Consult, Manage, Change

The Path to Business Sustainability

The most recent research on the move to transformational sustainability suggests that organisations go through five stages:

 

Stage 1 – elementary

 

Stage 2 – engaged

 

Stage 3 – innovative

 

Stage 4 – integrated

 

Stage 5 – transforming

 

The stage that an organisation is at is determined by what they are doing on seven key dimensions. These are:

• How is sustainability defined within the organisation?

 

• What is the strategic purpose served by sustainability?

 

• Do leaders support and lead the sustainability effort?

 

• How are responsibilities for sustainability managed?

 

• How does the organisation deal with issues that arise?

 

• How does the organisation engage its stakeholders?

 

• How transparent is the organisation about its financial, social and environmental performance?

 

The Development Path to the Sustainability Revolution – the 4 “C”s.

Credibility

Credibility is in the eyes of the stakeholders. They are looking for evidence that the organisation is not just meeting lip service compliance but going beyond that. Some evidence of involvement in solving societal problems will also be sought. The key here is systems and processes.

Capacity

As the organisation moves beyond engagement it finds there is so much more to be done and needs to develop internal capacity to do more. The key here is education and coaching that builds on the increasingly sophisticated systems and processes.

Coherence

This is where the organisation’s leadership needs to pull all the various programmes together and match up the programmes to a coherent vision and strategy. Strategic change including appreciative inquiry are the key factors here.

Commitment

This is where the sustainability programmes become so ingrained they become “who we are”

 

 

The Operating Model

So who has to make sure what happens on Monday morning?

The following table summarises a number of points that will need to be addressed as you work through the 4Cs model, gives a quick ‘headline’ summary of the issue and suggests where in a business organisation each issue would fit from a responsibility perspective and from the perspective of what organisational officer/manager is responsible for delivering each issue.

For smaller businesses and non business organisations, most of the responsibility falls on the CEO and leadership team as they will be lacking access to the specialist departments tabulated below.

The new position of Chief Sustainability Officer reflects our belief that we are seeing a paradigm shift that will place sustainability at the core of the organisational model for the foreseeable future. The CSO is responsible for the setting the leadership position on sustainability, engaging the rest of the C suite and top reports in the organisation to provide compelling leadership in each of their areas, setting policy and putting in place systems and procedures for ensuring organisational action is embedded in day to day routines. The CSO will have significant organisational power as well as significant influencing skills to ensure others buy in to the Sustainability programme.

Want more information?

www.sacnz.co.nz

http://www.sacnz.co.nz/resources 

Sustainable practice in ACTION

Sustainable practice in ACTION

Last evening I attended the Winery Tour http://www.thewinerytour.co.nz/dates.html#feb4 at Matakana just north of Auckland City.

The concert was held in the picturesque winery grounds of Ascension Wines http://www.ascensionwine.co.nz/home and it was sold out. As you can imagine with a full house there was plenty of food and wine and drinks being sold to a hungry and thirsty crowd.

As we sat down the concert announcer advised us that the concert organisers together with the winery and their sponsors the NZ glass packaging forum they were running a recycling system for all glass, packaging and general wast at the event.

What struck me was this was not just lip-service sustainability. It was sustainable practice in action. I will tell you how the organisers of the event made it work!

First of all they told the concert goers about what recycling and sustainable practices they where promoting. The concert tour operator had partnered with organisations like the packaging forum http://www.glassforum.org.nz/ and the Love NZ brand http://www.glassforum.org.nz/outabout.html#lovenz to give them the street cred with the audience.

Secondly there where many recycle bins located around the seating. There where 3 bins, one for glass one for paper and one for general rubbish.

However what struck me was that they had recycling ambassadors roaming thru the crowd collecting empty bottles and collecting rubbish. It was great to see audience members rushing up to the collectors with empty bottles and rubbish.

The result of all of this effort was as I left there was hardly any bottles or rubbish littler on the ground so this would make the overnight or next day clean up very easy.

However the day after the concert I had the following questions:
1. Was the mixed rubbish that was collected in bags at the event separated?
2. Where did the general rubbish get dumped?
3. How many bottles or tonnes of glass was recycled?
4. What are the event organisers going about their energy footprint?

So I decided to do some research.

I checked out the Winery Tour web site and on the HISTORY/ABOUT http://www.thewinerytour.co.nz/about.html page it states that the tours waste management is managed by the Glass Packaging Forum.

On the SPONSORS http://www.thewinerytour.co.nz/sponsors.html page the concert organisers tell us:

The Glass Packaging Forum is delighted to be teaming up with the Winery Tour for the third year to provide and promote recycling nationwide.

The Winery Tour will again promote the LOVE NZ brand to its anticipated 50,000 audience nationwide.

Every single glass bottle can be recycled back into new glass bottles or they can even be crushed and used as mulch in vineyards to increase the yield of our grapes. Recycling cans, plastic bottles and paper saves valuable natural resources.

Your bottles and cans can’t recycle themselves, they need your help so- use the blue GLASS recycling bins; YELLOW mixed recycling bins and if it can’t be recycled use the RED waste bins

We are lucky to live in New Zealand. All of us enjoy our environment and scenery. This year around 2500 Love NZ recycling facilities have been put in place on our streets and at events as part of a major public place recycling initiative inspired by the Rugby World Cup. So when you are out and about Love NZ and recycle with care - find out where your local Love NZ recycling bins are on www.lovenz.org.nz
But the above does not answer my questions above.
The glass forum’s home page tells me “The Forum is once again proud to support Civic Events and Classic Hits to manage the waste on the 2012 Classic Hits Winery Tour. NO GLASS from any of the 14 concert locations will go to landfill! We're closing the loop - it's either back to the furnace or into alternative uses”

From my research there is no real time updates on the event recycling scheme. I personally think this would be a good idea.

I have sent an email to the promoters of the event to ask the questions above. I will keep you posted.

It was a great concert event and I fully support the promoters and sponsors for their sustainable efforts.

This post is my entry in the blog competition for World Environment Day. Please tweet this with the hash tag #WED2012 and with reference to @onespec http:\\www.twitter.com/onespec

Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEP)

 
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEP)

 

The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) is an active, global partnership that works to reduce the barriers limiting the uptake of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, with a primary focus on emerging markets and developing countries.

 

REEEP initiates and funds projects; targeted interventions in two specific areas that offer the greatest potential for developing the market for sustainable energy:

• assisting governments in creating favourable regulatory and policy frameworks
• promoting innovative finance and business models to activate the private sector

REEEP develops and supports policy-maker networks through initiatives such as the Energy Efficiency Coalition (EEC), the Sustainable Energy Regulation Network (SERN) and Renewable Energy and International Law (REIL) sub-networks.

 

The Partnership was established alongside the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. It is now comprised of nearly 300 partners including 46 governments as well as a range of private companies and international organisations.

 

REEEP is supported primarily by governments (Australia, Austria, Canada, the European Union, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, the US and the United Kingdom) and by contributions from the private sector. Robust governance and monitoring structures ensure that all contributions are spent transparently and effectively.

 

http://www.reeep.org/31/home.htm

 

Green logistics

To investigate how your company can improve the socio-environmental performance of its logistics activities or supply chain and to realise a sustainable logistics, you can start with an analysis of the energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions and other air contaminants from the logistics emission sources or of existing supply chains.

This will provide a baseline from which an emission reduction strategy can be developed and performance can be measured over time.

The Green Logistics Consultants Group is an international collaborative network of supply chain consultants with a proven general or specific expertise in areas where companies and/or local and national governments can improve the socio-environmental performance of their supply chains or transport infrastructure.

http://www.greenlogisticsconsultants.com/index.htm

 

 

Green Power

Generation	Details
Gen 1	First-generation technologies emerged from the industrial revolution at the end of the 19th century and include hydropower, biomass combustion, and geothermal power and heat. Some of these technologies are still in widespread use.
Gen 2	Second-generation technologies include solar heating and cooling, wind power, modern forms of bioenergy, and solar photovoltaics. These are now entering markets as a result of research, development and demonstration (RD&D) investments since the 1980s. The initial investment was prompted by energy security concerns linked to the oil crises (1973 and 1979) of the 1970s but the continuing appeal of these renewables is due, at least in part, to environmental benefits. Many of the technologies reflect significant advancements in materials.
Gen 3	Third-generation technologies are still under development and include advanced biomass gasification, biorefinery technologies, concentrating solar thermal power, hot dry rock geothermal energy, and ocean energy. Advances in nanotechnology may also play a major role.

 

US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

http://www.eere.energy.gov/

 

http://www.energy.gov/

 

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) consists of ten programs and several offices that support the office and its mission.

 

Top Emitters of GHGs from Agriculture, Total and Per Capita, 2005 (NZ does not rate)

The WRI Earth Trends web site has been updated with the following information you may find of interest.

For NZ based readers NZ does not rate a mention!

Emissions from agricultural activities account for about 14 percent of global GHG emissions. Major sources of agricultural emissions (methane and nitrous oxide) include soils management (where emissions result from particular tillage and cropping practices, such as fertilizer application) and livestock.

http://earthtrendsdelivered.org/node/342

Top Emitters of GHGs from Agriculture, Total and Per Capita, 2005.

 

How can you move past lip-service energy efficiency?

 
It could be stated that by turning off a light you are being energy efficient! However we know in reality this is not the case. Industrial energy efficiency is the cornerstone of any business based sustainability platform. Energy efficiency can include power, combustible fuels, gasses and water.

Making homes, vehicles, and businesses more energy efficient is seen as a largely untapped solution to addressing the problems of pollution, global warming, energy security, and fossil fuel depletion.

How do you move from transactional energy efficiency to transformational energy efficiency? The key is to imbed a business wide focus on energy efficiency which is captured in your business sustainability plan.

The ultimate goal is to save energy, cut costs and reduce pollution!

 

Trends

Global trends are happening at Country/Government level and at NGO and organisational level.

