SustainabilityBlog.org

Good blog post: The Softer Side of Sustainability

Fabian — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:59:09 +0000

An really good blog on GreenBiz about the other, the softer side of sustainability. Worth a read over the upcoming weekend.

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One reason I like to host seminars at the Center for Ecoliteracy is that you never know who is going to show up.

Last August, one of the 80 people who participated in our “Short Course on Systems Thinking” with Fritjof Capra, David W. Orr and center staff was Claude Ouimet, a gracious gentleman who is senior vice president and general manager for Canada and Latin America at InterfaceFLOR, a division of Interface Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of modular carpets.

Why a carpet-manufacturing firm would be interested in systems thinking and education for sustainable living might not be immediately obvious. But Interface has been focused on environmental sustainability since 1994; in 2006, the firm announced its goal of eliminating any negative impact it has on the environment by 2020.

Read the complete article here:

http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/03/18/softer-side-sustainability

True to some degree: Shoppers go green ‘to impress neighbours not to save planet’, study finds

Fabian — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:20:46 +0000

I guess there is some truth in this which we might not would like to admit. Our whole drive towards sustainability or being green is also a way to differentiate ourselves from others. This is the beginning of the article:

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While consumers are more likely to “go green” on the high street where they can be seen making altruistic choices, the privacy of online shopping brings out an entirely different behaviour.

When people are not being watched by their peers they are more willing to shun the ethical products in favour of comfort and convenience, the report says.

The habit has been studied by Vladas Griskevicius, of the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, who found eco-friendly shopping decisions are not always motivated by a social conscious.

Read the complete article here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/greenerliving/7457185/Shoppers-go-green-to-impress-neighbours-not-to-save-planet-study-finds.html

The marketing perspective: How Green To Go? A Question Of Brand Management

Fabian — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:49:02 +0000

Marketing and Sustainability or’ Green’ as some people call it, are difficult areas to combine. Brand management as a consequence will play a huge role in bringing this gap. This is an interesting article on how a company can do this successfully.

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Let’s start with a compelling fact: More than 90% of consumers feel that whether or not a company is green is important to their purchase decision. When research tells us that nine in ten of all Americans say they are influenced to buy (or not to buy) products based on the green credentials of the company producing those products, it is no wonder that companies are falling over themselves to “go green” as fast as they can.

Sure, it’s tempting to be seduced by the research and apply our creativity to connect the brands we represent with the overwhelming evidence that green marketing isn’t just good business, it’s a public mandate. But it’s not — the mandate is to build the trust. Gone are the days when companies could talk the talk without walking the walk. Inquisitive consumers don’t just feel good about buying products from a known brand icon, they now also want to buy products from a company whose environmental practices they can feel good about.

Read the complete article here:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=123989

We need more like this – Green Energy UK crowned best in customer service

Fabian — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:22:44 +0000

It is a really good sign if a company is winning a customer service awards. It is even better news if that company is a company selling renewable energy. This is what Green Energy UK has done this week. We need more examples like that if the sustainability industry is to be seen as a proper business. Well done Green Energy UK.

This is the beginning of the complete article if you want to know about this story:

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A green utility firm in the UK has bucked the odds by winning an award for customer service, something small-business owners have graded utility providers poorly on.

Green Energy UK, which supplies green and renewable electricity to homes and businesses in Britain, was just named “Customer King 2010″ at Cisco’s and Real Business magazine’s annual customer service awards. the utility company was chosen over more than 100 other businesses to land the top prize for creating the best customer experience.

Read the complete article here:

http://www.greenbang.com/green-utility-crowned-for-top-customer-service_13822.html

Qualifications for a graduate and senior manager working in the Sustainability field

Fabian — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:53:32 +0000

Have you ever wondered what a Sustainability recruitment consultant is looking for in the right candidate?

Well, you do not need to look any further here Toby Webb, one of the senior recruitment consultants from Acre Resources, is explaining what he is looking for in individuals at a graduate and a senior manager level.

