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Archive for July, 2010

Save 20% of energy and stop getting colds in supermarkets

July 26th, 2010

I get so cold in supermarkets, especially in summer when there is big difference between outside temperature and the inside. All due to the fact that there are no doors in chiller cabinets. Why? Because supermarkets think customers might be slowed down. Well, certainly, some customers like me, have the opposite effect, rushing to avoid getting cold!

Refrigeration is a big thing. The vast majority of supermarkets in the UK still uses HFCs, which has 3,800 times more global warming potential than CO2. There has been a lot of campaigning in the UK on this issue . My personal campaign is on putting doors on chiller cabinets in order to save around 20% of energy and stop getting colds in supermarkets.

Refrigeration | supermarkets

How unbiased can be second-party scientists

July 26th, 2010

By Ramon Arratia

I’ve been ill all the weekend so I devoured all the news programmes, from Skynews to AlJazeera. Thankfully it was a good weekend for Spanish sports (Contador, Alonso) and for environmental news. The whole BP issue is getting more and more interesting with new angles everyday. Now the new angle is the allegations that BP tried to ‘buy’ scientists. In the contract it was a clause where of confidentiality for 3 years. See contract at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/22_07_bp_contract.pdf

I’ve always wondered what level of bias second-party services can give. Let me explain, first-party is own claims, second-party is paying an organisation to verify a claim and third-party is a process where the verifier is the same for both parties). For example, first party in this case would BP making a claim, second party BP paying the scientist to do research and third party both BP and the US government paying a third party to do the research.

I don’t believe in second-party assurance schemes. What credibility can have the assurance of an organisation that is paid from a company? From assurance in CSR reports to private organisations giving labels (after paying a fee), I don’t think is credible. Even less credible are those organisations that do both the consultancy and certification. Third-party assurance is the key. For example, for labels that means having the same rules for everybody that want to apply. Having a certifier who is accredited by a accreditation entity. That is what IBU does for EPDs.

http://bau-umwelt.de/hp481/Environmental-Product-Declarations-EPD.htm

A Green Restaurant with a Sensible Approach!

July 23rd, 2010

By Ramon Arratia

What a coincidence! Some days ago I blogged about how bad eco-restaurants are in general with their greenwash, and how little science is behind their marketing, However, I was just invited to the opening of the first Otarian restaurant in the UK (Soho, London), and these guys are great!

They have calculated the carbon footprint of each of their meals and have managed to reduce the footprint compared to similar meals, mainly by eliminating the meat which is where most of the impact is. Their marketing focuses on the difference in CO2 and they call it ‘Carbon Credit’, which the customer accumulates in a sort of loyalty card.

A great approach which is based on JUST THE FACTS!

www.otarian.com

Green Marketing | Greenwash | restaurant

Cut the fluff out of green restaurants

July 14th, 2010

By Ramon Arratia

I went to one of the most famous restaurants in London. They claim to be ‘the first totally eco friendly’ restaurant in London. With that claim, ‘bad start’ I thought. Let’s see whether they can substantiate this claim.

All their branding is about natural and organic products. No mention to carbon footprint. No consideration given to the fact that meat has several times more footprint than vegetables. Then I ordered a coke and of course they don’t have it, big American multinationals don’t fit into the organic and green movement. Well … if you look at the facts, you might be surprise to know that the water efficiency of coke is better that other drinks. I still haven’t found any research that proves that edelweiss flower or another of these fringe drinks that are served by fringe eco restaurants have less impact that coke. And wine has even more impact, but if you call it organic it’s ok. So in their winelist they had organic wine of course … all the way from New Zealand!!!!

If you want to be green, please cut the fluff and show me the facts. Do a proper analysis on your products and impacts. And then take actions that show progress rather than pretending everything is fine.

Cut the Fluff | restaurant

The most high tech green buildings

July 13th, 2010

By Ramon Arratia

What is coming in green building technology? This is the part that I like: insulation that adjusts to outside temperatures, a building that changes to shade itself and tracking stems of occupancy or indoor air quality.

See this article on the subject at Forbes.com

What I don’t like: most of the green case studies are still focused on a good story, a new technique or a gimmick. When talking of a green building we should be talking of hard parameters like kg CO2 per occupant per year, kg CO2 per sqm, etc. JUST THE FACTS…

Green Buildings | Just the Facts

So many labels…….

