Consult, Manage, Change

Taking time out

Have been in the nations capital this weekend to attend the IMC New Zealand council strategic planning day www.imcnz.org All so taking time out to relax in the harbour capital.

In these busy days it is important to take time out to work on your business and to take time out to relax.

What is wrong and right with Public Transport??

 
Today I left the car at home and took the bus to the office in Auckland. The weather today 16 May in Auckland is very autumnal with strong wind and passing showers. Not that entrancing when a warm dry car awaits my use in the garage!

The 10 minute walk to the bus stop was nice apart from the down pour – lucky I grabbed the umbrella before I left the house.

The bus was on time – and the driver very polite. The smart card system worked. It is being replaced with the “snapper” card. The new readers where on the bus but the system is not live yet.

At 7am in the morning the traffic was light and before I knew it I was in Newmarket to change busses as the one from my suburb goes to the transport hub Britomart and due to the rain I wanted to go to the Aotea square (mid-town). I did not have to wait long for the connection but was not impressed that I had to pay another fare?? The driver told be that I was not able to transfer?

I arrived at my destination on time and the total cost of my journey was $5.20

For my return home this evening I will find a direct bus that will cost me $5.60

By not bringing my car I have saved a $13 parking fee and the petrol and running costs of my car.

 So what was right about using public transport today?

•  Bus arrived on time to pick us all up at the bus stop
• Arrived on time at my destination
• Got to meet my neighbours at the bus stop
• No stress of driving
• Got to look out the window
• Possibly reduced my carbon footprint for the day?
• One less car on the Auckland roading system today

 In my opinion, this is what was wrong about using public transport today?

•  Integrated ticketing on one platform for all modes of public transport is a must
• Printing out a timetable needs to be simplified
• Needed to transfer to get to my destination
• Was not able to transfer my original fare to my transfer bus
• Might have caught the flu from all the sick and coughing people on both busses
• Total journey time was double the usual

So how many of you use public transport? Have you started to use public transport again due to the rising cost of fuel? What are your views on cost verses convenience?

Please let me know your thoughts?

 

Networking at the Dubai Green Transport &Logistics Conference

Some people tell me attending conferences are a drag! I say get real conferences are learning experiences. It is all about your attitude. Learning is food for your brain. The networking opportunities are endless. Here I am networking over lunch with conference attendees.

Walking to work! Know your rights!

Some of the readers of this BLOG may walk to work rather than taking the car. A good sustainable option.

I am doing the same at present as I have a 20 minute walk each way to the office each day.

 
In the last few days I have been amazed at the number of times vehicle do not give way to me on Pedestrian Crossings and on curb crossings.

I needed to know my rights! Also as a driver in the weekends the research should help me be a better driver!

THE NZTA web site has a section called Information for Pedrestrians - I read it and way amazed to find out the rules including:If you are within 20 metres of a pedestrian crossing or traffic signals, you must use the crossing, footbridge, underpass or pedestrian traffic signals to cross the road.

DID you know the following:

Q I was walking past a Petrol Station and a car coming out of the station nearly knocked me over. The driver did stop but maintained that he had the right of way and had expected me to stop to let him past.
Who has the right of way on a driveway crossing a footpath?

A. Clause 4.4 of the Land Transport (Road Users) Rule 2004, states:-
Giving way when entering or exiting driveway
A driver entering or exiting a driveway must give way to a road user on a footpath.

So as you can see walkers have rights too!

Tyres that are fuel efficient!

  How about this?

Are the Europeans way ahead of us in NZ?

From November 2012 all new tyres on sale in Europe will be classified and labelled for fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise performance. The labelling will be similar to that required for household appliances and potential buyers will be able to compare tyre characteristics before making a purchase.

IF you had access to this kind of consumer information would you use it??

In a briefing by the WBCSB they state:

26 November 2009 - The European Parliament yesterday (25 November) gave its final blessing to a new EU regulation that will introduce fuel efficiency labels for all new tyres from November 2012.

The new label will follow the 'A to G' classification system of the European energy label, so the best-performing tyres will be awarded an 'A'. In addition to its impact on fuel use, the label will provide information about the product's performance in wet conditions and rolling noise in decibels.

In order to promote higher-performance tyres, member states will no longer be allowed to provide incentives for tyres below class 'C' on fuel efficiency and wet grip.

MEPs approved the political agreement reached early last month with member states in the EU Council of Ministers without a vote.

Under the final compromise, manufacturers will either have to stick the label on each tyre or provide a paper version that should be shown to the end user before purchase. This was considered an improvement to some of the earlier drafts, which only spoke about the label "accompanying" the tyre.

"This is a typical win-win situation where consumers and fleet managers will be able to choose safer and low-noise tyres and save on their fuel bills, while the European Union as a whole will benefit from reduced road transport emissions," said Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.

The European Commission hopes that raising the awareness of consumers on the impact that tyres have on their fuel bills will promote the use of fuel-efficient models. Efficient technology available today allows drivers to cut down on their fuel bills by as much as 10%, which would also cut CO2 emissions from transport, it said.

But environmentalists stressed that the benefits will only materialise if they actually see the label and it is explained properly. 

"A labelling scheme only works when the worst as well as the best products can be compared. Much will now depend on how member states implement the legislation and how wholesalers and retailers respond to it," said Nina Renshaw of Transport & Energy (T&E), an NGO.

IS THIS SOMETHING OUR MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT SHOULD INTRODUCE INTO NEW ZEALAND?

Would it work?

Would you use an e-bike??

   If you listen to Radion NZ National on Sunday morning you might have listend to the information on Sunday 22 November on e-bikes?

If you missed it here is the link to the podcast (45 mins) http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ideas/ideas-20091122-1106-Ideas_electric_vehicles-048.mp3 

Radio NZ state "Often hailed as our future and salvation in terms of the ability to mobilise, electric vehicles are becoming more of a reality but what is an accurate expectation and timeframe. Chris and Jeremy look at cars, bikes and trains to find out what's in the electric pipeline".

This podcast very interesting! Check it out and let other reads know what you think?

I like the idea of an NZ business developing innovate technology and taking it to the world.

Would you ride an e-bike?

Check out the following video on the Pedego Comfort Cruiser Electric Bike.

 

Pedego Comfort Cruiser Electric Bikes - More amazing video clips are a click away

 

Do TV adds make a difference???

If you have been watching prime time mainsteam TV recently you would have seen The Energy Spot TV adds!

The current TVC relates to fuel efficient driving.

Have you watched the add?

 

 

If so, would you change your driving behaviour?

Have you visited the Energy Sport web site?

Energy wise tells us:

Take action

Wise fuel use is not just what you drive - how you drive and care for your car makes a big difference.

• Drive smoothly. Accelerate and brake gently and smoothly, including in and out of corners.
• Watch your speed. Travelling at 100 km/h instead of 110 km/h can cut around 10% off your fuel bill.
• Cut your idling time. Idling wastes fuel. If you're going to be stationary for more than 30 seconds, switch off the car.
• Check your tyre pressure monthly. If it's too low your car has to work harder, and it can impact on the way the car handles and brakes.
• Keep your load down and your car streamlined. It sounds obvious, but the heavier your load is or the more drag you've got, the harder your car's engine needs to work - it can add up to 5% onto your fuel bills. So if you're not using something - like the golf clubs or the pram - take it out of your car. Reduce drag by taking off roof and cycle racks when you don't need them.
• Love your car.A well-maintained car can use up to 10% less fuel than an inadequately maintained one. Regular servicing, the right tyres for the conditions and proper wheel alignment can all make a difference.

>> Learn more simple ways to cut your car's fuel use.

Did you know?

• The average kiwi household spends around the same amount of money on vehicle fuel as on energy for their home - about $2200 a year.
• There are about 2.5 million light passenger vehicles in New Zealand that each use, on average, over 1,200 litres of fuel a year.
• If every New Zealand motorist used 20% less fuel, NZ would use about 628 million litres less fuel each year - that's like taking 500,000 cars off our roads.
• The top driving team in the 2008 AA ENERGYWISE™ Rally - in which new cars and drivers battle to achieve the lowest running costs over a four-day route - beat the stated fuel consumption of their vehicle by a whopping 40%.

This is good advice. However I do not believe the mainstream TV consumer gets it??

41st Tokyo Motor Show 2009 - Green cars

The 41st Tokyo Motor Show 2009 will be held from October 23 to November 4, 2009 at Makuhari Messe, Chiba City.

Electric cars take on hybrids at Tokyo show !!

  

Futuristic concept cars, plug-in hybrids, zero-emission electric vehicles and even a hydrogen-powered scooter jostled for the limelight as the Tokyo Motor Show kicked off on Wednesday.

From a super-skinny Nissan electric car that leans when going around bends, to a lightweight Toyota sports car and a Daihatsu vehicle with a design based on a basket, Japanese makers showed off their visions of the future.

While hybrids are still a big feature, electric cars are competing for attention at this year's show as technological breakthroughs in rechargeable batteries bring mass-produced zero emission cars closer to reality.

