Archive for 'Policy News'
What is Sustainability Assurance?
Posted on 23. May, 2011 by Ross.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports are a great thing, right? They detail how companies are considering the communities and environments which their operations impact upon, and the sustainable efforts that they are going to in order to make these impacts positive ones rather than damaging. Since CSR reporting is now legally mandatory in many countries [...]
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When Do Greens NOT Want A Carbon Floor Price? When Nuclear Gets The Benefits
Posted on 16. May, 2011 by Ross.
The initial headlines were all about political wranglings and conflicts, but the latest UK agreement to reduce carbon emissions has exposed just how fragmented the environmental movement has become.
The Liberal Democrats saw less discord amongst party members for forming a coalition with the hated Conservatives than would have been expected last year. Even the diabolical [...]
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UK Budget 2011 - What’s Green And What’s Greenwash
Posted on 23. Mar, 2011 by Ross.
Here’s all the key green (or really-not-so-green!) changes in UK government policy in today’s 2011 Budget.
Fuel Duty.
Green policies? Run away!
Previous Labour governments declared war on motorists, consistently and unashamedly increasing fuel tax with an aim not just to make more money (although this was hardly a happy accident) but to also drive down the escalation [...]
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5 Things To Consider When Costing Your Business’s Energy Efficiency Project
Posted on 17. Dec, 2010 by Ross.
Energy efficiency isn’t just about energy saving.
Although that statement on face value comes across as a bit daft, installing energy efficient technology in your business can bring a raft of other benefits and/or costs which add more to the financial case than just the raw energy savings. Here’s a quick five-point checklist to look out [...]
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California Shows The World (Some Of) America Is Serious About Climate Change
Posted on 17. Dec, 2010 by Ross.
The plans for a US-wide cap-and-trade scheme for carbon emissions might be dead in the water, but California is charging ahead regardless with its plans to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.
Although still playing catch-up with Europe, with the long-established ETS and 2020 emission targets of 20-30% reductions from 1990, Californians aims to return to 1990 levels [...]
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Is LEED Certification Greenwash?
Posted on 09. Nov, 2010 by Ross.
The United States Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification scheme is the world’s most high profile green label for buildings. Companies are quick to trumpet the LEED status of their premises, green commentators are quick to applaud the erection of each new low-carbon building and the USGBC is also prone [...]
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CRC Recycling Payments Scrapped In Spending Review
Posted on 20. Oct, 2010 by Ross.
In a move that will outrage business leaders, the UK government has switched the goalposts on participants of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme less than a month after the registration deadline expired.
In a piece of news buried in the Spending Review (point 2.108) and somehow avoiding being leaked in the run-up to the report, the [...]
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Carbon Trust Survives The Spending Review: Waits For Another Review
Posted on 20. Oct, 2010 by Ross.
After months of speculation, the Carbon Trust learnt it’s fate today in the UK coalition government’s Spending Review: that it was up for review.
Firstly, the fears that the Carbon Trust would be axed today proved unfounded, as recently predicted here at Energy-Saving News. With a raft of business support services all axed from the Department [...]
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How To Create Marginal Abatement Cost Curves In Excel
Posted on 15. Oct, 2010 by Ross.
Marginal abatement cost curves are beginning to gain traction as a financial tools to compare the merits of competing carbon reduction projects and technologies. However, actually creating one is laced with problems when using standard office tools like Excel or OpenOffice due to inadequacies with their charting abilities.
A marginal abatement cost itself is the cost [...]
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Energy Saving Sweets: Carbon Trust Funds Confectionery Cuts
Posted on 01. Oct, 2010 by Ross.
The carbon footprint of Britain’s sweets could soon be cut (without sacrificing all those yummy calories!), thanks to a new energy-saving investment drive by the Carbon Trust in partnership with Dairy UK and the Food and Drink Federation.
In an eye-catching piece of publicity which will remind people that the Carbon Trust is still alive and [...]
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Carbon Trust Not Axed - Yet
Posted on 24. Sep, 2010 by Ross.
Want to know if you can still apply for those fantastic Carbon Trust interest-free loans for your business’s energy efficiency projects? Need to know if the Carbon Trust is facing the axe under the UK government’s planned spending cuts?
Today a list of quangos facing the axe was leaked by the Cabinet Office, showing almost half [...]
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