We can adapt to the effects of climate change

In the last few days, one of the most important statements in years was made about global environmental health. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the key body providing and commenting on climate change data, supported by nearly all countries in the world, and it has just issued a report which was finalised in Yokohama, Japan. This is the second report in a series of four; the next two are due later this year.

The main message of the report is that we can adapt to the effects of climate change. This marks a significant change in focus which, until now, has been on methods of slowing or preventing climate change. This is not a message of defeatism but rather one of realism within a much broader strategy that still includes mitigation.

In the same week, the ‘grandfather of green’ and author of The Gaia Hypothesis, Dr James Lovelock, suggested that, as nearly 80 percent of the world’s population lives in cities, this is perhaps the best thing we can do to adapt. Living together and in close proximity to others allows us to be more efficient in sharing our energy use, cutting our travel to work, facing natural hazards and alleviating stress on natural environments. In explaining this, he draws a likeness to termite mounds that recycle air and energy and allow huge insect populations to survive harsh conditions.

Lovelock cites Singapore as an example of a human termite mound. This is believable because it is where I am writing this blog, in a hotel that has the largest atrium in Asia and operates very much in the same way. In fact, it looks and is shaped like a hollow termite mound! Indeed, here is a city state that captures and recycles almost all the water that lands on it, controls pollution, recycles, and conserves land.

The IPCC report is designed to identify upcoming risks, such as the increase in vector-borne diseases, rural poverty and species disruption. It also catalogues excellent advances in Africa and Australasia; this includes planning for change. Finally, this report also shows us the immense amount of work that is being done to manage the environment and give us a reasonable chance of holding Gaia together!

David Jackman

Green news roundup

There is a lot going on in the ‘green’ space right now. Here are some insights:

A recently published report by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) highlights the vast amount of water used by traditional power stations to generate power, i.e., three Olympic-sized swimming pools being consumed every minute. Energy production accounts for 44 percent of the EU’s total water use. For more information please see the following website:  http://www.ewea.org

The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has produced a specification, known technically as PAS 2030, to set out requirements that installers have to follow in installing new energy efficiency measures within the ‘Green Deal scheme’.  To check that your installer complies with these requirements, consult the the following website: www.gov.uk/green-deal-energy-saving-measures/overview

The offshore wind energy industry could provide £6.7 billion per year to the UK economy as well as providing 150,000 jobs by 2020, according to a new report published recently. The following webside provides further information: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/analysis/2334094/report-offshore-wind-industry-promises-150-000-jobs-boost

I recently came across the ‘eco congregation’ scheme, which started in Portugal and encourages churches to turn ‘green’. This can be achieved by changing some of the following things; how ancient church buildings are heated and insulated, how congregations travel to church, and how they recycle and come together to support the community schemes more widely. My own local church held a recycling day this week, which enabled members to drop off old clothes, mobile phones etc. To find out more about eco congregations, please view the following website: http://www.ecocongregation.org

Volkswagen is aiming to triple battery life in the 2015 Golf, using Lithium-air batteries. Check out the following website to find out more: http://www.greencarreports.com/news

Negotiators are meeting in Bonn, Germany, this week to make progress on establishing a global climate agreement by 2015. Follow the Agreement on Climate Transformation 2015 (ACT 2015) on the following site: http://www.wri.org/our-work/project/act-2015

I am continuing work on international standards (ISO series) for sustainable and resilient communities and Smart Cities, which will help planners and local authorities to engage with entire communities in order to address what really matters in the local areas. This will come on stream in 2015; however, consultation documents should be available this summer.

Finally, the British Standards Institution (BSI) has just released a free leaflet for any community wanting to be more sustainable. It comes in the form of a guide that contains a user-friendly plan for any group thinking about developing basic sustainable living. As one of the main authors, I am hoping this short leaflet will be distributed widely in the UK in order to spark new schemes as well as shift views. Sustainability is not just a company responsibility or an individual lifestyle choice; it is, however, often best addressed as a village, town or neighbourhood. Please visit the following website to find out more:  http://shop.bsigroup.com

Article by David Jackman 

Ten tips for saving water

The kitchen is the area in the home where we use around 10% of the total household water for cooking, cleaning, washing, and drinking. Of all water used in the home, about 15-20% is used on the laundry, and worst of all, our bathroom habits use nearly 40%!

It is, however, easy to conserve water in the home by making a few simple changes to your daily routines. Just follow the tips below and make changes in your home today.