Foreign makers are almost entirely absent at this year's show, now dominated by the Japanese makers, which are pinning their hopes on growing interest in fuel-efficient automobiles to rescue them from a brutal industry slump.

Toyota, the world's largest automaker, displayed a new version of its electric concept car, the FT-EV II, as well as a Prius plug-in hybrid.

The pioneer of hybrids thinks that such vehicles, which have a petrol engine and an electric motor, will be "the core of the auto market in the future," said Toyota Motor president Akio Toyoda.

But he added: "Toyota is not limiting itself to gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles. The era of reinventing the automobile is nearly upon us."

Toyota also showed off a new lightweight, concept sports car inspired by the iconic Corolla AE86 coupe of the 1980s, along with a Lexus two-seat supercar with a 4.8-litre engine and a price tag of about 375,000 dollars.

Sales of the Lexus, which is set to go into production next year, will be limited to just 500 worldwide.

Nissan meanwhile unveiled a concept car that leans to the side when going around bends. Just 1.1 metres (3 feet 7 inches) wide, the "Land Glider" seats two people -- one in the front and one in the back.

Inspired by motorbikes and glider aircraft, it has tilting wheels that enable it to lean by up to 17 degrees. Nissan says it may start selling the car if there is enough interest.

It will also put its Leaf plug-in electric car on public display for the first time at the show, which opens to general visitors near Tokyo on Saturday and runs until November 4. The mid-sized car will go on sale in late 2010.

"Leaf will make waves in our industry as the world's first affordable zero-emission car," Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn said.

"The time is now for zero emissions. Sustainable mobility is within our reach. We stand on the threshold of a new era in the automotive industry."

While Nissan lags behind its bigger rivals in hybrids, it is one step ahead in electric cars. Toyota has said it aims to launch an electric car by 2012.

From Honda comes the EV-N, a cute new electric concept car with a retro look that can store a one-wheel personal mobility device inside its door.

Fuel cells, which run on hydrogen and emit only water, also make an appearance at the Tokyo show as Honda and Suzuki put on display cars powered by the technology.

There is even a fuel-cell scooter and a fuel-cell wheelchair from Suzuki.

Proponents of hydrogen-powered vehicles argue they are the only true zero emission technology because fossil fuels are often burned to generate electricity, particularly in emerging nations like China and India.

While the high production cost of fuel-cell vehicles poses a significant challenge, some think they may eventually overtake plug-in electric cars.

"We believe that the fuel cell electric vehicle will be the ultimate form for automobiles in the future as it has advantages such as zero carbon dioxide emissions in use, can travel considerable distances without refuelling and can be quickly refuelled," said Honda president Takanobu Ito. 

Carpooling - Greener, cheaper and more fun?? Maybe?

In this mornings Dominion Post print edition I read an article on page A2 about a new Wellington based car pool scheme.

One of the factors of reinstating the car pooling system is the ongoing problems with the regions commuter trains!

The article tells me that 700 people have signed up for the system. How may vehicle journeys does this take off the regions roads?

It is a fine balancing act between the potential of more vehicle trips as a result of commuter fleeing the trains! But at the current moment who want to use our truly 3rd world system?

I comment the Regional Council for the Let's carpool web site- however I ask the questions is this not the same regional council that has progressively let our trains get run down thru lack of investment!

Roll on 2010-11 for the arrival of our new trains and good luck to those trying car pooling. Let us all know what it is like if you use the service?

Hyundai introduces the Elantra LPI

If you have read this BLOG for some time you know that we have written about the pros and cons of Hybrid cars.

It is interesting to see that Hybrid cars are one of the biggest selling segments in Japan.

I was made aware recently of a new Hybrid model being produced by Hyundaithat rather than being a petrol electric hybrid it is a LPG electric Hybrid. Unlike conventional hybrids (the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight), the Hyundai has a liquid-petroleum gas engine (with a 1.6-liter displacement) mated to its electric motor. The motor runs on a lithium-ion battery pack.

This got me thinking of the glory days of LPGin New Zealand when you could apply to the Ministry of Energy and get a loan to convert to LPG. I remember doing just that - I had a big Valiant Regal straight 6 and converted it toLPG.

When I visited my local petrol station the other day I noticed that you could still fill up on LPG.

So with this new models being released by Hyundai it got me thinking would this be a great model to introduce here?

The issue with Hybrid vehicles at present is the price differential between standard petrol models and Hybrids.

Having said that maybe this model would be an excellent choice for the Taxi industry?

Carbon Certification - good or bad for consumers? You be the judge!

If you have read this BLOG before you will know that we have posted information about carbon certification, carbon credits, green washing and the need for consumers to understand more fully any carbon neutral claims.

Recently the local cab company here in Wellington - Wellington Combined Cabs have gone certified carbon neutral by using the carboNZero certification system.

As a user of taxis I have witnessed first had that changes this cab company has made to its fleet make up. First they allowed hybrids in the fleet and then diesel vehicles and now there is a total focus on emissions efficient vehicles and vehicles that can use alternative fuels. Yesterday I saw a Hyundai i30 diesel on the cab rank on Lambton Quay.

The Wellington Combined summary of certification document makes interesting reading for any user of taxis. I suggest you consider the exclusions from the GHG emissions inventory and how this might apply to you or your business?

It will be interesting to see how another Wellington Cab Company "Green Cabs" responds to Wellington Combined marketing strategy?

As we have always said the use of taxis needs to meet the "fit for purpose test" and you need to consider a number of factors when selecting your preferred taxi suppler.

To follow is the latest marketing material from Wellington Combined on its carboNZero certification.

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.

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!

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!!

Chinese vehicles a lot of hype??

A number of recent items have come across my desk and in my email in box in the last few weeks covering the topic of vehicles manufactured in China.

The most interesting one was this morning that told me that Chinese vehicles sales top US for the first time! I immediately thought that the US car market must be buggered! But the article is about the number of vehicles sold in China has better new car sales in USA for the first time.

It is interesting that in the global recession 735,500 cars were sold in China in January!

Back in July 2008 the AA Redline covered the issue of Chinese brands coming to New Zealand.

Great Wall Motor Companywill be the first band to sell new vehicles in New Zealand.

Some people have asked me will China become the new source of used imports?? A good question and one that has an answer of maybe! But that is another topic.

What about China leading the automotive world with vehicle hybrid technology?? Well my research shows that the first hybrids in China are Toyota Prius cars manufactured under license in China by Toyota.

It looks like the GW cars arriving in New Zealand will be well priced vehicles but the issues remains with any vehicles, what is its CO2 output, how fuel efficient is it, how much energy did it take to manufacture it, what is its resource intensity and how much of it can be recycled.

Auto makers go Green - but how green?

There has been a lot of publicity recently surrounding the GREEN focus of the global vehicle auto makers.

We commend the continued research and production of new technologies. For example reading information about Toyota putting a Diesel Hybrid into production is pleasing.

As the cost of fuel is decreasing due to the global financial meltdown, marginal cost trips and use of vehicles diminish. For example here in New Zealand the cost of one litre of fuel has reduced around 20 cents a litre in the last week alone. For me this has reduced a fill up of my vehicle by around $10

Car makers focus remains on the amount of CO2 vehicles produce and the litres per 100km fuel efficiency.

Some good background can be found by CLICKING HERE

Remember the easiest way to reduce your fuel bills and consumption is to use less!

It is user pays in Singapore

I arrived in Singapore this morning and as per usual it did not take long to get thru the efficient immigration and customs at Changi airport.

I took a cab into town from the airport.

It was a new Diesel Hyundai Sonata 4 door saloon.

It took me 24 minutes to travel 21.1 km. I can tell you this because it is on my receipt!

The receipt also tells me that the metered fare is $15.40

Airport Surcharge is $3, Diesel Surcharge is 30 cents and the PEAK HOUR traffic / surcharge is 35% or $5.40

Total fare is $24.10

So you can see as a user of the network at peak time I get charged for my usage. This is road pricing at the sharp end.

The race to have electric cars in New Zealand

In the same week that GM announced the unveiling of a production version of the Chevy Volt Electric vehicles Hyundai NZ announced that it would be the first auto manufacturer to offer new electric cars for sale in any volume here in New Zealand.

What does this all mean for us?

GM tells us "The Volt symbolizes GM's commitment to the future -- the kind of technological innovation that our industry needs to respond to today and tomorrow's energy and environmental challenges"

Hyundai tells usits first fully electric, plug-in version of the Getz, had been sold for delivery in November.

Retrofitting cars by removing the petrol engine and fitting batteries and an electric motor would be done in this country.

If you follow the links above you will see that the Volt is an expensive option. Hyundai is retro fitting petrol vehicles with electric motors! I hate to think about the extra emissions foot print involved in this process?

Some questions we still need answering are:

1. will and all electric vehicle be fit for purpose?
2. what is the range of the vehicles?
3. will renewable electricity be used to charge them up?
4. how safe will the retro fitted vehicles be?
5. how will the auto makers recycle the batteries at end of life?

