Terra Infirma: Bringing Sustainability to Life

Is there a peak oil cover up?

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:18:00 +0000

Until recently I've been agnostic about 'peak oil' - I've been in the "we'll only know when it happens" camp, but as the issue has moved steadily from the fringe to centre stage, I've started siding with the peak oil brigade. Last year International Energy Agency Chief Economist Fatih Birol stated that production could "plateau" by 2020 and a recent report by the UK Energy Research Centre concluded that a peak could occur before 2020. But then yesterday The Guardian reported allegations that the IEA has been exaggerating the future reserves of oil under pressure from "the US". One insider stated "we've already entered the peak oil zone".

There is one good reason for this cover-up (if that's what it is) - to stop panic buying and even resource related conflict, but I suspect that denial and inertia are the dominant drivers. In particular, the oil industry has a massive vested interest in avoiding talk of a peak. If reserves are seen to be depleting then shareholders will dump their shares - the 2004 reserves scandal nearly did for Shell. The sensible thing to do would be to diversify quickly into new energy technologies. The sort of cash that Big Oil could pump into renewables and efficient technology could drive us quickly to a low carbon economy, resilient to both climate change and peak oil, but instead they seem wedded to pursuing expensive and destructive forms of oil extraction like tar sands. If I were an investor, I'd start backing a different horse - and indeed investment in renewables exceeded that of fossil fuel exploration in 2008.

There's a great political opportunity here. The resistance to cutting carbon emissions in the US and elsewhere is mainly based on a suspicion of the political motives of the green lobby ("an excuse to raise taxes", "eco-communism", "red-green alliance" etc). If the world wants to maintain its standard of living once oil has peaked, we'll need those low carbon technologies anyway, irrespective of your views on climate change evidence. John Kerry has been promoting the business opportunities green innovation to persuade reluctant US politicians to sign up to President Obama's climate change bill. Maybe he should ask them "what will your voters say if you let the pumps run dry?" instead.

Free waste consultancy for North East SMEs

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:27:00 +0000

If you're a small to medium sized business (<250 employees, not more than 25% owned by a bigger company) based in the North East of England and you'd like a couple of days free waste consultancy, then drop me a line in the next couple of weeks. There's a couple of forms to fill in, but that's all.

Mr James William Kane...

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:20:00 +0000

...aka Jimmy was born on Thursday at 8:30pm weighing in at 8lb 10oz. He's great, his Mum's recovering well and his brother keeps wanting to buy him presents, so I'm a very lucky man.

I'm taking a couple of weeks of semi-paternity leave so posts to this blog may be somewhat erratic until mid-November. I'm really enjoying it so far. Me & Harry (first son) are spending a huge amount of time together and once again a strange cooking instinct has kicked in - must be some hunter gatherer thing. Ask me again in 10 weeks when the sleep deprivation really starts taking its toll...

We're almost there...

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:31:00 +0000

...apologies if your access to this blog has been disrupted. We were trying to sort out a couple of techie things which had knock on effects and so on - but we should be about there now. This has also delayed this month's edition of The Low Carbon Agenda which should be out later today or early tomorrow.

I'm also on semi-paternity leave as we thought new child was on his way yesterday, but it looks as if he's taking his time. It's given me a good chance to catch up on some admin, answer the final proofreading queries on The 3 Secrets of Green Business and keep our projects tapping along. My plan to spring clean the office hasn't really materialised - I could ask imminent mum-to-be to help, but she's upstairs, hanging precariously off a step ladder with a power drill in her hand. I know better than to interfere!

WRI's plot of global greenhouse gas emissions

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:29:00 +0000

The World Resource's Institute (WRI) has released this wonderful graphic of where the world's greenhouse gases came from in 2005 (in terms of human activity rather than by geography). Click here for the large version. Note that the gases are expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent rather than by weight, so they can be directly interpreted as contribution to climate change.

I could pore over this for hours!

The risk of oil price rises

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:14:00 +0000

Very interesting speech this week by John B Hess of oil exploration company Hess Corporation at the somewhat unsubtly titled "Oil and Money" conference in London. He caught the attention of the audience by declaring "The price of $140 per barrel oil was not an aberration; it was a warning." He went on to say that demand was outstripping supply and while production had either peaked or plateau'd ouside OPEC, it was still unlikely that we would hit a target of keeping global warming below 2°C while oil prices soar. Bleak indeed.