So true: Let’s Stop Debating Global Warming and Start Convincing People to Solve It

Fabian — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:10:04 +0000

Global warming o Climate Change is our single biggest threat these days and still noone really seems to care about it that much. This article here is a great post on the need to stop debating and to start convincing people to solve it. This is the beginning of the Huffington Post article:

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Several years ago I invited John “Plasma Boy” Wayland onto my Sirius Satellite Radio show “The Lazy Environmentalist” to talk about eco-friendly cars. I had heard that he was having tremendous success drag racing an electric car called the White Zombie. John is quite animated and soon he was talking enthusiastically about blowing the doors off of gasoline-powered corvettes and mustangs in nothing but a modified 1972 Datsun running on battery-operated electric power. He described the thrill of creating eight hundred pounds of torque and roaring down the quarter-mile track in record time. He mentioned how much fun he had teasing his competitors about the fact that he’d just trounced them in a car running on American-made energy instead of imported oil. He described exactly the kinds of things millions of American men care about – fast speeds, raw power, and American self-reliance.

Read the complete article here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-dorfman/stop-arguing-about-global_b_489968.html

The sustainable marine future? – German fishing boat flies giant kite to save fuel

Fabian — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:11:35 +0000

A german fishing boat flies giant kite to save fuel. How great is that? And this is a sign of how the marine future may look like? A really interesting article.

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The 15,000 tonne ‘Maartje Theadora’ is the first fishing vessel to use the system, in which a 160 square meter blue and white kite similar to a paraglider pulls the ship on a 300 meter rope, assisting its main engine.

“The challenge for us is to see how it works during trawling, because then the ship is not moving from A to B but it’s turning and moving around,” said Diederik Parlevliet, head of fishing firm Parlevliet & Van der Plas, operator of the ship.

It harks back to an earlier maritime age, when merchant ships — especially from the Netherlands — sailed the seas to Asia and the Americas. Modern steam power replaced sails, cutting travel times and making it more predictable.

Read the complete article here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6281I720100309

Sustainability is pr power behind M&S

Fabian — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:39:23 +0000

This is an interesting opinion piece from Marketing Week about the recent announcement by Marks and Spencer (A UK retail business) about their decision to expand their Sustainability initiative called ‘Plan A’. I also agree with the authors conclusions that a lot of organizations are under-selling their sustainability work.

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Marks & Spencer’s impressive announcement regarding the expansion of the original Plan A – the 100 internal commitments the business is making by 2012 have been joined by an additional 80 targets to be hit before 2015 – was a fantastic PR coup for the business.

Indeed, by being able to shout out loud that M&S will be the world’s most sustainable retailer within five years, chairman Sir Stuart Rose will justifiably feel he successfully hijacked the negative headlines concerning his remuneration that were starting to re-emerge.

Following hot on the heels of public outrage over the salary package that will greet new M&S chief executive Marc Bolland when he starts his new job in May, investors had started to question whether they could afford Rose’s own £1.15m a year salary if they were paying the new man so handsomely.

Read the complete article here:

http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/opinion/sustainability-is-pr-power-behind-ms/3010664.article

UK: M&S extends ‘Plan A’ with 80 new sustainability commitments

Fabian — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:12:17 +0000

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has announced 80 new initiatives under its ‘Plan A’ eco programme and committed to begin implementing them within the next five years.

Amongst the most ambitious commitments set out today by the high street retailer is to ensure that at least 50 per cent of M&S’ 2.7 billion products across 36,000 product lines carry at least one sustainable or ethical quality – such as Fairtrade or Marine Stewardship Council certification – by 2015, and that all M&S products meet this criteria by 2020.

Also unveiled today by the retailer, which sells clothing, food and homeware, is a goal to get all 2,000 of its suppliers to adopt Plan A best practice. This will include backing 200 sustainable factories and encouraging 10,000 farmers to join M&S’ sustainable agriculture programme.

Resd the complete article here:

http://www.greenwisebusiness.co.uk/news/mands-extends-plan-a-with-80-new-eco-commitments-1183.aspx

Climate change report sets out an apocalyptic vision of Britain

Fabian — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:25:29 +0000

Now this is a frighting report for everyone living in the UK. Published today a report entitled Land Use Futures: Making the Most of Land in the 21st Century. This is the beginning of the article:

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Mass migration northwards to new towns in Scotland, Wales and northeast England may be needed to cope with climate change and water shortages in the South East, according to an apocalyptic vision set out by the Government Office for Science.

Heathrow would be converted into a giant reservoir by 2035, there could be severe restrictions on flying and driving and farmers would be forced to sell their land to giant agricultural businesses. Greenhouse gas emissions would be controlled by carbon rationing for individuals, which would lead to “significant shifts in lifestyle as everyone tries to stay within budget”.

The Government would ease pressure on the South East by planning to “disperse citizens to three new towns in Dumfries and Galloway, Northumberland and Powys”.

Read the complete article here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7041857.ece