This is the sort of news story I’d like to be seeing more of… The BBC reports that a McDonald’s restaurant in Devon is closing because it’s can’t compete with the local Tavistock farmers’ market. “It just goes to show… Read More »I’m lovin’ it
For the month of December, Sir Richard Branson is conducting a trial with 13 of Virgin’s planes. The trial aims to back up his claims made back in September that towing aircraft to runways instead of burning fuel taxiing them… Read More »Virgin Airlines cuts emissions
As part of their campaign against PVC – polyvinyl chloride – the Center for Health and Environmental Justice has an animated awareness video featuring Sam Suds – a private detective/bar of soap whose mission is to keep toxins out of the Johnson household. The message of the video is loud an clear: PVC is bad, it’s all around you, but it’s easy to spot – just look for the 3 or the V.
The Center for Health and Environmental Justice has called on big box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target to phase out PVC sales within their stores. According to a recent CHEJ press release as a result of their efforts, “Wal-Mart has already begun to phase out PVC in packaging and children’s lunchboxes. Last October, in response to health and environmental concerns, Wal-Mart announced plans to phase out PVC plastic in private label packaging over the next 2 years.”
It’s traditional for businesses to say thank you to their customers at Christmas time. Thousands of cards are printed, hours are spent signing them, and then there’s the last minute rush to get them all posted before it’s too late. The financial implications of sending thousands of Christmas cards are expected and planned for, but how many businesses consider the cost to the environment?
The thousands of cards that businesses send their clients each year require a lot of paper to make, and only very few greetings card manufacturers are using recycled paper for their cards. It would be fair to say that recycled paper is not a big focus in the greetings card industry. One tree needs to be chopped down for every 3000 Christmas cards, and in the UK alone, around 1 billion Christmas cards will be sent this year [source: Defra]. That’s over 300,000 trees.
The process of making greetings cards can often include further environmentally damaging processes, such as toxic printer inks and fixing agents. Then there’s disposal of the vast quantities of cards, many of which will end up in landfill. And the carbon emissions created by transporting the cards all over the country are substantial too.
Acorn House Restaurant will open its doors to the public next Tuesday, 14th November 2006. The restaurant, a joint venture between the Shoreditch Trust, Terrence Higgins Trust and Bliss Restaurant Consultancy, will train 10 young adults every year in environmentally-friendly… Read More »London’s first eco-friendly training restaurant to open soon
The latest move in the competition for the “green” pound sees Sainsbury’s supermarket replacing its current plastic carrier bags with new bags made up of 33% recycled plastic, 10% chalk and 57% new plastic. The new orange bags will be… Read More »Sainsbury’s moves to 33% recycled carrier bags
Airline boss he may be, but Richard Branson is also my top eco-hero businessman/entrepreneur/celebrity for his good intentions this month. You may say that good intentions don’t save the world, but I’ll argue that this man has put his money… Read More »Richard Branson – September’s eco-hero
The British love sushi, and this is creating such a demand for bluefin tuna that many EU fishing fleets are breaking laws and catching far more tuna than they are allowed to. With demand causing the cost of tuna to… Read More »Sustainable sushi
Edie reports today that following a pilot scheme sponsored by the European Commission, two large continental manufacturers will be carrying on their good work and working towards a more sustainable future. Finnish phone colossus Nokia and French hypermarket chain Carrefour… Read More »Continental manufacturers commit to greening their products