With World Cup Fever hitting SustainIT this month, we have been looking into Green football initiatives kicking off in 2010 hosts South Africa and 2014 hosts Brazil.

The big initiatives include South Africa introducing cleaner transportation, while Brazil is planning ecological stadiums. But these and other initiatives clash with the countries' overall environmental performance.

The first World Cup to take place on the African continent will leave a carbon footprint more than eight times greater than the 2006 World Cup in Germany, according to a study conducted in February 2009 at the request of the South African government and the Norwegian embassy in that country.

Local transportation, the construction of stadiums and the energy use associated with the football matches and accommodation for thousands of fans are predicted to emit nearly 900,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Another 1.9m tonnes of this greenhouse-effect gas, the main cause of climate change, will be emitted in the international travel to and from the World Cup.

In 2008, South Africa began work to improve public transportation systems in seven of the nine cities where football matches will take place as a means attract use by middle and upper income passengers who would otherwise drive individual cars. The national investment is more than $328m.

Among the biggest changes are the creation of a rapid transit system of buses in some cities and the improvement of infrastructure for pedestrian walkways and bicycle circulation. But the latter are very limited and it remains unclear whether the wealthier residents, who normally drive their cars, will accept the cultural changes implied in sharing buses, seats and routes with poorer passengers.

Another environmental project related to the World Cup, and with a budget of $10m, aims to reduce fossil fuel consumption in the six host cities through the installation of solar panels and efficient lights on the streets, stoplights and billboards, as well as actions to raise public awareness.

But the environmental will of South Africa and international organisations was called into question in April with the World Bank's approval of a $3bn credit for that country to build one of the world's largest coal-fired thermoelectric power plants. Activists charge that it will emit 25m tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

South Africa is not the only one facing major environmental challenges. Brazil, host of the 2014 World Cup, wants to organise the "most ecological" global football tournament in history. The nation's environmental authorities will require environmental certification before granting financing to stadium renovation and construction projects.

There are also plans for cleaner transportation and the promotion of organic products, say officials. However, many believe that Brazil needs to halt deforestation of the Amazon if it wants to send a real environmental signal before the next World Cup.

Meanwhile, the "green" initiatives associated with football seem never ending. The sports clothing company Nike announced that the nine teams wearing its uniforms - including Brazil, Portugal and Netherlands - will use shirts made from recycled plastic bottles.

At the end of the year, an analysis will be conducted of the ecological projects in South Africa that were part of the Fifa World Cup to identify what worked and what didn't.

Read full newsletter >>

Winford Manor Hotel near Bristol Airport has been awarded a ‘Gold’ award from the Green Business Tourism Scheme. Huge congratulations to all the staff involved – well done!

The Green Business Tourism Scheme has been running since 1997 and with over 1400 members across the whole of the UK, it is the largest and most established scheme of its type in the World. It is recognized by UK national and regional government as a crucial part of the drive towards sustainability. Its aim is to build on this strong position and ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of sustainable tourism in the future.

Businesses opting to join Green Tourism are assessed by a qualified grading advisor against a rigorous set of criteria, covering a range of areas, like energy and water efficiency, waste management, biodiversity and more.

According to the assessor:

“Winford Manor must be congratulated on achieving a GOLD award. Management and staff are highly committed to sustainable principles and this is evident throughout the operation. Communication of green issues has been well addressed through an onsite and web based promotion along with a great environmental spirit. Some really good energy and water savings measures have been installed reducing the burden the business has on environmental resources. Sustainable purchasing is well considered and plays a significant role in the ethos of the business. Waste management is largely effective and implemented throughout the operation. In addition nature related issues are front and centre of the businesses activities. Winford Manor should continue to be an example of how tourism can be made more sustainable"

General Manger, Tracey Beck adds “Everyone here is delighted to have achieved this prestigious award for our commitment to environmental issues. We are all encouraged to do our bit for the planet and whether on a business or a leisure trip it makes perfect sense to stay at a green hotel. We are an eco friendly hotel but without the preaching or guilt trips or compromise, we just do it. More recently, sustainability is of high importance to both corporate and leisure clients looking to book a conference, holiday or a wedding. It seems that the green leaf logo is of great importance.”

SustainIT Solutions offers a window into the next level of response for businesses committed to becoming sustainable and creating sustainability strategies. If you think this subject will impact your business please get in contact with Anthony Peake on 01275 774168 or email a.peake@sustainitsolutions.co.uk.

