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News & Views From the Front Line
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Carbon Trust 'could do better', but can they?
The UK's Committee of Public Accounts has criticised the Carbon Trust's ability to cut emissions as 'pretty small beer'. The committee has listed a number of reasons why the Trust can't be more effective (reluctance of senior executives, EU rules), but, in my opinion, they miss the big one.The Carbon Trust, along with Envirowise and other similar business support organisations, works on the model of an 'expert' walking into a business, spotting a number of potential improvements, writing them up with some signposting to other help and sending the business the results. This is bound to fail for the following reasons:
1. The 'expert' spends most of the visit trying to understand the operations and has limited time to get under the skin of the business. As a result, savings opportunities tend to be drawn from a generic list.
2. The 'expert' is given no opportunity for trial and error, pilot projects or doing anything particularly innovative.
3. The business has little or no ownership of the solutions and is unlikely to implement them.
This doesn't just go for Government backed schemes, but much traditional consultancy. So what can be done differently?
OK, how about:
1. The 'expert' carries out a baseline assessment of the business's operations.
2. The 'expert' and the client put together an team drawn from the client's staff.
3. The 'expert' briefs the team on the baseline and trains them on what a low carbon business would look like (check out this month's Low Carbon Agenda for a generic model).
4. The team meets over an extended period of time to develop solutions, piloting them and monitoring their implementation.
5. The 'expert' gradually hands over the process to the team so it becomes self sustaining.
Trust me, that would beat the old model hands down. If you want to try it, give me a shout on 0191 265 9850.
Labels: carbon trust, change management, envirowise, low carbon agenda
# posted by Gareth Kane : 12:01
0 Comments
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Carbon Trust Label Revisited
I saw a presentation by the Carbon Trust yesterday on Teesside. It was excellent and the presenter was full of enthusiasm - helped no doubt by the fact the Trust was the only such organisation to get an increase in funding in the Budget.Well I was a little disparaging last year about the Trust's carbon labelling of Walkers' Crisps. What I didn't fully realise is that the label is given on a 'reduce it or lose it' basis - so the main purpose is to cajole the manufacturer to reduce the footprint, not just label proclaim it.
Currently the label is only found on crisps, Boots' shampoo and Innocent smoothies. The Trust is working with a huge raft of new companies in 2 tranches, covering everything from strawberries to paving slabs. It looks as if this one could run and run.
Labels: carbon trust, eco-label
# posted by Gareth Kane : 19:10
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Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Oil exceeds $100 mark for the first time
The Guardian is reporting that the trading price of oil on the futures market has tipped $100 a barrel - the first time since trading began in 1983. This is obviously going to put further upward pressure on energy prices to the consumer and industry.It is well understood that energy efficiency is the most cost effective way of cutting bills. Certain UK organisations can get a free visit from the Carbon Trust who will identify some quick wins. However, I recommend setting up a staff committee to brainstorm solutions and filter suggestions from other employees will deliver you a wide range of low or no-cost measures and better motivated staff to boot.
Labels: carbon trust, energy efficiency, oil prices
# posted by Gareth Kane : 11:07
0 Comments
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
BREW funding to be slashed by 50%
I heard yesterday from good sources that the Government is going to slash the funds distributed through the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) programme by 50%.BREW is hypothecated cash from the landfill tax escalator. For the last three years has been used to fund organisations that help reduce industrial waste going to landfill such as Envirowise (waste minimisation), WRAP - the Waste and Resources Action Programme (recycling and markets for recycled materials), the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (connecting companies who can use each other's 'waste') plus a number of related ventures such as the Carbon Trust (energy efficiency) and a variety of regional bodies. The idea is neat: take money off the biggest producers of waste (providing the 'stick' to reduce that waste) and use it to fund enabling mechanisms to reduce barriers to change (carrots).
As I understand it the national bodies will have their funding cut and there will be nothing for the regions.
Terra Infirma has benefited from the BREW programme: we have a contract to deliver Envirowise work, have obtained subsidies from Midas (the BREW funded North East resource efficiency brokerage) for our clients, and have attended Carbon Trust training, so I admit we do have a vested interest. However it is difficult to understand the logic of diverting landfill tax away from environmental programmes and into the general pot (or the Olympics if you want to be really cynical). It certainly plays into the hands of those who see green taxation merely as another stealth tax. A bad move all round.
Labels: brew, carbon trust, envirowise, midas, nisp
# posted by Gareth Kane : 09:00
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Wednesday, 3 October 2007
Environment Agency will require Resource Efficiency data from IPPC sites
The ENDS Report is, well, reporting that the Environment Agency in England and Wales is planning to make the reporting of Resource Efficiency data mandatory as part of Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) reporting. Only a lack of funds is stopping them doing it sooner.Resource efficiency* is about getting the most out of every unit of physical input (eg materials, energy, water) into a system. Car fuel consumption in miles per gallon is an everyday example of a resource efficiency measure - miles travelled (output) for every unit of input (gallon of fuel).
The UK Government is extremely keen on resource efficiency as it is very business friendly - increased efficiency will lead to a reduction in operating costs. They have created the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) fund which recycles money from landfill tax into schemes that improve the resource efficiency of, well you guessed it, UK business. The schemes include Envirowise (waste minimisation), the Carbon Trust (energy efficiency), WRAP (recycling) and the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme - NISP (industrial symbiosis). The model is quite neat - industry pays for its sins (landfill) and gets 'free' advice on how to stop sinning as a result.
However, there are concerns about how far Resource Efficiency can take us towards sustainability. The high targets required (a Factor 10 improvement over 1990 is the best guess) are extremely challenging on technical grounds, and then there's the dreaded 'rebound effect' which I will discuss at a later date. In the meantime, with it being flavour of the month, British business had better get its head around resource efficiency PDQ and the organisations above are a pretty good place to start.
* Resource efficiency is also known as eco-efficiency
Labels: carbon trust, eco-efficiency, envirowise, industrial symbiosis, nisp, resource efficiency, wrap
# posted by Gareth Kane : 07:20
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Friday, 28 September 2007
Big Businesses Tackle Carbon Emissions
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)'s fifth annual report into the carbon emissions of FTSE 500 companies shows that 76% of those who responded to its survey have put emissions reduction schemes in place, compared to just 48% last year. This is significant as the 383 companies who did respond are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions totalling almost 7bn tonnes per year - 14% of the global total. US businesses didn't fare so well, with only 29% of respondents reporting reduction schemes.While this massive increase has to be welcomed, it doesn't reflect how effective these carbon reduction schemes are in practice. It still shocks me how much energy is needlessly wasted in industry - asking a production manager how often compressed air lines are checked, or whether he has a motor management procedure usually results in an red faced shuffle of the feet and a mumbled list of excuses. This is easy money to save - it is much harder to bring in additional sales to cover wastage costs.
In the UK, if you use more than £50k pa's worth of energy, the Carbon Trust may give you a free audit. They reckon they can save most businesses about 20% on their bill. Not bad for nothing.
Labels: carbon disclosure project, carbon footprint, carbon trust
# posted by Gareth Kane : 11:00
1 Comments
A highly accessible, practical guide to those who want to introduce sustainability into their business or organization quickly and effectively.
