A Round Table with EU Environment Commissioner
Just before the Christmas break, I attended a round table discussion with the EU Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potocnik. His visit to London and the roundtable discussion were coordinated by the Green Alliance and the CBI as part of a larger event on Resource Management. The discussion looked at three themes: resource efficiency, the environmental impacts of business and policy interventions.
As companies and organisations start to get a grip on their emissions another aspect of environmental impact is coming in to play – resource efficiency. At this moment in time as the global economy is still recovering from the recession, now is a better time than any for businesses to re-evaluate their inputs. Some facts shared by the Commissioner:
- We use 16 tonnes of resources per person, yet 6 tonnes of that goes to landfill
- 87% of EU businesses expect the cost of their inputs to increase
Commissioner Potocnik asserts that competitive advantage remains with those companies that can do more with less. As the economy is working towards recovery, now is the perfect time for industry to tackle growth. Companies can take advantage of increased output costs to manage what they have better.
And he’s right. Take mobile phones for example.
The mobile phone industry is far from collapsing. However, mobile phone manufacturers (and many other electronic devices) depend on certain precious metals – Coltan in particular – to operate. 80% of the world’s known supply of Coltan lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And millions of people have died because of the conflict which has become an issue for both domestic and international governments as Coltan joins the ‘blood diamond’ clan, a precious mined resource with a finite supply.
This conflict and limited supply of the earth metal has forced several manufacturers to rethink growth and resource management out of necessity. We have seen a rise in mobile phone and electronic recycling. This is because it’s better to manage electronic waste and not send it all to landfill, but also because it’s cost effective for companies to take parts of the device – including processed Coltan – to use in the manufacturing of new phones. This is a bit of a weak example because companies are still mining raw Coltan but it does show that resource scarcity is already coming in to play and if companies are proactive in evaluating their supply chain it help them grow sustainably, rather than just in the short term.
Commissioner Potocnik spoke candidly about EU policy and government subsidies. He explained that the issues aren’t just about resource efficiency, but effective policy interventions and smart subsidies. He pointed out that tax breaks for company cars in the EU is 50 billion Euros a year. That’s huge. For cars! The challenge now is how can governments develop innovative subsidies that help with sustainable market growth. And we’ll see a lot of this over the next year as 2012 brings the introduction of the Green Deal, and the Green Investment Bank.
As the Commissioner points out, with current growth rates in China, India and Brazil, we’ll soon see 2-3 billion people to move towards middle class consumption and I think most people can agree that this fact concedes that we can’t continue to consume resources at the rate we have in the past.
While this all may sound terribly depressing and doom and gloom there are still interesting and potentially game changing opportunities that could hopefully lead us to a low carbon economy that uses resources efficiently. One example is through sharing. Yes, sharing between businesses. It may sound like an oxymoron but it just might change the way some businesses operate. Why can’t more companies develop business models based on sharing? Or even share resources, knowledge and planning with other businesses in non-competitive markets?
Another area to be explored is innovation funded through private investment. The Commissioner pointed out that the EU has only 1/10th of the private investment in new technologies than that in America. Maybe this is another arena to be explored for future development.
Overall the discussion with Commissioner Potocnik was fascinating. While I could sit there and think of my own solutions to our world’s resource problems, the Commissioner is actually responsible for working across several different EU economies with the task of attempting to build a more sustainable Europe. And I find that to be both a daunting but also inspiring task.
DIY Florescent Light Cover
My friend Diego is quite the clever one. He is a dental technician (he makes tooth implants) and has lots of long bright lights in his office. To make the lighting less harsh he has made these light shades from old card board tubes. Impressive, right?
Hackney’s Newest Football Club
Beginning November 1st, I started a 7 week pilot for the project formerly known as ‘Just Another Football Club‘.
It took me a while to decide where I wanted to run the pilot – more importantly, which area lacked sport and community based opportunities for young women (between the ages of 13-17). I met with football folk in Hackney, Camden, Islington and Haringay. After meeting
Pete Blackwell, the London Manager for ‘Reachout!’ a mentoring charity, I was sold on Hackney.
Pete agreed to partner with me and provide pitch space at Petchey Academy where he runs Reachout FC.
Now that the 7 weeks have ended, I’m stoked to say that it has been a success.
Some numbers:
- 21 different players on the register, 10 who consistently come (3 or more weeks)
- 7 text messages, all from different players that read:
“You’ve been sent this message by 07xxxxxxxxx asking you to call them back as they are out of credit. (Normal charges apply)”
- 4 players who have been there every single week. Amazing dedication.
- 3 brand new shiny players who have never kicked a ball in their life
- 2 weeks of standing outside Petchey when school got let out with flyers, spamming random school kids with leaflets about the session (note: this was on the advice of the school’s groundsman told me to stand outside at 330pm and hand out some info. He said this will be a surefire way to boost numbers. So this is what I did. I stuffed flyers into the hands of school kids with with my email and phone number. Aside from me feeling like a stereotypical overly-enthusiastic North American, it was good. Numbers doubled after doing so. Result.)
- 0 footballs/equipment of any sort lost (I’m pointing this out because it’s normally very rare)
One thing that really surprised me was despite some brutal weather, players would still rock up. As a footballer myself, I know all too well how demotivating it can be playing in the cold, wet British winter.
I could ramble on forever about all of the great stuff that has gone on in the pilot but I’ll stop here and save that for a later post.
