kbb News
Carbon Neutral
A large majority of the population now agrees that reducing CO2 output will help to slow down global warming, and lmost 80% of FTSE companies consider climate change to be a business issue, and seen as a greater priority for companies and government than terrorism or competition from the developing world.
Everyone can do something to help, from switching to low-energy light bulbs and making sure the television isnt left on standby all night through to industry-wide schemes. Most involve reducing energy used which gives individuals and companies an immediate financial payback.
Within this section of the kbb News website you can read how we are helping by making kbb London a carbon neutral event, how the money we are providing will be spent to neutralise the CO2 generated by kbb London and 10 Green Tips for how others can also reduce their CO2 output.
Use carbon neutral as the search criteria on Google and it will come up with over 4 million pages! We havent gone that far, but have included a list of websites worth visiting if you would like to find out more about the problems we face, and more importantly, what we can do.
Click on any of these links to go to the relevant section.
kbb London
Our schemes
10 Green Tips
Further information
kbb London - the industrys first carbon neutral exhibition.
kbb London is set to make history at Earls Court in May 2009 as the first carbon neutral exhibition for the kitchen bedroom and bathroom market in the UK. It may even be a world first for this sector.
Almost every major company in the KBB sector is doing something to reduce its environmental impact on the planet, such as reducing the energy consumed by appliances during their working lives or the amount of water used in the bathroom?, said kbb London event director Paul Sweeney. We are part of the KBB market too and wanted to support the efforts of the other companies by providing a carbon neutral exhibition.?
Working with the highly respected Carbon Neutral Company whose other clients include worldwide brands such as Honda, Corus, and Barclays, CMP Information will offset the carbon calculated to be produced by kbb London by helping to fund a programme in India which reduces emissions through a waste heat recovery project and is combined with an initiative that promotes an innovative lighting solution for midwives
Offsetting the carbon produced by kbb London fits in with the ethos of our parent company United Business Media,? explained Sweeney. Environmental issues are part of our DNA. In our offices for example we have central waste bins, recycle plastic and paper and have an ongoing policy to reduce printing from computers.
The Earls Court venue for kbb London has converted its basement into a waste recycling centre, and for some time now we have used cotton rather than PVC banners and recyclable carpets at all of our exhibitions.
Environmental issues will be an important feature of kbb London and we will be providing all of our exhibitors with information that will help them to reduce their carbon footprints as well.
Established in the mid 1990s, The Carbon Neutral Company is the world's leading carbon consulting and carbon offsetting company. It uses its experience to help corporate clients and individuals to reduce CO2 in a way that delivers commercial, personal and environmental benefit. In addition to helping CMPi calculate the amount of carbon produced by kbb London, it will be providing information that will be available at the event to help other companies reduce its carbon footprints too.
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Our schemes
Emission Reduction for Carbon Offsetting: Kotmar Waste Heat Recovery Project
This energy conservation project is based at a steel plant near Kotmar, in the state of Chhattisgarh. Flue gases coming from the steel kiln were previously vented directly into the atmosphere.
A waste heat recovery boiler has now been installed that extracts the heat from the flue gases to generate steam.
The steam then drives a turbine, which in turn generates electricity for both on-site use and supply into the local electricity grid. This replaces electricity that would otherwise have been generated by fossil-fuel power stations, coal being the predominant fuel source in India.
The project also helps satisfy Indias needs for sustainable development. It has created employment opportunities for about 50 people and acts to stabilize the local electricity supply, which helps local economic activity. The waste heat recovery system also leads to lower emissions of pollutants such as sulphur and nitrogen oxides.
Without a clear stimulus to implement energy efficiency technologies, such projects would not happen. The sale of carbon credits makes such projects financially viable and this is where funds from The CarbonNeutral Company play their part. In total, the project has generated emission reductions of 74,263 tCO2 equivalent between 2004 and 2007, verified and certified
Seed Funding Initiative: Lighting for Midwives.
Each 1 contribution to this initiative, which is run by SELCO and The Self-Employed Womens Association (SEWA), provides critical financial support for the pilot of a new low carbon lighting solution for midwives in rural Gujarat. 7,000 is needed in total for the pilot.
In remote and poor parts of the state, child births are often conducted in difficult and unhygienic conditions. A local midwife may be the only person assisting with the delivery, as the husband, relatives and friends can be barred for cultural reasons.
