On the 12th October, Climate Friendly Food will officially launch the UK’s most comprehensive carbon footprint calculator for farmers and growers, along with the world’s first low carbon participatory certification scheme. This is an exciting landmark for the development of carbon calculators and the low carbon food market.

To celebrate this launch, Climate Friendly Food have organised a week-long series of events. Starting in Dartington, near Totnes, Mukti Mitchell and Jonathan Smith will cycle 130 miles to Bristol, stopping at organic farms on the way.

Climate Friendly Food is committed to minimising its carbon footprint, so we’re using sustainable travel to promote low carbon food. We will also be eating climate friendly food as we attach great importance to putting principles in to practice.

You are very welcome to join us at one of the events listed overleaf. All events are free to attend, but as space is limited you will need to reserve a place as soon as possible. We will ask for donations towards tea and cakes on the day.

To book your place, please contact Jenny Hall by e-mail jenny@climatefriendlyfood.org.uk or by phone on 01744 894284. We look forward to meeting you at one of the events.

Tuesday 13^th October 5.30-7.30pm St. Wilfred’s Enterprise Centre, Royce Road, Hulme, Manchester

Following a week of important demonstrations in over 100 cities worldwide for Global Climate Action Week, Action for Sustainable Living* (AfSL) has so far recruited 24 local volunteers from across the city to become climate change pioneers in their community, but we are still on the lookout for more! If you want to make a difference in your area but aren’t sure where to begin then come along to an informal induction evening at AfSL’s offices in Hulme on 13^th October and find out what voluntary position would best suit you.

AfSL are looking for eco warriors from across the city who can spare some time to help get our exciting sustainable community projects off the ground and generally complement the volunteers who are already working throughout Manchester and Trafford. We are particularly keen to hear from you if you live in Bradford, Gorton North, Ancoats, Clayton, Stretford or Sale.

We want local people who are passionate about making their communities better places in which to live to help us set up and run these unique projects which have so far included community allotments, fair trade societies, energy action teams, composting schemes, local shop campaigns and a whole range of interesting, locally-relevant things.

You don’t need any previous experience and there’s a lot you can get out of it. Volunteering with AfSL is a great way to meet new people, gain invaluable work experience with a local award winning charity, have fun, and most importantly, you’ll be able to see that you’ve made a real difference in your local area.

Action for Sustainable Living supports individuals and their communities to make a difference. We believe that small steps lead to big changes.

“I’m really excited about starting this unique opportunity to make a genuine hands-on difference in my community and help Action for Sustainable Living to inspire even more people to enjoy a sustainable way of life” said Ali Thomas, new AfSL volunteer in Chorlton.

For more information or to book you place on the induction please e-mail volunteers@afsl.org.uk or call 0161 2270377. Further information is available on the AfSL website  http://www.afsl.org.uk/

Call Outs to the
Coalition:

1) Calling for all Trade Union
contacts!
 
With the fabulous news that Unison are mobilising their
members and organising a feeder event for the march (see below), we’re working
on getting other Trade Unions on board. We’ll
be at a TUC fringe meeting next week and we’re working
to get Union head offices on board, but we need everybody
help get unionists mobilised on the ground. Can you
help?

• Do you have local groups that can contact their
  local trades council or union
  branches and get them
  involved? 
• Do you have any Trade Union contacts that might be interested in getting
  people to the Wave? If you do, please let us know by e-mailing Tom.Wright@foe.co.uk and
  try to get them mobilising their union branches!

2) Getting
people to The Wave

Coaches – Are your members
mobilising in their local areas? Organising transport is a great way for local
groups to get people in the area involved, and encourage concerned citizens
to take that next step in coming to The Wave with a group of like minded
people! 
 
This
may seem daunting, so here’s our guide on how
to book a coach,
please send it to all your supporters and lets get those coaches coming in with
thousands of people from around the country. 
 
We’re doing our best to collate information on all Wave-related transport on our website, so if you know of
coaches that have been organised, and aren’t on the map, please let us
know!
 

Trains – There are now two
Wave trains bringing people to the Wave! And a ‘How to charter a
train’ guide is on it’s way. If you, or one of
your supporters are interested in chartering a train, just let me
know.
 