It is great to see that electric vehicles are being massed produced, however many questions remain.

Auto makers would not look at the other side of this which is to encourage us not to use of cars! Or to use them less!

Biofuel - no easy answer!

As we here in New Zealand contemplate the introduction of mandatory biofuel sales targets and with a goal of have 3% biofuel mixes, we find out the Indian government approved the policy last week (11 September). The policy states that by 2017, transport fuels in India need to contain 20 per cent biofuel.

Like New Zealand the policy makers are trying to come to grips with how the policy will work, how to focus biofuel production on non-food crops and how to ensure the biofuel crops that are planted only use marginal land, let alone the issue of crop survival.

For more information click HERE.

It is worth noting the mention of Jatropha plant. This is the plant that Air New Zealand is to use for its own biofuel trial.

Air travel and carbon credits

In previous posts I have raised the issue of GHG emission inventories, carbon credits and the impacts air travel has on your scope 3 emissions.

I have come across the following information which was released by Reuters. I think you will find it of interest.

Reuters, 21 August 2008 - Air travellers may be fooling themselves with a feel-good green glow from offsetting their carbon emissions, according to critics of the system.

A lack of rigour in the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions from air travel is undermining carbon offsetting as an approach to fight climate change, one expert said.

Supporters say carbon offsetting allows travellers to fight climate change without altering their behaviour, by paying others to cut emissions of greenhouse gases on their behalf.

Travel company Expedia Inc on Thursday added its voice to those urging offsetting as a tool to fight climate change, allowing its customers to continue flying to exotic holiday destinations with an easier conscience.

But airlines calculate the carbon emissions from their flights differently, underlining uncertainty about the credibility of offset calculators.

The United Nation's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in June launched a carbon calculator which aimed to standardise airlines' efforts, but can still yield misleading results, according to a supplier of fuel data.

"Producing a single number is crude," said Dimitri Simos, director at Lissys Limited, supplier of an aircraft performance model previously used by the UK government and the basis for the ICAO estimate of airline emissions.

"If you go from Heathrow to Athens, ICAO gives 217 kilogrammes (kg) of CO2. That hides huge variations - fly in a full (Boeing) B767 and it's nearer to 160 kg per person, or fly in a half-empty (Airbus) A340 and it's more like 360 kg."

"It's the variations that are missing and that are important."

For the same trip to Athens, a carbon calculator on the British Airways website calculates CO2 emissions at 314 kg per person from London Heathrow, while Lufthansa calculates 260 kg of CO2 from London Stansted.

Carbon offsetting has also had to contend with critics who say that it only creates an illusion of fighting climate change, focusing on marginal efforts such as planting trees or building wind turbines rather than tackling the underlying problem, for example by flying less or burning less coal.

Expedia published on Thursday a survey showing that ignorance among the general public was adding to offset woes.

One in ten in the survey of 2,000 Britons thought offsetting meant walking to work instead of driving. Only one third of those surveyed actually understood the term while one percent of men thought that it meant putting out a barbecue properly.

Petrol Price, Pain and Politics

I have just attended the monthly meeting of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Wellington

The meeting was the first pre-election transport forum.

 

As you can imagine in election year there was a lot of electioneering by the speakers, the usual political party babble, and some interesting points of view.

A key issue for me was the consensus by all the parties about the need for a national transport strategy and the good work that has happened in the last 6-8 years on increasing New Zealand's transport infrastructure.. Apart from that each party has a different point of view ranging from build more roads, decrease GST on petrol sales, build rail capability, finish the Auckland ring road, start transmission gully and use more hybrid vehicles!

Other key themes covered included: peak oil, climate change, road safety, infrastructure, roading, rail, age of the NZ vehicle fleet, carbon neutral, public transport, vehicle fuel efficiency, the cost of congestion, and the impacts of transport on the economic performance of New Zealand.

This is all on a day when it has been suggested that the cost of petrol in New Zealand

is targeted to rise to $2.50 per litre for 91 octane within 3 months! It has been suggested that this cost increase will be in part due to a weakening of the NZ dollar and well as the global price of oil which only knows one way at that is UP!

Without doubt transport and the price of fuel is going to be a major election issue. I encourage you to all to attend briefings from the political parties so you can make a wise choice of which party you will support and how you will use your electorate and party votes come election time.

Please remember that the price of fuel will not come down. The days of cheap fuel are long gone!

You may be thinking what can I do to say money and fuel. Here are a few tips that might help?

• Don’t use your car / vehicle
• What alternatives to the car do you have?
• For commuting take the bus or the train, cycle or walk
• For taking the kids to school – start a walking school bus
• For commuting – car pool
• For leisure – walk more, relearn riding a bike

At the end of the day the less you use your vehicle, the less kilometres you travel, the less fuel you use and the more you save money and the environment.

Air Travel GHG emissions baddie? You decide!

We often get asked about the GHG emissions impacts of air travel.

A general rule of thumb is that if you don’t need to fly then don’t do it.

We use Air New Zealand as a case study for our clients.

To follow is some information that may assist you when you look at the amount of air travel you undertake.

We have chosen Air New Zealand to use as a case study as they are a great example of a

New Zealand company who operates in a global market where competition is fierce and competitive.

The impact of airline emissions has become a “hot topic” and there is research that states that airlines make up 2 % of total global GHG emissions.

The IPCC report 1999, p.6 states that aviation accounts for 2% of worldwide CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use, according to a forecast by the UN International Panel on Climate Change. This could reach 3% by 2050.

Transport in general accounts for 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Aviation is responsible for 12% of CO2 emissions from all transport sources, compared to

76% from road transport, according to the Stern review.  (Stern Report Annex 7).

As you can see total global emissions from aviation are quite small. However as more of us are using air travel, more of us have a sustainability focus and more of our companies are reviewing the impacts of air travel of our GHG emissions inventories the aviation industry has to adapt to these fundamental changes in customer behaviour.

For Air NZ who is our national flag carrier the issues are quite challenging! Apart from Air NZ’s Tasman and pacific services all of their flights are long hall – more than 5 hours in duration.

Operational Change vs. Sustainability

Air NZ is tackling sustainability from a few fronts, they include:

• Operational Fuel efficiency – smart approaches to landing. Air NZ is pioneering CDA – Continuous Descent Approaches, which involves a more gradual and continuous decent. The trial is on landings at San Francisco and can save up to 300kg of fuel on every flight.
• Trialling of bio – fuels
• New Fleet – 777 and 787 – longer flights with less fuel burn
• Operational sustainability – recycling at the airport – water usage on the plane
• Public commitment to the environment – stated long term goal sustainable air travel.

Pay as you go carbon credits

Air NZ has set up a carbon offset calculator so that you can calculate your carbon impacts when flying on Air NZ. https://carbonoffset.airnewzealand.co.nz/carbonoffset/carbonCalculator.do

The following information has been taken from the Air NZ Web site:

What does Air New Zealand do with the money paid to offset carbon emissions?

All the money, net of tax, contributed by customers to offset their CO₂ emissions funds the purchase of carbon credits that reduce, or avoid, greenhouse gases. 

 

Air New Zealand takes no administrative or other fee.

 

What carbon credits is Air New Zealand currently purchasing?

Air New Zealand pre-purchases carbon credits to ensure that they are available for this online carbon offset programme.

The carbon credits we are currently purchasing are Emission Reduction Units from TrustPower's Tararua windfarm. The New Zealand Government awarded these Kyoto

carbon credits as part of its Projects to Reduce Emissions programme.

How can I see how my money is being spent?

Each year, the information about what carbon credits were purchased, their cancellation and other information about how much they cost will be published and readily available to contributors.

Leader or Baddie – You decide?

We would like to pose the following questions to help you decide:

• Do you think Air NZ is taking a leadership position on sustainability? Why is that?
• Is their pay as you go carbon credit off-set scheme a compelling offer for you? Has anyone used this service yet?
• Are the current initiatives enough?
• Would you prefer to use Air NZ over a rival based on their sustainability practices? Why is that?

Beginers guide to Bio fuels - the sustainable option?

We often get asked about the good and bad points related to bio fuels. To follow is a beginers guide to help you out.  

 

Bio-fuels

• What options do we have to use biofuels
• What is the difference between ethanol and other bio fuels such as bio-diesel
• Can our vehicles run on biofuels
• How much can we save on fuel costs

 

Biofuels

Biofuel is a generic term for fuels that can be produced from or are made up of a renewable material of plant or animal origin. Often they are substitutes or partial substitutes for fossil or mineral fuels. Biofuels used in transport are typically bioethanol which is used as a petrol substitute and biodiesel which is used as a diesel substitute. These are the biofuels that are most likely to be used in New Zealand in the medium term. Biofuels have the major advantage of not contributing to overall greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Biodiesel can be produced from any vegetable oil or animal fat and used as a substitute or partial substitute for mineral diesel. To produce biodiesel, these fats or oils are chemically converted to esters that have properties similar to mineral diesel. Biodiesel is often blended with mineral diesel and blends of up to 5 percent in mineral diesel are suitable for use in diesel engines without modification. Higher blends may be used in dedicated fleets.