The International Energy Agency (IEA)[1] is an intergovernmental organisation which acts as energy policy advisor to 28 member countries in their effort to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for their citizens

Governments in many countries are increasingly aware of the urgent need to make better use of the world’s energy resources. Improved energy efficiency is often the most economic and readily available means of improving energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To support better energy efficiency policy-making and evaluation, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is developing in-depth indicators of energy use, efficiency trends and CO2 emissions.

 

Overall Trends[2]

Between 1990 and 2005 global final energy use increased by 23% while the associated CO2 emissions rose by 25%. Most of the growth in energy use and CO2 emissions occurred in non-OECD countries.

Globally, energy consumption grew most quickly in the transport and service sectors, driven by rising passenger travel and freight transport, and a rapid expansion in the service economy.

Oil products remained the most important final energy commodity with a global share of 37% in 2005, driven by their use in transport. Electricity consumption is growing rapidly in many countries; its global use increased by 54% between 1990 and 2005.

Traditional biomass and coal both remain important in non-OECD countries although their shares of total final energy use are declining.

 

Energy use has been increasing more slowly than economic activity in most countries. As a result, global energy intensity, calculated in terms of final energy use per unit of gross domestic product (GDP), fell by 26% between 1990 and 2005.

The reductions in energy intensity were largest in non-OECD countries, due to a combination of structural changes and efficiency improvements. In contrast, final energy use per capita increased in most countries between 1990 and 2005. This increase was linked to growing wealth which leads to increased per capita demand for energy-using goods and services.

On average, final energy use per capita in non-OECD countries is only 23% of the level in the OECD.

Better understanding of the factors affecting energy consumption, including the role of energy efficiency, requires indicators based on more detailed data than are available in the IEA statistical balances.

However, this more detailed informationis currently only available on a comparable basis for some IEA countries. Analysis with these disaggregate indicators for 16 IEA countries (IEA16) shows that improved energy efficiency has been the main reason why final energy use has been decoupled from economic growth. Without the energy efficiency improvements that occurred between 1973 and 2005 in 11 of those countries,

Energy use would have been 58%, or 59 EJ, higher in 2005 than it actually was. However, since 1990 the rate of energy efficiency improvement has been much lower than in previous decades.

These findings provide an important policy conclusion — that the changes caused by the oil price shocks in the 1970s and the resulting energy policies did considerably more to control growth in energy demand and reduce CO2 emissions than the energy efficiency and climate policies implemented in the 1990s.

 

 
Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished). In 2006, about 18% of global final energy consumption came from renewables, with 13% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3% from hydroelectricity.

New renewables (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels) accounted for another 2.4% and are growing very rapidly. The share of renewables in electricity generation is around 18%, with 15% of global electricity coming from hydroelectricity and 3.4% from new renewables.

 

What practical steps can you take?

Aligned to your GHG emissions inventory the first step is to measure your energy usage. Report your energy usage to your senior management team and then to manage your energy usage by setting a number of goals and initiatives to reduce your energy consumption and to become more energy efficient.

 

The key focus will be on your M³ strategy – Measure Manage and Mitigate – this is covered in the section on GHG emission inventories.

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[1] http://www.iea.org/index.asp

[2] http://www.iea.org/papers/2008/Indicators_2008.pdf

The relaunch of Corporate Social Responsibility

 
I have been asked recently if CSR is no longer a focus for business. In recent times GREEN issues for business have been relabeled at PROCESS IMPROVEMENT or efficiency initiatives.

However the fundamentals still remain. CSR and being green is still good for business.

To follow is a recap. Let me know your thoughts!

Corporate Social Responsibility

The key to corporate social responsibility can be encompassed in a new social, governmental and corporate paradigm – Sustainability.

Corporate social responsibility [CSR] has many and varied definitions.

From the mushy

CSR is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society

to the hard edged

There is one and only one social responsibility of business-to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits

We suggest that CSR can be defined as a company’s commitment to operating in an ethical and environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable manner whilst balancing the interests of diverse stakeholders including improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large

Ethics

Corporate ethics in the age of Enron seem to some to be an oxymoron, and many New Zealand companies have missed the mark in the way they have treated customers. This is largely because transactional managers have laid down and stringently enforced rules without providing an ethical and social context in which the organisation is to operate.

It is clear that some form of the ‘golden rule’ should govern corporate ethics. Recent research suggests that treating others well and in a way that you would want to be treated has positive social outcomes.

Organisations need to be completely clear about their ethical position, put in place systems and processes to monitor compliance, engage the hearts and minds of the people with exemplary leadership, and communicate this commitment throughout all the stakeholder communities.

Environmental Sustainability

Organisations need to be completely clear about their position on environmental sustainability, put in place systems and processes to ensure easy compliance, engage the hearts and minds of the people with exemplary leadership, and communicate this commitment throughout all the stakeholder communities.

Economic Sustainability

In the long run, an organisation will only be economically sustainable when it earns enough profit to pay for the total cost of capital.

The concept of economic sustainability is well understood and has been promoted by Peter Drucker since the 1960’s. In more recent times, Economic Value Added concepts, such as those promoted by Stern Stewart, have come to the fore.

It is clear that such concepts must be embedded into the organisation’s business model and clearly communicated to the stakeholder community.

 

 

Social Sustainability

It is in the area of social sustainability that CSR is usually played out.

Government, seeing itself as the representative of society at large, regulates and legislates to control an organisation’s social impact as well as its economic and ethical impact. In an increasing regulated environment, the position that the Government will take needs to be understood and factored into any consideration of CSR. The position government takes is conditioned by ideology as well as political pressure from the public and from other political groups.

Local government see themselves as the representatives of the local communities and thereby can have a similar position as central government. The overtly political approach of central government is conditioned somewhat at the local level by a more common sense approach in local government to getting things done.

Local communities interrelate to organisations as customers and partners, customers when consuming the organisation’s products or services and partners when consuming sponsorship resources.

The way an organisation treats its workforce and their families has many aspects. When an organisation lays off members of the workforce it is likely to receive attention in all areas of social sustainability – the ethics of outsourcing jobs to Asia – the economics of exporting jobs – the impact of government attitudes to free trade – local attitudes to sweeteners to keep jobs in a region, and so forth. Witness the comments made when Fisher & Paykel re-jigged its global supply chain at the cost of 430 jobs in Dunedin.

With an increasing competition for talent, the consideration of an organisation’s impact on the workforce and their families goes beyond social sustainability and affects the organisation’s economic sustainability. Without enough people to get the job done, organisational initiatives are choked off.

The organisation’s position on social sustainability needs to be viewed as a core value of the organisation. Therefore it needs to be lead, sustained, and managed by the CEO and the leadership team.

Sustainable Forestry Bulletin 14 - thanks to MAF

 
Issue 14 - 23 March 2010

Post 89 ETS Applications

It is now too late to apply to register as post-89 participant and get carbon units this year.

However, you may still submit your post – 89 application and once you are registered you will be able to file an emissions return between January and March 2011 for the change in carbon stocks in your forest over the period 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2010.

Key dates and reminders for foresters

Deadline for filing emissions returns 31 March 2010

MAF is reminding people who own forest land that the deadline for filing emissions returns is 31 March 2010.

This applies to:

• pre-1990 forest land deforestation (mandatory)
• post-1989 forest land (optional for persons who are already registered as voluntary participants in the ETS)

Surrender of emissions units to meet a deforestation liability can be made in the period 1 January 2011 to 31 May 2011 (at the latest).

For further information visit www.maf.govt.nz/sustainable-forestry or call 0800 CLIMATE (254 628)

Afforestation Grant Scheme tender round for the public pool closes 30 April 2010 - only one round for 2010

The current tender round for Afforestation Grant Scheme funding closes on 30 April 2010. This funding is for afforestation projects between July 2011 and June 2012.

Due to considerable interest in previous rounds and resulting commitments, there is no funding available for establishment in 2010. Also given current interest, there is unlikely to be a further tender round in October 2010.

The AGS is a contestable fund that encourages the establishment of new forests to increase levels of greenhouse gas absorption from the atmosphere. It is part of Government’s wider climate change initiatives.

For more information, eligibility criteria, or to obtain a tender application form:

Visit www.maf.govt.nz/sustainable-forestry

Or call 0800 CLIMATE (254 628)

Consultation - still time to have your say!

A reminder that submissions close at 5.00pm on Monday 29 March 2010 on the following proposed regulations under the Climate Change Response Act 2002. They are specific to the operation of the forestry provisions of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS).

• Pre-1990 Forest Land Allocation Plan Consultation Draft (February 2010)
• Pre-1990 Forest Land Tree Weed Exemptions
• Revised Indigenous Look-up Table Values for Post-1989 Forest Land and Minor and Technical Amendments

Forests, Climate Change and the Challenge of REDD | World Resources Institute

 

Forests, Climate Change and the Challenge of REDD | World Resources Institute

Posted using ShareThis

This is an interesting article that may be of interest to you.

To combat global warming, forests must be part of the solution. How can we make good forest stewardship a reality?

2010 is a crucial year for forests. In March, major donor countries and forest-rich countries will meet in Paris, Nairobi and Manila, each grappling with the same question: how can efforts to reduce deforestation also help tackle climate change? Their decisions, and those following in the next six to twelve months, could channel substantial amounts of money to protect forests. Manish Bapna, Managing Director of the World Resources Institute, answers questions about the current window of opportunity to address both forest loss and climate change, and what is at stake in getting these mechanisms right.

Why are forests important in efforts to tackle climate change?

Forests are one of the greatest environmental challenges—and opportunities—facing the world in the 21st century. Forests are well known for their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, but when they are destroyed they release CO2 into the air. This helps explain why Indonesia, a developing country with high rates of deforestation, now has one of the highest emissions rates in the world.

Forest loss contributes as much as 12-15% to annual greenhouse gas emissions, about the same as the entire global transportation sector. It will be practically impossible to avoid dangerous climate change without addressing this problem. That is why forests must be part of the solution.