The oil price risk is one I communicate to my clients - if if you can handle current energy prices - what happens if they soar? Oil going above $100 a barrel was unthinkable a few years ago, but it went way over in the spring of 2008 and appears to be on its way back. This is a serious risk for many businesses and organisations - are you ready for it? Resilience is a term I'm pinching from the Transition movement - is your organisation resilient to the risks ahead?

Welcome to the new Terra Infirma website!

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:02:00 +0000

I'm very pleased with the new site - it should make finding information much easier than the old one. Please let me know if you find any problems so we can add them to the de-snagging list.

A quick plug for the Komodo Design guys.

Tweak to Sustainability Maturity Model

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Thanks for everyone who fed back on the Terra Infirma Sustainability Maturity Model. All of it was positive and one view I've taken on board was that the 'No Activity' level was a bit pointless, so I've changed this to 'Compliance' which effectively means "no proactive activity". This was tested during a CSR workshop last week and worked well. Good stuff.

Telling Tales

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:21:00 +0000

Story-telling is a powerful way of creating a compelling vision for the future. When doing backcasting exercises in strategy workshops, I used to get participants to draw their vision of their organisation in 20-whatever, but I've recently found it much more effective if I get them to tell a story about it. Not a sitting-round-the-campfire story, but something like "write the CEO's foreword to your 2020 CSR report summarising the six headline achievements you would like to have made by then". This keeps the vision on the right side of science fiction and, it appears, is an easier ask of participants.

You read it here first!

BTW...

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:17:00 +0000

I've let the techies loose on the workings behind this blog to link it to the new website so if it suddenly sto

;-)

Business Opportunities in Climate Change Adaptation

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:57:00 +0000

I was running a CSR workshop with a major international engineering firm yesterday. Given the traditional engineers' reactive (and sometimes reactionary) approach to such 'soft issues' (I'm an engineer - I can say this!), their proactive, progressive attitude was a breath of fresh air. Interestingly enough, as well as the business opportunities we identified in climate change mitigation (cutting emissions), we discovered they were well placed to exploit opportunities in climate change adaptation - adapting to the inevitable changes that are already in the system.

Adaptation is going to become more and more important. If someone has cooling or refrigeration plant, it is going to have to work harder and become more expensive unless you can develop innovative new solutions. Resilience to rising sea levels, floods and extreme weather events will require new engineering solutions (or relocation). Heathcare services will have to adapt to new patterns in the spread of diseases. All these changes are business opportunities for someone.

A Bumpy Road to Copenhagen... does it matter?

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:47:00 +0000

There's an awful lot of expectation on the COP15 climate change talks at Copenhagen in December. The big carbon emitters have been circling each other like suspicious dogs, sniffing the air and waiting for who is going to move first.

Yet, when it comes to national action, China, India, France, the UK and President Obama (if not the US Senate) have all declared they are ready to act. Germany and the Nordic countries are well ahead of the game. So, going back to the views of Hermann Scheer, do we really need an international agreement? Or should we not just get on with it.

Well, yes it would help, but it wouldn't be a disaster if it failed or was only half successful. So maybe we should lower our expectations and the hype. There is a Plan B.

I preach to my clients. "Don't procrastinate, act!" You can do all the baseline and strategy work in parallel, but what is important is that you get moving, start building momentum and demonstrating results. We could do the same at a national level - individual action in parallel with international negotiation. It doesn't need to be an 'or', it can be an 'and'.

Forthcoming new arrivals...

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:50:00 +0000

I'm taking break from doing the final proof edits on The Three Secrets of Green Business. This is extraordinarily tedious, but I have found one big clanger so it is necessary. Despite the tedium, I'm getting really excited. I'm organising a launch event in January - more details when I have them. In the meantime, the Green Executive is really starting to shape up and I hope to get the first draft to the publisher early in the new year.

Also coming soon is the new branding, website and Low Carbon Agenda. Just the final tweaks to go, but looking very good indeed.

Part of me worries that all this excitement is displacement activity to distract me from yet another impending new arrival. My second child is due on 1 November, although his mother's maternal vibe is that this one could be early. So if this blog suddenly goes quiet, it probably means I'm up to my elbows in nappies again and/or taking no 1 son to the park. I intend to take two weeks semi-paternity leave - keeping things tapping along but not running any workshops or intensive pieces of work.

It's all so exciting!

How mature is your sustainability programme?

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:28:00 +0000

I've developed this model for the maturity of sustainability programmes from nada to a fully integrated programme. You can download a bigger version from the resources page.

Where do you sit?

Where would you like to be?

