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In this Issue
• Note from Jean
• Exciting Teleconference Recording!
• Featured Article
• Enviro Action Activities
• Links to Articles
Note from Jean
If any of you have been trying to contact me for the past 6 days, I have been hard to catch! I am in Sydney at a conference, I had a trade stand and gave a talk on Global Warming. Importantly, I was there to hear from other businesses and speakers (international and local) on business trends and, importantly to me, where they feel “green” fits in.
Today (Wednesday) I had an interview with Sky News Eco Report and I will let you know when this is being run on TV.
Do you panic when the economy has a downturn? This is one choice but we can decide to look at the world in a positive light and get out there and look for opportunities rather than looking for gloom.
One opportunity is to reach the markets that are looking for “green” but you must be genuine and able to prove it. Many green ticks and warm fuzzy images are not very credible. When people are buying less, they are more selective. Also the ACCC are clamping down on "greenwash" because it is misleading and fraud. Large fines are in place and some businesses have been caught without any intention of being missleading. This is what Sky News wanted to talk to me about.
Teleconference Recording – listen to this one – It is a money saver – as well helping the environment. Bill Sheather is discussing the Fitch Catalytic Converter.
 
Featured Article – Why Bother About Our Carbon Footprint?
Over the past few days I have heard some interesting comments which I think apply to a lot of business thinking. It is clear that many business managers are not interested in the environment or "emotional things" like our kids future. Some have told me that “every generation has problems to solve”.
Originally I am a scientist and I accept the major science that says that global warming is real and we are close to a tipping point unless we reduce our carbon footprint around the world by 50% urgently. Not 20% and not 10%. I am also been in business for 20 years so I understand about the "bottom line" and I am a grandmother and concerned about my grandkids future. Put bluntly, I don't understand how you can look your kids in the eye and say you love them, then ignore the size of your carbon footprint. That's my view. You are entitled to yours, whatever it is.
In simple terms, we have wrapped our planet in a “doona” of polluting greenhouse gases that are keeping the heat in. Those normal processes that we do not fully understand which have caused heating and cooling over the millennia can still occur (that is the skeptics beef) but it is a fact that we are retaining more heat than is normal and the rate we retain it is increasing.
It is no longer relevant whether business managers believe in global warming or not. There is an increasing political will around the world to do something about it and we are now getting carbon trading and increasing energy prices.
It is more cost effective to reduce your carbon footprint with simple behavioural changes, than to buy carbon credits. It is also more effective in reducing the problem and it is relatively easy!
If you are finding the present economic turmoil difficult, try to imagine the Stern Report predictions that the economic impact of not reducing our carbon emissions is likely to be equivalent to that of WW1 + WW2 plus the great depression all rolled into one.. Can you image the past week’s panic just being a minor glitch in the big picture?
The other predictions if we ignore global warming are equally horrendous with 40% of the species on earth becoming extinct, huge political consequences with hundreds of millions of people being displaced by rising sea level, lack of water, famine, increased disease cause by warming climates.
Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter and in my opinion we have a responsibility to levy this export and put that entire levy into serious clean coal and carbon capture research. I disagree with those that want to stop mining it because that simply isn’t going to happen. I am a firm believer in working to change an outcome and swerve direction by working with people rather than trying to block things that have a large momentum.
There is a political will to do something about the emission problem in Australia and many other countries. It is no relevant what you “believe”. Energy costs are going up, emission trading is coming in, the economy is in a mess and businesses are under pressure.
If you knew that there were simple tools to help you cut your costs, wouldn’t it make sense to do this?
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We are living beyond our environmental means but we can reduce our consumption without reducing our standard of living, just by being less wasteful and that saves us money too.
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Reducing your carbon footprint saves you money. Going “green” saves you money and it is easy being green!
Why not phone 1300 88 3646 to make an appointment for a no obligation phone consultation with me to find out how I can help you reduce your costs, increase your market share and keep it simple.
Here are the links to the latest articles on the Enviro Jean Blog
Environment Victoria have suggested banning non-recyclable packaging by 2010.
They also suggest phasing out, by 2010, non-recyclables such as polystyrene, laminated paper packaging, composite packaging that combines materials like paper, aluminum and plastics and all other such material and want State and Federal Governments to withhold Customs approval for the importation of goods in this packaging.
Electricity retailer Synergy and WA’s Forest Products Commission have committed to plant more than six million trees in the coming year, by paying landowners a fee to plant eucalypts on their properties. State Forestry Minister Terry Redman said he supported integrating plantings into existing agricultural land, such as providing belts of trees rather than “fence-to-fence planting”. “This project could potentially result in the planting of more than 190 million trees over the life of the 30-year contract,” he said.
While other sources of fossil fuels, such as oil sands and converting coal-to-liquids are economically promising they have environmental consequences, including the potential to deteriorate water quality, create significant C02 emissions and disturb land and habitats.
Alice Solar City won the national Energy Innovation Award in the Keep Australia Beautiful Sustainable Cities Awards, which recognises sustainable energy management within communities with combined innovative energy conservation and initiatives at the private, industrial and municipal levels.
The current financial crisis shows it is possible for politicians to cooperate. The question is how can we get them to realize the urgency of to stem tide of climate change? The same sense of urgency is desperately needed if millions of people in poorer parts of the world are not to be swept up in the consequences of inaction,
Kindest regards
Jean Cannon
Helping business build effective management systems to save money and grow
It is easy to be green
Winner 2008 FarmBis Award for Distance Learning/eLearning and 2007 South Australian Seafood Industry Training Award in recognition of training excellence
For more information or suggestions about how I can serve you better,
please contact me on jean@enviroaction.com.au.
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