Interface Inc CASE STUDY

  

Ray Anderson – the owner

The story of Interface Inc. starts with Ray Anderson, its founder. Graduating in 1956 as an engineer from Georgia Tech in the USA, Anderson joined an industrial conglomerate and rose quickly through the hierarchy. At Callaway Mills, later Milliken, he was involved in developing a joint venture with an English manufacturer of carpet tiles, Carpets International [CI]. When the opportunity arose to work directly with CI, Ray Anderson risked everything to take up that opportunity. In 1973, at 38 years of age he left the security of a corporate job, took on massive debt and risk, and ultimately sacrificed his marriage to run his own business, Interface Carpets.

 

The Initial Product

Anderson first came across the then new idea for carpet tiles in 1969. The idea of modular squares of carpet that could be installed without adhesive and moved around as required was perfectly timed for the growth of the computerized office.

 

Growth

By 1996 Interface sales had topped US$1 billion and was represented by sales and/or manufacturing facilities in the US, Canada, UK, Holland, Australia, Thailand, and China. They sell into 110 countries and have a dominant market share with 40% of the world market.

 

Dawning Environmental Awareness

From around 1984, Interface had been involved in a consortium of companies focusing on indoor air quality. One cause of poor indoor air quality is the evaporation of volatile chemicals from the predominantly synthetic based carpets. Interface developed some proprietary products to address the air quality issue but their focus as a company was on legal compliance only.

 

From August 1994, Interface started getting questions from their customers asking about what Interface was doing about the environment. Interface didn’t have any satisfactory answers to these questions so set up a task group that had representatives from all over the business to review Interface’s world wide environmental position.

 

The task group asked Ray Anderson to address its first meeting and give the group an environmental vision. Anderson reported that his vision at that stage consisted of “Obey the law, comply, comply, comply” and he really didn’t have anything to say. At that time one of Anderson’s colleagues sent him a copy of The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken.

He read it and was galvanized. After reading example after example of the unsustainability of conventional business, Anderson prepared a vision statement that he says surprised his staff as much as it surprised him. He set the vision as:

Interface, the first name in industrial ecology, worldwide, through substance not words.

And he set a mission:

To convert Interface into a restorative enterprise, first to reach sustainability, then to become restorative by helping others to reach towards sustainability,

And a strategy:

Reduce, reuse, reclaim, recycle, redesign, adopt best practices, develop sustainable technologies, and challenge our suppliers to move to sustainable best practice.

Now Anderson reports that at the time he was first exposed to Hawken’s work he was searching for some legacy, some ultimate purpose as he contemplated the succession of his business to a younger generation of managers. Given his effective control of the business even though a minor shareholder, he could have made sustainability a crusade without having to make it pay.

 

Increasing Environmental Awareness

Anderson continued to do a whole lot of reading and research into sustainability. He read both sides of the argument for sustainability. This case study provides an updated suggested reading list if you want to read this information for yourself.

From his reading, Anderson found the following information made a compelling argument for sustainability:

 

Rainforest and old growth forest harvesting is unsustainable

Water use is unsustainable, particularly in intensive agriculture/horticulture

Topsoil loss from agriculture and horticulture is unsustainable

Fossil fuel use for transport and electricity generation is unsustainable

The continued emission of greenhouse gases from power generation, transport and agriculture/horticulture will have adverse effects on peoples health as well as the global climate

 

Since then Anderson has made sustainability his personal crusade. He has also found that it has had large positive benefits for Interface’s profitability.

 

Making Sustainability Pay

The more Interface did to improve its environmental position, the better the bottom line impacts. The following are excerpts from Interface’s website.

 

Cumulative Avoided Cost from Waste Elimination Activities (USD in millions)

Interface began its journey to sustainability by focusing on the elimination of waste. At Interface, we define waste as anything that does not provide value to the customer. This includes traditional forms of waste such as off-quality and scrap, as well as nontraditional forms of waste such as overuse of materials, inventory losses, etc.

The cumulative avoided costs from waste elimination activities since 1995 are calculated to be over $372 million.

 

Total Energy Use at Carpet Manufacturing Facilities (energy use per square yard)

Interface has two simple goals related to energy: decrease total energy usage, especially nonrenewable energy, and increase our use of renewable energy.

Total energy used at carpet manufacturing facilities (per unit of product) is down 45% since 1996.

 

Net Greenhouse Gas Emissions (metric tons of CO2)

Our net absolute greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by 82% from our 1996 baseline. 33% from improved efficiencies, process changes, and direct renewable energy purchases. 49% from emissions reduction credits from our LaGrange, GA landfill gas-to-energy project.

Interface calculates GHG emissions in accordance with the WRI/WBCSD GREENHOUSE GAS PROTOCOL. In 2006 and 2007, CO2 emissions for the USA and Canada were independently verified by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), as required by our membership in the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX).

 

Interface’s Environmental Management System [EMS]

In the early days, Interface used The Natural Step [TNS] process as its EMS. As Interface developed its own expertise, it moved beyond TNS and now follows its own in house EMS. An EMS like The Natural Step attempts to provide a one size fits all approach to environmental management. TNS is one framework among many and adds little value once the organization has commenced its own journey and can gain more leverage from customized approaches.

 

 

Commentary

The Interface Case Study shows that, like any change initiative, leadership is critical to success. Without Ray Anderson’s engagement and then active advocacy Interface would not have commenced and maintained the sustainability journey in such a successful way.

Anderson’s motivation was generated by his desire to leave a legacy. As he aged and handed over more and more of the running of Interface to new managers he conceded that he needed to consider his ultimate purpose. The sustainability journey that engaged Anderson via a process akin to an ‘epiphany’ provided that ultimate purpose and Anderson still travels the world telling his story.

The coincidence between Anderson’s ‘epiphany’ and Interface’s need to address the clients new needs provided the point of leverage which Anderson was able to use to start the changes at Interface.

Anderson’s embracing of sustainability was broad – he didn’t fixate on greenhouse gas emissions [although Interface do measure and manage these]. Instead he viewed sustainability in its widest context and made changes to Interface to embrace sustainability, and move beyond greenhouse gas emissions.

The solid grounding of Interface on sustainability also meant that Interface could address items that don’t feature in a GHG inventory like water usage as part of its total sustainability package.

Anderson also found that the framework, the environmental management system [EMS], in which the Interface programme played out moved from a one size fits all system to a system customized to meet Interface’s needs. The Interface EMS draws on the very latest discoveries in cognitive linguistics such as Appreciative Inquiry and closes the loop on the case – it started with leadership and it ends with Interface renewing its leadership capability by adopting new tools.

 

Suggested Reading List

The suggested reading list gives some books that everyone contemplating a journey to sustainability must be aware of. Reading them is probably a good idea. Also included are some books that present a skeptical perspective on climate change and why a focus on sustainability is much smarter. And finally some books that give cause for hope.

 

Advocates

Hot Topic by Gareth Renowden. Subtitled Global Warming and the future of New Zealand, this is a good introduction to climate change for New Zealanders.

 

Climate Change Begins At Home by D Reay.

Written from a British perspective but doesn’t push solutions tainted by self interest like XX put in name of the NZ book that pushes carbon zeroXX

 

And if you want to scare yourself …

Heat by G Monbiot. Monbiot is described as the scourge of the lying industry, which should give you the flavour of the book.

AND

Climate Wars by G Dyer. The title says it all. Ripping yarn but a bit over the top.

 

Sceptics

An Appeal to Reason by Nigel Lawson. Subtitled a cool look at global warming, Lawson lays out an alternative view and highlights why a fixation on climate change is counterproductive.

 

Cool It by Bjorn Lomberg argues for a sustainability view not a climate change view and suggests some smart actions that could be taken easily by government.

 

Cause For Hope

Cradle to Cradle by W McDonough and M Braungart.

How design could save us.

Biomimicry by J Benyus.

How learning from nature could save us.

 

WRI is adding up emission targets

 

The WRI sent on an email recently highlighting the Quantified economy-wide emissions targets for 2020.

This information is worth taking a look at. New Zealands contribution is list along side all the other countries that have made emission targets.

The WRI states:

"On January 31, Annex 1 (industrialized) countries wishing to associate themselves with the Copenhagen Accord were required to register their emission reduction pledges to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

WRI has analyzed the Annex I pledges received so far, as well as pledges by countries that have yet to associate themselves with the Accord. This analysis provides a preliminary picture of where the world stands post-Copenhagen".

Check out the list of country pledges HERE. (opens a PDF) We come in less than Russia!

The question we have to ask is "will these pledges make any difference?"

What is the answer?

 

 

 

Climate Skeptics Unite

 
If you have completed any research on Green issues and climate change then you will know that there are two camps! The believers and the skeptics.

For balance reasons to follow is a link to some interesting stuff on A Layman’s Guide to Man-Made Global Warming

We suggest that if you want to have your own opinions then you need to read and research on both sides of the climate change debate.

This information states: "The purpose of this paper is to provide a layman’s critique of the Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) theory, and in particular to challenge the fairly widespread notion that the science and projected consequences of AGW currently justify massive spending and government intervention into the world’s economies.  This paper will show that despite good evidence that global temperatures are rising and that CO2 can act as a greenhouse gas and help to warm the Earth, we are a long way from attributing all or much of current warming to man-made CO2.  We are even further away from being able to accurately project man’s impact on future climate, and it is a very debatable question whether interventions today to reduce CO2 emissions will substantially improve the world 50 or 100 years from now".

 Lets us know what you think of the information and videos.

COP15 = Copenhagen Accord = Hot Air - NO result?

 

As predicted the Copenhagen Accord  is not what we wanted as a result from COP15!

How is it that the major nations cannot agree a way forward?

If this was a business merger meeting the CEO's would be looking for new jobs!

What would you have done if you had attended?

It is very evident that we should not rely on the world leaders or the UN to get the action we need.

2010 will be the YEAR for individual and community action to stop human induced climate change.