From experience, the only way to do sustainability properly is to move to the full integration stage. Only then do you open up the business opportunities and the big economic benefits. In the earlier stages you will at best save a bit of cash on waste and utilities and at worst find yourself shelling out just to keep one step ahead of the law.

I'll be doing an explanation of the model in the November edition of the Low Carbon Agenda.

Personal Journeys

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:06:00 +0000

I'm writing this on the train back to Newcastle, having left a rather unseasonally sticky London behind me. I'm smiling to myself at one of those fantastically tautological announcements only train companies can make:

"I'm afraid we can't serve hot drinks from the trolley tonight. This is due to a malfunction on the trolley."

Glad they pointed that last bit out, cause it might have been, er, well... There was another classic on the tube yesterday.

"I'd like to apologise for the slight delay to your journey. The reason for this is we haven't been given a signal to proceed."

Again I felt much better informed for knowing that the driver hadn't just forgotten how to drive the train...

...anyway, speaking of journeys, I've been doing quite a few sustainability and related workshops recently. The gist of the sessions is always the same:

"to do sustainability properly you have to integrate it into all your business processes"

It has been fascinating watching delegates struggle with the fact that they might actually have to do something. They oscillate back and forth between the extremes of "this is not my problem" and "I'm up for the challenge". This is a personal journey they have to make and I (and you) can only gently help them on their way.

Some of their pronouncements sound like the train announcers above:

"Personally I'm not interested in sustainability. Because it's not something I think about."

Barracking them or patronising them would just send them back into their happy state of ignorance. You've just got to help them along the path - as always, questions are more useful than arguments. And as Confucious (or Lao-tzu) is said to have said - the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step, so don't rush'em.

On the road rails again...

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:59:00 +0000

On another train down to London this morning, this time to interview another high profile Green Executive for my eponymous next book and, tomorrow, attend a CPD session (anybody who claims they know it all in this game is a fool and a liar). As I type, we're trundling across the Tyne, with a lovely view of its splendid bridges as the sun breaks through the cloud above the iconic, but doomed, 'Get Carter' carpark. Inspiring!

Talking of inspiration, one of the downsides of writing a blog like this, is even though I know from the stats that it is well read, I don't know who you, the readers, are. So here's a few ways we can interact:

1. Please post comments! The only comments I refuse to publish are those which are offensive in a racist, sexist or homophobic way, are excessively sweary (f & c words unwelcome unless essential to the meaning) or are blatant spam. I want to hear from you, ~~even~~ particularly if you disagree with what I say.

2. Join my network on LinkedIn. Just mention you've read the blog as I try to avoid the spammers.

3. E-mail or ring me on 0191 265 7899. But, please, if you are thinking of trying to sell me something, I have never bought from a cold caller and don't intend to start!

As I finish writing this, the stunning cathedral at Durham is hoving into view standing on its rock high over a loop in the Wear. The landscape gets a bit dull from now on in to the big smoke, so it is head down and work!

But, seriously, get in touch.

Green jobs in a green economy?

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:32:00 +0000

There's an interesting article on Fast Company giving three estimations of the potential for new green jobs by 2020:

2.7m in the EU according to Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC)
10m globally according to the Climate Group
30m globally according to the Global Climate Network (actually 40m new jobs but 10m lost 'brown' jobs)

So plenty of jobs, even if the estimations vary widely. The latter two depend on China going green big time, which it claims it will do but there is a lack of clarity over how this will happen in practice.

There has always been a lot of confusion and blether about how to create green jobs. People build centres of excellence (can you create a centre of excellence?) and green business parks (most of which fail, but that's another story), but there is only one thing which will make a difference.

Demand.

Renewable energy capacity in the UK surged 19% in 2008 and global renewables investment exceeded that in fossil fuels for the first time ever. Create that sort of demand and the supply and the jobs will follow. The rest, at best, will just facilitate change, not drive it.

I'm on the train...

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:51:00 +0000

...down to Watford to run a sustainability workshop for senior NHS staff.

I love the train - even going through as bland countryside as East Yorkshire. The early morning sun is casting warm light and long shadows across the fields and villages. And of course I can get on with writing this blog, continuing with the Green Executive and catching up on my e-mail action list using the convenient wi-fi internet access. And drink coffee. Who on earth would prefer to drive or fly?

Two people on the next row are discussing the difficulties of hitting their organisation's carbon targets. I'm not deliberately earwigging (perish the thought), but I've got a Pavlovian twitch anytime someone mentions 80% by 2050 in my proximity. From what fragments I've overhead so far I could make about half a dozen suggestions...

