PeopleProfitPlanet are pleased to be attending and supporting the 'Climate Risk and the City' event on 18th March at Leeds City Museum.     

As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science, this event, which is designed to engage the public, will examine:

- the projected impacts of climate change
- the different risks that climate change could pose for cities
- the ways in which these climate risks might best be managed
- the ways in which we can move toward climate resilient, low carbon cities.

The event will include stimulating and accessible presentations from the Environment Agency, Arup, Friends of the Earth and Leeds City Council, as well as the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy. The presentations will be followed by a debate and an exhibition.

The event will take place on Thursday 18th March from 5.30pm-7.30pm in the Thoresby Room, Leeds City Museum, Millennium Square, Leeds, LS2 8BH. Tea and coffee will be available from 5.10pm and the event will start promptly at 5.30pm.

Come and join Adam Woodhall: To book a place at the event, please contact Margo Hanson: m.hanson@leeds.ac.uk with your full name, email address and if relevant, organisation.

Places will be offered on a first come, first served basis.

A recent survey demonstrated a large amount of small and medium sized business are not taking the opportunity to cut costs and engage staff by going green.  The Netregs report (http://bit.ly/9vmUk1) shows that the majority of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) haven’t realised what they are missing out on.

Environment Champions or Green Teams are often seen as excellent low cost method of motivating staff to take significant carbon & cost cutting action.  According to the survey, only 7% of businesses had taken this easy step to engage employees environmentally.

A surprisingly low 11% of the businesses surveyed had carried out a programme of environmental improvements and just 18% had assessed the impact their business has on the environment.  A slightly more heartening number (28%) have made energy cuts, but this is still very low when you consider the impact that electric and gas bills have on the bottom line.

An Environmental Management System (EMS) can really help a company boost its bottom line by focusing on the many eco-cost savings available.  Furthermore with many large public and corporate organizations requiring proof of your environmental credentials, attaining an EMS such as ISO14001 can make all the difference.  Unfortunately a majority of the SME’s considered an to be of "no use" or of "little use" with only four percent of the businesses surveyed having one, although a quarter did have an environmental policy.

However it wasn’t all bad news, as the ‘Reduce, Re-use, Recycle’ message is starting to get through. The survey found that environmental awareness increased with the size of the business and overall, 84% of SMEs are recycling and 41% have cut down their waste.

PeopleProfitPlanet works with your organisation to enable you to take all of the opportunities available to boost staff morale, bottom line and green credentials.  We offer programmes which can work to develop your environmental policy into a document that makes sense to your staff and finance director, for example working with your Green Champions or helping develop your EMS.

As this survey shows, many organisations need some help!

As well as showing your loved one how much you care, Valentine's day is a great way to show that you love the environment too. So here are PeopleProfitPlanet's top tips on how to green your Valentine's day.

Around a billion Valentine's cards are sent globally each year (1), making it the second largest card-sending holiday of the year after Christmas but most are thrown away. Instead, reduce your carbon footprint by buying a recycled card or why not make your own using recycled materials or send a charity ecard?

You could also be more creative with the flowers you buy. Red roses come from Holland, South America and Africa so to reduce their carbon footprint look for organic or Fairtrade (2). Or, if you would prefer something UK-grown narcissi, daffodils, tulips and chrysanthemums are all in season. Alternatively you could buy a house plant, they save packaging, last longer and absorb CO2!

Valentine's day just wouldn't be the same without chocolate so why not buy organic or Fairtrade chocolates which are greener and more ethical and taste good too.

And finally, when your fun is over, don't forget to compost and recycle your waste.  Happy Valentine's!

1. American Greeting Card Association http://corporate.americangreetings.com/
2. http://www.fairtrade.org.uk

Leeds is the latest city to sign up to the low carbon revolution and benefit from a green business boom after the council voted to cut city-wide carbon emissions 40% by 2020. The decision, which was made after a vote by Leeds' councillors is crucial as councils are key to providing leadership on climate change, following the failure to agree an ambitious and binding deal at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.

Here at PeopleProfitPlanet, we are delighted that our home city, will see a boom in green jobs and a stronger local economy as the council has pledged to support both energy efficiency and mirco-renewables in homes and commercial buildings. Leeds City Council has also promised to approve renewable energy schemes to decarbonise the grid and increase the use of public transport and greener vehicles.

We are also excited to see a groundswell of support for cutting carbon emissions and the economic, social and environmental benefits that it brings. Leeds joins Bristol, Harrogate, Durham and Surrey who have already committed to cutting emissions 40% by 2020. While Manchester has pledged 41% by 2020, Scotland 42% by 2020, London 60% by 2025 and Birmingham 60% by 2026. Has your council signed up (www.getseriousaboutco2.com)?

Climate sceptics are having a field day: a month of frozen Britain with record-breaking sub zero temperatures, surely, they say, that puts an end to the climate change debate?

