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600 ‘green jobs’ to go on the Isle of Wight

I got an email from 38 Degrees this morning which I think is really important. “Last week, we heard about plans to close the only wind turbine factory in the UK. This means that 600 ‘green jobs’ will be lost on the Isle of Wight. The government has helped other industries to survive in the last [...]

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Taking Green as Read

“Brands lacking sustainability are just going to be left behind.” Green benefits should be embedded so the issue of sustainability dissapears and effectively becomes the norm.” “Supermarkets, in particular have a major role to play as ‘choice editors’ for their customers” Luke Vincent Originally published in Design Week

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Spread the Word

“Your plans could backfire if consumers feel they are being ‘greenwashed’”. “You have to do it properly and be very clear, transparent and open” “Consumers are tired of having the wool pulled over their eyes, and token gestures are likely to do more harm than good. That said, if done properly the opportunities are clearly there” “For hospitality [...]

Featured Post

600 ‘green jobs’ to go on the Isle of Wight

I got an email from 38 Degrees this morning which I think is really important. “Last week, we heard about plans to close the only wind turbine factory in the UK. This means that 600 ‘green jobs’ will be lost on the Isle of Wight. The government has helped other industries to survive in the last [...]

Asides

• It's a well known adage that you get what you measure. Studies have shown that simply measuring your energy consumption reduces it by 20%. One of the easiest (and for technophiles like me, fun) ways of reducing your energy consumption and cost is to get a home energy meter. Also know as an Owl. These brilliant wireless devices are really easy to install. Once set up the hand held unit will show you your energy consumption at that exact moment. Despite my concern for the environment I am prone to forgetfulness and sometimes forget to switch lights off when I leave a room. When I got the Owl and could see my energy cost jump by 2p per hour every time I switched a light on I became obsessed with switching things off. It's not that it was a lot of money (although chronic forgetfullness does add up) but I now had a measure I could influence in real time. I quickly worked what the base level of consumption for the house was and developed an inability to leave the house or go to bed unless I was absolutely sure every thing that could be off was off. Which is another reason why home energy generation is such a good idea. If we all had turbines and solar panels on the roof we would become obsessed with how much energy we were using, especially if careful consumption meant we could start selling it back to the grid. In the mean time have some energy saving fun and get yourself an Owl. #