Taking charge...

When it comes to improvements in mobile phones there is plenty to be thankful about. The days when owning a mobile phone was pretty much the same as carrying round a brick (minus the annoying ring tone) are long gone.

According to the Telegraph the latest mobile phone improvement will see the world’s biggest phone manufacturers adopt a universal standard phone charger in a bid to be more sustainable.

Most of the main manufacturers, including Nokia, Motorola and Sony Ericsson, have signed up to the scheme where the mini-USB plug will be adopted as the standard charger for all handsets.The new chargers will use half as much energy, and will be supported by the majority of mobile phones by 2012.

A standardised charger will also mean customers won’t need a new charger with every new phone but can just reuse the one they’ve got. This means there will be fewer redundant ones going to landfill which is good news.

Now we just need to get people replacing their mobile phone less often, and recycling old ones. Apparently less than 18% of discarded phones are recycled. Find out how to raise money for charity by recycling your phone here.

The age of stupid...

Check out the trailer for The Age of Stupid

Here's the hype: "The Age of Stupid is a 90-minute film about climate change, set in the future. Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite (In The Name of the Father, Brassed Off) stars as a man living alone in the devasted world of 2055, looking back at footage from 2007 and asking: why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?

We're trying to organise advance showings in Peterborough. Keep you posted.

What does the snow mean for our garden birds?

The recent snow we've had hasn't only caused problems for our transport system and schools. It can also result in a quick death for our garden birds. Find out what you can do to help...

Check us out on Facebook!

Join the 'Green Peterborough' group on facebook now...!

Raise money every time you search online...

Raise money for PETERBOROUGH ENVIRONMENT CITY TRUST with Everyclick.com http://www.everyclick.com/peterborough-environment-city-trust/259435/0

Instead of using Google as your search engine use Every Click - and raise money for charity every time you search!

Porritt returns to Peterborough!

Does marketing hold answers to the challenge of sustainable business?

With more and more businesses embracing sustainable practices, a conference in Peterborough next March will look at the role marketing can play in responding to the green agenda.

With the green agenda gathering pace, organisations are assessing their impact on the environment. They are also looking for opportunities to establish green credentials that can forge relationships, build brands and increase bottom line results.

But responding to this challenge isn’t straightforward. It demands a deep understanding of the issues and potential pitfalls, as well as the opportunities. There is a growing feeling that marketing can lead the way in meeting the challenge - but is that really the case?

To further the debate on the subject - and provide ideas and inspiration to anyone attending - this national one-day conference looks at how organisations can go beyond basic ‘eco-friendly’ claims and instead integrate sustainability policies with wider corporate social responsibility programmes.

John Luff, a former Head of Global Brand and of Global CSR at BT is speaking at the conference. John says, "If you’re looking for a lecture on CSR, don’t come to hear me speak at this conference! But if you’re looking for the ammunition to help you make sustainable marketing a reality for your own brand, I'll show you a way forward through greater understanding - a way to think multi-dimensionally about your brand.

“No hugging trees - CSR and sustainable marketing is about the economics of being in business. The most corporately irresponsible business is one that goes out of business.”

Conference highlights…
• Join the debate: does marketing really hold the key to sustainable business?
• Talk directly to people who have made green marketing work for them.
• Find out how to avoid ‘greenwash’.

Key speakers…
- Jonathon Porritt, Programme Director, Forum for the Future and Chairman, UK Sustainable Development Commission
- John Grant, Author of the Green Marketing Manifesto
- John Luff, international consultant on sustainable marketing
- Ed Gillespie from Futerra Creative Director and Co-founder, Futerra Sustainability Communications,
- Ecover, environmentally friendly cleaning products.


The conference takes place on 12 March 2009 in Peterborough. Prices for the event start from £140. More information and booking facilities can be found at www.greenmarketingconference.co.uk

The latest on recycling...

Recent reports in the media have been questionning whether recycling is really economically and environmnetally viable.

Climate Change experts have now come back to refute these 'vacuous and damaging' claims that reycling could add to global warming...

One thing is certain - recycling is much better than digging a hole in the ground and landfilling our waste. But does the emphasis on recycling mean we forget to Reuse and Reduce?

What do you think?

Could you go 'zero waste' for a fortnight?

Peterborough Environment City Trust (PECT) is calling for businesses in the city to take part in a zero waste fortnight challenge.