Read full newsletter >>

A recent comprehensive survey for the Prince’s Mayday Network showed that there is substantial, popular support for commitment to a low carbon future, with the right incentives.

Nationwide, the results showed that people demand policy and infrastructure to reflect low carbon lifestyles; that people feel that these lifestyles will enhance their personal wellbeing and that those who have a clear idea of what a low carbon future looks like are strongly motivated to achieve it.

Interestingly, the survey showed that whilst a low carbon future is perceived as an attractive option, the public are less inclined to pay for it to be implemented. Respondents in the survey felt that financial incentives and costs are major factors influencing their commitment to low carbon lifestyles.

A selection of the key results of the survey show:

Perspectives on a low carbon future

• A resounding 86% of respondents who have a clear idea of what a low carbon future looks like are motivated to achieve it;
  
• 72% of people felt that a low carbon lifestyle would not reduce their standard of living and would bring personal benefits;
  
• Almost half of those surveyed said they would feel happier if they were doing their bit to tackle climate change through a low carbon lifestyle.
  

What will a low carbon future look like?

• A significant amount of respondents look forward to and expect to see a huge amount of infrastructure implemented in the next decade, but don’t want to pay for it;
  
• 74% of respondents expect to see energy efficient public buildings in their towns, including hospitals and schools;
  
• 66% expect to see smart meters in every home;
  
• 64% expect all new build homes to be zero carbon; and
  
• 60% expect to see solar panels on every roof.

Money is a key factor

• Nearly half of the respondents (43%) worry that increasing their energy efficiency could cost them too much money. 58% said that financial incentives will influence whether they will adopt a low carbon lifestyle, and 56% said that reducing the cost of implementing energy efficient measures will influence them;
  
• Over 68% of respondents agree that an incentive-based approach to encouraging energy efficiency is necessary. Many wanted a tax rebate for energy efficient households. Of those in favour of a rebate, around 48% felt that the money should be returned to the individual compared to 21% wanting it to be reinvested in other green initiatives;
  
• If taxes were increased to fund ‘green’ initiatives, almost two thirds (65%) want it spent on making existing homes more energy efficient. Nearly half (44%) want to see green taxes invested in solar panels for all public properties.

Businesses don’t know where to turn

• 22% of workers, including 24% of senior managers and board directors, say their organisation’s desire to improve sustainability is blocked by not knowing where to turn to for help;
  
• Nearly half of company directors and board members (44%) are too busy with customers to improve sustainability in their organisations.

Read full newsletter >>

Research commissioned from the future trends consultancy; The Future Laboratory shows that Sustainability remains a UK priority.

The study follows on from the report "The Shape of Tomorrow's Supply Chain" and provides an update on attitudes among British business, as well as concentrating on one of the key issues measuring and reporting sustainability.

Findings include:

• Sustainability still a priority: 92% of respondents say that it remains a business priority;
• Sustainability is good for business: increasing desire to link sustainability and cost-effectiveness with 68% working on sustainability to improve efficiency;
• ‘Easy wins’ still dominate: last year’s survey highlighted cherry picking as a cause for concern, a trend that continues in this survey - 71% are concentrating efforts on lowering waste and 65% cutting energy usage;
• Barriers are complex: company-wide initiatives struggle to gather and interpret data - 53% cite collecting information from internal sources as a major barrier to sustainability reporting;
• Significant aspirations: despite the challenges, some organisations are already setting tough goals – 37% want to reduce carbon to zero in the future and 47% intend to report daily - on a daily, hourly or continuous basis;
  
• Sustainability presents business opportunities: The research shows 62% want to allow staff to make better and more sustainable operational decisions and detailed analysis of carbon hotspots can tease out a true picture of supply-chain inefficiencies.
  

The imperative to act is changing - the ‘sweet spot’ between business benefits and sustainability

The Future Laboratory study reveals that many other organisations are beginning to focus on sustainability as a way to improve their business – a third of respondents already say it helps them to create a clearer picture of their business. They recognise that initiatives such as cutting air freight, promoting video conferencing and slashing energy usage can save money and reduce carbon footprint.

When asked for the top five reasons to adopt sustainable strategies respondents said:

• 68% - to gain customer trust;
  
• 68% - to make the business more efficient;
  
• 62% - to allow staff to make better operational decisions;
  
• 56% - to meet new legislative standards;
  
• 46% - to better measure manufacturing processes.
  

Combine this with the much lower importance given to sustainability as a way to bolster brand image (38%) and it appears that respondents now realise the difference between a self-serving PR exercise and genuine improvement.

