If only someone had said that to Benjamin Franklin while he was out flying his kite, or to Thomas Edison as he was lighting the globe.
By gaslight and by electric light we slaved away building ever more conveniences into our energetic utopia, only to find said utopia biting us on the proverbial behind. We are faced now with the need to do something about it, and quick-smart – the hope is that there are corporations out there who are aiming to drive the change needed.
There are two prongs to this attack. The first is the ever increasing number of companies, such as LG, IKEA and BP, looking to implement alternative energy and energy saving devices. The second is the growing number of calls for standardisations and metrics (as in the cases of Google and The Climate Group for consumers, and The Green Grid for data centres) so that we can more precisely understand energy usage patterns and volumes – knowledge that can be used to determine further, relatively easy wins in energy efficiency, and knowledge that could potentially spark new ideas and innovations.
The call by corporations to governments, and the setting up of industry bodies and roundtables to try to create benchmarks is promising indeed. But ultimately this is only the first step. Collectively, we need to make sure that we keep the focus of these exercises in mind: the pursuit of knowledge; and we need to make sure the information we obtain is used wisely. Knowledge will give us the tools to drive behavioural change and explore those side streets of innovation. How often however, do practices get put in place and whispered along the grapevine, arriving at the other end as box-ticking exercises with little depth of understanding by those implementing the systems? We can’t afford to let a minority of companies carry us – as a majority, we need to understand the processes and take ownership. Education will be key in ensuring that we know how we can utilise the information we extract. Knowledge is power. We need to take responsibility for it.
Tara is a chartered environmental engineer, who is currently on an internship at Corporate Citizenship.
Google and The Climate Group ask Obama to support revolution in home energy use
A letter was sent to President Obama on 5 April, asking for his Administration to adopt the goal of giving every household and business access to timely, useful and actionable information on their energy use. Along with The Climate Group and Google, the letter was signed in support by 45 green groups, technology companies, investors and retailers, including AT&T, Best Buy, Dow, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Johnson Controls, the Pew Centre on Global Climate Change, and Whirlpool. Studies show that people with direct access to their electricity use can achieve substantial energy savings through simple behavioural changes. An associated event on 6 April held panel discussions exploring which tools and technologies would empower people with information and control.
Government publishes plans to tackle climate challenges
The UK Government has published carbon reduction delivery and adaptation plans that set out how every major department will address the challenge of climate change in the UK. The plans have been published alongside a single overview of what Government is doing, titled ‘Climate change: taking action – delivering the low carbon transition plan and preparing for a changing climate’. Departmental adaptation plans include ensuring that the agricultural sector is prepared for the changes in farming practices; adapting the built environment; investment to manage flood risk and coastal erosion; heatwave plans; and encouraging adaptation skills in the economy from engineering, planning and architecture to developing new products and services.
The 2010 Climate Competitiveness Index shows that in spite of uncertainty surrounding international climate negotiations, countries have forged ahead with low carbon growth strategies. The annual index judges major nations on their climate accountability (whether the climate strategy is clear, ambitious and supported by stakeholders) and climate performance (whether the country has the track record and capabilities to deliver the strategy). The index was produced by AccountAbility, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and accounts for 95 countries responsible for 97% of global economic activity and 96% of global carbon emissions. Despite gaps in performance and accountability, 46% of nations have shown some improvement in climate accountability since the Copenhagen climate conference in December. Germany, China and the Republic of Korea have made the most improvement, according to the index.
RenewableUK, the trade association, has launched a guide to help businesses and individuals install their own wind turbines. The guide, ‘Generate your own power’, aims to aid businesses and homeowners looking to get into the market of generating their own renewable electricity using small wind turbines following the launch of the Government’s feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme on 1 April. FiT guarantees an inflation-linked income for on-site renewable energy projects under five megawatts in size for a period of up to 25 years and, according to RenewableUK, provides the incentive necessary for the potential of small wind to be fully realised in the UK. The guide explains how to select the right location, install and make money from small-scale wind systems.
In November 2009, President Obama committed to a 17% absolute reduction in carbon emissions by 2020, measured against a 2005 baseline. The latest Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) report however, indicates that greenhouse gas emissions will, at their current trajectory, produce a 3.66% absolute increase in emissions by 2020, relative to 2009 levels – far off the 1.05% reduction per annum CDP calculates is needed to meet the target. CDP data collected from S&P 100 companies for the years 2007 – 2009 indicates that while some sectors have reduced their emissions, total emissions reported increased at a rate of 0.36% and as the economy recovers, growth in absolute emissions is likely to increase further. Of the four heaviest emitting sectors, accounting for 90% of emissions, materials and energy have shown an average decrease in emissions while utilities and industrials have experienced an annual growth.
BP to invest $1 billion plus in alternative energy this year
BP’s Alternative Energy Chief Executive, Katrina Landis, indicated the company plans to invest more than $1 billion this year on alternative energy development. The company launched its alternative energy division in 2005 and has said it would spend $8 billion in the sector over 10 years to 2015. Landis said BP spent $1.3 billion in the alternative energy sector last year, which represented some 6% of the company’s overall investment, and they expect to make a similar investment this year. In response to whether she thought BP would grow the percentage of investment directed toward alternative energy in the future, she said the decision would depend year-to-year on the opportunities available. In the low carbon energy sector, BP focuses on four key areas: biofuels, solar power, wind power and carbon capture and storage.
LG Group is investing 20 trillion won ($18 billion) by 2020 to cut company’s greenhouse gas emissions, develop energy-saving devices, and evaluate green energy businesses. The investment is expected to reduce South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate’s emissions by 50 million metric tonnes annually by 2020. The company set a goal to reduce GHG emissions from the production process by 40% from 2009 levels by 2020. LG also aims to reduce water consumption by 30% during the same period. LG reduced its corporate GHG emissions by 8.1% in 2008, according to last year’s sustainability report.
Drinks Roundtable issues guidance on GHG reporting
The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) announced on 13 April the completion of the ‘Beverage industry sector guidance for greenhouse gas emissions reporting’. This sector guidance is the first greenhouse gas guidance document to incorporate both enterprise inventory and product carbon footprinting approaches for a single industry. The Guidance intends to set the standard for uniform enterprise and product-level carbon emission reporting, allowing consistent and transparent communication to consumers, governments, investors, and other stakeholders.
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