July 7th, 2010

By Ramon Arratia

Are you confused with the vast amount of eco-labels out there? I’ve just come across this website where they have tracked more than 300 ecolabels. You can search alphabetically as well as filter by region or sector. Fantastic stuff! Worth a visit.

http://www.ecolabelindex.com

Green Labels

BITC Environmental Awards 2010 – InterfaceFLOR win

July 6th, 2010

By Ramon Arratia

InterfaceFLOR have just won the BITC Environmental Award in recognition of our approach to climate change:

“InterfaceFLOR demonstrate a holistic and sophisticated approach to climate change which is rooted in a 16-year history of addressing sustainability issues. Groundbreaking product innovation is evident across the business and embedded throughout all operations, with employees at multiple levels fully engaged in ‘Mission Zero’”

Abyd Karmali, Managing Director & Global Head of Carbon Markets Bank of America, Merrill Lynch

What are the categories in Life Cycle Assesments (LCA)?

July 5th, 2010

By Ramon Arratia

These are some of the categories to measure environmental impact in an LCA (Life Cycle Assesment) and the units of measurement used.

Embodied energy (not renewable Energy from fossil fuels): MJ
Embodied energy (renewable Energy from renewable sources): MJ
Greenhouse potential (emissions that contribute to climate change): kg CO2 equivalent
Acidification potential (emissions that damage vegetation, buildings, aquatic life, and human health): kg SO2 equivalent
Ozone depletion potential (emissions that cause thinning of the earth’s stratospheric ozone layer adversely affecting human health, natural resources and the environment): kg R11 equivalent
Eutrophication potential (emissions that increase the nutrients in water or soil affecting the natural biological balance): kg phosphate equivalent
Photochemical ozone creation potential (emissions of chemicals that cause smog, adversely affecting human health, ecosystems and crops): kg ethene potential
Human toxicity potential (emissions of materials toxic to humans,animals or plants) kg DCB equivalent

More information about LCA and product environmental performance

Environmental Product Declaration | Green Labels | Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Energy performance and Buildings

July 5th, 2010

By Ramon Arratia

The EU adopted a recast of The Directive on energy performance of buildings (2002/91/EC) on 18 May 2010. This was done in order to strengthen the energy performance requirements and better organise its provisions.

Find out more

Buildings account for around 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions. As much as 80% of the operational costs could be saved through integrated design solutions.

View the current state of low energy buildings across Europe.

Buildings | Energy Consumption | European Commission

European Parliament could ban illegal timber from entering the EU market

July 2nd, 2010

By Ramon Arratia

Within days, the European Parliament could ban illegal timber from entering the EU market — but powerful companies stand in the way.

Forests are the habitat and life source of many peoples and are essential in preventing climate change, but while there is high demand for timber, illegal logging thrives, killing species, and fuelling corruption and organized crime.

The European Council has just voted for harsh penalties and criminal sanctions for importers of timber harvested illegally in other countries. But now the Parliament has its say, and some MEPs from member states with large timber industries, are threatening to water down the crucial controls.

Please sign this petition.

The petition will be delivered to MEPS as they go into vote on the legislation on July 7th. We only have a few days!

Environmental declaration of a carpet tile

July 2nd, 2010

By Ramon Arratia

So how does an EPD look and what does it contain? It fully discloses all of the ingredients and raw materials. There is no way to hide chemicals or components. It also discloses where the raw materials come from, and of course the full environmental impacts across various categories including all life cycle stages. See an EPD

Environmental Product Declaration | EPD | Green Labels | Let's Be Clear | Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Let’s be Clear

July 1st, 2010

By Ramon Arratia

We have just launched our Let’s be clear campaign. It’s a call for transparency on environmental claims. It includes our commitment to full product transparency and having an EPD for all our products in Europe before 2012. Check out the website for more info.

Let's be Clear

www.interfaceflor.eu/letsbeclear

Green Labels | Green Marketing | Greenwash | Let's Be Clear | Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

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Archive for July, 2010

Save 20% of energy and stop getting colds in supermarkets

How unbiased can be second-party scientists

A Green Restaurant with a Sensible Approach!

Cut the fluff out of green restaurants

The most high tech green buildings

So many labels…….

BITC Environmental Awards 2010 – InterfaceFLOR win

What are the categories in Life Cycle Assesments (LCA)?

Energy performance and Buildings

European Parliament could ban illegal timber from entering the EU market

Environmental declaration of a carpet tile

Let’s be Clear

What it’s all about

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Contributors

Ramon

Latest Tweets

Archives

Links

Archive for July, 2010