Waste of space

Today I have been mostly in London going from one meeting to the other, using rail, tube and feet.

What struck me was the number of advertising boards, both static and video, that were empty. From the first train I got on a board said 'Advertise Here' and it seemed what station I was at there were big empty spaces.

Clearly this is another sign of recession but it's also a waste of space.

There are so many social and environmental messages that could be spread using these empty media channels: poverty, sustainability, biodiversity loss.......

OK designing, printing and putting up posters would incur cost but a number of screens that are controlled remotely and could be filled with simple messages were also blank, advertising nothing but the companies that run the screens.

I realise that these companies have to create revenue but on days like today with so much space left empty surely it could have been put to better use?

Interview with Santa Claus

Yesterday we caught up with Santa Claus (aka Father Christmas, St Nicholas and many others). The world is a different place than it was just 50 years ago and we wondered how Santa was coping with the changes.


What is the biggest challenge for you this year?

Well there are now over seven billion people on the planet, so that's a lot of presents to deliver and I don't have any more time than when there was half that number, which was only 40 years ago. Seems like only yesterday.

How is the present making going?

It's not like it was. Not that long ago we made most of our presents from wood, a sustainable source and we could manage the tree planting from one year to the next. But nowadays it's all gadgets and gizmos with precious metals and toxic chemicals. Getting the components is a struggle and every year it gets harder. People seem to forget that nature is a slow process, it's not like the interwebby, it takes a very long time to produce metals and minerals and every year we have less and less. I have no idea how we'll manage next year.

Is it true that you live at the north pole?

We live near the north pole but invisible to the human eye.

Have you seen any changes as a result of climate change?

Oh yes. And it has caused some confusion. There isn't as much sea ice as there used to be which means when flying over it the reindeers think we've gone further than we actually have and they start slowing down or changing direction too early. Most frustrating. Of course some of the wildlife is also suffering, if they all survive we may end up with an overcrowding problem, it's like living on a shrinking island.


With all the advances in technology you still prefer to use reindeer?

I do yes, apart from the low emissions, high mileage to fodder, and their agility, they are just good company. I know that people talk with their blueteeth in their cars but it's not quite the same. I do wish that architects would think more about roof areas though. With over 50% of the world's population living in cities it's pretty hard to get about and it's such a shame that more buildings don't have green roofs, it would mean the reindeer could have a snack while I was doing my deliveries.

Do you think Christmas is still a special time?

I think it can be. Unfortunately my job isn't what it used to be because for many people every day is like Christmas - they are showered with gifts or treat themselves so it's not the time of the year that you get really spoiled any more. But it can still be a time for giving and there are many people in the world who still live in poverty, much wildlife that is endangered and many causes that require supporting. I used to feel that Christmas was a time that you could make someones life a little bit more enjoyable and that is still true if we choose to do it.


Santa Claus can be seen in department stores around the world until 24th December.

Biodiversity in the city

I spend a lot of my time trying to convince businesses that they are part of the mosaic that makes up the ecological networks that run up and down and all across our country. Of course, we don't have nearly enough networks and that is what I am so passionate about working with businesses who quite often own car parks, verges, roofs and driveways that could all be used to benefit wildlife.

Most of this work is in urban areas but many people involved in conservation still think of biodiversity as being only associated with the countryside.

At a time when we want to get the public behind the biodiversity agenda and hold the decision makers to account, we really need to be thinking urban and not rural.

Many more of us now live in large towns and cities than live in rural areas. Whether we like it or not our economy is driven by the people that work in cities and our biggest companies choose to set up business in towns and cities.

In short, cities appear to hold the most influence and the most cash. And biodiversity needs both.

If we are to tackle the biodiversity challenge on a 'landscape scale' then we need to engage the population of the whole landscape, wherever they are.

Attenborough - the best environmental communicator?

I don't have a Facebook page but my wife does and through her I am able to keep up with the lives of our friends, and their friends, and even their friends.

It really is information overload and thankfully my wife edits the dross, which is most of it, and only shares with me the most basic facts.

However, this week she has shared more than normal because of the 'chatter' that has been exchanged over the ether all about Frozen Planet.

People who we know of all ages are enthralled by Frozen Planet and David Attenborough's charismatic and authoritative style of narration.

