Precycling. The act of selecting purchases with minimal packaging and avoiding plastics that aren't labelled, to avoid the need for so much recycling once you get it home (or back to the office).
I came across it today in the Observer newspaper's magazine on Lucy Siegle's Ethical Living page. It's a great habit to encourage.
Sunday, 28 September 2008
Friday, 26 September 2008
Questions and answers
The Today and Tomorrow forum has been going a few weeks now and there's some interesting stuff to take a look at. There's a discussion about the future of print in sustainable communications, questions about what makes you green, and a debate on greenwash, amongst other things. If you've got a question about sustainability and your business, why not put it to the forum?
Monday, 22 September 2008
This advert makes me soooo angry!
I've just seen this - not for the first time - but I feel compelled to rant about it! It's an advert for Nouvelle toilet rolls. What can be so offensive about toilet rolls? Let me explain.
At the start it seems to be an advert encouraging recycling. A woman takes her bottles to the bottle bank (but spills red wine down her self), she uses bath water to water her hanging baskets (but gets bubbles in them), she takes her paper out for recycling (but it blows out of the boxes as she walks down the path). The voice over says something along the lines of 'thinking about the environment can be really inconvenient and a bit annoying'. Their solution? Buy Nouvelle toilet rolls because it's 100% recycled. You don't need to worry about doing the other stuff!
It's such an outrageous pile of nonsense! (I'd really like to swear, but I don't think it's appropriate to do it in my blog, and my parents might read it). 100% recycled toilet rolls are great - but don't try and sell them as an alternative to recycling! Tell people to do both! What idiots came up with that concept! After my last post, it makes you want to bang your head against a wall (or the idiots who wrote and paid for the advert, but again, I don't think it's appropriate to encourage violence in this blog).
(I've just read through what I've written and I think I need to apologise for an excessive use of exclamation marks, but it's the only way I could avoid swearing!!!)
At the start it seems to be an advert encouraging recycling. A woman takes her bottles to the bottle bank (but spills red wine down her self), she uses bath water to water her hanging baskets (but gets bubbles in them), she takes her paper out for recycling (but it blows out of the boxes as she walks down the path). The voice over says something along the lines of 'thinking about the environment can be really inconvenient and a bit annoying'. Their solution? Buy Nouvelle toilet rolls because it's 100% recycled. You don't need to worry about doing the other stuff!
It's such an outrageous pile of nonsense! (I'd really like to swear, but I don't think it's appropriate to do it in my blog, and my parents might read it). 100% recycled toilet rolls are great - but don't try and sell them as an alternative to recycling! Tell people to do both! What idiots came up with that concept! After my last post, it makes you want to bang your head against a wall (or the idiots who wrote and paid for the advert, but again, I don't think it's appropriate to encourage violence in this blog).
(I've just read through what I've written and I think I need to apologise for an excessive use of exclamation marks, but it's the only way I could avoid swearing!!!)
Sunday, 21 September 2008
Too many people, too much stuff
On Friday I went up to London to go to a couple of events on the theme of sustainability that were connected to the London Design Festival. As part of the Festival there was a programme of events under the banner Greengaged, raising the issue of sustainability in design, across all its disciplines. Some really interesting issues were discussed at the events I attended, and I'm sure I'll be coming back to them over the next few weeks. But the first topic that was raised in the first presentation I went to (by Peter Madden of Forum for the Future) really laid out the challenge that faces us all. It's the fact at the heart of sustainability: there are too many people, with too much stuff.
In the 60s the world population was 3 billion. Now it is 6 billion. By 2050 it is estimated it will be 9 billion. If the world's population lived the same lifestyle as we do in the UK - with our cars and gadgets and houses and food and all the other stuff we take for granted - it would take 3 planet earths to provide the resources required to support it. 3 planets. We've only got one. The demand is increasing, but the capacity to meet it is limited.
So mankind needs to be more efficient - the phrase Peter Madden used was 'radically more efficient'. We need to use less to make more. We need to make things last longer. Then when we've finished with them, turn them into something else. It's going to take a huge shift in our expectations, but what's the alternative?