1. Take short showers, instead of bathing
2. Use your water meter to check for hidden water leaks
3. Install water-saving shower heads and aerators
4. Reduce the amount of water flushed down the toilet
5. Ensure your washing machine and dishwasher are washing full loads only
6. Wash your car with a bucket and water instead of a hosepipe
7. Rinse your razor in the sink
8. Don't leave the water running for washing and rinsing when doing dishes by hand
9. Turn off the water after you wet your toothbrush
10. Insulate your geyser and water pipes 

For more green facts, visit green24.com

Yokohama, the Smart City

I am sitting in Yokohama in the middle of the heaviest snowfall in living memory. ‘It never snows here’ says a resident, yet there have been two snow dumps in a week. As events of this sort don’t usually happen in the Tokyo Bay area, the city simply isn't prepared to deal with all the effects of nearly a foot of snow. Roads are closed, trains are not running and pavements are impassable. This is a city of over 3.7 million people, in one of the richest countries in the world, with an advanced Tsunami response system (there are maps and posters to warn you about this danger everywhere); however, it has been paralysed. I am writing this not far from the central fire station and can hear the sirens going again; sadly, there have been a number of fatalities reported.

I am attending an international conference on ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) to write a set of international standards and guidelines for sustainable and resilient communities and cities. We are here because Yokohama leads the way internationally in sustainable infrastructure and policies; it is the current chair. There are, for example, bike racks at every turn (like the ‘Boris bikes’ in London) and the city uses many advanced techniques to reduce its carbon footprint, control its traffic flow and reduce its energy consumption. Yokohama is one of a new breed of ‘Smart Cities’, using technology to integrate and expedite all of its interdependent utilities and control its energy and resource flow. There is a useful website one can visit to find out more: Click here.

Despite all this focus on sustainability and advanced technology, Yokohama is brought to a standstill by a bout of snowfall. This illustrates why we have placed ‘resilience’ in the title of the new ISO 37101 standard. Sustainability is about having the capability to respond to whatever challenges might emerge. It is about having the capacity to be robust, adaptable and secure. This encompasses both expected threats like Tsunamis and the unexpected, like snow. East coast Japan is not alone; Canada is experiencing unusually cold and stormy conditions right now and Southern England resembles a swamp!

I am here representing the UK because we have pioneered thinking in this area. I have led a British Standard’s initiative, producing frameworks for sustainability in communities, the Olympics, film, construction materials and supply chains. Our interactive and principle-led approach has gained wider attention and is now being translated in an international context. Hopefully our flexible and people-centred style will help build the resilience that is obviously so desperately needed!

David Jackman 

Education and the future

Green24 is for everyone's future. We should never lose sight of the fact that sustainability is for future generations, for our children and our childrens’ children. This is a long-term project and part of everything we do.

We have explained in this column how businesses can and should benefit from being actively involved in sustainable development, both in terms of innovation and implementation. Whether or not we have made the case successfully, it is undeniable that sustainability must be forwarded through the involvement and engagement of young people and education providers.

Schools, both in this country and in many others, have built sustainability into the national curriculum. Although the curriculum is being slimmed down, just now the Sustainability and Environmental Education charity - SEEd - (http://se-ed.co.uk/edu/sustainable-schools/sustainability-curriculum/) is piloting new forms of curricula, working sustainability learning into a wide range of subjects. This includes a scheme to make your school more sustainable! An excellent resource is the ‘world mapper’ that shows countries by size of carbon use. There is also the eco-schools campaign (http://www2.keepbritaintidy.org/ecoschools/), 'Teach Share' for teacher’s materials (http://www.teachshare.org.uk/) and the 'Sustainable Schools Alliance' (http://sustainable-schools-alliance.org.uk/) supporting learning programmes.

In Scotland, the ‘One Planet Schools’ initiative, backed by government, published the One Planet Schools Report in December 2012, providing a whole-school approach to learning about sustainability. It is a model that many countries would do well to follow.

At a higher tier of education, many universities offer degrees up to Masters level in sustainable development and related subjects. The universities of East Anglia, Exeter, Leeds, Dundee and Aston are prominent in offering a range of courses that attract international students. Some, like Kingston, focus on environmental change, while others like Lancaster make links with business and management. Even my own university, Oxford, has expanded the oldest Geography department in the world to include environmental change in its title. To brag a little, we were, I recall, at the forefront of climate change research in the 1980s!