The birth takes place in the most private room of the house, which also tends to be the darkest. Kerosene lamps are the predominant form of lighting, but this poses a health hazard and does not in itself provide enough luminescence for an easy delivery.
SELCO is a social enterprise providing sustainable energy services to under-served households and businesses in India, and has twice won an Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy. The CarbonNeutral Company already works with SELCO on two emission reduction projects.
SEWA is a globally renowned organisation providing support to poor, self-employed women in India. Since its formation in 1972, it has established strong working partnerships with UN bodies such as the UNDP and UNIFEM.
In this pioneering initiative, the two organisations have partnered to promote a clean, safe and sustainable alternative to kerosene lamps for midwives. SELCO has developed a rechargeable battery-powered headlamp which is designed to be used with a solar panel.
50 midwives, existing members of SEWA, will be identified for the ten month pilot trial, which aims to determine whether the concept can be scaled-up to provide clean and safe light to many more midwives and new mothers in India.
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Ten Green Tips to Help Reduce CO2 emissions.
The CarbonNeutral Company has put together some tips to help you reduce your carbon footprint, this will not only help save the environment, makes good business sense and long term potentially could save you money.
1 - Look after your car (personal or company car): Check your tyre pressure. Driving with under-inflated tyres decreases your fuel efficiency and the lifetime of the tyres. Driving for 100 miles with your tyres at the correct pressure could save 1kg of CO2.
2 - Watch your speed: Watch how fast you are travelling at: keep your speed at a lower level and be consistent with your speed. If you rapidly accelerate then this will directly increase the amount of CO2 emissions and you will also use more fuel.
Driving at 70mph will use up to 25% more in fuel compared with 50mph,
Driving at 85mph will use up to 25% more in fuel compared with 70mph,
Driving at 50-60 mph will minimise your CO2 emissions.
(Statistics from the Centre for Alternative Technology)
3- Switch to a greener energy supplier: Research and use local sustainable energy providers such as those that use fossil fuel. Monetary savings can sometimes be made; you are encouraging local trade and also helping to protect the environment.
4 - Look at alternative greener fuel options: When you are purchasing your next vehicle you should switch from a petrol solution to a more fuel-efficient vehicle such as a diesel engine or an electric city car these alternative vehicles will reduce your CO2 emissions. Longer term you will also save money through purchasing cheaper fuel.
A 1.4 litre vehicle for 50 miles per week fuelled on:
Petrol will produce 0.8 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum,
Diesel will reduce this to 0.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum and,
An LPG vehicle will reduce this further to 0.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum.
5 - Look at reducing the size of the engine that you drive: Vehicles with smaller engines are not only cheaper to purchase, save money on fuel but also help the environment by producing less CO2 emissions. Decreasing the size of the vehicle will directly decrease the amount of CO2 emissions produced:
A 2 litre petrol vehicle will produce 1.2 tonnes of CO2 compared to,
A 1.4 litre petrol vehicle which will produce 0.8 tonnes of CO2.
6 - Long or short haul flights? Take a look at your business travel plans and see how you can improve them - can you reduce the amount that you fly through investing in video conferencing, plan shorter flights or schedule a number of meetings back to back?
By forfeiting one long distance flight you will save 1 tonne of CO2.
7 - Should you fly or take the train? Depending upon your destination taking the train instead of flying could be an alternative and think of all that extra work you can do on the train!
If 10 people from your business took 10 train trips instead of flying, 10 tonnes of CO2 would be saved.
8 - Revise your supply management chain: Use CarbonNeutral companies in your supply chain, introduce environmental questions into your procurement policy. For examples some delivery companies now grade their vehicles according to the CO2 emissions and then if a vehicle is used which is lower than the benchmark CO2 a financial contribution has to be made.
9 - Insulate your premises: Do you realise how much heat you lose through a badly insulated building? Check with your Local Authority about grants to encourage local businesses to make their premises greener through loft insulations and solar powered energy schemes.
10 - Use more technology within the workplace: Instead of travelling to a business meeting why dont you use video conferencing facilities instead. If your audience is not based in the same building or office and you are planning a conference or workshop then webinars are a good alternative.
After just 4 half-mile return trips you will have saved 1kg of CO2.
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Further information.
The Carbon Neutral Company
Global Warming early warning signs
The Pew Centre on Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
United Nations Convention on Climate Change
BBC on Climate Change