News articles surfaced today that David Cameron has made a u-turn on all of his Eco-policies. In fairness to him it is to aid the ever increasing costs on families, but in stepping back from the government's stance to be the 'greenest government ever', ought there be a genuine concern for the green future of the UK especially in the near future?
The £112 that is added to annual energy bills, is seen as too costly by many in the country. This has occurred due to the rising cost of living within the UK and the added government levies on power bills which include a renewable obligation of £30, a £13 carbon tax, £11 for a warm home discount for vulnerable people. a £48 energy company obligation and 3£ for smart meters to improve efficiency of energy use, all add to the rising cost of energy bills. However, with plans to stop the energy obligation on companies which enables vulnerable homes to be insulated, there will be significant consequences on health and disparity for those who cannot afford house insulation. The rolling back of green levies conflict with his ambitions to tackle climate change that he constantly states, therefore instilling an element of mistrust from many on whether green actions will be forthcoming.
The issue with this according to many is that this change in face of Cameron - the 'cameleon' as he has become known, is evidently to win votes. Though the application of green policies is seen as a costly extravagance that political parties can ill afford, they are necessary to ensuring the right steps towards a better planet for future generations and the survival of existing generations through harsh weather conditions.
Thursday, 21 November 2013
Monday, 18 November 2013
Food wastage
A recent study by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action programme) has revealed that a ridiculous £700 of food waste occurs in Britain by each family each year. In essence, this is apparently equal to throwing away 6 meals every week. The fact that food wastage issues are occurring to this level within the UK are extremely alarming, considering the widespread food poverty, not just worldwide, but across the UK too.
The study revealed the top 10 most wasted items to include; bread, potatoes, milk, ready-meals, fizzy drinks, fruit juice, poultry, pork products, cakes and chips. Of these products, there are a few that are staple food items that are clearly being utilised in a carefree manner. Quite astonishingly, the average years waste would fill Wembley stadium five times over....How can this be allowed to continue?? If it continues in the current vein then the situation will only deteriorate.
The key reasons for food wastage lie in failure to use the item or simply due to overcooking. It is therefore evident that education is vital. If more people are educated to understand that food can be used after a 'best-before' date, providing they are not high-risk foods, then there will be a massive reduction in unnecessary wastage. If people were also educated about portioning and about correct storage of foods, so that food will be cooked in correct amounts, and any leftovers reused then this will go some way to minimising the £12.5billion food costs that are associated with the UK (£60 per household).
Experts say the UK is improving its waste record, with 'avoidable' household waste down 21% in the last 8 years. but WRAP believes that waste could be cut by another 40% (1.7m tonnes) over the next 12 years. Considering the complaints and murmuring from members of the public about the cost of food, it seems ludicrous that they are willing to waste millions of pounds, so surely this target of reducing waste can be feasible, providing that people are educated appropriately.
It doesn't help that there is a conflict of interest with 'who's doing the better job'. Supermarkets believe that it is them that are helping the waste targets be met. Albeit they are doing a good job to limit food wastage, there needs to be more of a collective effort on all food fronts to reduce wastage.
Though, saying this, food wastage can occur throughout the chain from farmer through supermarket and to consumer, so there needs to be stricter control of wastage throughout the chain for further reductions and positive effects to be forthcoming.
Its a question of taking simple but effective steps in each household first and foremost, that all we can do, and hope that larger companies and the producers follow suit. Little things will make a difference: who would have thought of freezing milk, well this is a recommended step to reduce wastage, as with bread also. In addition fruit will last longer in the fridge than a bowl, and even banana which is the exception to this, can be chopped and frozen. For overcooking of foods, store remaining portions in the fridge, or why not cook double and freeze some for future use, to save throwing leftovers. It is vital to wrap foods and remember that best-before dates are a guide for quality of the product and not a must-eat deadline.
Think of how much good this could do in the world, considering there are billions of hungry people nationwide and worldwide. Maybe well see a reduction in the 24million slices of bread thrown away, the 1.4million bananas and the 1.1million eggs, but what is important is that we start to make a change
AT HOME, and starting from NOW.
The study revealed the top 10 most wasted items to include; bread, potatoes, milk, ready-meals, fizzy drinks, fruit juice, poultry, pork products, cakes and chips. Of these products, there are a few that are staple food items that are clearly being utilised in a carefree manner. Quite astonishingly, the average years waste would fill Wembley stadium five times over....How can this be allowed to continue?? If it continues in the current vein then the situation will only deteriorate.