The message at the heart of the presentation was that designers need to step up to meet the challenge. But I think everyone can take a look at themselves and see what they can do - at home and at work. What can you change? Who can you influence? That was certainly our motivation when we launched Today and Tomorrow, but this presentation certainly got me thinking about what else we can do.
In the 60s the world population was 3 billion. Now it is 6 billion. By 2050 it is estimated it will be 9 billion. If the world's population lived the same lifestyle as we do in the UK - with our cars and gadgets and houses and food and all the other stuff we take for granted - it would take 3 planet earths to provide the resources required to support it. 3 planets. We've only got one. The demand is increasing, but the capacity to meet it is limited.
So mankind needs to be more efficient - the phrase Peter Madden used was 'radically more efficient'. We need to use less to make more. We need to make things last longer. Then when we've finished with them, turn them into something else. It's going to take a huge shift in our expectations, but what's the alternative?
The message at the heart of the presentation was that designers need to step up to meet the challenge. But I think everyone can take a look at themselves and see what they can do - at home and at work. What can you change? Who can you influence? That was certainly our motivation when we launched Today and Tomorrow, but this presentation certainly got me thinking about what else we can do.
Sunday, 14 September 2008
The finishing line
Phew! Glad that's over.
Well, I ran the 10k in aid of Cancer Research UK, and I beat my target time! I had hoped to run it in 1 hour, but I finished in 55 minutes and 26 seconds, so I was really pleased.
I had been concerned that I'd struggle to hit my target (as mentioned previously). On my regular training run I was finishing in around 1 hour and 5 minutes, so I thought shaving 5 minutes off might be a bit of a tall order. However, the route we ran today at Powderham Castle is a lot flatter than my usual run, and I think that made all the difference.
It was a really good atmosphere at the run, and beautiful weather. There were close to 700 runners (judging by the numbers pinned to t-shirts, I didn't count them), and lots of friends and family watching. The run itself was a lovely route, starting in the castle grounds, passing through the courtyard, out of the grounds onto a road running along the edge of the Exe estuary, then back into the grounds and through the courtyard again to the finish. (It sounds a lot shorter when it's described like that - it really was quite a long way!)
But most importantly - this has been a great opportunity to raise money for Cancer Research UK, and as you can see from the widget below, I'm close to my target, but not quite their yet. So if you would like to, just click here.
Well, I ran the 10k in aid of Cancer Research UK, and I beat my target time! I had hoped to run it in 1 hour, but I finished in 55 minutes and 26 seconds, so I was really pleased.
I had been concerned that I'd struggle to hit my target (as mentioned previously). On my regular training run I was finishing in around 1 hour and 5 minutes, so I thought shaving 5 minutes off might be a bit of a tall order. However, the route we ran today at Powderham Castle is a lot flatter than my usual run, and I think that made all the difference.
It was a really good atmosphere at the run, and beautiful weather. There were close to 700 runners (judging by the numbers pinned to t-shirts, I didn't count them), and lots of friends and family watching. The run itself was a lovely route, starting in the castle grounds, passing through the courtyard, out of the grounds onto a road running along the edge of the Exe estuary, then back into the grounds and through the courtyard again to the finish. (It sounds a lot shorter when it's described like that - it really was quite a long way!)
But most importantly - this has been a great opportunity to raise money for Cancer Research UK, and as you can see from the widget below, I'm close to my target, but not quite their yet. So if you would like to, just click here.
Friday, 12 September 2008
It's all down to me (and you)
On Thursday this week I went to a conference - All our futures - at the University of Plymouth. It was a three day event looking at the role of education in building a sustainable future, but the final day (Thursday) was opened up to look at the practical application of sustainability to businesses and communities. There was a lot of interesting discussion and debate about the challenges to be faced in tackling climate change, and the need for urgent action. At the end of the day there was a Q&A / discussion session about the issues that had been raised over the course of the three days. The consensus was that it is each of us as individuals who need to take responsibility, and take action, to address climate change and the issues that impact it.