I couldn't be happier. Whereas the normal televisual entertainment divides opinion, it appears that Frozen Planet is bringing people together: educating and raising awareness of real issues in an entertaining and accessible way.

This is the art of effective communication and Sir David must surely be the most supreme communicator of environmental messages.

Will we miss this opportunity?

There is a lot of talk at the moment about the need for a credible voice to represent the welfare of our wildlife. Not a zealot who opposes all forms of progress or someone who can be wooed by lunch at the Palace of Westminster but someone who can compose a logical argument for the conservation of wildlife as a priority for the UK.

The feeling is that our NGOs are simply too quiet and have convinced themselves that they stand a better chance of influencing policy from within, rather than shouting from the outside. It seems like a good point until you consider that biodiversity loss in the UK is at crisis point and some of our biggest NGOs have been around for 100 years or more.

So has their strategy worked? The evidence suggests otherwise but I'm sure they would argue that things would be even worse if.....

Nature conservation is relatively new to the UK. Our first real policy for nature was introduced in 1949 following the Huxley Committee report of 1947 which recommended the introduction of protected status for certain areas deemed to be of significant value to nature.

These views were echoed by the first Chairman of the Nature Conservancy, Arthur Tansley, who wrote in 1945 that he blamed high taxes and death duties for the break up of large family estates which was leading to development and land use change on previously 'safe' lands. Therefore these sites needed 'public protection'.

Fast forward to 2010 and another government report, Making Space for Nature, chaired by Sir John Lawton, states that the system of protecting nature in reserves hasn't worked and that what is required is landscape scale conservation that considers all the areas in between the reserves not just the reserves themselves.

Our biggest NGOs can claim to have had the same thoughts when they launched their own initiatives such as Futurescapes and Living Landscapes but these have only really been around for the past 5 years or so and most data about biodiversity loss show declines from the 1960s and 1970s so why has it taken so long to think in terms of landscapes rather than reserves?

And why has it been another government report that everyone is suddenly citing?

Yes nature does need someone to stand up for it but is anyone up to the job?

I read with interest that our Prime Minister won't be attending the Earth Summit in Rio next year because it clashes with a previous engagement - the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. He was being slated for the snub with claims that it sends a message that we're not taking the environment seriously. What do people think he can add? I'm sure there are people far better qualified, after all it wasn't a Prime Minister that wrote 'Making Space for Nature'.

So who is qualified? I played this game with some friends recently, it was a bit like 'Who would like to invite to dinner?'. Suggestions varied wildly from Sir Paul McCartney to Kate Humble to Johnny Kingdom and more (and worse).

I myself suggested sending in Peter Marren to negotiate, Mark Avery to create the policy and Sir David Attenborough to smooth things over.

With so much chatter about biodiversity at the moment it seems to me that there is a real opportunity to capture the public imagination and really do something that will halt biodiversity loss but it is going to take someone or an organisation who is willing to stand up to government, build bridges between the NGOs, motivate the hugely impressive volunteers, and look for the opportunities not the problems.

Failing that we need a revolution.

Reward and recognition

The government wants to halt biodiversity loss by 2020.

The biggest contributor to biodiversity loss is change of land use. The most drastic change of land use is building development. And it is businesses that are the developers - building houses, offices, shops, and infrastructure.

So how do you incentivise businesses to be more considerate with the natural environment?

Awards are great but they are normally one-off events and allow businesses to create 'token gestures' rather than actually change their culture and way of working. We've all seen this before with the 'eco-shop' or the 'eco-house'. These are great if you are going to do the same with all your developments but they are just a PR stunt if you're not.

BREEAM seem to have struck a chord with energy. More and more developers are registering their schemes for BREEAM accreditation. Of course, there are different levels and not everyone aspires to achieve the highest but at least businesses are taking part and by taking part they are changing the way they approach their work.

Can we do the same for biodiversity?

The scheme needs to be nationwide, realistic, affordable and have scales of achievement - bronze, silver, gold, platinum - that sort of thing.

A developer isn't going to create a nature reserve but they might be more inclined to leave more green space, introduce habitat, install boxes, source responsibly and help spread the biodiversity message, if it meant getting a credible award to sit alongside their other environmental achievements.

I'm willing to help shape it, so who is going to do it?

Environmental Communication

I was listening to the Reith Lectures of Sir Frank Fraser Darling from 1969 the other day and in it he talked about ecology being an overused word that people were already sick of without actually knowing what it meant, and I thought how true that it is of the word environment today.

