gold certified, meeting one of the highest environmental standards for design, construction and operation.
Contact: Kimpton Hotels
www.kimptonhotels.com
Hilton Hotels Corporation
www.hiltonfamily.com

European buildings to go BREEAM
BRE Global signed an agreement on July 30 with Instituto Tecnológico de Galicia for the adoption of BREEAM in Spain. The agreement will accelerate the development of BREEAM for the Spanish market, with ITG developing BREEAM Spain methodology, certification and assessor training under the guidance of BRE Global. BREEAM is now used extensively in a wide range of countries throughout Europe. For example, in October 2008 the Dutch Green Building Council announced that it was adopting BREEAM for the Netherlands and last month BRE Global concluded a memorandum of understanding to work with the CSTB to align HQE and BREEAM in France.
Contact: BREEAM
www.breeam.org/international

Tesco diverts 100% waste from landfill ahead of target
As a result of a large logistical exercise in reducing, reusing and recycling, as well as seeking out the best providers of waste management services, Tesco has achieved its target of 100% diversion almost a year ahead of target, the company announced on 3 August. Methane gas from landfill sites is significantly more damaging to the environment than carbon emissions and three years ago Tesco committed to find ways of diverting all of its waste from landfill by 2010. In the first week of August, its entire estate of 2,315 UK stores as well as distribution centres and offices achieved that goal. There are no official targets for commercial businesses, although the Government has told local authorities to reduce by 45% the waste they send to landfill by 2020 against 2000 volumes.
Contact: Tesco
www.tescoplc.com

Pressure on government to raise taxes promises green gains
A report by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) entitled ‘Green Taxation in a Recession’ argues that the urgent need to address national debt through higher taxes offers opportunity to revamp UK green taxation policy. The report, launched in August 2009 states that the woeful state of the UK’s public finances offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity for whoever wins the next election to shift a greater proportion of the country’s tax burden on to environmentally damaging behaviour through the expansion of green taxes. However, ACCA warns governments that carbon taxes will not be the panacea national governments are probably expecting. The report offers recommendations including ensuring green taxes are global, with global co-ordination of policies and ideas and the importance of consulting widely with electorate and business before introducing taxes so they understand what is happening and why.
Contact: ACCA Global
www.accaglobal.com

Green travel programme offers cars, bikes and buses
Three UK transport and retail companies – First Group, Halfords and Countrywide Car and Van Rental – have joined forces with business consulting services provider Green CO2 to launch what they say is a comprehensive and tax-efficient green travel initiative. The scheme was announced on September 1 and is the first in the country to offer an integrated package of low-emission cars, bicycles and a bespoke bus service. Green CO2 will arrange and administer it on behalf of private and public sector organizations. Through the tax relief and reduction in national insurance contributions, employees have the potential of saving up to 35% on the lease of a car and up to 50% off travel by bus or the purchase of a bicycle. Employees can also gain from the additional benefit of the car scrappage scheme that has been recently introduced.
Contact; Green CO2
www.greenco2plc.com

IHG pledges $1 million to Oxford University for conservation
InterContinental Hotels Group and the University of Oxford announced a partnership on September 1, with IHG pledging up to $1 million over a five year period to help Oxford increase its research capability in conservation. IHG will use this research to inform its future hotel design and operations. IHG is using its Priority Club Rewards (PCR) programme to fund the donation by asking members to switch from paper to online statements. There are over 44 million PCR members worldwide making it the world’s largest hotel loyalty programme and this simple change will have a huge financial and environmental benefit. Switching to online statements will save up to $400,000 every year and the hotel group will donate half of these savings directly to the Department of Plant Sciences at Oxford University.
Contact; InterContinental Hotels Group
www.ichotelsgroup.com

Environment Agency and Westmark have greenest office building in the UK
The Environment Agency’s new Bristol corporate office has achieved the highest score ever awarded by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) for its environmental credentials. The development, in the centre of Bristol, achieved a score of 85.06% under BREEAM 2006. In responding to the Environment Agency’s brief to develop a commercially viable building to the highest environmental standards, developer Westmark utilised technologies including rainwater harvesting, intelligent lighting systems and natural ventilation. It also includes a ground source heat pump to reduce heating and cooling costs. Environmental impact during construction was also reduced through use of recycled materials and careful management of energy and resources on site.
Contact: Environment Agency
www.environment-agency.gov.uk

ABTA launches responsible hotels and resorts directory
The travel association, ABTA, and the Federation of Tour Operators announced on 26 August that they are launching a directory of environmentally responsible hotels and resorts to help holidaymakers make informed choices. The directory uses the Travelife Sustainability System, which was developed by the Federation of Tour Operators, and is backed by leading environmentalist and Forum for the Future founder Jonathon Porritt. The Travelife Directory of audited hotels is available at www.travelifecollection.com and aims to make sure the impact the tourism industry has is a positive one, from reducing foreign poverty to protecting the planet’s resources.
Contact ABTA
www.abta.com

Giant Food encourages best practices for retail seafood sales and consumption
Giant Food announced on August 6 that it is working in cooperation with the New England Aquarium, to increase access to sustainable seafood available from seafood farms, hatcheries and processing plants that follow a programme of environmental improvement and social consciousness. Members of the Giant Food seafood buying team, alongside a New England Aquarium shrimp specialist, travelled to Indonesia and Thailand to collaborate with Giant Food’s shrimp vendor partners on environmental improvements. The aim was to identify “best practices” within individual businesses and work toward applying these practices to all vendors.
Contact: Giant Food
www.giantfood.com

Wal-mart’s recent launch of a Sustainable Product Index aims to provide consumers with a choice of sustainability-rated merchandise. The index will be built on data from supplier questionnaires and the collaborative input of a number of academic and business stakeholders. The ultimate aim is to produce ‘sustainability labels’ for products which will allow consumers to make more informed purchasing choices. In a similar move, Dairy UK has signed up with the Carbon Trust to develop carbon labels for their products.

These projects highlight the increased business interest in managing both environmental impacts and in influencing suppliers and consumers to become more sustainable. While such ventures no doubt boost the sustainability agenda, the result for the consumer will be another label on a product. Whilst labels are likely to influence suppliers and lead to increased transparency, innovation and competition, it is unclear how much influence they will have on consumers.

On current evidence, retailers will have to do more to engage with the consumer so that there is more understanding of sustainable or low carbon products, or more awareness of which companies are involved in such projects. Retailers that decide to ‘choice edit’ their products will simplify the purchasing process for the consumer. Choice editing requires businesses to make sustainability decisions on behalf of consumers. Retailers that adopt this approach provide consumers with the satisfaction that sustainability factors have already been considered by removing unsustainable products from their stores, reducing the confusion that additional product labels may create.