Some of the influences on society had been raised in the course of the day's discussion (particularly in the keynote presentation on Thursday by Juliet Davenport, CEO of Good Energy). Politicians and business were two of these groups identified who are perceived to have the greatest influence. But the point was raised that the decision making process in both of these groups is ultimately driven by us - their audience. Both of these groups rely on their audience for success. If they fail to give their audience what they want and keep them happy they will suffer (particularly evident in UK politics at the moment). They will lose the position they currently hold. So people need to speak up. They need to make their feelings known. They need to call for change.
And there are indications that people - individuals - recognise that they are in a position of influence. A recent survey by Defra (see this previous post) found that voters feel it is them as individuals who are doing the most to tackle climate change, not politicians or businesses. But in my day-to-day experience, in business and as a consumer, change seems to be happening very slowly.
So what's the solution? Communication. Tell people what the problems are, and how they can help to sort them out. Give people an opportunity to get involved. Show them that they can make a difference.
And remember that includes you. And me.
Some of the influences on society had been raised in the course of the day's discussion (particularly in the keynote presentation on Thursday by Juliet Davenport, CEO of Good Energy). Politicians and business were two of these groups identified who are perceived to have the greatest influence. But the point was raised that the decision making process in both of these groups is ultimately driven by us - their audience. Both of these groups rely on their audience for success. If they fail to give their audience what they want and keep them happy they will suffer (particularly evident in UK politics at the moment). They will lose the position they currently hold. So people need to speak up. They need to make their feelings known. They need to call for change.
And there are indications that people - individuals - recognise that they are in a position of influence. A recent survey by Defra (see this previous post) found that voters feel it is them as individuals who are doing the most to tackle climate change, not politicians or businesses. But in my day-to-day experience, in business and as a consumer, change seems to be happening very slowly.
So what's the solution? Communication. Tell people what the problems are, and how they can help to sort them out. Give people an opportunity to get involved. Show them that they can make a difference.
And remember that includes you. And me.
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
Woolly hats
It's that time of year when Charlie starts knitting! Innocent have launched The Big Knit 2008, their annual campaign to support Age Concern, and raise money to help keep older people warm this winter. Every year 25,000 older people in Britain die from cold related illnesses. To support Age Concern in their campaign to combat this Innocent ask people to knit little woolly hats. They put them onto the smoothies they sell in Sainsburys up and down the country, and for every bottle sold Innocent and Sainsburys donate 50p to Age Concern.
If you'd like to get involved visit the Innocent site, where you can find patterns, photos, an activity pack and the hatometer, which we have reproduced below! And if you can't knit make sure you get down to Sainsburys in November and buy the smoothies.
thebigknit2008
Friday, 5 September 2008
What have you got to say?
This week we have launched our Today and Tomorrow forum (www.todayandtomorrowonline.co.uk/forum) - an opportunity for people with an interest in business and the environment to asks questions and find answers. Our aim in developing the forum is to create a community where people can share knowledge and experience, learn a little more about the issues and make informed decisions.
We want to encourage companies to adopt more sustainable working practices, and often it's a lack of knowledge that is the obstacle to change. So we hope the forum provides an opportunity to address those issues. To add real value to the forum we have enlisted the help of various experts in their fields, from business and the public sector. So if you have a question, just log on and ask - someone will have an answer for you!
We want to encourage companies to adopt more sustainable working practices, and often it's a lack of knowledge that is the obstacle to change. So we hope the forum provides an opportunity to address those issues. To add real value to the forum we have enlisted the help of various experts in their fields, from business and the public sector. So if you have a question, just log on and ask - someone will have an answer for you!
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
It's beginning to feel alot like Christmas!
Well it is in our studio. Charlie is working on some illustrations for Christmas card proposals, so there are a lot of robins, reindeer and Christmas trees around! To see more of Charlie's work visit www.alderandalder.co.uk
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