Sustainable Forestry Bulletin UPDATE from MAF

We have just recieved the following from NZMAF which you will find of interest:

The Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading Scheme) Amendment Act passes into legislation

On 8 December 2009 the Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading Scheme) Amendment Act came into law and amends the previous legislation.

The Amendment Act includes a number of important changes relevant to the forestry sector.

For more information on the changes please see the fact sheet Changes to the NZ ETS for Forestry (PDF).

More information on these changes will be available shortly as the various guides on forestry in the ETS, the use of look-up tables, and mapping are updated on the MAF website.

Forestry Allocation Plan update

Submissions on the Forestry Allocation Plan closed on 22 November 2009 and are being considered. As a result of the feedback received, changes were made to the Act that allowed for more detail to be prescribed in the allocation plan in relation to when land will be considered to have “transferred” and what constitutes a “body corporate”. MAF is currently assessing whether further consultation will be required.

The above changes and other changes to the Act mean the Forestry Allocation Plan is unlikely to be issued before the second quarter of 2010.

Forestry Emissions trading scheme notices

1. Deforestation of pre-1990 forest land during 2008 and 2009 – deadline for notifying MAF is 31 January 2010

People who deforest more than 2 hectares of pre-1990 forest land become mandatory participants of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and are legally obliged to:

• Notify MAF;
• File an emissions return quantifying their liability to surrender units;
• Surrender units to meet their emissions liability.

If more than 2 hectares of pre-1990 forest land was deforested between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2009, the person responsible (usually the land owner) is required to notify MAF by 31 January 2010.

Deforestation after 31 December 2009 of more than 2 hectares of pre-1990 forest land must be notified to MAF within 20 working days of starting the deforestation by the person responsible (usually the landowner).

Notification

Notification to MAF must be made using a prescribed form - available at: http://www.maf.govt.nz/sustainable-forestry/ets/form_notify-deforestation.htm

Forms should be sent to:
Emissions Trading Scheme
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 1127
WELLINGTON 6140

One of the key pieces of information that must be included on the notification form is a mandatory participant’s holding account number at the New Zealand Emission Unit Registry (NZEUR). Participants are required to meet their emission liabilities by surrendering units from their NZEUR holding account to the Government. Holding accounts are obtained by applying to the NZEUR at: www.eur.govt.nz.

Filing emissions returns

As at 31 January 2010, all mandatory participants who have notified in relation to deforestation between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2009 are legally required to file an emissions return with MAF by 31 March 2010 using the form available at:

• www.maf.govt.nz/sustainable-forestry/ets/form_pre-1990-deforestation.htm.

The emissions return must be sent to MAF using a paper form only as no online transaction is available yet.

Mandatory participants, who notify after 31 December 2009, are required to file an emissions return between 1 January and 31 March of the year following the year in which they notified.

Surrendering units

As at 31 January 2010 All mandatory participants who have notified deforestation between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2009 are legally required to surrender units any time from 1 January 2011 to 31 May 2011.

Timeline

The table below summarises the timelines for notifying deforestation, submitting an emissions return and surrendering units:

Pre-1990 forest land deforested	Notification to MAF	Emissions return submitted	Surrender of units
2008	By 31 Jan 2010	1 Jan 2010–31 Mar 2010	1 Jan 2011–31 May 2011
2009	By 31 Jan 2010	1 Jan 2010–31 Mar 2010	1 Jan 2011–31 May 2011
2010	Within 20 days	1 Jan 2011–31 Mar 2011	1 Jan 2011–31 May 2011

If you have any questions please contact 0800 CLIMATE (254 628).

2. Getting your post –1989 forest land into the ETS

If you own forest land established after 31 December 1989, you may be eligible to register as a voluntary participant in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and earn units for increases in the carbon stocks sequestered within your forest since 1 January 2008.

The choice is yours, but if you want to receive units for your forest land in 2010 it’s important not to leave registration until the last minute. You will need to allow sufficient time for your ETS registration application to be processed (usually four weeks, but longer if your application is incomplete or complex) and still leave enough time for filing your emissions return by 31 March 2010 for the net change in carbon stocks to the end of 2009.

You will need to allow enough time for the following steps:

• Step one: apply to the NZEUR (www.eur.govt.nz) to open a holding account. Please note: opening a holding account does not mean you have become registered as an ETS participant.
• Step two: apply to MAF (www.maf.govt.nz/sustainable-forestry/ets/ets-transactions) to be registered as a post-1989 participant in the ETS. MAF will need to verify your eligibility.
• Step three: once you have been registered as an ETS participant, you are entitled to file an emissions return by the due date (on or before 31 March 2010). If your application to be registered as an ETS participant has not been approved by 31 March 2010, you are not entitled to file an emissions return in 2010.

MAF will process applications as quickly as practicable. However there can be delays in processing applications when there are errors in the application, mismatches between NZEUR holding account details and the participant registration application or if MAF needs further information from you.

If we receive complete registration applications by 1 February 2010, we should be able to process these in time for you to file an emissions return in 2010.

For more information, visit www.maf.govt.nz/sustainable-forestry or call 0800 CLIMATE.

3. MAF online application system – Christmas shutdown

Our online application system will be shut down from midday Thursday 24 December 2009 and will re-open at 8:30am Tuesday 5 January 2010. During this time paper-based ETS registration and emission return forms will still be available for download and printing from the MAF website at www.maf.govt.nz/sustainable-forestry/ets/ets-transactions.htm.

The Call Centre (0800 CLIMATE) will also be closed over that period.

Consultation on emissions rulings fees and charges regulations

A person may apply to Ministry of Economic Development for an emissions ruling in respect of the operation and administration of the Emissions Trading Scheme.

A discussion document on Emissions Rulings Fees and Charges Regulations (available at www.med.govt.nz/upload/70943/emissions-ruling-scheme.pdf) has been released by the Ministry of Economic Development. The discussion document outlines proposed regulations to set fees and charges to cover the administration costs associated with providing the emissions ruling service.

Written submissions on the proposals set out in this document are invited by 1 February 2010.

To make a submission, please email climatechange@med.govt.nz or mail to Ministry of Economic Development, PO Box 1473, Wellington.

Note from the New Zealand Emissions Unit Register

The team at the New Zealand Emissions Unit Register has advised that they have been receiving applications for a holding account from participants applying for exemptions. Please note that applications for less than 50 hectare exemptions do not need a holding account.

Think resource intensity!

 

Forget about climate change or global warming! Think resource intensity!

 

Next week we have the COP15 meetings in Copenhagen and climate change will be on the agenda.

 

Countries will roll up to show off there carbon footprints and their emissions trading schemes. Some will just show up! Some will come with nothing!

 

If we continue to get bogged down with labels we are not going to get very far at all!

 

“We” means all of us! It can be your industry, your community your family your country or your business!

 

We need to start to be more aware of our resource intensity!

 

Resource intensity can be roughly stated as a measure of the resources (e.g. water, energy, materials) needed for the production, processing and disposal of a unit of good or service.

 

It is often expressed as the quantity of resource embodied in unit cost e.g. litres of water per $1 spent on product. In national economic and sustainability accounting it can be calculated as units of resource expended per unit of GDP.

 

When applied to a single person it is expressed as the resource use of that person per unit of consumption.

 

It is about how much stuff we use and consume. If we consume less stuff then we are all better off!

 

It is also about knowing as consumers how much resource it has taken to produce the item we are about to use. Do you know how much energy and resources it took to make the computer you are using to read this blog??

 

We have come across the BRIX Project.

 

This project aims at developing a system to measure and assess the resource intensity of products, services and companies – the Business Resource Intensity Index (BRIX).

 

You may find the link to this of interest?

 

Just think if as consumers and business people we start demanding to know about and reduce resource intensity how this would make a positive contribution to our planet!

Some humour - Climate GATE - Hide the decline

Check out this video humour / parody!

 

 

The Recovering Eco Plundering CEO - Ray Anderson

Are you aware of Interface Carpets?

Are you aware of Ray Anderson?

Then you need too!

If you are business owner who cannot get the "sustainability platform" and wants to understand the business case for sustainability then Ray and Interface will help.

Ray Anderson's company makes Flor, the line that made modular carpet tile sexy. But behind the fresh design is a decades-deep commitment to sustainable ways of doing business.

At his carpet company, Ray Anderson has increased sales and doubled profits while turning the traditional "take / make / waste" industrial system on its head. In a gentle, understated way, he shares a powerful vision for sustainable commerce.

Ray has made a great TED presentation in May 2009.

Please take the time to view this video. Ray speaks real sense and makes a excellent point about th relationship between sustainability and business survival.

 

 

Who is worse? USA or China?

We have just been sent some data from the WRI's Earthtrends report and one of the data sets was of interest to us and we are sure it will be of interest to you?

The data compares 2005 GHG emissions in the USA with China.

The WRI tells us :

The single largest source of China’s greenhouse gas emissions is the burning of fossil fuels -- coal, oil and natural gas -- for electricity, heat and transport. Coal is by far China’s most important fossil fuel, and some 80% of its total carbon dioxide emissions from energy sources are related to the use of coal. The other major sources of China’s greenhouse gas emissions are agriculture (roughly 15%), industrial processes (9%), and waste (2%).

 

The WRI's citation is to ChinaFAQs: The Network for Climate and Energy Information. Convened by the World Resources Institute. Available online: http://www.chinafaqs.org

This web site tells us:

What is ChinaFAQs?
ChinaFAQs is a project facilitated by the World Resources Institute that provides insight into critical questions about Chinese policy and action on energy and climate change.

The ChinaFAQs network is comprised of U.S.-based experts and partner organizations, including researchers at U.S. universities and government laboratories, independent scholars, civil society organizations, and other professionals.

Is this kind of information helpful or useful to you?

Do you think it is biased to the USA and makes China look bad?

Do you think China will take a leadership role in the meetings in December?

Let us know what you think?

