I would like to offer my congratulations to a local trust who have just picked up an award at the Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards 2008.

The Shetland Amenity Trust picked up the Green Award which was open to candidates that put the environment at the centre of their activities, commit to good environmental practice, and ensures high quality visitor experience.

Highland Tourism Awards

Worth special note was the annual Voar Redd Up.  This is the largest UK community organised clean up and an event I have taken part in many times!!! Many a roadside drain has had my attention!.    For more about what the Trust does see the Environmental Improvement section of their website:

Shetland Amenity Trust - Environmental Improvement

I read with interest a recent piece in the Guardian

Recycled waste could be stored on MoD bases

It would appear the economic ‘arguments’ for recycling in the UK are under threat at the moment.  The economic climate is far from advantageous at the moment and from a personal point of view I would not be banking on it turning quickly so we must be very careful about this situation, we cannot be seen to hampering the drive towards increased recycling.

The environmentally responsible solution? It is a difficult one.  Stockpiling at the moment is ok IF it is only temporary - this is quite a big if though.  One way we can certainly help is by taking a step back in the cycle and reduce our consumption of materials - whether it be through purchasing fewer aluminium cans (nothing wrong with refilling bottles or drinking water!), keeping our cars longer and in better condition.

Any other thoughts?

Living as I do in a remote group of islands and having work commitments outside the islands I am continually disappointed that the development and to a certain extent acceptance of remote/video conferencing has not got to the stage where clients will ‘allow’ it or people will forgo the need to travel many unnecessary miles to attend one business meeting, networking event or seminar. It is just not very environmentally responsible in my opinion.

At present the technology is certainly satisfactory for one-to-one meetings, however I do acknowledge that what is really required is the technology or model to develop in such a way that interaction for people in remote locations matches the interaction of people at the ‘physical’ location. I get the impression at some events that there is still a ‘them and us’ mentality; the ‘them’ being those who have not ‘made the effort’ to attend the event. Technological barriers and facilities can also restrict ‘input’ from those based remotely.

One such solution as I see it is to have no one at the event! A totally virtual event. Radical? Would/does it work? This way there is no one advantaged or disadvantaged (assuming your broadband infrastructure is in place). You can listen to a presentation remotely and press a button to raise your hand/make a point, everyone else can do likewise, and everyone can hear every point raised. Following the event you can network virtually through direct approaches – red light by your name = busy and no one can listen in to your conversation with others; amber = chatting to someone; green = feel free to approach. Simple biographies can also be used to quickly find out who people are, what they do, would it be beneficial to speak to them, etc. Virtual business cards/contact details can be passed out.

Obviously a method like this has a major environmental benefit in terms of reduced requirement for traffic and associated carbon emissions; it can also for those in more remote areas result in much greater time efficiencies – no longer do you have to travel for 4 hours to make a 2 hour event. A two hour event is just that it is no longer a whole day event.

Is this workable? Do you have experience of these types of events to share? Or will face-to-face contact still prevail? I would be interested to hear people’s thoughts on this.

On my ever regular internet searches I came across a new company that I would like to draw your attention to, they are Edina Cars (Edinburgh’s first carbon neutral taxi company).  Although still in their infancy and using ‘standard’ vehicles they offset all their carbon emissions through renewable projects in Asia, while also adopting environmentally friendly operations – using bio-diesel in cars, paperless contract slips and recycling in the office to name but three.  They are a certified carbon neutral company (link) and best of all there is no price premium for these benefits. 

Although I would still maintain that using a taxi should only be a last resort; walking rather than using a car on a short trip (< 3 miles) reduces carbon emissions in the order of 2kg!  But I am also a realist and recognise that some people will continue to use taxis.  Infrequent usage of this taxi service is infinitely better than the purchase of a new car that is rarely used.  Roughly 4 tonnes of carbon is released as a result of the manufacture of every new car.

Steven Kane, owner, tells me as more lower-emission vehicles become available the company will actively update its fleet, and I will look forward to seeing this occur.

So if anyone is in Edinburgh and must use a taxi, give these guys a shout.  And let me know what you think of them.

EdinaCars

What is your carbon footprint?
In basic terms it is a measure of all the greenhouse gases we produce as individuals, businesses and societies.

What are greenhouse gases?
Greenhouse gases are present in the atmosphere and help to retain the earth’s heat. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most well known and significant greenhouse gas.  Others include methane, nitrous oxide, HFCs, PFCs.  Some are naturally occuring, while others are man made.

What is the significance?
Without greenhouse gases the heat from the sun would be re-radiated back into space and the earth would be too cold to live on.  However, too high a concentration of greenhouse gas results in a trapping of the heat and an increase in the Earth’s surface temperature.  This increase in turn creates climate change – sea level increases, rain patterns and increased storm severity, etc.

What is required is a stabilisation in the level of greenhouse gases so that energy re-radiated back into space equals the energy coming from the sun, at present rates greenhouse gases output are increasing at alarming rates.

What can we do about this?
We as individuals, businesses, regions and countries can all take action to manage and reduce our carbon footprint.  In order to do this it is important to understand how to measure this output. There are some useful resources for calculating your carbon footprint.  One of which includes:

http://actonco2.direct.gov.uk/index.html

However these calculators are by nature simplistic and cannot respond to individual nuances or circumstances.  What this calculator (and others) does not reflect is the emissions as a result of our choices as consumers – the ‘hidden’ consumption element.  What is our energy producer doing to reduce their emissions? How environmentally responsible are the companies you buy products from? How many food miles are required to supply your meals on a weekly basis? Are the products we purchase contained in unnecessary moulded plastic packaging?

I aim to address some of these issues in further posts.