But the climate change deniers are failing to understand basic meteorology; that weather is not the same as climate. Weather is what happens locally on a day-to-day basis while climate is what happens with the weather over a larger area over the long-term, and that is what's changing.  For a 2 minute video summary click here for this great BBC report.

Also, living in the UK, we might be tempted to think that what happens here is indicative of what's happening globally, it's not. While it has been colder than average in some parts of the northern hemisphere, it has been 5-10C warmer in Alaska, northern Canada, North Africa and the Mediterranean. In fact, it looks as if the temperature differences have been caused by blocks of high pressure preventing air-flow between the land and the sea. Further proof of more unstable weather patterns caused by climate change.

If you still need convincing, new figures show that Australia's temperatures over the past 10 years were the hottest since records began and considering the relative sizes of Australia and the UK, this is something we should be taking more notice of. We must avoid the short-term interpretation: one cold UK winter is not the end of global warming.

p.s. can you spot the eco-saving device in the picture below? 

In the festive season, aside from the obvious Bag for Life, you may want to invest in a living, breathing Christmas tree, delivered to your living room.

The Independent has reported that as many as six million Christmas trees will find new homes in landfill sites in Britain once the festive season is over. Christmas Tree Man comes to the rescue! Delivering a potted Christmas tree which you can label and reorder the next year means that your tree will grow each year with your family. When the tree finally outgrows your home, it will be donated to the a charitable cause.

Aside from the great environmental implication of renting then returning a tree to the ground, there is increased safety in owning a living christmas tree. For example, the rooted base is heavier thus safer around children and pets and they are also less likely to dry out and cause a fire hazard with hot fairy lights draped all over them. 

So start cutting your waste in the season of excess, starting with your Christmas tree! 

Firstly, think about this statistic: One long-haul return flight can produce more carbon dioxide per passenger than the average UK motorist in one year. (Netherlands Centre for Energy Conservation and Environmental Technology/DETR)

Recently, Responsibletravel.com, one of the first travel agencies to offer their travellers the option to offset their carbon footprint seven years ago, has decided to scrap the sheme.  On their website, they claim that offsetting 'distracts' tourists from the need to reduce carbon emissions and "offsetting flights has too often been seen as an opportunity to go on flying the same amount or more."

Here at PeopleProfitPlanet, we firmly believe in the three R's of good environmental action, and "Reduce" is the most important one of them all. So, although carbon offsetting may alleviate some of your carbon guilt, overall making lifestyle changes will make a far greater impact in reducing your carbon footprint.

There is still some controversy over carbon offsetting, with environmentalist George Monbiot believing that carbon offsets are just "an excuse for business as usual" while others argue that it does lead to increased investment in renewable energy and reduces  businesses carbon footprints. What are your opinions on Carbon offsetting?

Sources: Environmental Leader | Responsible Travel | Wiki |

(Pew Research Center for the People & the Press via Environmental Leader)

A new shocking survey has found that the amount of Americans viewing Global Warming as a serious issue is decreasing. Of 1500 people surveyed, there were 14% less people who believed that there is solid evidence the Earth is getting warmer compared to April 2008.

Across the Atlantic, we did a bit of research to see if there was any similar trends. While this piece of research from 2006 (YouGov and Daily Telegraph) states that 85% of Britons believe global warming is taking place, a more recent poll by Ipsos MORI in 2008 found over half of the adults polled doubt that humans are contributing to climate change.

Despite the public's continued cynicism in government environmental policies like "green taxes" and emissions trading, it is still important that we continue to raise awareness for climate change, especially when politicians and leaders come together during this year's  Copenhagen Climate Change Conference from Dec 7-18 2009. 

An Extraordinary cabinet meeting in the Maldives!

President Mohamed Nasheed set a first on the 10th October 2009 when he held a cabinet meeting underwater. A veteran diver, the President staged this meeting to bring attention to climate change for the lowest lying country in the world.

Also a Time Magazine Hero of the Environment, President Mohamed offers this Green Tip:

'I walk to work every day, rather than take the presidential limousine. It's better for the environment and I can stop and chat to people on the way.'— Mohamed Nasheed

Environmental Action big or small always start with a single person. Through environmental behaviour change, we can all do our part to combat climate change.

Links:

Time Magazine Hero of the Environment 2009

Maldive Government Meeting Underwater via Huffington Post

What is Greenwashing?

Like whitewashing, it is about misleading consumers about the green, environmentally friendly claims of a company or product.

How to identify Greenwashing?

Terrachoice has come up with the six sins of greenwashing. What does "All Natural" mean on a shampoo bottle? That's a sin of vagueness - the bottle may not tell you what is natural in the ingredients list, or if one ingredient is natural but drowned in harmful chemicals. 

How to act on Greenwashing?

EnviroMedia and the University of Orgeon has teamed up to produce the Greenwashing Index. Users can post videos or ads for others to rank between 1 (authentic) and 5 (bogus) on their green claims. The worst offender so far is an ad for Pennsylvania's "Clean Green Energy" - Coal.