There’s a new train planned from the South
West: Starting in Plymouth, it will pass Bristol and Bath and
arrive into Paddington in time for the Wave. Details are still to be confirmed,
but as soon as we know more, it’ll be on the transport map.
 
And from the North,
The Wave
Express, a 500 seat
charter train organised by CAFOD, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, Leeds
Justice and Peace Commission, Stop Climate Chaos and TIDAL, will be travelling
from Bradford, Leeds and Doncaster to London King’s
Cross for the Wave. More info
here: http://local.stopclimatechaos.org/2009/the-wave-express/

3) Stewards
needed!
 
Can your supporters be stewards at the Wave? Please send
this stewarding
form out to your supporters, and encourage them to
volunteer. Steward volunteers can send their form straight back to us at: office.intern@stopclimatechaos.org, but even better,
please collate steward forms from your supporters (you’ll need to change
the return e-mail address on the form) and forward them to us with
recommendations on who would be good steward supervisors.
 
Please return steward forms as soon as possible so we can get an idea of
numbers in advance, but no later than 6th
November. There will be steward briefings on Thursday 26 November
and Tuesday 1 December at 6.30pm, as detailed on the form.

4) Getting
The
Wave in supporter publications
 
Have
you all booked promotion for the Wave into your supporter magazines? Cover
stories; articles; adverts; flyer/ poster inserts; photos; call outs for
local mobilisation in supporter magazines and newsletters: they’re all vital for
getting the word out and making sure everyone knows this is the
unmissable climate event.
   

Wave mobilisation
updates:

Unison have exciting plans for
a feeder event. Unison members
will meet at the Unison head office
for a rally before setting off together for the Wave. Watch
this space for more details.   

The Woodland Trust are promoting the Wave in
the way they know best – by dressing up as
trees! Look out for them at the Bentley
Wield Woodfair in Lewes on 18-20th September.
 
 
Let us know what
you’re doing to mobilise for the Wave and I’ll include it in the next Wave
Special. 
I look forward to
hearing your news (fiona@stopclimatechaos.org)!

What
is it?

The
Converging
World presents Climate350, a campaign to raise awareness
of the present day impacts of climate change and to show support for
the CoP15 climate negotiations in Copenhagen this December. Forming
a major element of the campaign, 350 performances will take place in
the streets and venues of Bristol between 7^th
September and 18^th
December2009.

Why
Climate350?

Climate350
is part of an international movement to encourage national delegates
to push for a commitment to limit CO₂
emissions to 350 parts per million (ppm). Currently 450ppm is held to
be a politically appropriate target; scientists say this is
dangerously high.

This
conference will be our last chance to agree internationally on
policies that will help us avoid the worst of climate change. We
need to show our negotiators that people care about the outcome of
this summit and that they expect the final decisions to reflect
scientific guidance. 

Not
many people know about the conference or what “350″ stands for.
Through the performances thousands of people in Bristol will become
aware of this historical global decision and will be able to take
part in ensuring the right outcome.

What
will Performance 350 achieve?

Each
performance will result in evidence of support for Climate350’s
targets; signatures on a petition, photographic records of each event
and an expanded membership of the Climate350 Facebook and Twitter
groups. Members of these groups will receive updates of the
conference and will be able to use the forums to empower the
negotiators to reach for ambitious targets. These records will be
presented to our representatives as evidence of mass support for the
Climate350 campaign.

Where?

Various
Bristol venues are supporting this campaign. So far we have received
confirmation by Arnolfini,
Mr Wolfs, Coexist Canteen, The Grain Barge, East Side Roots and The
Bristol Festival and Millennium Square by At-Bristol. They will all
be hosting performances regularly throughout the campaign.

Check
www.climate350.org
for our program, participating venues and acts!

What
you can do?

Keep
check of our online program and come to the performances to celebrate
the things we’d like to preserve of the world we know. Speak to our
campaign reps to get a better understanding of
Climate350 and sign our petitions. If you would like to perform or
volunteer please send an email to performance@climate350.org
or volunteer@climate350.org
accordingly.

Who
are we?