China, the United States, and the Climate Change Challenge

 
I am a subscriber to the WRI's monthly digest.

In the latest edition there is a link to the research they have undertaken on China and the USA.

As the two largest current global emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs), it is imperative that the United States and China work together to support effective domestic energy and climate change programs and an effective international climate regime. As China’s domestic energy policy has transformed over the last several years to incorporate climate-friendly goals – increased energy efficiency and a greater contribution of non-fossil fuels to its energy mix – this opportunity is already becoming a reality, especially as the United States advances comprehensive climate policy.

READ MORE HERE

If you want to download a copy of the report CLICK HERE

The Business of Sustainability: What It Means to Managers Now

I am currently working my way thru the fall issues of MIT Sloan Management Review.  
This issue is focused on SUSTAINABILITY.

It is a must read as they have published information on their global research.

For example:

How are sustainability pressures altering the competitive landscape, and how are businesses responding? The first annual Business of Sustainability Survey and interview project found answers.

Key Findings

REVISED AGENDA

The survey revealed a strong consensus that sustainability is having — and will continue to have — a material impact on how companies think and act.

• More than 92% of survey respondents said that their company was addressing sustainability.

DOWNTURN?

Sustainability is surviving the downturn.

• Fewer than 25% of survey respondents said that their company had decreased its commitment to sustainability during the downturn.

BUT ACTION LAGS

Although almost all the executives in the survey thought that sustainability would have an impact on their business and were trying to address this topic, the majority also said that their companies were not acting decisively to fully exploit the opportunities and mitigate the risks that sustainability presents.

• The majority of sustainability actions undertaken to date appear to be limited to those necessary to meet regulatory requirements.
• Almost 70% of survey respondents said that their company has not developed a clear business case for sustainability.

The Business Case for Pursuing Sustainability Strategies

 
I have recently come across this very useful video related to the business case for sustainability. If you are in business you should watch this!

About this video: Björn Stigson, President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, moderates the second of four roundtables on day two of the National Energy Summit and International Dialogue. Ahmet Dördüncü, Pierre Gauthier, Kris Gopalakrishnan, and James Quigley participate in "The business case for pursuing sustainability strategies

Please note this video is 57 minutes long!

VIDEO

http://www.compete.org/nes/event_videos/the-business-case-for-pursuing-sustainability-strategies/

 

 

The countdown is on for COP 15 at the UNFCCC in Copenhagen

 

The countdown is on and preparations are well underway for COP 15 at the UNFCCC in Copenhagen.  In recent days we have seen Japan, China and India all commit to ambitious targets.  Australia and the US are both still to gain legislative support for their targets.  UN negotiations are now back underway in Bangkok.  This is the penultimate negotiating session before COP 15 in Copenhagen in December, at which an ambitious and effective international climate change deal is to be clinched.

New Zealand will present its ETS to this meeting!

At a press conference held midway through the Talks in Bangkok (2 Oct), Yvo de Boer spoke of encouraging signals that the Talks can deliver the tools and rules essential to a successful climate change deal in Copenhagen. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO

What do you think of the speech? Is it all talk and will there be action!! Let us know your thoughts!

COP15 Copenhagen 7-18 December 2009

All the talk is on the Copenhagen climate chnage talks in December 2009.

What are they?

The sessions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are open to Parties of the Convention and Observer States (Governments), the United Nations System and observer organizations duly admitted by the Conference of the Parties.

Parties: Governments nominate their respective representatives to participate and negotiate at the sessions of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol. This may include ministers, negotiators, and those who the Governments consider are necessary to achieve their goals during the sessions. Eg. New Zealand

CMP
The Conference of the Parties (COP) serves as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. This is referred to as the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP).

Conference of the Parties

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the "supreme body" of the Convention, that is, its highest decision-making authority. It is an association of all the countries that are Parties to the Convention.

The COP is responsible for keeping international efforts to address climate change on track. It reviews the implementation of the Convention and examines the commitments of Parties in light of the Convention’s objective, new scientific findings and experience gained in implementing climate change policies. A key task for the COP is to review the national communications and emission inventories submitted by Parties. Based on this information, the COP assesses the effects of the measures taken by Parties and the progress made in achieving the ultimate objective of the Convention.

I hope this helps?

Proof that supports our claim that sustainability is good for business!

If you have read this BLOG on a regular basis you will know the mantra of "sustainability is good for business" here is some proof that supports this claim.

EurActiv.com, 21 September 2009 - Global revenues from climate-related businesses such as energy efficiency rose by 75% in 2008 to $530 billion and could exceed $2 trillion by 2020, HSBC Global Research estimated on Friday (18 September).

In the 2006 Stern Review on the economics of climate change, climate-related revenues were forecast to climb to $500 billion by 2050.

"We can see that this seemingly huge figure has already been surpassed well ahead of time as more and more businesses adapt their business model," said Joaquim de Lima, global head of quant research for equities at HSBC.

The climate sector has surpassed the size of the global aerospace or defence industry, with the United States, Japan, France, Germany and Spain accounting for 76% of global climate revenues, the report found.

For revenues to rise to $2 trillion, the way energy is generated and used needs to change and continued government support is needed.

The four core investment pillars will be low-carbon energy production, energy efficiency, control of water, waste and pollution and climate finance, the report said.

Energy efficiency recorded the highest investment returns in the year to date at 30%, followed by carbon finance at 24%.

"This is a very significant trend given the substantial share of climate stimulus funds that have been directed at energy efficiency and energy management by governments across the globe," HSBC analysts said.

New Zealand business should take not of the content above. As we go forward into the NZETS it simply makes economic sense to be sustainable in business!

Beehive - Revised ETS balances NZ environment & economy

Beehive - Revised ETS balances NZ environment & economy Shared via AddThis

The NZ Government has made it's announcements on the NZETS - it is now more than ever important for NZ business to get on with its ETS strategy!

We suggest that you take a process improvement angle and look at reductions and efficiencies in:

• water usage
• energy usage
• fuel usage
• fleet mileage
• waste to landfill

The release on Nick Smith web page state:

Features of the revised scheme include:

• Revised entry dates of 1 July 2010 for transport, energy and industrial sectors and 1 January 2015 for agriculture
• A transitional phase until 1 January 2013 with a 50% obligation and $25 fixed price option for the transport, energy and industrial sectors
  
• A production-based industry average approach to allocations for trade exposed, emissions intensive businesses
  
• A phase-out of industry support aligned with trading partners and the Government’s long-term -50 by 2050 emissions reduction target
  
• Incentives for afforestation created by a domestic and international market for carbon credits
  
• Enhanced transitional support for the fishing industry

WE SUGGEST YOU READ THE RELATED DOCUMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN POSTED TO GIVE YOU CONTEXT

Look for these at the bottom of the page on the link above.

Milutin Milankovitch the father of climate change research??

I have been undertaking some research for some upcoming seminars I will be conduction on Sustainability, Climate Change and the NZETS.

I must have missed that class at college about the Milankovitch cycles so I thought that the reads of this BLOG may also be interested too??

Milankovich Cycles

 

The Milankovich cycles refers to changes in the earth’s orbit and orientation toward the sun and have long term important bearings on the earth’s climate.

 

Astronomer Milutin Milankovitch [1879 – 1958] developed the mathematical formulas upon which these orbital variations are based. He hypothesized that when some parts of the cyclic variations are combined and occur at the same time, they are responsible for major changes to the earth's climate (even ice ages). Milankovitch estimated climatic fluctuations over the last 450,000 years and described cold and warm periods.

 

The Serbian astrophysicist Milutin Milankovitch is best known for developing one of the most significant theories relating Earth motions and long-term climate change. Born in 1879 in the rural village of Dalj (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, today located in Croatia), Milankovitch attended the Vienna Institute of Technology and graduated in 1904 with a doctorate in technical sciences. After a brief stint as the chief engineer for a construction company, he accepted a faculty position in applied mathematics at the University of Belgrade in 1909—a position he held for the remainder of his life.

 

You may have missed this science class at school and may not be aware that  the axis of the earth pointing toward the North Star (Polaris) is at an angle of 23.45° and that the earth is approximately 91-94 million miles from the sun, these facts are not absolute or constant. The interaction between the earth and sun, known as orbital variation, changes and has changed throughout the 4.6 billion year history of our planet.

 

Orbit Variations

 

About every 100,000 years the earth’s orbit around the sun varies from nearly circular to elliptical (elongated). This has an effect on the amount of the suns radiation that strikes the earth. When circular the variations are around 6% between summer and winter. However in an elliptical phase the variation can be 20-30%!

 

You may think that most objects in space that orbit something else move in circles, but that isn't the case. Although some objects follow circular orbits, most orbits are shaped more like "stretched out" circles or ovals. Mathematicians and astronomers call this oval shape an ellipse.

 

The eccentricity of Earth's orbit is very small, so Earth's orbit is nearly circular. Earth's orbital eccentricity is less than 0.02. The orbit of Pluto is the most eccentric of any planet in our Solar System. Pluto's orbital eccentricity is almost 0.25.

 

The Sun is not at the center of an elliptical orbit. It is a little off to one side, at a point called a "focus" of the ellipse. Because of this offset the planet moves closer to and further away from the Sun every orbit. The close point in each orbit is called perihelion. The far away point is called aphelion. If an orbit has a large eccentricity, the difference between the perihelion distance and the aphelion distance will also be large. Earth is only 3% further from the Sun at aphelion than it is at perihelion. Pluto's aphelion distance from the Sun is 66% greater than its perihelion distance.

 

 

 

Axis Tilt

 

 

About every 42,000 years the tilt of the earth’s axis ranges from 21.8 to 24.4 degrees. This tilt determines the angle of solar radiation that hits the earth’s surface.  At present we are around 23.5 degrees.

 

The Earth's axis is tilted from perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic by 23.45°. This tilting is what gives us the four seasons of the year - spring, summer, autumn (fall) and winter. Since the axis is tilted, different parts of the globe are oriented towards the Sun at different times of the year.