 

Bioethanol is an alcohol made from sugar, starch and products containing sugars and starches, through a process of fermentation and distilling, and used as a substitute or partial substitute for petrol. Bioethanol has properties that are similar to petrol so it is often blended with petrol. Bioethanol is likely to be introduced as a low level blend i.e.  3 to 5 percent in some petrol, although the current maximum level allowed is 10 percent. Higher blends may be used in dedicated fleets.

 

So why then is the NZ Government pushing Bio Fuels?

 

The Ministry of Transport’s web site tells us the following:

 

The government is committed to the use of renewable transport fuels to reduce environmental impacts of the use of fossil fuels, and to reduce New Zealand's dependence on imported transport fuels.

The government is developing and introducing a bio fuels sales obligation for the sale and use of bio fuel blends in New Zealand. The aim is to ensure that oil companies selling petrol or diesel must also sell a small amount of bio fuels. It would be up to the oil companies to determine which combination of bio fuels and which blend levels to use, and where to market them.

 

The big issue facing the Government is the position of the oil companies in NZ and the stance they take on the introduction of bio fuels. Already we have seen the debate on the cost of storage and the need to replace many holding tanks with double skinned storage tanks and the potential take up of the use of bio fuels and the types of vehicles that can run effectively on bio fuels, to name a few.

 

The Government has introduced a sales weighted target and as you would expect the major oil companies have their own opinions on these targets.

Another issue is the ability for the current fleet, which is a mix of new cars and second hand Japanese imports being able to safely operate on the Ethanol blends of E3%, E5%, E8% and E10% blends.

 

Most Japanese second-hand used imports are built to the Japanese domestic standard and these vehicles are not manufactured to cope with an E5 blend or higher.

 

The biofuels sales obligation will require companies that sell petrol or diesel in New Zealand to also sell biofuel.  The amount will be set as a percentage of total combined petrol and diesel sales per year, measured in petajoules, based on the volumetric energy content of each fuel, as follows:

	Year 1 2008 (part year)1	Year 2 2009	Year 3 2010	Year 4 2011	Year 5 2012 onwards2
Obligation: percentage of previous years sales	0.53 percent	1.06 percent	1.67 percent	3.35 percent	3.40 percent
Approximate petajoules3	0.83	2.22	3.55	7.18	7.25

 

New Zealand companies leading the way on research

 

Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation has set itself the objective to be the first company in the world to economically produce biofuel from wild algae harvested from open-air environments, to market it, and meet the challenge of increasing demand.

 

Founded in 2005, Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation (ABC) Limited is committed to developing a means to produce a new biofuel from algae, and passionate about providing solutions to challenges of diminishing energy supplies. The company strives to become a dominant player in renewable energy and associated technologies.

 

ABC harvests algae directly from the settling ponds of standard Effluent Management (EM) Systems and other nutrient-rich water. The process can be used in many industries that produce a waste stream, including the transport, dairy, meat and paper industries.

 

The two-step process firstly optimises the ponds' productive capacity, and secondly, determines the most efficient and economic way of harvesting the pond algae. Algae are provided with full opportunity to exploit the nutrients available in the settling ponds, thereby cleaning up the water. The algae are then harvested to remove the remaining contaminant. A last stage of bio-remediation, still in development, will ensure that the water discharge from the process exceeds acceptable quality standards.

 

The water and sludge treatment process is an elegant clean-up and management service to councils responsible for sewerage treatment systems while also generating a low-cost feedstock for conversion to fuel.

 

The result is an algae-based extract that will ultimately be converted to an alternative fuel source. ABC has established that the company is likely to be able to produce, at commercial scale, a viable biofuel.

 

Green employee travel? How Green and can we make it sustainable?

Have you been thinking about leaving your car is the garage and taking the bus or train to work as an alternative? If so then good on you. Personal behaviour change is needed for the community as a whole to make positive change to employee travel.

We are responsible for the decision to use or not use our cars for commuting.

I am writing about this issue for an upcoming training master class on the topic of sustainability strategy. To follow is an extract from the training narrative.

EMPLOYEE TRAVEL / TRAVEL PLANNING

When measuring a companies GHG inventory one area within scope 3 (indirect) emissions is the vexed area of emissions generated by employee travel. Businesses can decide to exclude responsibility for employee emissions (getting to and from the place of business). However we suggest to you that if a business is truly living a corporate socially responsible way then employee emissions should be part of the companies GHG inventory.

 

The boundary that will cause some gnashing of teeth can be where does personal responsibility end and corporate responsibility start? Is it when your employee leaves the house? Or is it when they get to work?

 

Behaviour change

 

It does not matter if you are coming from and individual or business stand point to reduce emissions from employee travel takes changes in behaviour.

 

A changed behaviour is needed to get your employees to think about their modes of transport in getting to and from work. It takes employee behavioural change to change modes from a vehicle to public transport. It takes a manager to change behaviour to offer incentives for employees to change modes. It takes corporate behaviour change to instigate corporate polices that support reductions in GHG emissions. It takes business behaviour change to roll out travel planning policies to ensure that the best modes are used for particular activities.

 

In essence behavioural change is all about encouraging use of alternative modes of transport. This can include cycling, walking and public transport, car sharing schemes and travel behaviour change including travel planning.

 

Incentives

 

How doe we discourage car/vehicle use?

 

Incentives involve the improvement or provision of new facilities to facilitate the use of non-car and higher occupancy modes of travel by increasing the attractiveness of these alternatives. It may also involve the provision of financial incentives for use of non-car modes.

 

One option could be is to offer discounted public transport tickets to employees. Or to have showers, lockers and secure bike parking for those employees that cycle to work.

 

Parking

 

Company parking can be seen as both a incentive or a distinctive to encourage behaviour change.

 

Disincentives are focused primarily on managing car parking through restricting the amount of parking available, operating a permit system or charging regime.

 

This can be linked to financial incentives for not bringing a car to site.

 

Another alternative is to lease car parks on the CBD fringe and encourage the use of public transport with in the CBD by giving employees free or discounted tickets.

 

Public Transport

 

Public transport is an alternative to vehicle use only where it is a viable alternative and is fit for purpose. For example the commuter train service in Wellington is a viable alternative to car commuting. Train commuting in Auckland is not a viable alternative for many reasons. Why do you think that is?

 

Cycling

 

Cycling can be encouraged for employee commuting. You must consider the facilities for employees (showers etc) as well as health and safety issues and any business and personal insurance issues.

 

An active cycling policy within a company can have attractive side benefits such as improvements in employee health.

 

Travel Planning

 

In practice, travel planning is a set of activities or initiatives specifically designed to widen travel choice to a particular location with the prime objective of reducing the number of single occupancy car/vehicle trips to that location.

What is business travel planning?

What is Business Travel Planning?

 

Land Transport New Zealand [LTNZ] tells us the following “A workplace travel plan sets out steps to encourage staff to travel to and from work by public transport, on foot, by bike or by car share, and to improve access for a particular workplace.” This definition implies that staff travel into a fixed place of work and return to their homes at the end of the working day.

 

We suggest that there is a need to take a wider view of travel planning than just a focus on how your staff behaves in getting to and from work. If fact, the broadening of the focus beyond LTNZ’s focus to all business related travel has far more positive impacts.

 

Business travel planning starts with the simple act of collating information on domestic air travel, international air travel, taxi trips and rental car usage. The application of some business and statistical analytics and the application of Sempre Avanti’s consulting expertise will lead to improved business processes and policies than can be designed to reduce cost and improve environmental sustainability through changes in behaviour.

 

How does Business Travel Planning contribute to an organisation’s environmental sustainability?

 

The act of reviewing an organisations travel planning provides insights into opportunities to change travel behaviours that can lead to streamlined and efficient business practices.

 

For example, how many single occupant taxi journeys does your organisation undertake in one month? What are the alternatives? With the use of business travel planning there is opportunity to look at ways of employees travelling together and making multi occupant journeys or to use shuttles.  Another option is to review your organisation’s taxi procurement policy to select taxi provider that run their fleets on alternative fuels such as bio-fuels or natural gas.

 

Fleet reviews

 

If you lease or purchase a vehicle fleet then we suggest that a fleet review is undertaken at leat every 18 months. It is all about being transport efficient and effective.

 

Some steps include reviewing mileage per vehicle, scheduled maintenance, employee behaviours related to self maintenance (the big ticket item is correct tyre pressure).

 

When you buy or lease a new vehicle, choose a more fuel efficient and low emission vehicle.

 

 

Diesel vehicles and hybrids

 

There has been much debate about hybrid vehicles and diesel vehicles.

 

We are not car sales people and have no alliances with vehicle manufactures. However here are some facts that might help you.

 

Globally hybrid vehicles are a relatively new initiative by the auto industry to produce low emission vehicles and to catch the wave of consumers and government regulators demanding fuel efficient and low emitting vehicles.

 

It is worth considering one of the main drivers for the emergence of hybrid vehicles.