The
Converging World is a Bristol based charity whose objectives are to
tackle climate change whilst supporting the move towards a just and
sustainable world. After the campaigns finish in December we want
people to continue to engage with us in the transition to a new low
carbon, sustainable and converging world. Visit our website for more
info www.theconvergingworld.org

European Commission proposals about how poor countries should be
helped financially to deal with climate change show a ‘serious lack of
ambition’ says Christian Aid.

The Commission said that EU should provide poor countries with
between €2 -15bn annually for both adapting to climate change, and
reducing emissions. Christian Aid and other climate justice campaigners say the
figure should be €35bn a year.

Nelson Muffuh, advocacy coordinator at Christian Aid, said:
‘If this figure is accepted, the goal of limiting global warming to 2^oC
becomes ever more remote.

‘Pollution
from rich countries is already having devastating effects in developing
countries, through droughts, floods and tropical storms. Rich countries have to
face up to their historic responsibility for the emissions that have caused
climate change.’

Christian Aid also criticised the EC’s proposals as relying
too heavily on the carbon market to raise the money. The market, it said, does
not guarantee reliable financial flows and has earlier proved to disadvantage
the poorest nations because of a lack of interest in investing in those
countries.

The charity also attacked an annex to the commission’s
proposal which said some of the money could come from official development
assistance (ODA).

‘This is alarming,’ said Muffuh. ‘In the short
term they seem to want to rely totally on ODA for adaptation support which
threatens the poverty eradication objectives of developing countries by
diverting already meagre resources.

‘For the crucial UN climate change negotiations in Copenhagen
in December to stand any chance of success, industrialised countries must
strongly commit to providing substantial funding to cover the full incremental
costs for sustainable development and adaptation to climate change in
developing countries.

‘Many poorer nations are disappointed at the lack of EU
leadership. After decades of broken aid promises, the trust gap between rich
and poor countries, which it is essential to bridge if we are to counter
climate change, simply widens.

One positive aspect was the EC’s proposal that a specific
climate fund be set up under the UN Convention. ‘This is a good
initiative that we would like to see elaborated further since it would not be a
donor controlled fund,’ said Muffuh.                                                   

A brand new environment website – EnvironmentGuardian.co.uk
- is unveiled today, showcasing a host of new content, from video and
data tools to authoritative Q&As on a wide range of green issues.
The site will also ensure that its users are able to participate fully,
from the debate over global warming to household tips on green living.

To mark the launch of the site, and in the run up to the UN
climate talks in Copenhagen in December, the foreign secretary David
Miliband will take visitors’ questions in a live online Q&A at
lunchtime tomorrow.

The new site enhances the Guardian and Observer’s commitment to
environmental issues, and expands the existing award-winning reporting
from around the world.

Ian Katz, Deputy Editor of the Guardian,
said: “The Guardian has long been the leading British source of
environmental news and comment and with our new site we hope to cement
our position as the world’s leading source on all matters green. Having
built a team of six expert correspondents – including one in Washington
DC, another in China and one dedicated to green technology, plus a
fabulous stable of the most influential commentators and bloggers, the
Guardian has made the environment one of its top editorial priorities.”

 As well as a new design and increased editorial, new features on the site include:

• A new video series fronted by the Observer’s green-living guru Lucy Siegle
• A new environment data store making available the best quality data from sources including the World Resources Institute
• An environment research directory, including authoritative background guides on many subjects

James Randerson, editor of EnvironmentGuardian.co.uk,
said: “The Guardian has built this unrivalled team in the belief that
environmental issues, and in particular global warming, is the defining
issue of our age, combining politics, economics and social justice. The
new site, like the 10:10 campaign, which launched last week, will
enable everyone to understand and influence the debates. The site will
showcase the range of our content, from world-beating international
news coverage to practical tips about green living. We hope that all of
the new features on the site – together with the enthusiastic
participation of our visitors – will serve as an invaluable resource
for anyone wanting to understand the context behind the headlines.”

Christian Aid
marked the 100 day countdown to December’s crucial UN climate change
summit in Copenhagen on Friday night by staging
a Mass Visual Trespass at an East Shropshire
power plant.

Images of Christian
Aid supporters holding up
climate justice messages directed at Prime Minister Gordon Brown were beamed
onto a cooling tower at the E.ON power station in Ironbridge, Shropshire.