 

Summer is warmer than winter (in each hemisphere) because the Sun's rays hit the Earth at a more direct angle during summer than during winter and also because the days are much longer than the nights during the summer. During the winter, the Sun's rays hit the Earth at an extreme angle, and the days are very short. These effects are due to the tilt of the Earth's axis.

 

Orientation

 

About every 22,000 years the orientation of the earth’s axis changes between the Pole star and the Vega star. This determines what time summer and winter occurs!

 

The term "Earth orientation" refers to the direction in space of axes which have been defined on the Earth. It is usually measured using five quantities: two angles which identify the direction of the Earth's rotation axis within the Earth, an angle describing the rotational motion of the Earth, and two angles which characterize the direction of the Earth's rotation axis in space. With these coordinates, the orientation of the Earth in space is fully described.

 

 

Pole Star

 

A pole star is a visible star, especially a prominent one that is approximately aligned with the Earth's axis of rotation; that is, a star whose apparent position is close to one of the celestial poles, and which lies (approximately) directly overhead when viewed from the Earth's North Pole or South Pole. There are potentially both northern and southern pole stars, but whether there is either depends on the current orientation of the Earth's axis, which moves over time (see precession of the equinoxes). The term the Pole Star usually refers to the star Polaris (colloquially referred to as the North Star), which is the current northern pole star.

 

[WRI's EarthTrends Delivered] Climate and Energy Charts and Figures

I recently signed up with the WRI's earth trends service which I have previously mentioned in this BLOG.

I have received my first update and wanted to share one set of data with you.

Global CO2 Emissions Growth in Select Sectors: 2000-2005

Total global emissions grew 12.7% between 2000 and 2005, an average of 2.4% a year. However, individual sectors grew at rates between 40% and near zero percent, and there are substantial differences in sectoral growth rates between developed and developing countries.

This chart shows emissions growth by region in four select sectors: electricity & heat, transport, industry, and building use. Emissions growth in every sector is primarily attributable to developing countries, which now account for the majority of emissions from electricity & heat, as well as industry. However, developed countries still account for a majority of emissions in the transport and building use sectors.

These figures are quite sobering. At a time when there is still lots of debate here in NZ about the implementation of the NZETS these figures show why every country must do something to reduce consumption, resource intensity and the release of CO2e emissions.

The following graph is courtesy of the WRI service.

EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.5% in 2008 - can NZ do the same?

EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.5% in 2008

31 August 2009 - Greenhouse gas emissions in the EU declined for the fourth year running last year, according to preliminary data released by the European Environment Agency (EEA) on Monday. Emissions were down by 1.5% across the bloc and 1.3% in the old EU-15.

This brought EU-27 emissions to 10.7% below 1990 levels, more than halfway to the EU's legally-binding target of a 20% cut by 2020. In the EU-15, emissions in 2008 were 6.2% below 1990 levels. This confirms the region is well on track to reach its Kyoto target, said environment commissioner Stavros Dimas.

But Mr Dimas acknowledged that part of the reduction comes from the economic slowdown, which significantly brought down production levels and related emissions. He urged member states to swiftly implement the EU's climate and energy package to continue this downward trend.

Earlier this year, the European Commission reported a 3% drop in industrial emissions of greenhouse gases in 2008. Analysts primarily attributed the decrease to the recession. Last week, a report showed the world's largest companies are unlikely deliver cuts recommended by scientists.

This is the first time the EEA has published provisional data for the previous year so early. Emissions data for 2007 were only published three months ago. EU emissions fell by 1.2% that year compared to 0.3% in 2006. A final report on the 2008 data will be published in June 2010.

Internationally, ongoing climate negotiations are making slow progress.During a meeting in Bonn in August, the UNFCCC released figures showing pledges made by rich nations would only amount to a 15-21% cut. Governments will continue their discussions at a G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, the US, on 24-25 September.

Japan's Democratic Party, which swept to power on Sunday, has pledged to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 25% below 1990 levels by 2020. The previous government had proposed an 8% reduction .

What can we learn form what the EU is achieving?

My view is that they took the pain and got an ETS up and running early and now they are reaping the rewards!

Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival - Wellington NZ

MEDIA RELEASE

3 September 2009

THE PROOF THAT SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS IS GOOD BUSINESS HITS THE BIG SCREEN

An award-winning film showing what is possible when a multi-national company, with operations in New Zealand, commits to a more sustainable path, will open the Wellington season of the Reel Earth Environmental film festival.

So Right, So Smart, described by judges at this year's Reel Earth Awards as 'a truly inspirational film that should be required viewing for all politicians and captains of industry' will screen at the Paramount on 1 October.

The film presents a good news story at a time when business needs good news stories.

So Right, So Smart tells the story of how, in an epiphanal moment, Ray Anderson, founder of the hugely successful Interface Corporation, realised the implications of his company's way of operating and decided to take a different path. He set about changing their business practices and setting a goal of having no environmental footprint by the year 2020. In the process, he realised that the changes he was making were actually very good for business.

Anderson's philosophy reaches across the company's many international operations, including here in New Zealand.

Managing Director of Interface NZ, Robb Donze, says that the key to making better business practices work is leadership from the top.

'Ray has set the bar very high for the company globally. Interface NZ works hard to lower its own environmental footprint here in New Zealand. All products are certified as climate neutral. Our entire footprint locally is offset through Landcare's carboNZero program.

'We are active members of the NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development and are sponsors of the Green Building Council's Interior Fit Out Tool. We take our leadership position very seriously and continue to show the business case for sustainability by our own example.'

Robb Donze will speak at the screening, giving the audience a chance to hear first hand what worked and what is necessary to successfully implement sustainable business practices in New Zealand.

So Right, So Smart shows how ecologically sound business practices foster better business in general, using examples such as Patagonia and the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. The film features insights from world experts such as David Suzuki, Paul Hawken and Lester Brown.

So Right, So Smart won Best Feature Film at this year's Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival Awards.

The Wellington Season of the Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival is hosted by the Wellington Branch of Forest and Bird and sponsored by Graphic Press.

The Festival runs from the 1 - 15 October and features films on environmental issues and the natural environment. More details are at

www.reelearth.org.nz

Ends

CONTACT - Vicki Connor, Forest and Bird, Wellington Branch, by e-mail until 8 September envirofilms@gmail.com <

mailto:envirofilms@gmail.com

> , after 8 September 027 222 2943

WHAT: So Right, So Smart film screening and talk by Robb Donze, Managing Director Interface NZ

WHEN: Thursday 1 October, 5.30pm (screening at 6pm)

WHERE: The Paramount, Courtenay Place, Wellington.

TICKETS: In advance from the Paramount or by e-mailing envirofilms@gmail.com <

mailto:envirofilms@gmail.com>

Tickets are $20 and include a glass of Yealands wine, an award winning boutique vineyard committed to sustainable viticulture.

Making sustainability work - communities of expertise

 When I cleared my mail box today the latest edition of Idealog magazine was waiting for me.

In this months issue they are promoting the following:

Subscriberswill have a nice, new and generally fresh September-October copy of Idealog in their letterboxes by now. The rest of you will have to huddle at the newsagent Monday onwards, for your copy.

This time around, members of the media will wince uncomfortably at reading Matt Cooney’s story Free Thinking, but there’s plenty more in the rag to feast your eyes on.

I’m looking forward to Matt Suddain’s yarn about the Sony Walkman—yes, it was 30 years ago today when it made that C-90 play—and how it’s changed our world. Then there’s Orion Health that plans to help Barack Obama with his healthcare reforms, four dancing women, corporate sabotage, a new advice column from Lance Wiggs and a magazine typically full of creative ideas and business thinking.

But wait—there’s more, and we’re not talking infomercials either. Folded inside Idealog you’ll find a copy of Celsias. It’s our new eco-news magazine, featuring stories like the new venture that former Bendon baron Stefan Preston has launched with one-time joya teacher Jyoti Morningstar; plus, it’s asking quarrelsome questions like ‘Is Sustainability Dead?’ Well, is it? Read for yourself, and head over to www.celsias.co.nz to get an idea of what the magazine’s all about (hint: it’s not all about the magazine).

I had a read of the sections on Sustainability and decided to register with Celsias.

Celsias state that sustainability is not a spectator sport!

I commend any initiative to raise the profile of sustainability. The only way we collectively will make a difference is by our strong networks and it looks like Celsias is a good one to be involved with.

Let me know your thoughts and if you will join?

Making the environment sexy! The Age of Stupid Movie

Did you know that the producer of the movie THE AGE OF STUPID is a kiwi? Lizzie Gillett cut her teeth in Dunedin.

Will this movie be the next Inconvenient Truth?

From my research it looks like they are using some strong facts and information as a basis for the movie.

The Age of Stupidis the new four-year epic from McLibel director Franny Armstrong. Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?

I will check the movie out in the next week and post my review. Please post a comment and review if you have seen the movie.

2020 or 2040 what should the target be for NZ

It is interesting times when it comes to the announcement of New Zealand's 2020 and 2040 emission reduction targets.

The Government has strongly rejected the Greenpeace Sign On initiative!

Here is some information that you may find of interest? It is about 2050 targets in the USA.

This is reproduced courtesy of WBCSD and Greenwire

U.S. can cut half its transportation emissions by 2050 -- report

The United States can cut greenhouse gas emissions from transportation in half by 2050 with strategies ranging from cutting speed limits to imposing road pricing, according to a report released today by federal agencies and environmental and industry groups.

Examining about 50 transportation strategies, the report found transportation emissions could be reduced 24 percent by 2050 by acting to change travel behavior and land-use patterns. The emissions reduction hit 47 percent by adding road pricing techniques, ranging from pay-as-you-go insurance to charging Americans for every mile driven.

The report found environmental gains from advances in fuel efficiency would be mostly undermined by increased travel and population, making it important to address the efficiency of the transportation sector by investing in public transit, land-use planning and other low-carbon alternatives.

