What made the film more interesting for me was that I had just got back from the DEBI Awards at the Met Office when I found the link. The DEBI Awards are like a modest version of the Oscars - no expensive dresses or showbiz razzmatazz - just some of the best green businesses in Devon, gathering to see who is going to be a winner. Last year we were finalists, but this year I just went to be inspired by the finalists, and the energy and effort they have invested to find more sustainable ways of doing business. I had a really interesting chat with Otter Brewery about their - now award-winning - 'eco-cellar'. By buring the new cellar in the ground they have doubled their storage capacity, but minimised the amount of additional energy they need to consume.
That morning I had been at a workshop run by the Exeter Carbon Club, looking at ways of reducing energy costs. It was a really interesting session, with a wide range of businesses - I was sitting with a deli in Princeshay and Exeter City Football Club. But the message was the same - a sustainable approach to business saves you money. And there was a great example from one of the businesses in the room - a large law firm with an office in Exeter. By simply turning off equiment that was left on overnight and over weekends in their building (a big building), they were able to make a five-figure saving in energy costs over 12 months. And they did this by simply walking through the office one weekend and spotting all the equipment left on. It's not always a case of investing in new technology, sometimes it's just changing behaviour.
It was an amazing day, with a constant flow of stories from businesses - large and small, local and international - about how a sustainable approach to business was delivering a financial benefit. Really inspirational.
So when I read that even the Bank of England are recommending a low carbon economy as the route out of recession, you begin to wonder if you can feel just a little bit optimistic about the future. What do you think?