Environmentally friendly, green, sustainable, and eco have been so abused in recent years that the general public is becoming weary of them.

So if you really do want to change the culture of your organisation where do you begin?

This is a summary of our 10 point plan:

1. Don't be afraid or deterred by preconceptions. Believe you can succeed
2. Have a clear understanding of what you mean by 'the environment' and what your objectives are
3. Start by having a conversation in your organisation about what other people think of such words as environment and sustainability
4. Share your objectives. Be clear of what the business and moral case is
5. Ask others to help create a theme for your objectives that may or may not include such words as environment, sustainability and eco
6. Identify quick-wins that will help start the process of change
7. Seek out those people who are most engaged and ask them to be ambassadors to help communicate, motivate and build momentum
8. Launch your objectives under your chosen theme. Have a communication plan that starts big but reinforces the message, objectives and achievements regularly
9. Surprise everyone by awarding an individual, team or department for their efforts and make a splash of the award
10. Continue to communicate, celebrate and create new goals

The objective is to quickly avoid talking about the environment or sustainability and instead talk about corporate values, efficiencies, challenging the way you work, competitive difference and making yourself relevant to your customers. 

Many businesses agree that communicating messages with an environmental theme is difficult but we think this is mainly a concern about knowledge and lack of confidence, both of which can be overcome.

You don't necessarily need consultants to help with this but it may help to get advice in the first instance. Ask us about our workshop.

Environmental Policy means nothing if the supply chain aren't playing

Environmental sustainability is not just about doing the right thing, it’s also about reputation. What some businesses need to realize is that it might not just be their reputation.

If you’re a supplier to a major brand, or you’re a supplier to a supplier of a major brand, then you need to think about your future and how you protect it.

Major brands around the world have been making commitments to the environment and developing corporate and social responsibility policies for a number of years. Many of these well-known brands now use their achievements in these areas to generate publicity, attract talent, and win more customers.

So what does all this mean for the supply chain?

What is certain is that at some point in the future you, as a supplier, are going to be a part of the policy and promise being made by the brand to its stakeholders, which means you too need to start thinking about the environment and your impact.

No brand, that is winning the trust of its customers, is going to want its reputation tarnished by a rogue supplier who isn’t doing their bit.

The smart suppliers will be the ones anticipating what their customers will require of them in the next 5-10 years and be willing to change. The suppliers that will develop lasting relationships will be those that make it their business to understand their customers environmental, sustainable and CSR commitments and be willing to stand alongside them and help them achieve their targets.

Big business is going to realize, or maybe even be told by government, that it has a responsibility to the environment.

Businesses are easy targets for governments. Reducing carbon emissions, halting biodiversity loss, and managing our natural resources sustainably can simply become taxes. But businesses are full of creative, intelligent and determined people who can find ways to achieve these things, and in doing so turn them into a competitive advantage.

If you’re a supplier you are part of the process, which means at some point in not too distant future you will either be part of the solution or a problem.

What's it to be?

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, must be reflecting on the endless plaudits and praise heaped upon the late Steve Jobs this past week and wonder what his own epitaph might be.

Having stood firmly into Jobs' shoes to launch the new iPhone 4S any focus on Cook soon faded as news of Steve Jobs' death was announced just a few days later.

So how do you follow someone described as a genius, visionary, a legend and a hero? You do the same thing but with a different focus. And I think Cook could create a legacy far greater than the one Jobs has left behind.

My first laptop was a Mac, which I still have, it's grey about 2 inches thick with a black and white screen, I think it is called a PowerBook 160. And now I have something lighter, smaller, thinner and much more powerful.

For me Apple is a guilty pleasure. Yes, Apple changed the way I buy and manage my music but what has been the environmental cost?

We've heard stories of Chinese workers suffering from the effects of chemicals used to create iPad screens, including people being hospitalised.

There were even reports that conditions were so bad at one factory producing Apple products that workers were committing suicide.

In the past few weeks the company has come under increasing pressure from Chinese environmental groups to address numerous cases of pollution and  emissions from 80 of 127 of Apple's suppliers in China.

It seems that Apple's desirable products have arrived on our shelves having left a trail of destruction behind in China.

This surely is what Tim Cook can do for Apple - clean it up. Make it the greenest technology company in the world. Leave behind a legacy that won't get replaced by the next version in 10 months, instead leave something that will be around for other generations to benefit from.