Green Apples not just a fad

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:46:00 +0000

More than two years ago I blogged about Apple Computer's run in with Greenpeace and I continue to use it as a case study of the risks of being targeted by a pressure group. Well Apple have released a new site which makes the environmental impact of their products as transparent as possible.

As someone who is typing this on his sixth Mac in 20 years, I really chuffed that such a high profile company has realised that in the 21st century, hip = green and vice versa. Interesting too that my 2008 model Powerbook Pro has 60% of the carbon emissions in use as my old laptop.

This energy efficiency has wider importance too as the world becomes increasingly digitised. There is an interesting article in the latest edition of The ENDS Report on the carbon footprint of data centres. Incredibly the typical server only uses 10-20% of its capacity. A technique called 'virtualisation' is now being used to increase this to 50-70% - a massive improvement.

There are many benefits of the shift to a digital world - removing the information (photos, music, movies) from the medium (film, paper, CDs, DVDs plus associated packaging and distribution) - and it is great to see that the carbon footprint of each unit of digital activity is dropping so rapidly so we don't simply move the problem around.

Update 9/10/09

Apple have announced, like Nike and several other large players, that they are resigning from the US Chamber of Commerce in protest at the latter's stance on Obama's climate change bill. Almost literally walking the talk.

Book Review: Strategy for Sustainability by Adam Werbach

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:07:00 +0000

Adam Werbach was the youngest ever president of the Sierra Club and now heads up sustainability consultants Saatchi & Saatchi S having worked with many businesses including Walmart, so I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately it does not get off to a good start, when Werbach lists ten of nature's rules for sustainability:

1. Diversify across generations.
2. Adapt and specialize to the changing environment.
3. Celebrate transparency.
4. Plan and execute systematically, not compartmentally.
5. Form groups and protect the young.
6. Integrate metrics.
7. Improve with each cycle. Evolution is a strategy for long-term survival.
8. Right-size regularly, rather than downsize occasionally.
9. Foster longevity, not immediate gratification.
10. Waste nothing, recycle everything, borrow little.

Problem is, two of these are demonstrably nonsense. Nature is not transparent, but has armfuls of beasties that rely on decidedly non-transparent tactics such as camouflage, mimicry and traps. If a fly knew what a Venus flytrap was, it would steer well clear. Likewise the idea that nature is 'obsessive' about protecting the young is disproved by watching any nature programme - just watch the annual slaughter of the innocents on BBC's Springwatch and you will see what I mean. I would also suggest the 'integrate metrics' rule was tenuous to say the least. Werbach also omits probably the most important sustainability lesson from nature - "Use Solar Energy". The other strange thing about these rules is that many are never or only briefly mentioned again, particularly number 1.

Werbach drops another clanger when he describes 'cradle to cradle' as the concept of eradicating toxics and improving energy efficiency at every life cycle stage from raw material extraction to disposal. Wrong. Cradle to cradle, as the name suggests, is about making products endlessly recyclable - there is no 'disposal' stage. There is also a somewhat unnecessary comparison of sustainability requirements with the famous business book 'Good to Great'.

This is a really great shame as the guts of the book, Werbach's TEN cycle of transparency, engagement and networking is a strong model for the human side of business sustainability (although why it has to be a cycle is not clear - why not three parallel activities?). Transparency is interpreted as both opening up available information to everyone and collecting all possible information. In engagement, Werbach advocates getting individuals to choose their own 'personal sustainability plan' to get them really engaged, and in the networking chapter he demonstrates a limited number of advantages of engaging with external stakeholders. All of this activity should be aligned to the business's sustainability 'North Star Goal'. Werbach omits any discussion of technological solutions, management structures or innovative business models.

In summary, I found the book really frustrating. The North Star Goal and TEN concepts are excellent, but I was constantly distracted by clangers, tenuous logic and clunky use of language. Werbach needs a really tough editor to cut the book down to the good 50% which could then be developed further. A deeply flawed gem.

Press Release: The Three Secrets of Green Business

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0000

PRESS RELEASE

Embargo: Immediate
Contact: Gareth Kane, Terra Infirma Ltd, 0191 265 7899, gareth@terrainfirma.co.uk

Publication Date Confirmed for The Three Secrets of Green Business

A new book, The Three Secrets of Green Business, by leading Green Business expert Gareth Kane will be published by Earthscan on 18th December. The book presents a framework for companies to proactively prepare themselves for the low carbon economy, ready to exploit the new opportunities and avoid the pitfalls.