 

In the early 1990’s political transformation was underway around the globe. Strict antipollution laws were forcing automobile companies to build cleaner cars.

 

In the US, they amended their clean-air laws to require car companies to cut emissions by a whopping 60%.

 

In California the largest and most lucrative vehicle market in the United States, they introduced new air quality laws in the 1990’s that required by 1998 that 2 percent of all new cars sold in the state would be zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) a figure that would rise to 10% by 2003!

 

There are many different opinions and myths about Hybrids:

 

ü       They need to be plugged in at night

ü       They are slow and gutless

ü       They are twice the price

ü       They are expensive to service

 

We are not going to give you a sales pitch for Hybrid vehicles. However some information that may assist you is:

 

Ø       Are they expensive? It depends – you can purchase a new or used hybrid now and for a new hybrid compared to a equivalent petrol only models the price differential is around $5000 to $8000

Ø       Most hybrid cars require a standard oil change and filter every 10,000km with no servicing required on the battery pack and electrical motors.

Ø       Most hybrids have no cam belts – they have cam chains instead

Ø       There are less moving parts in a hybrid system

Ø       The battery packs are very reliable

 

If you need convincing please visit http://www.hybridexperience.ca/

Where you can review information on Hybrid vehicles and read about North America’s highest mileage hybrid – a taxi that has travelled 410,000km.

 

As a purchase option for an individual or fleet operator they are worth investigating.

 

However the hybrid is a relatively new introduction to New Zealand and I would suggest to you that the New Zealand Consumer has not yet been fully educated.

 

To date the manufacturers have only given us a very small range of hybrid vehicles to choose from in New Zealand compared to the range of vehicles models that are available globally.

 

So why are hybrid vehicles being pushed as an environmentally friendly option?

 

It is a simple as this: Hybrid vehicles operate on a combination of Petrol and Electric and they are designed to be very fuel efficient and low emitting vehicles.

 

One issue that is not talked about is the embedded carbon in the production of a hybrid vehicle and the total life cycle on the hybrid including recycling issues.

 

Information suggests that it takes 30% more energy to manufacture a hybrid and there are still issues with battery recycling.

 

Diesel Vehicles – particulates and Euro IV and Euro V

Petroleum diesel, or petrodiesel is produced from petroleum and is a hydrocarbon mixture, obtained in the fractional distillation of crude oil between 200 °C and 350 °C at atmospheric pressure.

The density of petroleum diesel is about 850 grams per litre whereas petrol (gasoline) has a density of about 720 g/L, about 15% less. When burnt, diesel typically releases about 40.9 megajoules (MJ) per litre, whereas gasoline releases 34.8 MJ/L, about 15% less.

Particulate matter can be a significant air pollutant that is associated with a variety of health and environmental effects.

 

Sources of particulates vary widely from location to location reflecting the wide range of emission sources that contribute to particulate concentrations in New Zealand. Typical sources can include:

 

• fine particulates emitted as a result of fuel combustion such as those associated with road vehicles, power generation, industrial processes, domestic heating appliances and particulates formed by chemical reactions in the atmosphere (comprised largely of sulphates and nitrates)

 

European emission standards are sets of requirements defining the acceptable limits for exhaust emissions of new vehicles sold in EU member states. The emission standards are defined in a series of European Union directives staging the progressive introduction of increasingly stringent standards.

 

New Zealand has introduced its own vehicle emission standards based on an amalgam of the Austrailian, United Sates, Japanese and EU standards.

Are you a green and sustainable traveller? What options do you have?

I encourage you all to purchase the 5 April 2008 edition of the “New Scientist” magazine.

In this edition there is a pull out section on sustainable travel called “Big holidays Little footprints” and it is well worth reading.

The editorial on responsible travel raises some interesting and topical issues for readers to consider, including responsible travel and tourism and choosing responsible destinations to visit.

On page 14 of the pull out section is an article called “Carbon Cost” and this is well worth reading too. The focus in on air travel, however it raising some valid points related to carbon offsets, fuel efficient flying and other ways to reduce carbon emissions.

In the carbon cost article it references the Global Carbon Project, so I went and checked it out.

I was surprised to find out that the Global Carbon Project was formed to assist the international science community to establish a common, mutually agreed knowledge base supporting policy debate and action to slow the rate of increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

And that the Global Carbon Project is responding to this challenge through a shared partnership between the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and Diversitas. This partnership constitutes the Earth Systems Science Partnership (ESSP).

One issue that was touched on lightly was effective travel planning.

In previous blogs we have raised this issue with readers.

If you are travelling for a vacation or for business it is critical to start with the following question: “Do I need to travel”? If the answer is YES then you need to have a plan that takes you through a check list which includes the following questions:

·           Are there alternatives to air travel such as public transport, trains or ferrys?

·           What forms of public transport can get me to the airport and to my hotel or accommodation when I arrive

·           If renting a vehicle can you rent a compacts car rather than a gas guzzler or can you rent a hybrid?

·           Is the Hotel you are staying at a sustainable hotel – what are their sustainable practices?

 

That is just a few of the questions that will help you become a sustainable traveller!

You can make a difference!

Take the bus! It is an easy option to be green

I write this entry to the BLOG from Christchurch New Zealand the garden city.

In this blog you have see the entries related to business travel planning and how you need to snap out of the normal routine when it comes to making changes to the way your business travel impacts on the environment.

Every change you make that reduces your carbon foot print is good for you, good for your business, good for the environment and remember green is good!!

I arrived at Christchurch airport this afternoon and I knew I was taking the airport bus to the CBD. Why?? Well because I had completed some travel planning. I knew there was a regular bus service as I had looked it up on the web. I found out the trip times, departure times and the cost. It was only $7 go get to the city from the airport. (good on the travel budget - a taxi would cost around $35)

The trip was a stress free 30 minutes and I got to sightsee on the way in which was an added bonus. I then had a 5 minute walk to my hotel.

Tomorrow I will take the bus back out to the airport too. The bus stop for the return journey is just around the corner from my hotel.

So as you see changing habits is easy. Travel planning is easy. You can change as it is easy. There are no excuses!!

Carbon footprints for supply chains

The following information is kindly reproduced courtesy of:

Jim Thompson
TriPoint Interactive Inc.
1711 Fall Creek Drive
Cedar Park, TX 78613

Tripoint are part of the Green Logistics Consultants Group.

How to calculate the carbon footprint of supply chains?

To determine progress, you first must measure where you started from and where you are now.  The sum of all greenhouse gas emissions from a process is referred to as its carbon footprint and the major contributor to greenhouse gases in most supply chains is transportation. 

Unfortunately, calculating the greenhouse gas emissions, or carbon footprint, of a supply chain is not very well understood, and definitely not an exact science.  Companies such as Wal-Mart, Tesco and Marks & Spencer are working with their suppliers plus various academic and governmental organizations to calculate their total carbon footprint, including the supply chain.  You may find that your major carriers are already working on providing carbon footprint information to their large customers based on the cost of the shipment or other factors that can help you.  The MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics is working on a Web-based tool to help companies calculate the energy consumption of products moved by land, water and/or air that is planned to be available late in 2008.   The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working on a similar model. 

Transportation improvements impact both cost and carbon footprint

With a measurement plan in place, the next logical step is to concentrate on conservation, since a conservation strategy is the most cost effective approach, and the one that provides the quickest results.  Conservation efforts focused on transportation generally offer the most benefit.  In a survey conducted by Establish Inc. transportation constituted 4.4% of sales or more than twice the cost impact of any other logistics component. 

In the United States, the most recent EPA report concludes that CO2 emissions from truck and rail transportation grew 64.1% (the truck portion grew 69.4%) in the period 1990 to 2005; while the U.S. gross domestic national product increased just 55% over the same period. 

Transportation represents both the highest cost in most supply chains and the source of most greenhouse gas emissions.  Luckily, the strategies to reduce cost in transportation also tend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  And, transportation also tends to be the easiest area to make changes; far easier than making major changes in the sources of supply or number of warehouses or converting to a demand driven philosophy. 

There is a strong relationship between transportation modes with the lowest cost per weight transported a given distance (ton-mile) and the associated energy use.  The list below attempts to rank transportation modes based on energy use and contains several implicit assumptions; so the list is more of a guide to be used with due consideration to appropriate mode, shipment weight and cube, length of haul, and service time.  Within these assumptions, the transportation modes sorted by energy use per ton-mile transported are:

1.      Ocean and inland waterway (least emissions per ton-mile)

2.      Rail

3.      Intermodal, a rail/truckload combination using trailers or ocean containers on flatcar (The EPA estimates that for shipments over 1,000 miles, using intermodal transport can cut fuel use and greenhouse emissions by about 65%, compared to a truck only move.)