John Porcari, deputy secretary at the Department of Transportation, said the report shows that lawmakers looking to recast the nation's transportation system to curb emissions and fuel consumption will need to look for combinations of policy changes. "There is no magic bullet," he said. "There is no single strategy that can be pursued to help us turn our corner. We need to look at a number of options."

Transportation accounts for roughly 28 percent of the United States' greenhouse gas emissions, and the sector has been one of the fastest-growing in the past two decades -- representing nearly half of the nation's total increase in greenhouse emissions since 1990.

The sweeping energy and climate measure that the House passed last month, H.R. 2454, would require carbon dioxide emissions to drop 17 percent below 2005 levels and a total of 83 percent by 2050. The study released today finds that making the transportation sector more efficient is critical to meeting those goals.

"We can't get there from here without reducing emissions from transportation," said Colin Peppard, climate and infrastructure policy director for Environmental Defense Fund, one of the groups that commissioned the report.

The report was written by consulting firm Cambridge Systematics. Its sponsors include DOT, the American Public Transportation Association and Shell Oil Co.

MAKES FOR INTERESTING READING!

WRI Report - Emerging Risks: Impacts of Key Environmental Trends in Emerging Asia

Are you on the WRI World Resources Institute emailing list? If not you should be.

Here is one good reason - they send you emails updating you on studies and reports.

Here is one that will be og interest!

Emerging Risks: Impacts of Key Environmental Trends in Emerging Asia

Emerging Risks: Impacts of Key Environmental Trends in Emerging Asia lays the groundwork for analysts to understand environmental issues as financially material, and for companies to see the financial benefits of reducing their environmental impacts.

This report is the first in a series establishing the link between issues like climate change, air pollution, water supply, and natural resource depletion and traditional financial analysis on corporate value and financial strength for companies in six key Asian economies – India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The report lays the groundwork for analysts to understand environmental issues as financially material, and for companies to see the financial benefits of reducing their environmental impacts.

The report is 58 pages and the PDF file is 2.3MB and it is well worth a read!

Soil organic carbon pools in the northern circumpolar permafrost region

Sometime ago I signed up to receive updates from the Global Carbon Project GCP.

They sent me an email the other day which lead me to some information that you may find interesting.

You may be interested in a new assessment just published on the quantity of organic carbon buried in the permafrost regions of the Northern Hemisphere, a key vulnerability to future climate change.

Please check:

http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/news/SoilOrganicPoolsinPermafrost.html

Press releases:

English: http://www.reuters.com/article/africaCrisis/idUSSP458218

Spanish: http://lta.reuters.com/article/topNews/idLTASIE56005N20090701

Chinese: http://cn.reuters.com/article/CNEnvNews/idCNChina-4893620090701?mlt_click=Tertiary+Navigation+CN_36_Static+module+_sec1-priCon-m0_News

The link starts with: The vast amount of carbon stored in the Arctic and boreal regions of the world is more than double that previously estimated, according to a study published this week. The new estimate is over 1.5 trillion tons of frozen carbon, about twice as much carbon as contained in the atmosphere......

READ MORE HERE

So what do you think? Are we as a planet stuffed if more of the permafrost thaws out?

What can we do? Will the meetings in December 2009 sort it out?

The jury is out on this one!

 

 

Oil vs. Sustainability! UAE earmarks $136 mln to fund green energy agency

I have just read an interesting press release:

Reuters, 22 June 2009 - The UAE is ready to spend $136 million to fund the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) if its bid to host the agency's headquarters is successful, a senior official said on Monday.

The world's third-largest oil exporter wants to place itself at the forefront of developments that may shape the future energy industry and hosting IRENA was part of that plan, Sultan al-Jaber, chief executive of Abu Dhabi's state-owned green energy initiative Masdar told Reuters in an interview.

"Oil exporting countries can either see renewable energy as a threat or as an opportunity and we know that this is the future so that's why we are committed to IRENA," Jaber said. "If we win, the Abu Dhabi government will fund the agency with $136 million until 2015."

READ MORE .........

The information about the IRENA makes interesting background reading.

Do you think the UAE is the right place for this agency?

We hear a lot about "peak oil" and the end of oil as we know it!

I find it interesting that their is now engagement by oil producers on green energy issues. In my view this raises some challenges about oil ethics and the commitment to find sustainable energy solutions for the generations to come?

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK????

The good oil! NZ Olive oil that is!! (knowing where your food comes from)

Next in the current series of blog posts on food is my very favorite a post about the good oil! OLIVE OIL. New Zealand olive oil. Local olive oil, oil grown and made with tender care in the Wairarapa. (in this photo - an olive picked from the tree by Anne)

I love and use olive oil a lot. I have developed a taste for premium NZ Olive oil.

The other day I met Dr Anne Opie at Moore Wilson's in the city. Anne was tasting oil that she had produced.

I loved it - the oil in question is Trio organic olive oil.

Anne and husband Brian have an olive grove in Greytown. As Anne and I talked it was evident we had a mutual passion for the good oil, food source issues and sustainability. I sent some information to Anne and she invited me over to the Wairarapa to have a tour of her olive grove.

(By the way I left Moor Wilson with a 375ml bottle of Trio oil)

On Saturday 20 June I got to visit the Opie's olive grove to learn more about where my good oil comes from, how it is produced and how it gets to market.

To follow is a photo essay of the tour. (you will note that some friends joined us for this great opportunity)

This is what the olive grove looks like.

There are 500 olive trees on this grove. The 2009 vintage produced a great oil from a small harvest in a difficult growing year. The result was an excellent return rate of 17.8%.

This is Dr Anne Opie (our host) Anne is very passionate about her olives! I found it amazing to meet the person who grows and nurtures the oils and overseas the transformation into world class extra virgin olive oil.

Anne's olives are certified organic. This causes one issue for production. The certified organic oil press is in TeHoro on the Kapiti Coast so the harvested olive has a long drive for pressing.

All of the walking about gave us all an appetite so we all had lunch together as YES WE GOT TO SAMPLE THE 2009 OIL! Together with last years.

 2008 oil on the left, 2009 on the right. As you can see the 2009 oil is very different with a great Green colour and powerful pepper aftertaste. I found the 2009 oil to be fantastic and used it on top of my soup!

We all had an amazing trip and tour. I thought I had a good understanding of the good oil. However post visit I have an enhanced awareness of the different vintages, storage times, types of olives and how much the growers passion can stamp its mark on the final product.

Trio oil is a fine example of grow local and eat local!

A big thank you to Anne and Brian for hosting us!

Knowing where your food comes from!

Yesterday I had the opportunity and pleasure to travel to the Wairarapa to visit Jackie and Tony's niche walnut production.

They live on a property that has a number of walnut trees and as a hobbie they are producing around 200kg of walnuts per season.

They do not produce commercial quantities but enough to share with friends and the local community.

I was amazed at their passion for what they produce and for the quality of their nuts.

We came away with a 1kg bag of nuts and with a better knowledge of how walnuts are produced. By the way these freshly picked and dried nuts taste amazing! Much better than what you get in the supermarket.

To follow are some pictures of the visit.

They also have two pigs

Walnut trees

Walnut in shells on drying rack

 

Jackie (in orange) showing us the tool they use to pick up the walnuts from the ground

Commercial nut cracker!

The final product - Yum

350.org can we all make a difference???

I came across 350.org on twitter the other day.

Dear World,

This is an invitation to help build a movement--to take one day and use it to stop the climate crisis.

On October 24, we will stand together as one planet and call for a fair global climate treaty. United by a common call to action, we'll make it clear: the world needs an international plan that meets the latest science and gets us back to safety.

This movement has just begun, and it needs your help.

I would like to suggest you check this out and see if this is something you want to get involved with?

Please let me know your thoughts? I believe than any activity that raises the profile of global warming and climate change is good. It creates discussion and debate which is a good thing.

Will Mr Chu be the next big player in the global fight for saving the planet?

Mr Chu was chosen by President Obama to head up the Department of energy and be Obama's advise on Climate Change and Sustainability and Energy Issues.

You should check out the Department of Energy's web site as it has some great resources to call on.

Mr Chu is quoted here inNZ today and tells us all to paint the roof of our house white as positive action in the fight for climate change. Do you agree or do you think this is crazy science?

If Mr Chu is going to play a major part in the upcoming meetings in Europe at the end of the year then I suggest you check this guy out.

I am not sure if you can call him a science geek, green guru or not and I have not made up my mind on if this guy can make a difference and get the USA to play a leadership role in the post Kyoto world?

Let me know what you think?

40% cut by 2020? Do you agree and will it work?

Has anyone visited the "Sign On the word needs us" web site yet? If you have I am keen to find out what you think and to see if you signed up and why?

Greenpeace NZ is behind this mainstream attempt to get our Government to engage on a tougher target on New Zealand Greenhouse gas emission reduction target.

From my understanding of this initiative the goal is to get the powers that be to acknowledge that a 40% reduction on 1990 levels by 2020 is better than 50% by 2050. They make some good points and have a range of high profile people endorsing the position.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I think that no matter what your opinions of greenpeace are they are making some noise and generating interest in this issue that under National seems to have been brushed under the carpet.

If you have read this BLOG you will no that the position we have is that the delayed ETS and the economic slow down is not a excuse to do nothing!

Our stance has not changed - GREEN IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS and being sustainable in business is common sense and on so many fronts.

If you run a business then there is NO WAY that you do not want to save money on the bottom line! By taking sustainable business practices and calling them process review and improvements you can save money and become more sustainable. Remember economic sustainability is the name of the game.

So I congratulate greenpeace for raising the awareness of this issue and look forward to you comments on your visits to the sign-on site.

Tax breaks for low emission vehicles - we should follow this initiative

With the debate raging here in NZ today on the delayed implementation of the NZETS it was great to read that the Japanese Government has reduced taxes on low emission vehicles in Japan from 1 April 2009 and there has been a corresponding increase in sales of low emission vehicles.