“It is clear that a new industrial revolution is starting” said Gareth “the question for every business leader is whether they want to surf the green wave or be left floundering out of their depth.”

The Three Secrets of Green Business contains guidance on everything from simple waste minimisation measures to advanced product design techniques. It is packed with hundreds of hints and tips to make green business a reality.

The book is available for pre-order from Amazon or the Earthscan website.

Monday Morning Training Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:36:00 +0000

I'm taking a coffee break between client meetings on Teesside. I've just been with a world class engineering company, mapping out the content of two training seminars I'm doing for them, one on CSR and one on Sustainability & Design. While they're fresh in my mind, here are three top tips on sustainability training:

1. Sell the course to delegates

Many people are cynical about training. Many people are cynical about sustainability. You need to sell the purpose of the course to the delegates, both at the start and at points through the session. In this case I'll be pointing out how 'green' can win tenders and the business opportunities for this company in the low carbon agenda.

2. Mind the gap

If you leave a gap between the content of the course and the implementation of those ideas back at the desk, most of your hard work will fall straight through it. I always get delegates to apply the knowledge and skills they are learning to their day job during the session - closing the gap up before it occurs.

3. Make it thought provoking

Challenging your delegates is more effective than lame attempts to make the session fun. Ask questions, puncture myths and put people on the spot. If you can do fun too, then do it.

I think these are the most important three. Do you have any more?

The last wilderness

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0000

On Tuesday night I was invited to a fundraiser to send a young man, Joe Spedding, on an expedition to the Antarctic as part of the 2041 campaign to maintain the continent as the Earth's only untouched wilderness and draw attention to climate change. 2041 is the year when the international agreement to preserve the Antarctic is up for renewal.

The talk was by Robert Swan, the founder of 2041 and the first man to walk to both poles. The tales of derring do, determination and hardship were at times overwhelming, and Swan got rather brutal first hand experience of two global environmental issues. On his South Pole trek in 84/85, the walkers' faces blistered and peeled far more than had been expected. It was only while they were there that the hole in the ozone layer was discovered. On the walk to the North Pole five years later, they found sea where they expected ice - evidence of climate change - which as a scientific phenomena was only just emerging at that time from academic studies into the public arena. Amongst his myriad other claims to fame, Swan now owns the only private building on Antarctica - an educational building powered entirely by renewables. His life is now dedicated to the global environment.

Joe Spedding saw Swan talk about these experiences when he (Joe!) was just 11 years old. 11 years later and he is fulfilling his dream to travel to Antarctica - the aim of the trip is to train him and others as environmental ambassadors and leaders. As one of my formative environmental experiences was an expedition to the Ecuadorian rainforest in 1993, I'm a sucker for this sort of thing and was happy to make a contribution. Pity I can't go too!

New! Executive Coaching Service (with Free Trial)

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Are you responsible for delivering sustainability in your organisation? Are you finding it difficult to get momentum started? Do you feel lonely, frustrated and unappreciated?

Our coaching programme will give you the support you lack by providing a sounding board, helping you set personal targets to improve your performance and providing you with a smorgasbord of hints, tips and techniques to overcome your particular problems.

For a one-off annual fee, you will receive a personal one-to-one coaching session by telephone every month, but you can contact your coach at anytime by phone or e-mail should the occasion arise, subject only to availability. This is an extremely cost-effective way of benefiting from our skills and experience without having to fashion a project to justify it. The constant reinforcement of learning and reflection on past performance is much more effective than attending a simple training course.

Even better, we're offering a free trial session:

1. E-mail your details to coaching@terrainfirma.co.uk with three times during UK office hours on different days when you will be available for 45 minutes.

2. We will contact you to confirm one of those times or suggest another.

Please note this service is aimed at those with a genuine business need and we retain the right to discretion over who can participate in the trial.

It's amazing what you can do when you really try...

noreply@blogger.com (Gareth Kane) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0000

A year ago, Lexus were censured by the UK Advertising Standards Agency for running ads for their hybrid SUV, claiming it was a planet saving breakthrough. The ASA ruled that as the car emitted 192 g/km CO2 compared to 158 g/km CO2 for an average European car (of all classes), it could not be portrayed as green and banned the ad.

Lexus have now bounced back with the 2010 model which emits 148 g/km CO2 - a big luxury car which emits less than the average vehicle. It's amazing how a little public humiliation can drive a technological breakthrough.