Renewable energy enthusiasts invited to share their expertise (and win a wattson)

The experience and enthusiasm of people who have installed renewable
energy (such as solar panels, biomass boilers or wind turbines) in
their home is at the heart of YouGen’s remit of
helping make it easy for people to navigate a complex new market and
choose wisely.

Research* shows that people have difficulty in finding impartial, informed advice about renewable energy; that 91 per cent look at the internet for advice; and that they want an installer who is knowledgeable, trustworthy, reliable and preferably local. YouGen will use social media to provide a one stop shop for renewable energy.

‘We’re calling on people who have installed renewable energy or made their house more energy efficient to register on the site now, ready for the user-generated section which goes live after Easter,’ says founder Cathy Debenham.  ‘To encourage them, we’re entering everyone who registers before Easter into a draw to win a wattson – the stylish energy meter from DIY Kyoto.

‘Renewable energy is a really confusing market, and most of the early adopters have a story to tell. While their original motivation may have been to reduce energy bills, or for energy security or environmental protection, renewable energy often fascinates people in a way they don’t expect. It engages you with the energy you use, bringing you closer to nature and more aware of its power.’

Companies serving the domestic renewable energy, microgeneration and energy efficiency markets are also invited to register, and they too will be able to add profiles once the user-generated section of the site goes live after Easter.

The YouGen site currently consists of independently researched information, which prides itself in giving practical information, cutting through the jargon and making it easy for people to see if a technology is suitable for their home. The blog has regular contributions from YouGen Energy Experts who are professionals in their field, and are happy to answer questions. It covers energy efficiency as well as renewable energy.

Recent blog posts include:

• Will feed-in tariffs deliver for us?

• Calculators shed light on renewable choices

• Fascinating facts about wood

• Insulation is king

For more information contact:

Cathy Debenham, e: cathy@yougen.co.uk, t: 01395 597879
YouGen – renewable energy made easy – www.yougen.co.uk

Take the hassle out of living a greener and more sustainable lifestyle

Eco Concierge, launched today, is offering a new green lifestyle
service, helping people live in a more sustainable and eco-friendly
way.  The new service gives consumers expert advice and assistance on
making the right green and ethical choices, helping people to save
time, money and the planet.

As part of the new service, Eco Concierge lifestyle managers meet with clients and help them create and deliver an action plan that reduces their environmental impact in a way that fits with their lifestyle, values and priorities.   This can range from a complete lifestyle review covering home, shopping and travel, to advice on one off events such as organising a green wedding, an eco holiday or environmentally friendly building renovation.

After calculating their current ecological footprint, Eco Concierge gives clients a free quote outlining the environmental and financial savings they could make by becoming greener.  Clients are then supported with practical input and new ideas including making green choices, researching and project managing the best eco suppliers and negotiating discounts on a wide range of environmentally friendly products and services.

Kirsten Jack, founder of Eco Concierge says, “I set up this company because I know people want to do the right thing, they are just very busy and don’t get round to doing all the things they’d like to do. Armed with the right information and encouragement, our clients are able to make changes that bring new ideas into their lives, help the environment and save money.”

Eco Concierge has the tools to make a quick but thorough analysis of clients’ personal values, motivations and current eco behaviours.  This means that each service is uniquely tailored to be both motivating and accessible for clients.

Eco Concierge draws on a considerable pool of expertise in finding the right information, products and services for clients at discounted prices.  Lifestyle management packages start from £25 a month; a full lifestyle overhaul is £199. For more information or to request a free quote, customers can visit www.ecoconcierge.org or get in touch with Kirsten@ecoconcierge.org or call 07505 480903.

Ends

Notes to editors

There are three main services, with all clients offered a free quote and a starter pack with freebies and discounts specifically relevant to them. The Quick Fix service is a ‘lifestyle overhaul’ and costs £199.  A bespoke solution is designed that delivers the footprint changes the client is interested in and shows the total money and planets saved.

The One Planet Living service is a monthly drop in support service to helping clients at busy points in their year, for £25 a month. This could include helping to organise a child’s birthday party, helping with ethical investment decisions or booking a summer holiday.

Conscious Living is a service for busy people who know what they want and simply need support to make it happen.  It may be a low impact home renovation, a gift for a busy person, or help to make your garden a wildlife haven.  The service is charged on an hourly rate of £35, with reductions for longer jobs.  

The initial free consultation takes a maximum of 30 minutes and can be done face to face or virtually. A follow consultation on booking to understand clients’ needs normally takes approximately 90 minutes. From there, the client chooses how much they want to be involved in tracking actions taken on their behalf – Eco Concierge can offer detailed information about the reasons behind their decisions or they can simply get on with delivering the actions – depending on the client’s preference.