The international scene is very diverse and rich with opportunities. PhD work is widespread and many universities have research centres. I am connected to Royal Holloway, London, but there are other centres, from Aberdeen and Glasgow to Cambridge and Hertfordshire. There is a wealth of activity, interest and application among the younger generations; perhaps the rest of us need to catch up! Certainly, I have one son studying a sustainability degree and another to follow. It is encouraging that they can see this as a key part of their futures. It is up to us to provide the support we can. This is where Green 24 starts.

David Jackman

Roots

It is hard to ignore the severe weather events in both the US and UK right now. There have been successions of storms piling across the Atlantic, bringing extensive flooding and loss of life. The coastlines of Wales and the West have been worst affected, with the beach becoming almost entirely deposited on the seafront promenade at Aberystwyth. In Canada, a region used to difficult weather, the conditions are described as a ‘polar vortex’.

This reminds us of our deep connection with the environment, a chord we cannot cut. Many of those interviewed on daily TV news reports freely make the connection between the increased frequency of extreme weather events and global warming. As a long-time resident of a village (now an island) in the Somerset Levels remarked, ‘flooding is more common, reaches a higher level and lasts for longer’. That pretty much sums it up.

Perhaps now, as in so many things, commitment to sustainability becomes a matter of belief. There are those who will never have enough evidence to accept that the climate is changing, or that if it is, human agency has any significant role in the change. Others readily see the signs everywhere and are perhaps over-zealous!

So perhaps the argument should move on to different ground? Perhaps it is a sense of inter-connectivity in economic, social and environmental terms that we should be focusing on. We should say, ‘be sustainable because sustainability is mutually beneficial’ rather than rely on the climate change threat. There is a well-founded impact on economic and social cases. I have personally carried out a good deal of international research on this, with Edinburgh Business School and King’s College London, which demonstrates that good sustainability in corporate practices connects to long-term financial performance and improving return on assets.

Perhaps it is easier to talk about the responsibilities we have to each other as part of being reasonable citizens. The strength and resilience of our communities depends on our commitment to each other and indeed, on our faith that communities are worthwhile. Being aware of what we measure as signs of success needs careful examination. That also forms part of the work I am currently engaged in for the International Standards Organisation (ISO).

We owe it to each other to examine the facts and the options more closely. Departing from the climate change debate, there is still much to chew over and many other reasons to accept the sustainability challenge. green24 is here to help.

David Jackman

It’s a Wonderful (Integrated) World

All eyes have been on South Africa recently. We have been sharing in the country’s loss while, it seems to me, wishing the country well for a future, post-Mandela age. I wrote to him once and he was kind enough to send a response. I remain impressed.

The sight of nearly 100 world leaders, together in the pouring rain in the cavernous FNB stadium outside Soweto in Johannesburg, tends to inspire a ‘bigger picture’.  It could be argued that we do too little ‘world thinking’, and yet this week reminded us that the people of the world share similar problems, emotions and aspirations.

Similarly, there is a movement catching on in sustainability which is global in perspective; broadening horizons, and moving away from national concerns and financial obsessions. It is called Integrated Reporting (www.theiirc.org), and it brings together the long term value of creation of all kinds. Unilever, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Hyundai, Microsoft, PepsiCo, National Australia Bank and Tata Steel are among over 100 businesses in the IR Pilot Programme. I note that Singapore has a board member and a local bank, DBS, which started using the system in 2012.

IR is being pioneered in 25 countries. This includes South Africa, which is taking the lead in writing IR into statutory requirements. Once again, South Africa draws us together.

Supported and launched by Prince Charles in 2009, details of the IR Framework were only released on 9^th December 2013. The benefits for business include:

·         A rise in all forms of capital.

·         More connected departments within corporations, breaking down silos.

·         Improved internal reporting and governance processes.

·         A lower financial capital cost.

Currently, many companies view sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as separate from the main business. Such companies may publish partnership reports some months after the main report, or accounts which leave a feeling that they perhaps don’t care. The way sustainability measures are reported is not standardised, and this leads to many comparison problems, particularly for prospective investors.

There is undoubtedly a long way to go in sustainability efforts, but this seems to be the goal; it is of particular interest to those with governance roles in businesses, as well as their accountants and fund managers. For details, download a copy of the easy-to-follow framework from the IIRC website.