Additionally 56% of businesses surveyed stated increasing climate change-related regulation and standards are a clear stimulus to work on sustainability measures.

With the Carbon Reduction Commitment coming into force in April 2010, mandating around 5,000 UK firms to report on their carbon emissions and the Climate Change Act potentially enforcing regulation by 2012, more organisations accept that the imperative to act is now.

‘Easy wins’ are still prevalent, but sizeable groups are taking a more sophisticated approach

While 92% confirm that sustainability remains a priority there is still a worrying emphasis on measures that experts consider ‘easy wins,’ such as focusing efforts on:

• Lowering the amount of waste generated by the business - 71%;
  
• Using water/electricity/gas more efficiently – 65%;
  
• Implementing a recycling system – 49%.
  

However, drilling into the statistics a little more closely reveals some encouraging signs:

• 59% have set tough goals to reduce energy usage with two thirds of these planning to make 20% cuts in the next five years
  

Additionally, a healthy percentage of respondents appear to be taking a more enterprise-wide approach:

• 37% are reducing logistics costs by collaborating with suppliers;
  
• 33% are using IT to create a picture of the environmental impact across the organisation;
  
• 26% are arming employees with information to make choices around sustainability.
  

The barriers: beyond the spreadsheet, a lack of standards and employee engagement

Companies surveyed are very frank about the difficulties of finding, collating and analysing data relevant to sustainability, even before trying to make accurate decisions based on that data:

• 53% cite an ability to collect data from internal sources as a major barrier to effective sustainability reporting;
  
• 33% rank data collation and 45% rank presentation as very difficult.
  

Furthermore the IT tools used to manage sustainability data are remarkably basic:

• 53% rely on spreadsheets to collect data;
  
• 47% rely on spreadsheets to present data.
  

In fact 29% of companies admit their main concern is merely to gain an understanding of their carbon footprint, which suggests a good number are struggling to identify a straight forward process to follow.

Added to this, 61% say a lack of uniform industry, government or consumer benchmarks is holding back progress and 57% admit it is slowed by the employees’ lack of understanding of sustainability, as well as their inability to make informed choices.

Clearly this data underlines the value of a more sophisticated approach to data collation, management and analysis as key to giving organisations flexibility to leverage the right information at the right time to make the right decisions.

SustainIT Solutions offers a window into the next level of response for businesses committed to becoming sustainable and creating sustainability strategies. If you think this subject will impact your business please get in contact with Anthony Peake on 01275 774168 or email a.peake@sustainitsolutions.co.uk.

Read full newsletter >>

Sustainability reporting is not straightforward. It takes resources to gather information and communicate it appropriately. Many companies find it daunting to consider which information to communicate, how much and to whom. Companies that earn the highest ratings for their sustainability communications have discovered several keys to producing a top-notch sustainability report.

Here is our SustainIT Solutions' wisdom:

1. Gain Management Commitment - Companies that communicate effectively say that buy-in from management is crucial to success. Getting senior management support ensures that resources are available for implementing sustainability efforts and for reporting them.

Performance data and qualitative information tends to be dispersed across regions, business units, and functional groups. Gaining commitment at all levels of management facilitates the often challenging task of collecting this information.

2. Choose a system to suit your business - Many sustainability managers experience ‘death by spreadsheets'. The vast amount of data collected across business units, business divisions and sometimes continents can become confusing, unreliable, unmanageable and extremely resource intensive. A software solution will enable accurate and timely collection and management of their sustainability data and become an invaluable tool for producing sustainability reports.

3. Understand Your Stakeholders - As with any type of communication, a good understanding of audience needs informs the nature and form of information you provide. Customers' primary concerns are different from those of investors. Employees may care about different issues than NGOs.

The companies that do the best job of sustainability communications have identified, mapped and prioritised their stakeholders. They tailor communications and design their engagement strategy for each stakeholder segment.

4. Benchmark Your Company's Reporting - Comparing your company's sustainability communications efforts to other companies of similar size or in the same industry can highlight your company's opportunities for leadership as well as its deficiencies. Even more importantly, this information can be among the most convincing arguments for investing resources in sustainability reporting.

5. Articulate the Benefits of Reporting - Understand and articulate the benefits of reporting. Many of the most common benefits include: managing brand and reputation, competing effectively and staying ahead of future requirements. There may be others specific to your company situation.

For example, some companies may begin to disclose more of their efforts in order to engage their workforce and attract talent, or to restore their reputations in the wake of embarrassing negative publicity.