What do you think of this initiative?

I think it is a great example of Government Policy stimulating growth while encouraging the purchase and use of low emission vehicles! This is an example of transformational sustainability in action.

This is a great initiative that the NZ policy makers should be considering here as well.

To follow is some background to this story from the WBCSD site or CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL STORY.

Japanese carmakers are reporting a sharp rebound in sales in their home market this month after the government cut taxes on lower-emission vehicles.

Toshiyuki Shiga, chief operating officer at Nissan, Japan's third-largest car producer, said Tuesday orders at Nissan's dealerships had risen 30 per cent so far in May compared with a year earlier.

Mr Shiga credited the “eco-car tax break” for the improvement. The tax break came into effect on April 1 and can cut the cost of the most fuel-efficient vehicles by several hundred thousand yen, or several thousand dollars.

If nationwide vehicle sales rise for the full month, it will be the first such increase since last July.

Ecological Intelligence - Goleman has his say

Has anyone purchased or read Daniel Goleman's new book Ecological Intelligence?? I am keen to get a book review going and thought this was a good book to start with?

Please post a comment so that we can all decide if this is worth getting or just getting it from the library to flick thru??

The book was given a profile in the AFRBOSS.COM.AU on April 2009 which I read but it did not inspire me to rush out and get the book.

Sustainability Matters

I have recently come across:

Ray Skinner
Committee Member Sustainability Working Group
Sustainability Matters
"Business achieving a tomorrow for tomorrow's children"
Phone: (09) 443 0773
eMail: 

ray@sustainabilitymatters.co.nz

Web:    http://www.sustainabilitymatters.co.nz

Ray produces a sustainability newsletter that I have found to be excellent. Please email Ray to sign up to the newsletter and tell him I sent you.

Here is some information from the latest newsletter you may find of interest:

The Big Warm Hurting the Pacific

Gareth Morgan Investigates

TV3’s ‘Sunday’ has been following the story of Takuu, a lowlying

remote atoll which is sinking at an alarming rate. Lying

250 km northeast of Bougainville in PNG, Takuu's story

highlights the likely fate of millions of environmental refugees in

years to come. Briar March and Lyn Collie have made a film

about Takuu's plight, and ‘Sunday’ had a sneak preview.

Concurrently economist Gareth Morgan has commissioned his

own research in to our understanding of climate change. In the

programme Gareth discusses the results of his research. ‘This

is all part of the launch publicity for his latest book,

Poles Apart:

The Great Climate Change Debate

– (published 15th May) which

appears to be a cross between a travel book (based on two bike

trips, one to the Arctic and the other to Antarctica: the words

‘lucky bugger’ spring unbidden to mind) and an investigation of

the state of our understanding of climate change. … Jeanette

Fitzsimons is hosting the launch, ….

“Poles Apart

concludes the weight of current evidence favours

human-made climate change. Morgan said the book was

designed to get past emotion and misinformation, such as

views expressed by (MP Rodney) Hide.

“Gareth Morgan couldn't decide whether he believed in climate

change or not, so he hired the best international scientists to

answer his questions and these are his findings. Combined

with anecdotes from his own recent trips to Antarctica and the

Arctic this is something completely unique in books about

climate change - somebody who has approached the topic with

an open mind, somebody who has the resources to explore

such a topic and somebody who has personally investigated all

of the issues.

Book launch:

Jeanette Fitzsimons, MP, Green Party Co-Leader

Where:

Legislative Council Chamber of Parliament, Wgtn

When:

Tuesday, 19th May 2009, 6.00-8.00pm

RSVP:

essential before 13th May, louise@randomhouse.co.nz

More:

•

http://tvnz.co.nz/sunday-news/the-story-takuu-2687185

•

http://hot-topic.co.nz/morning-morgantown

•

www.fishpond.co.nz/product_info.php?ref=1339

s_id=13259974&affiliate_banner_id=1

•

www.greens.org.nz/node/21049

Source:

Editor – courtesy TV3 ‘Sunday’, 3rd May.

Will the Electric Car take off in NZ???

I have been on a few plane trips lately and when you are on-board with no cell phone calls you can chill out, listen to sounds on the ipod or read? On a recent trip between the Gold Coast and Melbourne on Virgin Blue I read the in-flight magazine "Voyeur" May 2009.

There was a cool article on Twitter but the one I like the most was on page 74 and it was about Evan Thornley the CEO of Better Place in Australia.

What Better Place Aussie are up to is the introduction of a nationwide electric car battery refilling system. The point that got me was the innovative way that the are goings to have 1000's of battery exchange stations that will overcome the battery life issue with electric cars.

They are also working with the power companies so that the batteries are recharged with 100% renewable energy such as electricity from wind power.

What I like about this idea is the way innovative thinking has helped overcome the current short-comings of electric cars and they way that the Better Place system is a subscription service and is supporting and encouraging the development of electric cars.

Australia has the advantage of it size geography and population to make a system like this work.

Could this kind of system work in NZ?

1. Would we have the numbers to make it viable?

2. Would it get the support from the current government?

What do you think? I believe that we can learn from systems like this and come up with innovative ways of applying a system like this in New Zealand.

The power is in our hands. We the consumers can demand it and we can also make it happen!

Still no Air pollution in Wellington

Today I walked up Colonial Knob in Porirua City. The Wellington Region had another fine and sunny day with no air pollution!

Check out the photo below for proof!

New Zealand misses out on the Obama climate change forum

It looks like President Obama is putting his money where his mouth is on his climate change election promises.

He has invited 16 major economies to take part in a forum on climate change that looks like the USA's early response to the upcoming meeting in December in Copenhagen.

Australia is on the list but NZ is not so we miss out! FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE FORUM CLICK HERE

The forum which will be held in April to be hosted at the State Department, would likely touch on a range of issues including technology, financing, and emissions trading, a US State Dpt official said.

The guest list includes the European Union and China so it will be interesting to see if this is just another talk fest of if the forum members can come up with something meaningful.

WATCH THIS SPACE?

NZ and Aussie now working together on cliamte change

You may be interested to know that NZ and Australia have agreed on a terms of reference to work together on climate change cooperation initiatives.

This is a strong signal that NZ may follow the Australian lead on the ETS?

More details can be found by CLICKING HERE.

The Aussie Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme - Will NZ Follow?

In the last week the Australian's have released more detail on their Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme which is being lead by the Department of Climate Change.

With New Zealand about to review its own delay ETS will we follow the Aussies? Here are some key points from the Aussie announcements.

The Aussie Scheme Cap is set at 60% reduction in GHG emissions from 2000 levels by 2050.

All liable entities will be required to report the emissions for which they are liable under the Aussie scheme.

An Australian Climate Change Regulatory Authority is to be established.

In general the Aussie scheme obligations will apply to entities with facilities that emit GHG gases of 25,000 tonnes of CO2e or more per year and to entities that supply certain fuels and synthetic GHG's.

Initially there will be two types of eligible emissions units in the Aussie scheme - Australian emission units and certain units created under the Kyoto protocol.

A price cap per tonne of carbon is established. The cap is in place from 2010-11 to 2014-15. It will commence at $40 and rise by 5% in real terms each year.

More in-depth information can be found in the link above.

There are some good parts of the Aussie scheme and I would hope that we will copy some of the good points and debate and consider others.

Air NZ seems to be in a position of leadership?

As a regular flyer with Air NZ I have been watching with interest the way Air NZ has been approaching its sustainability platform.

Air NZ have been showing leadership in their operational focus to reduce resource intensity with the recycling programme they run, changes to the way they service the planes at the gate and the reduction in paper with their world leading self check-in system.

Air NZ has also made a big commitment to reducing the GHG footprint of its planes by trialing bio-fuels, new flight plans and putting its entire fleet on a diet to reduce weight.

Air NZ is placed well for the introduction of the revised ETS as well as being ready to cope with regulatory compliance in markets if flies too.

Groups of Air NZ competitors are calling for more action on airline emissions and the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has the final say on global regulations for the airline industry.

The big question for consumers is "Do you buy based on price? Or does an airlines environmental performance affect your final decision? It should be both!!

Weather and Climate are different

I have just read an artice called "NZ storms harbingers of climate change" which focusses on the past years weather extreems in New Zealand.

I hear alot of people talking about the weather and linking what happened last week to climate change. This is mostly along the lines of is was a cold winter! So much for global warming!!

Just a note that there is a difference between the weather and climate! We humans do not have good memories and so our personal observations about the weather are mostly wrong.

Climate is the study of many ears of data and the resulting trends.

cli·mate 

Pronunciation:

\ˈklī-mət\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English climat, from Middle French, from Late Latin climat-, clima, from Greek klimat-, klima inclination, latitude, climate, from klinein to lean — more at lean

Date:

14th century

1: a region of the earth having specified climatic conditions2 a: the average course or condition of the weather at a place usually over a period of years as exhibited by temperature, wind velocity, and precipitation b: the prevailing set of conditions (as of temperature and humidity) indoors <a climate-controlled office>3: the prevailing influence or environmental conditions characterizing a group or period : atmosphere <a climate of fear>

The Aussies are feeling the BURN!

So the Aussie answer to its Kyoto obligations are the introduction of a carbon trading scheme and the goal of reducing emissions by 5% by 2020 - WoW I am totally underwhelmed!!

They have also told us that if other countries do their bit they might take the target up to 15%.

Just so that you know - the Europeans and the United Kingdom have targets from 20% to 35% emission reductions.

Now that the Aussies have played their hand I bet that our new Governments response will be to "have what they are having" !!

The Aussies situation is not an excuse for us to do nothing or to wind back all the work done to date on the NZETS.

We need to be innovative and take our natural resources like the wind, hydro and solar and come up with a 100% renewal energy plan and to get business leaders to agree that doing nothing is not an option.

In the coming weeks the Climate Change Issue and the ETS will be the topic for discussion. I urge you to take part in the debate.