4.      Truckload

5.      Multi-stop truckload

6.      LTL and small package

7.      Air transport

A good transportation design strategy is to plan a shipment on the most energy efficient mode first and then look for combinations of the modes to reduce the energy use of groups of shipments.  For example, a company with a supply chain requiring delivery of three pallets weekly to 1,000 points might plan on truckload, multi-stop truckload or intermodal shipments to a LTL carrier’s terminals, with the last mile deliveries made via LTL.  This truckload/LTL, or pooling arrangement, is both less costly and a greener alternative to a pure LTL solution.   One idea is to partner with other companies serving the same geographies, if not the same customers, to share the cost of a network.  For example, several companies may share the cost of a truckload to points they could not serve as efficiently by themselves.  It is likely that when the most appropriate mode or combinations of modes is used from a cost standpoint, it is also the most appropriate from an energy standpoint.

Other strategies to reduce energy use in transportation are:

·         Utilize a Transportation Management System (TMS) to plan shipments in the most cost effective and energy efficient way; including the mode combinations noted above.

·         Use trailer pools when possible to enable carriers to make pickups and deliveries without fuel expended in wait time and with a reduction in empty miles.

·         Enforce “no idling” rules at your locations and institute appointment scheduling to minimize the wait time for drivers.  (The EPA estimates that one hour of idling uses 1 gallon of fuel.)

·         Offer truckload carriers continuous moves to avoid empty miles

·         Use carriers that are committed to reducing their fuel use as part of monitored programs, such as the EPA’s SmartWay program.  The SmartWay program suggests the following strategies to carriers to reduce emissions:

o        Improved aerodynamics

o        Improved freight logistics – a variety of techniques that include load matching, more efficient routing and ways to reduce empty miles

o        Automatic tire inflation systems

o        Wide-base tires

o        Driver training

o        Low-viscosity lubricants

o        Reducing highway speed

o        Vehicle weight reduction

o        Hybrid powertrain technology

·         Use carriers that purchase carbon credits to offset the calculated CO2 emissions of each shipment.  (TransGroup Worldwide Logistics is one company offering such a program; although note carbon credits increase the cost of the shipment.)

it is a conscious decision?

On Thursday I have to travel to Auckland for a business meeting.

As it was short notice, the airfares had been arranged by my client and I was provided with Taxi Chits.

Having taxi chits limited my ability to use a Green Cab, so I ended up using Corporate Cabs.

Afterwards sitting at the Airline lounge in Auckland on my way back to Wellington I realised that the booking of a corporate cab was an unconscious decision!

I had a conversation with a fellow traveller sitting next to me on the flight home. We talked about sustainability, frequent travelling and the use of Taxis.

My fellow traveller advised me that the key issues for her when using a taxi was her personal safety, the confidentiality of the driver and being able to work in the cab.

My fellow traveller knew that Corporate cabs runs a very new fleet of vehicles with the latest emission control technology so she was doing her bit for environmental sustainability.

I checked out the Corporate Cabs Web Site and could find no information about their vehicle emissions or environmental sustainability practices.

By the way my fellow traveler and I shared a Corporate Cab once we got back to Wellington.

So you can see sometimes sustainability is a conscious or unconscious decision.

Cityhop - another great idea

While reading the February 2008 edition of the Air New Zealand "KiaOra" magazine I came across a profile of a service called CITYHOP.

It was all about a smart idea of car sharing.

Cityhop is New Zealand's first car-share company (so the article tells me).

The promo caught my interest with the statement "it's a convenient, affordable and eco-friendly alternative to car ownership" - I had to check it out.

I visited the CITYHOP web site with my sustainability hat on!

I was impressed, essentially the system is a pick up and drop off car renting service with the twist of being able to hire a car by the hour.

The green sustainability focus is that the fleet of vehicles is made up of "new 5 door Daihatsu Sirions with 1.3 litre engines. They can fit 5 adults, or if you need the space you can fold down the rear seats to cater for a larger load.

We (Cityhop) chose Sirions because they have the lowest CO₂ emissions of any car in their class. It has the world’s first self-generating catalyst – a device that removes particulate carbons and residual hydrocarbonaceous material from the engine exhaust.

If you can only drive an automatic you need to phone us. All our fleet is manual but sometimes we can make arrangements for you".

If you have read some of my previous posts about my recent trip to Auckland and my travel planning steering me towards greencabs, then you will agree with me that I will have to try this service out on my next visit to Auckland.

I will keep you posted.

Business Travell Planning - UPDATE

I am posting this update while in Auckland attending the Land Transport Summit conference.

If you have read previous posts related to business travel planning you would have seen us putting our money where our mouth is!

Today when I arrived in Auckland I traveled to the city in a GREEN CAB I chose this transport option as the company runs Toyota Hybrid vehicles.

In the Auckland rush hour it was a mostly bumper to bumper ride to the city and the electric motor did most of the work. I must say I was impressed with the car. It was only a few months old, quite roomy, had a big boot and felt safe.

I talked with my driver and he enlightened me on some key points. He started that his old cab was a six cylinder vehicle and he spent $1000 a month on CNG. With the hybrid he spends $400 a month on petrol. That is a big saving on his operational cost. I estimate that the next effect is also good for the environment as well.

Toyota New Zealand are offering the cab company, extended warranties, service plans and fleet discounts and in return Green cabs have plans to have at least another 100 vehicles on the road in Wellington and Auckland very soon.

One issue that struck me was passenger pooling. A system where like today I can find other business people who want to share the ride into the city. My trip today was a single person journey. Most of the other cabs I observed had either one or two passengers.

My driver did not like the idea of passenger pooling as it cuts his revenues! One easy fix to this is to have a charging tariff that deals with this issue, so that the passengers can share a cab and a journey and the cabby is able to charge each passenger.

So my verdict on Green Cabs is good. But at the end of the day it is all up to personal choice and behaviour. It is all up to you.

Business Travel Planning - putting your money where your mouth is

In previous blog entries you would have seen information on business travel planning.

To show you that it is not all talk, this blog is about how you can put travel planning to work.

Gordon Shaw from Sempre Avanti Consulting is presenting and attending the Transport Summit in Auckland at the end of February 2008.

The flights to and from Auckland are recoreded undr Sempre Avanti's air travel for the financial year and the carbon emmitted will be ofset under our carboNZero participation via certified carbon credits.

Instead of renting a hire vehilce we investigated the options of public transport and alternative transport options for getting from Auckland Airport to the city and from the city back to the airport.

First step was to look at public transport options. Running a google search gave us a number of taxi, shuttle and bus options.

The first stop was investigating the bus option. We asked the Airbus Express the following questions:

• Does the bus stop and pick up from the

  Stamford

  Plaza Hotel

  ?
• Does the bus pick up from the Duxton Hotel?
• Does Airbus Express have and environmental sustainability plan?
• Does Airbus Express mitigate its carbon footprint? If so how?
• Do your buses run on bio-diesel?

The answer we got was the following:

Unfortunatley the bus does not stop at either the Duxton or the Stamford Plaza although the Stamford Plaza is only a three minute walk from our stop at Sky city.

In realtion to your questions around an enviromental sustainabilty plan we are working towards this with our parent company and in the interim we are limiting our carbon footprint by monitoring our idiling times on our buses. This means that the buses are not allwed to sit idlefor any more then 15 minutes without the engines being turned off. Across our fleet we have managed to cut our wastage by over 75%.

Our buses do not currently run on bio fuel as there is much discussion of the the actual cost of producing this Bio fuel against any savings it may achieve. All of our buses are replaced on a 5 yearly rotation and our oldest bus in daily service is only two years old.

As the bus did not offer the best soloution, it was onto the next option.

Our investigations uncovered a potential sustainable taxi operation called GREEN CABS a taxi company that runs Toyota Prius Hybrid vehicles only and offsets its remaining unavoidable emissions.

We chose this option as it offeres us a carbon neutral travel option for the ground travel required on this visit to Auckland.

We will let you know in a later post how it goes on the day!

For your information while in Auckland CBD, Gordon will use buses and walking to get around the CBD.

As you can see with some advance planning, some research and asking a few questions you are able to find and choose altenatives to your usual travel patterns.

It is all a matter of changing your behaviour and putting treavel planning into practice.

It is "putting your money where your mouth is"

Commercial applications for bio fuels

It is great news to see evidence of commercial business embracing the use of bio fuels.

Two industries stand out, they are the aviation industry globally and the rail transport industry in New Zealand.

Having just read the following "When a Virgin Atlantic jumbo makes a planned 1 hour and 20 minutes hop from London to Amsterdam later this month it will be one of the most closely analysed flights in aviation history.

The journey, without passengers, could answer the aviation industry's prayers, as it will be powered by a a mix of 20 per cent of a so-far secret biofuel and 80 per cent conventional jet fuel" I get the feeling that once this flight is made then there will be no stopping the rest of the major players in the aviation industry following in Virgins footsteps. Richard Branson is putting his money where his mouth is.

To read more about this flight CLICK HERE

Also noted in the Feb-Mar 08 edition of the NZ FTD magazine is an article on Toll Rail and Shell launching the "bioloco". The article overviews the first use of biofuels in a rail locomotive in New Zealand. The trail is to be run over six months and the locomotives will run on a blend of 5% biodiesel and 95% regular diesel with no retro fitting of the locomotive needed.