The challenge is being held as part of Peterborough’s designation as one of the government’s six Zero Waste Places in October last year. These six places will go as far as possible in reducing the environmental impact of waste and their results will be used to help ‘green’ other areas in the UK.

Ian Tennant is project coordinator from PECT, he explains, “The Zero Waste Places project in Peterborough is already well underway. The idea of the scheme is to test different methods of reducing waste and see how much we can realistically reduce.

“As part of this we are holding a special zero waste fortnight challenge for businesses. Organisations can do their two weeks any time between January and March 2009. The challenge will allow people to test what it is really like to go zero waste in the workplace. We are calling for more organisations to take part in this challenge.”

Businesses that take part in the zero waste fortnight challenge will make a concerted effort, across the organisation to make sure all resources leaving their building are either recycled, reused or composted with absolutely nothing going to landfill. For example this, could involve staff carefully choosing where they shop for their lunch as a large proportion of non-recyclable waste is associated with food packaging.

Greater Peterborough Partnership, Scott Wilson, Anne Corder Recruitment and BBC Radio Cambridgeshire are amongst the organisations who have already signed up to take part.

The Zero Waste Places project in Peterborough has already achieved considerable success including reducing the waste produced from the re-development of Cathedral Square. PECT is working closely with Opportunity Peterborough and developer Osborne’s to minimise waste, re-home redundant paving slabs for use in community projects, and exploit opportunities for waste prevention in the supply chain. For example, the developer is demanding that new paving slabs are delivered with minimal packaging using materials that can be composted or recycled.

A set of guidelines is available to help any organisation wishing to take part in the fortnight challenge. If you would like to take part contact Ian Tennant, ian.tennant@pect.net, 01733 569875.

Poem written for Peterborough's environment capital ambition...

Mark Grist (Peterborough poet laureate 2007-2008) wrote and performed this poem specially for the launch of the city's environment capital ambition on 19th November 2008.

This is an extract...for the full version click here.

Because green deeds weave seamlessly
Between lido and cathedral
Between the shopping centres, pubs and schools we’ll go
Smiling, feeling, dreaming green
We have a green grid, green wheel, green festival, green spaces
and the spaces are getting more green

It has been fifteen years
Some are becoming old hands at shaping this land
We are ready, we are well planned,
But more important we have a dream gloved in our hands

Green New Years Resolutions

Have you started thinking about your New Year’s resolutions yet? How about some eco resolutions that will do some good for the planet as well as your wallet?

1)De-clutter! Have a clear out of all the stuff you don’t need that’s languishing in your wardrobe or in the cupboard under the stairs. Take that Christmas jumper you’ll never wear to the charity shop and drop that broken CD player in to the electrical recycling centre. This year, why not pledge to stop collecting things you don’t need. The less we buy, the better it is for the planet.

2)Phantom load has nothing to do with the extra pounds that have mysteriously appeared around your mid-section over the festive period. Instead it refers to the energy wasted by electrical appliances and power chargers when they are left plugged in but not in use. That’s right, your computer cord, mobile phone charger and TV are all using energy even when there isn’t anything being watched or charged. Make it your resolution to stop leaving electrical appliances on standby and make sure you turn them off at the plug.

3)Kick the plastic bag habit. If you make just one New Year’s resolution and stick to it, make it this one. Taking plastic bag after plastic bag at the checkout might make life easy for you, but it is bad news for the environment. Plastic bags take around 1,000 years to decompose and are extremely damaging to wildlife.

4)Buy recycled kitchen and loo roll. This will help save trees from being chopped unnecessarily and save energy because less is required to produce a recycled paper product.

5)Make it your resolution to consider where your food comes from. Consider whether your chicken came from the farm or the factory. Free-range not only means we are treating animals with respect, but the meat will also be better quality and therefore better for you. Think about distance your food has travelled to reach your plate. The further the distance, the more CO2 has been emitted to get your meal to you. Where possible shop from farmers’ markets and buy direct from local producers. Local food is healthier because it’s fresher plus it supports local growers and is better for the environment.

6)Take a day off from sitting in traffic and road rage. One day a week try car sharing, taking the bus, walking or cycling to work. This is a great way to save money and if you pick walking or cycling will also help you keep fit (then you can cancel your gym membership and save even more cash!)