Can we see the potential?

When it comes to environmental or sustainable policy, it seems to me that businesses are making the same initial mistakes that they did when the internet first became available. At that time everyone rushed to create a website and packed it full of information, but failed to develop a strategy or to appreciate that the web could fundamentally change the way they worked.

Within just 10 years the internet became an integral and essential element in even the smallest business. Today we take it for granted and wonder how we ever managed without it.

Are businesses now doing the same when it comes to the environment? Do they simply send someone put together a document filled full of information, make a brief announcement and leave it on a server somewhere? ‘Job done’, boxes ticked. In many cases it appears so.

The environment or sustainability or whatever phrase you want to use, if assimilated properly, influences the strategy and business plan and in all probability requires shift in corporate culture if real and positive changes are to be achieved.

Like the web, the issue of the environment isn’t going away and anyone who thinks it is just a short-term fad is kidding themselves. It’s relevance to all organizations may not be clear today but, like the web, in just a few years time it will have become embedded in the way the most dynamic organizations operate.  

Communication and conversation around environmental and sustainable issues is almost non-existent in businesses and is often limited to the occasional poster, print-out or copy of the latest CSR document. Engagement with employees at all levels is going to be crucial if businesses are to remain sustainable in the future.

Fact: the cost of doing business will rise if you don’t change the way you work. Whether it is fuel, energy, carbon taxes or the price of resources, costs are only going one way, up.

It’s your employees that keep their computers on, run the taps, forget to switch off the lights, print out, bin it instead of recycling, drive to the business meeting and so on. It is your employees who can help you control costs, protect your business and ensure your sustainability. But they need to be in the right mindset and have permission to make decisions based on your environmental and sustainability objectives, as well as your financial targets.

Visit: crexgroup.com for ideas

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

As with many types of cancer the treatment now means that more people survive the disease than lose their lives. In the UK 70% of women (and men) survive beyond 10 years from diagnosis, which is how survival rates are measured in the UK.

Many cancer treatments, including Herceptin and some chemotherapy drugs, are derived from plants, in fact 74% of the top 150 prescription drugs in the USA are derived from plants.

These facts would suggest that we humans are very reliant on plants for our own survival and yet deforestation of the Amazon rainforest from July 2010 to July 2011 was more than 1600 square miles, up 15% on the previous year. That's more than 10 times the size of the Isle of Wight, and that's just one year!

Hundreds of new species of plant and animal are discovered every year but if we carry on destroying habitat, which makes it impossible for animals to survive then we risk sending unknown species extinct before we've discovered them.

Who knows what cures there might be?

Cancer treatment has made tremendous progress in recent years but there is still some way to go. It may do us some good to be as aware of how treatments are derived as well as the disease itself if we are to continue to see progress.

Business parks and biodiversity

It seems that every business park I pass has space for rent, which begs the question of why I can also see more offices being constructed!

However I wonder whether business park owners should do more to try and sell their office space by doing more with the environment around it.

When we buy a house it's location and what we can see out of the window is important, so why not adopt the same principles for where people work, after all most people will spend the majority of their waking hours in some sort of workplace environment.

So here is an opportunity for business park owners to do something for biodiversity and 'green' their estate. But they need to do it properly. This is not just about chucking in some plants at the entrance.

You need a plan. From the plan to you can tell a story. The story becomes part of the attraction of the site.

You can attract birds, butterflies, bats, small mammals......think about sacrificing some car parking spaces (which are lying empty at the moment) for green spaces where people can relax, install a pond or wetland area. Have your buildings and the site surveyed for the suitability of bird, bat and invertebrate homes.

And then ensure everyone knows what you have done. Simple interpretation boards around the site that explains what you're doing and hoping to achieve will bring the initiatives to life.

It doesn't have to cost a fortune, it can be done so that it's easy to maintain but when so many offices are empty it could be the point of difference that makes your business park stand out.

Wise words

The following are some paragraphs from a speech reportedly given by Chief Seattle a native Indian in 1854.

The very last sentence is the one that strikes a chord.

"How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the Earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the Earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.

This we know - the Earth does not belong to man - man belongs to the Earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the Earth - befalls the sons of the Earth. Man did not weave the web of life - he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."