To view the FTD magazine article CLICK HERE

These two examples are evidence of companies leading the way on the use or bio fuels.

Business Travel Planning – Business friendly and climate friendly.

There has been a lot written about organisational environmental sustainability.

A sustainable organisation is one that behaves in a sustainable manner, whilst focussing on achieving its business goals and outcomes.

What is Business Travel Planning?

Here in New Zealand our transport regulator, Land Transport New Zealand [LTNZ] tells us the following “A workplace travel plan sets out steps to encourage staff to travel to and from work by public transport, on foot, by bike or by car share, and to improve access for a particular workplace.” This definition implies that staff travel into a fixed place of work and return to their homes at the end of the working day.

We believe that there is a need to take a wider view of travel planning than just a focus on how your staff behaves in getting to and from work. If fact, the broadening of the focus beyond LTNZ’s focus to all business related travel has far more positive impacts.

Business travel planning starts with the simple act of collating information on domestic air travel, international air travel, taxi trips and rental car usage. The application of some business and statistical analytics will lead to improved business processes and policies than can be designed to reduce cost and improve environmental sustainability through changes in behaviour.

How does Business Travel Planning contribute to an organisation’s environmental sustainability?

The act of reviewing an organisations travel planning provides insights into opportunities to change travel behaviours that can lead to streamlined and efficient business practices.

For example, how many single occupant taxi journeys does your organisation undertake in one month? What are the alternatives? With the use of business travel planning there is opportunity to look at ways of employees travelling together and making multi occupant journeys or to use shuttles. Another option is to review your organisation’s taxi procurement policy to select taxi provider that run their fleets on alternative fuels such as bio-fuels or natural gas.

It is time to start the gathering of statistic now! From that point you can make some easy changes to travel behaviour.

Reduce emissions - just slow down!

I have just read on the internet the following:

"Another development shows the march of progress is not always linear: shipping companies seeking immediate answers to soaring fuel prices and the need to cut emissions are, simply, slowing down.

Hermann Klein, an executive at Germanischer Lloyd classification society, said: "The number of shipping lines reducing speed to cut fuel costs has been growing steadily." His organisation runs safety surveys on more than 6000 ships worldwide.

"Slowing down by 10 per cent can lead to a 25 per cent reduction in fuel use. Just last week a big Japanese container line gave notice of its intention to slow down."

Shipping was excluded from the United Nations's Kyoto Protocol to slow climate change, but many nations want the industry to be made accountable for its impact on the climate in the successor to

Kyoto

.

In

Hamburg

, the Hapag-Lloyd shipping company is not waiting for 2012. The company in the second half of last year cut the standard speed of its ships to 20 knots from 23 1/2 knots, and said it saved a "substantial amount" of fuel.

The calculation used in shipping is complex: longer voyages mean extra operating costs, charter costs, interest costs and other monetary losses. But Hapag-Lloyd said slowing down still paid off handsomely.

"We've saved so much fuel that we added a ship to the route and still saved costs," said Klaus Heims, press spokesman at the world's fifth-largest container shipping line.

Climate change was an additional motivating factor.

"It had the added effect of cutting carbon dioxide emissions immediately," Heims said.

Slowing down has not reduced capacity. For container ships carrying mainly consumer goods from Hamburg to ports in the Far East, the round trip at 20 knots now takes 63 days instead of 56, but to make up for this it added a vessel to the route to bring the total to nine".

So there you go a very good example of the bi-products of making subtle changes to your business operations can be good for the environment. Help with corporate social responsibility and save money on the bottom line.

The vehicle transport industry should take a lead from the shipping indusry.

The worlds cheapest car? Undertake the research and then make up your own mind!

You may have seen all the hype of the launch of the "Nano" car by the Tata Group at the Delhi motor show.

The Dominion Post in Wellington on 12/01/2008 headed their article up with the title "Nano runabout boosts hope for the massess".

Most of the information I have read is all marketing hype.

I decided to try to find out some answers to the question I had:

• What safety features does the Nano have?
• What emission standard has the Nano been built too?
• What is the whole of life production cost of the Nano?
• What parts of the Nano can be recycled?

I visited the Tat Group web site CLICK HERE

I spent 30 minutes reviewing various web pages. There was all of the launch hype, interviews with the CEO, pictures of the Nano and some limited technical information.

The Tata Group site has a section on Corporate Sustainability which contains some excellent initiatives but I could not see any specific information on the Nano.

So far I could not find the answers to my questions above.

So will this car become India's people car? Time will tell. I hope that the Indian consumers that consider purchasing this vehicle consider more than just the price and think about the possible impacts of this vehicle on the environment.

This is just a reminder that we all need to think much more widely now when we want to purchase a vehicle. I suggest to you that the key considerations when purchasing a vehicle now include the price, fuel economy, emission standards, safety standards, sat nav integration and the audio equipment.

A NEW YEAR - it is time to set your 2008 Goals!!

Welcome to 2008.

It is time to set some goals for the year ahead. To help you I have come up with a list of goals that you may want to consider adding to your list for 2008.

GOALS

• Use you car less and walk more - it is good for you and the environment
• Use public transport when you can - a little bit of travel planning will help you get out of your vehicle and use the available public transportation
• When you fly choose an airline that has a carbon off set programme AND USE IT
• Purchase Bio-fuels for your vehicles - check out if you vehicle can operate of bio-fuels such as ethanol petrol mix or bio-diesel, if so use it - we are all better off
• Undertake an energy efficiency audit of your home and office - some ideas for better efficiency include - switching to energy efficient light bulbs, fitting movement sensors to lighting systems, adding insulation to the walls and roof of you home or office.
• Join a carbon offset programme and offset you avoidable emissions by purchasing recognised and accredited carbon credits
• When you replace you vehicle undertake some research and look at hybrid and diesel vehicles as an alternative to petrol vehicles.

This is a small list to start you on your way.

Please let me know other goals you would like to see added to this list.

If Paris can then we all can!!!

Hello from France.

I read with interest in the International Herald Tribune on Friday December 14, 2007 that Paris Hilton has become climate friendly! I kid you not!!

If it is in the newspaper it must be true?

It quotes darling Paris as stating "I changed all the light bulbs to energy-safe light bulbs and I am buying a hybrid car right now"

So who would of thought that Paris Hilton would lead the way on being environmentally sustainable.

Good on you Paris Hilton!

Led Zep, Air Quality, Smart Hotels and Electric Vehicles!

Hello from Genova Italy.

It is Friday and the end of the week. This week I have been moving North in Italy using trains to arrive in Genova.

Some observations for this week!!

First Led Zep, The reunion concert by Led Zep was all over CNN this week! They even interviewed some of the crowd and guess what they found a concert goer from NZ!! I am sure there will be a CD and DVD released soon for all of us who missed out!! I was thinking what the carbon foot print of a rock concert is? Maybe it is time to offer a service to the rick industry to measure GHG emissions from events!!

Secondly there is Air Quality. The weather has been kind on the trip so far many fine calm cool days. But boy talk about air pollution!!!! The air quality is bad there is a brown orange haze and later in the day it gets bad enough to make you cough!! So all those small cars the Italian drive add up to a lot of CO2 emissions. Thank goodness for New Zealand,s good air quality.

Thirdly, Smart Hotels. I visited Pisa this week and stayed at the Sanranieri Hotel in Pisa. Pisa Hotel

Check out the web site - what a cool place! It is a smart building and the thing I noticed was the number of light sensors. The lights come on as you move about the hotel and your rooms. I has about the Hotels carbon footprint but it was lost in translation! I think they thought I was from Mars!! There was a lot more the hotel could do to be really SMART. Such as grey water recycling, not changing towels and linen every day, using solar power to name a few.

By the way the Sanranieri Hotel is 10km from the Pisa railway station and guess what I walked to the hotel!! Yes it is true!! No carbon produced on that journey!

Lastly, electric vehicles. In Florence I observed a number of electric scooters, small electric buses (so the could fit down the small streets) and electric delivery vehicles. The Florence council is also introducing a light rail system starting next year. I could not find any English information to identify how the electric vehicles are charged or if the electricity is produced sustainability.

I have had a great week in Italy - lots of food for thought!

Next week it is back to France to spend some time in the Normandy region.

Green Issues in Europe

Hello from Sienna Italy.

I am on vacation and on the second week in Europe I have visited England, France and Italy.

The climate change conference in Bali is on the TV and in the newspapers, when I booked a flight from Milan to Paris I was offered a pay as you go carbon credit by Easyjet.

I have also been observing the vehicles here in Italy and guess what? They are mostly small to medium vehicles and a lot of them are diesel cars. I filled my 1.4ltr Ford Festiva with petrol today at the price was €1.37 a litre - VERY expensive in world terms.

But get this the price of bottled water is less than €1 a litre!!

The reduction of carbon emissions here is called carbon positive! And it seem just like in New Zealand business are struggling to understand that being carbon positive can bring competitive advantage. I just read in the Times newspaper that most CEO,s in Europe see the carbon debate as a cost to the business!!