The key reasons for food wastage lie in failure to use the item or simply due to overcooking. It is therefore evident that education is vital. If more people are educated to understand that food can be used after a 'best-before' date, providing they are not high-risk foods, then there will be a massive reduction in unnecessary wastage. If people were also educated about portioning and about correct storage of foods, so that food will be cooked in correct amounts, and any leftovers reused then this will go some way to minimising the £12.5billion food costs that are associated with the UK (£60 per household).
Experts say the UK is improving its waste record, with 'avoidable' household waste down 21% in the last 8 years. but WRAP believes that waste could be cut by another 40% (1.7m tonnes) over the next 12 years. Considering the complaints and murmuring from members of the public about the cost of food, it seems ludicrous that they are willing to waste millions of pounds, so surely this target of reducing waste can be feasible, providing that people are educated appropriately.
It doesn't help that there is a conflict of interest with 'who's doing the better job'. Supermarkets believe that it is them that are helping the waste targets be met. Albeit they are doing a good job to limit food wastage, there needs to be more of a collective effort on all food fronts to reduce wastage.
Though, saying this, food wastage can occur throughout the chain from farmer through supermarket and to consumer, so there needs to be stricter control of wastage throughout the chain for further reductions and positive effects to be forthcoming.
Its a question of taking simple but effective steps in each household first and foremost, that all we can do, and hope that larger companies and the producers follow suit. Little things will make a difference: who would have thought of freezing milk, well this is a recommended step to reduce wastage, as with bread also. In addition fruit will last longer in the fridge than a bowl, and even banana which is the exception to this, can be chopped and frozen. For overcooking of foods, store remaining portions in the fridge, or why not cook double and freeze some for future use, to save throwing leftovers. It is vital to wrap foods and remember that best-before dates are a guide for quality of the product and not a must-eat deadline.
Think of how much good this could do in the world, considering there are billions of hungry people nationwide and worldwide. Maybe well see a reduction in the 24million slices of bread thrown away, the 1.4million bananas and the 1.1million eggs, but what is important is that we start to make a change
AT HOME, and starting from NOW.
Monday, 4 November 2013
Sustainability the future for hotels - a talk by Ecompter
Last week (30-31st October) i visited the independent hotel show held at Kensington Olympia exhibition centre for 2 days. Amongst a variety of topics discussed by panels of leading hoteliers was a topic based on the issue of sustainability within hotels in the UK, led by Ecompter. Ecompter are a sustainability service that work specifically for hotels to provide information and communication of sustainable practices, and provides facts and figures for environmental management of an operation and platforms for the communication of this vital information to the guests.
It was an extremely informative discussion that reiterated a number of key points i had previously been made aware of, such as the goal from the IPCC (International panel on climate change) to reduce CO2 levels by 80% by 2080. The key point that accompanied this was that this is not to improve the current CO2 environmental situation but simply to reduce it to limit the severity of a worsening situation. The travel and tourism industry according to the UN WTO (UN World Tourism Organisation) is responsible for 5% of global CO2 and the accommodation industry a further 20% of this, i.e. 1% of the global co2, STANDING AT 340M tonnes which is equal to the CO2 of Spain.
The speech was beneficial in outlining the common pitfalls of managers within the industry for failing to succeed with sustainable practices. In addition the benefits of sustainable practices were clearly evidenced; the development of business revenue, the reduction of costs and the improvement to employer image. According to TripAdvisor surveys, 71% of travellers reported that they would chose hotels based on sustainability over the next year, this is up 6% from 65% in 2012. If this figure doesn't make hospitality businesses take note then i don't know what will. It is obvious that in the future, sustainability will be an expectation and in order to attract guests there needs to be a demonstration of commitment to sustainability before it is too late, both for the environment and for the business' existence.
It also became evident that it is all well and good being sustainable according to regulations, but 91% of global consumers believe that companies should go beyond minimum standards set by law, and continue to expand their sustainability practices. The engagement of guests will be vital to ensuring a business is displaying sustainability practices. The guests represent 30% of the carbon footprint of a hospitality business and if they can be notified and involved in the demonstration of sustainable practices, throughout their customer journey, then there will be a greater impact for everyone involved, with education of customers, evolution of loyalty to the business, an increase in business revenue and most importantly greater benefits for the wider environment.
It is clear the time to take note, and embrace sustainability is now. Ecompter offer the best way of achieving this through assistance in guest communication and sustainable practices, with analysis of their cost and revenue implications and a constant innovation of concepts to ensure that businesses will go above and beyond standards, ensuring guest satisfaction, business profitability and ultimately a better environment.
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