Eco Concierge aims to do well by doing good and takes its own sustainable operation as well as its support of individuals and businesses seriously. Its mission is to have a net positive effect on the world and to be authentic, honest, transparent and fair.

Kirsten Jack has a relevant MSc and is an Associate of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.  She has seven years experience working in the environment sector – across business, charity and government sectors in the UK and internationally.

For more information
For an appointment with Kirsten Jack, founder of Eco Concierge, photography, case studies, or interviews, please contact:

Jo Marino – 07932 403555
The Spring Consultancy
jomarino@thespringconsultancy.com

Anna Guyer – 07976 556164
The Spring Consultancy
annaguyer@thespringconsultancy.com

At: Favela Chic, 91-93 Great Eastern Street, London
Monday to Sunday from 5.00 pm
Opening evening on Thursday March 5th, 2009
To receive an invitation, email aurelie@veja.fr

The New World
The New World has since a long time been tamed and its virgin land conquered by dint of human dreams and madness. This tremendous continent has always been the scene of excessiveness : megalopolises such as São Paulo or New York, long roads crossing the Amazonian forest through and through, huge farming lands, new religions… This inordinate conquest harbours disillusion and resentment, lays waste to forest, heightens inequalities, replaces family cultivations by genetically modified cultivations….

Terra do Futuro ?
A new conception of the world is coming to the fore. Trades,
production, and land cultivation have been reconsidered by people who
try to regain, on the ground and in the field, esteem and dignity. Novo
Mundo(s) sets out two of these initiatives : In Ceará, a dry and poor
area in the North East of Brazil, a cooperative of cotton producers
have pitched on organic growing. In the Amazon, rubber tappers recently
freed from the great landlords domination live on rubber harvesting and
fight for the preservation of the oldest forest of the world. Are the keys for another world not there ?

Photographer Florent Demarchez has followed the 2 founders of Veja in
Brazil. His photographs reveals the arising of new initiatives which
fight for a different world on the edge of the global economy.

Press contact : aurelie@veja.fr — 020 3355 83 55
www.veja.fr

Campaigners converge on Coventry for crucial climate change protest

Hundreds of campaigners from around the country will join forces with NASA’s Dr James Hansen, a world expert on global warming, in Coventry on 19 March 2009 for a national Climate Change Day of Action. The aim is to highlight the plight of millions of poor people in developing countries for whom extreme weather conditions are now a matter of life or death.

The Climate Change Day of Action has been organised by Christian Aid, in partnership with CAFOD, the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition and the World Development Movement. It will call on Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and other world leaders, to ensure that the plight of the world’s poorest countries is central to crucial climate change talks taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark in December.

The Day of Action will begin with a service at Coventry Cathedral at noon attended by Dr Hansen, and the Right Reverend James Stuart Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool, together with more than a thousand campaigners. This will be followed by a New Orleans style funeral march around the city by hundreds of ‘mourners’ dressed in black in remembrance of those who have already died as a consequence of extreme climate change.

The march will begin at 1.30pm at the old Cathedral ruins in Coventry town centre and end by the Civic Centre, Little Park Street at 2.30pm.

The ‘mourners’ will then visit the nearby headquarters of power company E.ON, with the final message of the day: ‘No to coal!’ Protestors will show their opposition to plans by E.ON to build a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent by ending the funeral march at the company’s front door.

The Copenhagen talks in December must agree new carbon capping limits to come into force when the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. Vulnerable communities in countries with the least responsibility for carbon emissions are now bearing the brunt of the impact of climate change through droughts, floods, desertification, an increase of extreme weather phenomena such as hurricanes and typhoons, and a higher incidence of disease.

The organisations participating in the Climate Change Day of Action are concerned there will be no agreement in Copenhagen if richer countries refuse to show leadership over cutting their own emissions, and agree to shoulder the cost of helping the developing world with clean development and adaptation to climate change.

If the Kingsnorth power station gets the go-ahead before technology is developed to capture and store carbon emissions it would emit in excess of seven million tonnes of CO2 a year – more than the combined annual emissions of the 30 least emitting countries or nine times the total annual emissions of Rwanda.

Dr Hansen, Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space, who recently publicly warned US President Barack Obama about the importance of tackling climate change said: ‘Time is running out for the climate and the vulnerable people of our planet. Campaigning on climate change has never been more crucial. Make sure you add your voices to the Climate Change Day of Action.’