6. Create a Reporting Roadmap - Reporting roadmaps, like sustainability programs, are really a work in progress. For that reason, creating a reporting roadmap ensures that you can set achievable goals for the depth and breadth of your communications.  Also it ensures that you can maintain and improve your reporting over time, rather than backsliding in subsequent years.

Establishing a regular schedule for report creation, updating and publication can help align resources and set appropriate expectations with both internal and external stakeholder groups.

7. Use Existing Frameworks - Many companies have found that it saves time and effort to use accepted existing frameworks, adapting them to the company's specific situation and industry.

Worldwide, the GRI is one of the most widely used framework for reporting the "triple bottom line” (economic, environmental and social performance). Its G3 guidelines include 30 different indicators of environmental performance. Not all of these are applicable to each company, so experienced sustainability reporters recommend selecting the applicable indicators and using them to help outline your reports.

8. Establish the Facts – Some companies are very willing to tout their accomplishments but can get ahead of themselves by not establishing and verifying the facts beforehand.

Creating baseline measurements of performance (e.g. GHG emissions, waste generation, water use) and then tracking progress in those areas is the best way to create trust, ensure credibility and set expectations. Vet and cross-check your information for quality control.
You can avoid greenwashing and earn the trust of stakeholders by acknowledging that your company is on a journey and has not yet reached its destination but has a plan to get there. Your chosen software solution will make this stage extremely simple.

9. Avoid Piecemeal Communications - Chances are your company is already responding to a number of queries about your environmental impact and efforts.

These may be coming to your investor relations department from socially responsible investors. Questions may be put to your sales team in the form of customer RFPs. Your distribution channel, NGOs, market analysts, the media, and your employees may be the source of other requests for information.

Having a strategy for your sustainability communications can ensure that you avoid sending disparate and potentially conflicting messages to different stakeholders.

Companies that earn the highest ratings for their sustainability communications don't do so by accident. They gain management commitment, put in place a plan for their reporting, and establish good internal processes.

If you think this subject will impact your business please get in contact with Anthony Peake on 01275 774168 or email a.peake@sustainitsolutions.co.uk.

Read full newsletter >>

As scientists and air travellers continue to keep a close eye on Iceland's ongoing volcanic eruption, some reports suggest that another, much larger, volcano could blow in the near future.

The eruption of Eyjafjallajoekull is unlikely to have any significant impact on the climate. The ash cloud has not reached the high atmosphere, where it would have the most effect and it contains little sulphur, which forms reflective droplets of sulphuric acid. The cooling effect from the volcano ash will therefore be insignificant. Based on the readings taken by scientists the volcano is emitted about 150,000 tonnes of CO2 each day. Worldwide, the US Geological Survey says volcanoes produce about 200m tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. A larger effect on the atmosphere, though still small in global terms, comes from the mass-grounding of flights. The volcanic eruption has released carbon dioxide, but the amount is dwarfed by the savings, estimated to be 2.8m tonnes of CO2 due to European flight bans.

However, large eruptions can spew out enough material to shade and cool the planet. Katla is Eyjafjallajoekull’s larger and more active neighbour, with a magma chamber about 10 times the size and scientists believe that there may be a link between the two volcanoes. The link is not physically proven but circumstantial and historical connections are making people aware of Katla. If and when it does go off, the combination of the magma and the large ice sheet covering the volcano could lead to explosive activity for a long time. It is the explosive nature of the current volcanic eruption, which caused the ash plume to be sent high into the atmosphere.

Scientists know that of three of the four Eyjafjallajoekull eruptions in the past (dating back to 500AD) there has been a Katla eruption either at the same time or within months. Therefore the probability of Katla erupting has increased since Eyjafjallajoekull ‘s stopped.

Katla's last eruption was in 1918. It lasted for three weeks and up to a cubic kilometre of material exploded through its vent. At the moment, there is no seismic activity detectable underneath Katla that would indicate that magma is moving upward underneath it, but it remains a case of watch, wait and look for signs of activity, because it is almost impossible to draw clear conclusions from the historical record, which is simply too short.

If Katla does erupt we could see a more significant effect on climate. Over the same eruption period as Eyjafjallajoekull, a potential 1,500,000 tonnes of CO2 could be emitted which would turn the estimated savings from grounded flights into a net increase of CO2 into the atmosphere.

More worrying for the people of Iceland, an eruption at Katla would probably cause major flooding. The volcano's ice sheet is 600-700m thick and all of this ice would quickly melt on to the surrounding area, which is primarily agricultural land.

Read full newsletter >>