Here’s what’s next:
- I’ll be continuing with the session, Tuesday nights at Petchey (working towards a friendly 7-aside match against a nice, beginner to intermediate level side)
- There’s a website on the way alongside the branding, partners and all that jazz
- The membership scheme will be finalised so you and anyone you know can become part-owner of this club for the tiny fee of £10 per year. What a bargain.
- I’m making a rota of footballers (male and female) come out and help with sessions.
- Getting a few of the older girls (16 year olds) on a coaching Level 1 course.
Special mentions:
Trying to get something off the ground is hardwork. Really. And without certain peoples’ support this would likely still be something I’d only dream about doing. So here is my first honour role of lovely people – and there will be plenty more to be added to this. It’s only the beginning.
- Naresh Ramchandani, who aside from having top notch football banter, basically convinced me to quit working for him to pursue this. Oh and did I mention he has re-named and branded it?
- @nataliedoyle82 from the London FA for spreading the word
- Pete Blackwell and the crew at Reachout for being crazy helpful and encouraging.
- Orlando from Actis, my newly found mentor. He didn’t bat an eye lid when I pounced on him at a mentoring matchmaking night put on by Unltd.
- Keisha Graham Benjamin (her initials are KGB – funny, right?) for rallying together all the teenaged girls she knows in Hackney. Including multiple members of her family. And a few circus performers.
If you or anyone you know would like to get involved, please do get in touch!
Ps- I gave Glove Love to the team as a Christmas present. It was very well received.
PPs- Apologies for the pictures quality. They were taken on a borrowed Blackberry in the rain.
Time For Tea
This year as I get ready for Christmas, I’m particularly proud of this little contraption I’ve made. (It’s a tea cake stand made from old records, just in case you couldn’t tell)
You can get the fittings from Amazon for a few quid.
And the records from a charity shop. 3 for £1. Bargain!
Christmash Craftertoon
Beccy and Hannah, the lovely pair behind the Crafternoon Tea Club bring you this ‘Christmash’ spesh: an evening of re-gifting, re-distributing, re-packaging and other low carbon creative fun. Oh and free booze and fabulous music. Go on, tell all your friends.
Two Great Cities. One Amazing Photographer.
These are such beautifully shot films of time lapsed images from around Toronto and Ottawa.
The super talented Ryan Emond made ‘Toronto Tempo’ as well as the one below called ‘Capital Cruising’.
I’m in awe (and a bit homesick).
A Green Christmas
This is a little thing I wrote for Book Magazine about having a holiday season that’s not full of waste and useless gifts.
To read the full article CLICK HERE.
One Year and 8 Months Doing The Green Thing
When I first came across Do The Green Thing, my first thought was was ‘Wow. They’re brilliant’. My second was ‘I want to work there’.
I *patiently* waited for about 2 and a half years, always keeping tabs on their content and website, hoping one day I’d be able to join their team. That day came in April 2010. Since then I’ve have been super lucky to have worked with such talented and wonderful people on a really good cause.
But all good things must come to an end and I’ll soon be moving on.
Working at Do the Green Thing can be unpredictable: my 5th day on the job I was asked to interview Ben Fogle, in the summer I appeared on a Mexican TV channel, and I was once sent to Scotland to help showcase the world’s first biodegradable tent.
Also my sitting room from time to time turns into a sewing room.
Do The Green Thing is an exciting and creative place to work and if you like the sounds of that then definitely apply.
I’d like to say a MASSIVE thank you to Naresh and Andy for everything they’ve taught me and the opportunities they’ve given me. I feel so lucky to have worked with both of them and their world class talent. SO lucky.
And of course there is Kim. Everyone needs a Kim. I haven’t met a harder working person. And it pains me to say I know someone who is more organised that me.
One of the best things about Do The Green Thing is the people. The masses of volunteers, interns, producers, designers, writers, thinkers, etc .. that lend their time and skills is incredible. James, Jo, AWO, Hayden, Liz, Liv, Vicki, Zoe and Jay: thank you for making life at green thing fun, easy and brilliant.
So what’s next for me?
Properly launching Laces Community Club into the world and very likely more work in sustainability.
Stay tuned.
Fairtrade Footballs
When I was ordering kit for Laces CC a few weeks ago, I searched for ethical footballs. I was looking for something outside of the usual football suspects (Nike, Puma, Adidas), and I came across Fair Corp. After reading about their supply chain and their impressive values, I ordered 7 of their ‘Ethletic’ balls.
At first I was dubious as they came in a small box deflated. Once I put air into them, they looked and felt like standard footballs but were a bit bent out of shape. But then after a few kicks and knocks they were broken in and are just perfect. See?
The girls love the spots on them and I like telling people about them when I’m asked what make they are. If you’re ever in need of ethical fashion and sports equipment, have a look at Fair Corp. They’re good ‘uns.
Mobility 2025
Last week I did this short interview with Eco-mobility.tv. on how I imagine the future of sustainable transport. As a glass half-full kind of person, I spoke mostly about new ideas and innovation.
If you’re interested in finding out more you can follow the Mobility 2025 conference taking place tomorrow is Paris. Eco-Mobility TV will be bringing together mobility experts, journalists and bloggers to debate about the future of mobility. You can also watch more interviews people gave in advance of the event.
You can watch it live here and also follow it on twitter using the hashtag #2025.