Hansen also recently described plans for a new coal-fired plant at Kingsnorth as: ‘A terrible idea. One power plant with a lifetime of several decades will destroy the efforts of millions of citizens to reduce their emissions.’

Southampton based social enterprise, Jamie’s Computers was one of 14 organisations in the region to receive a ministerial visit, when Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Cabinet descended on Southampton on Monday 23rd February.  

The computer re-use and recycling project, Jamie’s Computers is a project of Southampton’s largest homelessness charity, The Society of St James.  Jamie’s welcomed Liam Byrne, Minister for the Cabinet Office to its operation in Northam as part of the ministerial visits which took place in the region.

Minister Liam Byrne said, “Jamie’s Computers is a great example of how social enterprises can
benefit the local community and the country as a whole.  It’s clear to
me that they give vulnerable people real opportunities to realise their
potential and get on in life, regardless of their circumstances.

“In this tough economic climate we need businesses like this that put
ethics first.  This way we can all build a fairer society and a
stronger country.”

The visit followed this month’s announcement of the Government’s Third
Sector Action Plan, which has been designed together with third sector
leaders over the last three months and builds on the wide range of
measures the Government has put in place to support people through the
economic downturn, and on the Government’s long term commitment to
voluntary organisations and social enterprises.

Della Cunio, Operations Director for Jamie’s said of the visit:

 “We were delighted to learn that the Minister would visit the project –
it was a great compliment to the work that we do and a proud moment for
all the staff and service users involved.  

“The importance of social enterprise in the provision of public service
and contribution to the economy is recognised by government and keenly
promoted.  We were pleased to be able to provide a positive case study
for the Minister.”  

For more information about Jamie’s Computers call 023 8063 2198 or visit www.jamies.org.uk.

“UK to Australia without flying is no mean feat – Barbara Haddrill’s determination to cut her carbon footprint leads to a once-in-a-lifetime experience across two hemispheres, simply and vividly told.  An example to us all!” Mark Smith, The Man in Seat 61

“A story filled with joy, intrigue, courage and adventure. A profound experience and a gripping read. Barbara shows the way of low carbon travel and the experience of a true journey.” Satish Kumar

Babs2Brisbane is Barbara Haddrill’s account of her incredible overland journey from Wales to Australia to be bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding.

Published by the Centre for Alternative Technology. Click here to buy a copy > > >

Save the dates!
 
The seventh WALK YOUR TALK conference will take place this year from the afternoon of Sunday 8th to Wednesday 11th November 2009 at Buckland Hall, near Brecon in Wales.
 
Further details, including early bird rates, will follow shortly. If you have colleagues or friends who would like to receive news of WALK YOUR TALK 2009, please let us know.

As part of Article 13’s values and principles  we feel it our duty to do everything we can to reduce our environmental footprint. Therefore on a monthly basis a dedicated member of the Article 13 team monitors; the levels of fuel use; electricity and paper consumption; air travel; and public transport. Furthermore, Article 13 has inserted a standard rate Carbon Clause into client contracts which contributes £20 to offsetting carbon emissions.

We have recently published our annual Environmental report  which details;

1. Our monthly usage of fuel, electricity, paper, air travel emissions, public transport;
2. The 2008 percentage change on our 2007 levels;
3. Our targets and actions for 2009 to further improve our
   environmental practices and impacts of our business activities and
   operations.

Due to the day-to-day individual efforts of our team, as well as a
Company concerted effort up to and including 2008, Article 13 has
monitored and the following changes in our; in our fuel consumption
(14% increase on our 2007 levels due to increasing attendance and
therefore use of car travel to and from the office); electricity
consumption (a 27% decrease); paper consumption (a 10% decrease); and
business related air travel emissions (a 144% decrease) on 2007 levels.

To continue to push our targets and thus efforts, for 2009 we have
committed to further improvements to our environmental practices and
actions, mainly by; changing behaviour (e.g. reducing business related
car travel), promoting responsibility (e.g. advocate and raise
awareness through our vast network and website), and actioning measures
(e.g. annual offset of our carbon footprint)

These actions, alongside our existing and longstanding Environmental
policy , exemplify Article 13’s continual striving to improve its
environmental performance and advocates responsible business in the
area of environmental and social sustainability.  

For more information regarding Article 13’s environmental practices and policy, please see our UNGC pages.

For information on how Article 13 can assist you in auditing your
companies practices, developing action plans, and reducing your
business related effects on the environment, contact Fiona Banyard on
0208 840 4450 or mail fionab@article13.com