Boy do they need some consulting advice or what!!

Time to wake up I think!

Sustainability is Good Business

There has been a lot written about Sustainability, mainly in the context of Climate Change. This writing ranges from advocating a return to a pre-literate Stone Age hunter gather society to a ‘hair-shirt’ return to the Middle Ages and on to a Panglossian view that there is absolutely nothing to worry about. The debate is clouded by whether one is a climate change believer or a climate change sceptic.

Regardless of your attitude to climate change, Sustainability is good business and should be embraced wholeheartedly by all kinds of organisations. New Zealand’s reputation of being “Clean and Green” is founded on sand and is subject to attack from within by environmental activists and from without by the EU. High polluting waste types such as bread waste from a bakery will be regulated and priced to discourage its dumping. Transport will be further regulated because it is New Zealand’s second highest emitter of carbon.

First movers will gain advantages that even fast followers will envy.

Sustainability can be viewed on three levels:

• lip service,
• transactional sustainability, and
• transformational sustainability.

Lip Service Sustainability

This is where many businesses are currently placed.

This is the hotel chain that places the ‘lip service’ card in the bathroom. The card suggests that you can help lessen the load on the environment by hanging up towels to be used a second time. When you do this, the housekeeping staff replaces them anyway because there are no systems in place to ensure staff compliance with the ‘policy’.

This is the business that has a general purpose paper recycling bin but no systems to ensure the paper is picked up and sent to the recycler.

Or the business that has a policy to recycle toner cartridges and then has no system to make it easy and wonders why empty toner cartridges end up in the waste bin.

Sustainability at the Transactional Level

This is where sustainability starts to make a difference. It should not be where it ends.

Transactional sustainability is about the three R’s – Reduce, re-use, and recycle. Yet that is not all. To avoid ‘lip service’, the 3R’s must be supported with robust systems to ensure easy and simple compliance with the 3R’s.

To understand how this works lets look at a few contrasts between lip service and transactional sustainability.

Paper Recycling

Lip Service equals old ‘lineflo’ paper boxes or wire ‘cages’ scattered randomly over the office space. These are left to get overfull and then they are picked up on a random cycle by the cleaners. If you are lucky, the paper makes it to the PaperChain™ recycling bin but is just as likely to be put in the general waste bin.

Transactional sustainability sees light weight, closed side bins made of recycled material [this could be board or plastic] and with safe lifting handles placed at regular intervals. These bins are picked up everyday by your sustainability management firm and the paper transferred to the correct paper recycling bin. The empty bin is replaced and is available for use without the users having to do anything

Aluminium Cans

Lip Service sees the provision of vending machines selling drink products packaged in aluminium cans. When the product is consumed, the recyclable aluminium can is thrown into the general waste bin or into the bin under the desk of the consumer. All these cans go in the general waste and are conveyed to a landfill.

Transactional sustainability sees light weight, lined open top bins made of recycled plastic. These are placed within ‘throwing’ distance of work station clusters and in public spaces. These bins are picked up everyday by your sustainability management firm and the cans transferred to the correct recycling bin. The empty bin is replaced and is available for use without the users having to do anything.

Transactional sustainability recognises that when making sustainability decisions, the principal trade-off is between sustainability and time and builds robust systems that ensure lack of time does not halt efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Sustainability at the Transformational Level

The sorts of things to be considered under transformational sustainability include:

• Engagement of organisation members and stakeholders in a values and leadership programme that incorporates a commitment to sustainability
• Transport fleet assessment and management – carbon footprint measurement and mitigation
• Smart buildings – from fully integrated smart building through to limited impact mitigation of existing buildings
• Travel policy assessment and management – carbon footprint management
• Local sourcing vs carbon certified remote sourcing of organisational inputs – as much to engender debate on the merits and downsides of so called food miles
• Meeting enablers – the use of facilitated Video conferencing and Internet technology rather than F2F meetings
• Design for sustainability

Clearly the work to be done here is more far reaching than the work required for transactional sustainability.

Voluntary Carbon Off-sets - Update

In my blog post of 3rd November I was talking about the effect of air travel on the environment and asked why some airlines do not offer voluntary off-sets for carbon emissions.

As a frequent flier with Air New Zealand I decided to contact the CEO Rob Fyfe and ask him why Air New Zealand was not offering carbon off-sets to its customers.

I have had a positive response to my email this morning.

I asked Rob Fyfe the following: "I have one question. When will you offer pay as you go carbon credits to offset the impacts of the journeys we make? I note that Qantas has announced what seems to be a great offering to their customers. I applaud you and the team on the announcement of the Bio Fuel project but as one of your loyal customers I want the option to make the difference now when I travel."

Rob's response this morning was:

"We plan to introduce Voluntary carbon off-setting next year – we wanted to wait for the launch of TZ1 – the New Zealand climate exchange so that we could support this initiative and if the Government policy proceeds as planned we will be required to off-set all our domestic emissions."

It is pleasing to know that I will have the option next year to take up carbon off-sets as I travel.

Vehicle Emissions Debate

Here in New Zealand we are awaiting a decision from our Government on making changes to the rules related to vehicle emission standards. The Ministry responsible for the policy change for some time has signalled that there will be major change.

Industry groups from both sides are lining up to state their cases. On one side of the scale we have the new car industry and on the other we have the used car industry. They are not pulling any punches. For example I have just read the latest edition of the "autofile" magazine and they new car industry is quoted as saying "Ministers have buckled under pressure from used importers" and the used car importers have stated "The new vehicle industry is being self-serving".

SO you can see that there is alot of emotion in the debate.

The debate is being driven by the New Zealand Government driving to reduce Transport produced CO2 emissions.

The new and used car industries will debate this issue until the cows come home! However one comment in the autofile article got me thinking? "there is an obligation on all parties (including vehicle owners) to play a part in reducing air pollution"

I totally agree with this statement. As vehicle purchasers we ALL have a part to play in getting up to speed with the issue of vehicle emissions and making the emission standards of a vehicle a key component of our purchasing decision.

One good example of this is Tourism Holdings announcing today in the media that it has bought 370 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter motor homes to be customised for the New Zealand market. It has lined up its existing 1500-vehicle fleet for a new benchmark test being developed by Vehicle Testing New Zealand.

The new regime exceeds the European benchmark Euro IV standard. Qualifying vehicles will be some of the world's lowest emitters.

Lets all try to follow this lead!

Taking time out

I am writing this entry from Motueka a small town at the top of the South Island of New Zealand.

I am taking time out with family to enjoy some family time. However with all of the technology we have at our finger tips I am able to log on and clear emails, update the blog and continue to work for clients while I am taking time out.

As we get close to the Christmas silly season I want to say to you all that you need to take time out, have some fun and recharge your batteries.

While sitting here in the bright blue sky day with sun on my back I realise how lucky we are to have time to spend with family and freiends.

Today I am spending time with my Gransdson Ryan who is three and it gets me thinking that it is our role to leave New Zealand and the planet in a state that will allow Ryan to grow up in a world that is safe and sustainable.

More than ever we need to take responsibility for the actions we undertake that affects the legacy we leave for our children and granchildren.

To use a phrase that Green Peace use we NEED TO BE THE CHANGE!

The future of our planet is in our hands!

Business Travel Planning - Climate Friendly

There has been a lot written about organisational environmental sustainability.

A sustainable organisation is one that behaves in a sustainable manner, whilst focussing on achieving its business goals and outcomes.

What is Business Travel Planning?

Land Transport New Zealand [LTNZ] tells us the following “A workplace travel plan sets out steps to encourage staff to travel to and from work by public transport, on foot, by bike or by car share, and to improve access for a particular workplace.” This definition implies that staff travel into a fixed place of work and return to their homes at the end of the working day.

It is my belief that there is a need to take a wider view of travel planning than just a focus on how your staff behaves in getting to and from work. If fact, the broadening of the focus beyond LTNZ’s focus to all business related travel has far more positive impacts.

Business travel planning starts with the simple act of collating information on domestic air travel, international air travel, taxi trips and rental car usage. The application of some business and statistical analytics and the application of consulting expertise will lead to improved business processes and policies than can be designed to reduce cost and improve environmental sustainability through changes in behaviour.

How does Business Travel Planning contribute to an organisation’s environmental sustainability?

The act of reviewing an organisations travel planning provides insights into opportunities to change travel behaviours that can lead to streamlined and efficient business practices.

For example, how many single occupant taxi journeys does your organisation undertake in one month? What are the alternatives? With the use of business travel planning there is opportunity to look at ways of employees travelling together and making multi occupant journeys or to use shuttles. Another option is to review your organisation’s taxi procurement policy to select taxi provider that run their fleets on alternative fuels such as bio-fuels or natural gas.

So as you can see a good starting point in any sustainability review is with travel planning. I dare you to undertake some analysis on your own travel for business or leisure. I am sure you will get a shock and you will see that with small changes in behaviour you can make incremental gains that extrapolated out over a year can save you money and time!