Technology: saving money, time and the environment

A client will be doing a multi-camera, live streaming, webcast next month. 1000 employees in the UK will watch saving each person an average of 3 hours travelling time. That's 3000 working hours or about 75 working weeks for one person. If that person was earning £25k per year, the business is saving over £40k.

Add to that a delegate rate of £50 per head and the saving jumps to £90,000.

Assuming half the people were going to drive in average efficiency cars they would have generated 20 tonnes of CO2.

For an investment of around £15k the business has saved £90,000 and prevented at least 20 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere.

What method of working can you challenge in order to save money, time and the environment?

My favourite gloves

As we were about to embark on what I thought was a leisurely walk, my friend donned his breathable, techno, micro, performance, endurance gear. All lighweight and cost a small fortune.

An hour later did he feel any more refreshed than I did? Not really, and I was wearing cotton jeans and a hemp polo shirt - nothing techno about them.

We then turned the conversation to gloves. I'm one of those people that gets cold hands, I believe it is because I have a warm heart but that is often disputed. In my quest to prevent my fingers falling off in the bitter winter months I have been seduced by the expensive gloves promising to provide a technical solution that means they can be worn in the North Pole without any loss of heat. Rubbish.

Over the years I have spent a small fortune on man-made fibre clothing all promising to keep me warm but when it comes down to it only one pair of gloves actually works. And surprise, surprise, they are no-nonsense, no-preservatives-added, sheepskin gloves.

I bought them on Skye, where they are made as a by-product of the meat trade. They are cut and stitched without finesse but are functional, presentable and they actually keep my hands warm.

Which reminds me, what's happened to big woolly jumpers? It's hardly surprising that we're using so much energy heating our houses when people dress as if it's summer all year round.

Biodiversity: What is it and why should we care?

Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is an unhelpful way of describing what we all understand to be ‘nature’. Plants, flowers, trees, insects, birds, mammals, fish and all the other species that we can and can’t see that make up the living natural world. It’s basically everything apart from humans, anything humans have made, rocks, air, soil and water. 

We measure biodiversity as the number of different species in an area and the abundance of the species. The higher the numbers, the greater the biodiversity.

It is thought that for every species we have identified there may be 10 more yet to be discovered. The race is now on to discover them before they disappear.

What many humans have failed to appreciate is how reliant we are on the plants and animals that we share the planet with. It seems really obvious but plants generate the oxygen that we breathe, without plants humans would be dead and yet we continue to remove forests at an alarming rate.

115 of the 150 most prescribed drugs in the US are derived from plants. Scientists studying plants are discovering potential cures for diseases every year but they are worried that we’ll destroy plants before they are even discovered.

We all know about bees and how they take nectar from plants and in doing so also remove some pollen, which they deposit at the next plant thereby facilitating the reproduction process. However, it’s not just bees that are pollinators it is moths, butterflies, beetles, flies and even some birds and mammals. Without these pollinators we’d have fewer and fewer plants and in 2011 the National Ecosystem Assessment valued pollinators at £430 million per annum, but of course we actually get them free of charge.

The natural world is a complex web of inter-relationships, which for too long humans have disassociated themselves from. In fact we are in it and we influence it, and it is time that we took responsibility for our role and realized that we need the natural world more than it needs us.

Are villages sustainable?

As I sit looking at the Devon countryside I am reminded of a recent workshop I attended that explored the development of cities.

A good city has networks, links, green space, amenities and resources that should all ideally be within a 5-10 minute walk of where everyone lives. We can see from recent developments that the regeneration of inner city areas has become more favourable than the out-of-town developments we have been used to in the past. Large areas of most towns and cities are slowly being pedestrianised so we can see a trend towards creating the ideal city.

So what does this all mean for the country village? Villagers have long had to put up with inflated prices for fuel, food and other provisions because of their rural locality. Local shops that once thrived have been put out of business because of the large out-of-town developments that provided cheaper goods and a larger choice so are villages sustainable?

I look at the village I am in and think about the increased cost of fuel, the lack of choice and inflated prices of the local shop that opens when it is convenient for the owner not the customer and I wonder whether the community will be able to afford to stay here as the cost of commuting increases and rural villages become more and more penalised for wanting a quieter life than the city offers.

Or will the death of the out-of-town parks see a revival in village life with more shops and services opening, essentially becoming mini-cities.

I hope so.