Switch - Saving Energy and Saving Lives

Green Living Ideas

2009-04-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

For more tips and ideas on how to live a greener life, here's another blog you should check out -
http://greenlivingideas.blogspot.com/

Green Networking

2009-04-10T01:11:00.000-07:00

We're holding a green networking event at the Eco Conference Centre at Sheepdrove Organic Farm in Berkshire, from 7.30-9.30pm on 19 May 2009.

This event will give you the opportunity to network with other businesses who are looking for ways of saving energy and saving the enviroment. You can find out about how the Eco Conference Centre was built for a sustainable future; you can talk to businesses who supply products and services that help you and your business to save money.

Tickets are just £5 each (+VAT) and includes tea, coffee and biccies. Click here to buy your tickets, or email Chantal@Appletreeuk.com.

If you'd like to exhibit on the night, please get in touch and we'll let you know what's available.

See you there!

The Lighter Side of Switch?

2009-02-20T03:32:00.000-08:00

We've produced a short video about Switch that you can watch by clicking here.

If you enjoy it, please forward the link to as many people as you can and help us to spread the word about how we can all save energy and save money.

Two More Green Ideas

2009-02-17T08:48:00.001-08:00

Here are my two favorite green ideas for this week:

Sheeppoopaper - made without harming any trees! Sheep only digest half of what they eat and the rest is useable fibre, which is being turned in lovely paper. Take a look at www.CreativePaperWales.co.uk.
Buy Green By Mail - a great catalogue from the Centre for Alternative Technology. From gadgets to how to books to useful stuff. See www.Cat.org.uk for more information.

Share you favorites green ideas here!

Sign up to the Switch Newsletter!

2009-02-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

We've started publishing a monthly email newsletter to bring you news on events and more energy saving tips. It's free and will be delievered to your inbox at the beginning of every month. To read the February issue, click here. If you'd like to subscribe, click here.

The Light Bulb Moment

2009-01-23T04:23:00.000-08:00

Someone asked me recently how I got the idea for Switch. I was travelling home by train, late one Saturday night and we passed through Reading. I saw a huge office block, empty of people and yet with all the inside lights blazing! Not only that, but their two storey car park, which was empty of cars, was also fully lit. WHY? If there's no one there, why are the lights on?

That's what got me thinking about encouraging businesses to switch off their lights at night and save energy - and therefore money.

If you work for one of those businesses - whether in an office or a shop - that leaves lights switched on, ask yourself why. Do you really need to leave every single light on when you're not there?!?!

The Launch Dinner

2009-01-16T01:58:00.000-08:00

The details for the launch of Switch have been finalised!

When? Friday 20 February 2009 at 7pm for 7.30pm
Where? The Shillingford Bridge Hotel, Wallingford, Oxfordshire
What? Three course dinner, wine and coffee
How Much? Just £25 per person. Buy a table of 10 and get a discount!

This will be a great networking opportunity for you and you'll also get to hear more about Switch and how you can get involved.

To buy tickets, go to www.Appletreeuk.com and click on the Switch link on the Home page.

Switch on Video

2009-01-09T02:11:00.001-08:00

If you'd like to hear about Switch, click here to watch a short video of me talking about it!

Share Your Energy Saving Tips

2009-01-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

Do you have a great energy saving tip that you'd like share with all our other readers?

Is there a product that you've bought recently that helps you save energy and money? Which websites do you go to for advice? What books have you read that can help?

Please add your tips to this thread by posting comments here. Feel free to add links to where we can go to buy the product/visit the website/find the book. And give yourself a mention too - you deserve it for sharing your energy saving tip!

Switch - the Launch and the Leader

2009-01-06T10:43:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened since my last post - in particular two major advances have been made.

Firstly I was given the challenge of finding someone else to lead Switch. My good friend Gill Gee has risen to the challenge and is now in charge. Gill runs her own business (take a look at http://www.oceanwake.co.uk/) and is looking to raise her profile in her business community. We both think that Gill leading Switch is the perfect way for her to do this. So I have been relegated to official blog poster and Gill has also asked me to set up an email newsletter for Switch - I'll let you know when it's ready. I'll be publishing regular updates on the project.

The second piece of exciting news is that the official launch of Switch will be held on Friday 20 February 2009 at the Shillingford Bridge Hotel in Wallingford, Oxfordshire. The hotel is giving us a great price - tickets will be available very soon. The evening will be a chance for you to find out more about the project and how you can get involved. It will also be a chance for you to network with other business people, swop business cards and meet potential clients!

If you'd like to take a table at the launch dinner or sponsor the event, do get in touch with Gill - she's in charge now!

Candle Lit Dinner

2008-12-09T08:01:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, Switch took on a new dimension!

Someone gave me the idea of holding an event at which I can really promote Switch - somewhere I can stand up in front of a room full of people and tell them all about the project. Since this project is about saving energy, why not hold a candle lit dinner?!

The proposed date is 4 February 2009 and the venue is ... to be found! Any suggestions gratefully received!

Switch Stickers

2008-12-05T04:51:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed how, when you start thinking about something, like orange cars, you start seeing them all over the place? Well, since I started thinking about switching things off (I'm sitting in my office with the lights off, because the sun's shining outside and the natural light is flooding in!) I've been spotting stickers next to light switches, encouraging us to turn them off!

This is something I'd like to make available - stickers that we can stick on switches, to remind us to turn things off. Do you know anyone who produces such things? If so, please let me have their contact details, or ask them to get in touch with me through this blog.

Thank you to everyone who got in touch, following the newsletter I sent out earlier this week, telling people about this blog. Lots of positive feedback and a couple of meetings set up, to talk further about how people can get involved. I've also been put in touch with someone who sells things like energy saving light bulbs, so if you're wondering how you can get involved and save energy, save money and save lives, get in touch and I'll see what I can do to help.

Switch is a long term project and I'm not expecting miracles over night - it can take years to move a mountain - but I'm going to keep working away at this, a bit at a time and remember, all the way, that it's about helping you to save money and helping save lives. Click here to email me if you want to join in.

What is Switch?

2008-11-30T06:19:00.000-08:00

"Switch" is a project I've created to help businesses to save energy, save the enviroment and save lives. No small order!

Switch is about creating opportunity - for those who don't have it; and sustainability - for all of us.

Switch is the presentation of donations to charities, raised through enrolling businesses to save energy. The initial presentations will take place on 4 February to mark the completion of the first stage of the project.

Why Do We Need Switch?

Right now, energy costs are going up while natural resources are being used up at a frightening rate. The developed world is using more and more energy, while people in lesser developed countries are going hungry.

If this carries on, eventually we'll run out of natural resources and be even less able to feed the growing population of the world.

Imagine a future where we use less energy while at the same time we provide more of what's needed within poorer communities. Just by switching off our lights and computers when we're not using them, we can save money for our homes and businesses. By donating just half of what we save in energy bills to poorer communities we can do so much to help them live better lives.

How Can You Get Involved?

To join Switch, click here to email me. It doesn't matter how much or how little you think you'll be able to save and donate - it will all help. We can talk about how you can save energy and how you can work out what you're saving and what you can donate.

Where Will the Money Go?

The money raised through Switch will be divided between a number of charities, including The Brooke Hospital for Animals. When I know which other charities will benefit, I'll post the details here. If you have suggestions for charities that will really benefit, post a comment to let me know.

Join Switch and start doing your bit to save energy, save lives and save the environment.