A series of Mass
Visual Trespasses targeting similar landmarks across Britain
will take place over the next four months to highlight Christian Aid’s
demand that the UK
government takes a global lead in the battle against climate change. 

Members of the
public are encouraged to join the trespass by adding photographs of themselves,
and their climate messages, at www.christianaid.org.uk/trespass

‘Climate
change endangers us all. Halting it is urgent – the highest priority any
government should have,’ said one of the participants, the Reverend John
Routh, from Sutton Coldfield.

Another
participant, Natalie Williams, aged 26, from Stourbridge, West
Midlands, said: ‘I’m doing this to raise awareness. Copenhagen isn’t just
a talk. Real decisions need to happen there for a sustainable future, not just
for ourselves, but for our children as well.’

Christian Aid is
calling on Gordon Brown to attend the UN summit in person in December and to
press rich countries to commit to at least 40 per cent carbon emission
reductions by 2020. 

It also wants the
UK government, along with other developed nations, to commit the necessary
support and resources, including technology transfers, to enable developing
countries to reduce emissions, develop in a low carbon way and adapt to climate
change.

In addition,
Christian Aid says no new coal fired power stations should be built in the UK
without carbon capture and storage facilities, which should also be
retro-fitted to all older power stations when the technology is proven.  

Paul Brannen, head of campaigns
at Christian Aid said:  ‘Ironbridge was an appropriate target for
our first Mass Visual Trespass because it is the birthplace of the Industrial
Revolution. It is rich industrialised countries like the UK that are historically
responsible for causing climate change.  They must now demonstrate a new
kind of leadership in dealing with the consequences.

‘Climate
change is already having a devastating effect on the people we work with in
developing countries who have contributed very little to global warming. 
Vulnerable communities are bearing the brunt of unpredictable weather patterns,
droughts, floods, tropical storms and higher incidences of disease. For these
people, climate change is now a matter of life or death.

‘It’s
time for a new revolution, a climate revolution. It’s vital that a fair
and just climate deal is agreed in Copenhagen
to come into force when the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol ends in
2012.’

We’ve been neglecting keeping our compatriots at Ethical Junction in the loop about developments in Leap’s world… Here are some of the latest happenings including the Leap designed – Good Energy Shop winning the observer ethical awards, a Leap designed children’s book ‘Tales of Porth’, winning a Big Tick for Climate Change from Business in the Community, gaining an ISO-14001 accreditation for our Environmental Management System, confrimation that Leap had achieved the Ethical Company Organisation’s Ethical Award and winning gold medal at the Hampton Court Flower Show in association with the Lost Gardens of Heligan…

Back
in April we were told of our success on behalf of the Cornish Language
Partnership and their Leap designed children’s book series ‘Tales from
Porth’:

PICTURE
CAPTION: From Left to Right: Matt Hocking, Director of Leap-design for
change; Pol Hodge, Cornish Language Consultant; Jenefer Lowe,
Development Manager for Cornish Language Partnership; Brian Hoskin,
Illustrator; Will Coleman, writer of ‘Tales from Porth’ and Kieran
Holden, Designer for Leap (Other Illustrator Emma McCann Not Pictured).

In June we won a Big Tick for Climate Change from Business in the Community:

PICTURE
CAPTION: From Left to Right: Peaches Gelding, Regional Director,
Business in the Community; Chris Maynard, PR and Marketing Coordinator
for Leap.

At around the same time the Good Energy Shop won The Observer Ethical for Best Online Retail Initiative:
“We can now say that Leap
designed the most ethical online retail site in 2009! That’s right
folks… Good Energy Shop won! Everyone is thrilled at the news and
we’d like to congratulate everyone at Good Energy for ensuring that a
great website is backed up with a great team and customer experience.
As the award was decided by nominations from customers, we’d like to
add to Good Energy’s words by thanking all those customers who voted
for the site.”

PICTURE
CAPTION: From Left to Right: Lucy Siegle, The Observer’s ethical living
columnist; Barney Rhys Jones, Good Energy MD; Colin Firth, actor, Oxfam
Ambassador and director of Fairtrade coffee shop chain
Progresso and Sophy Fearnley-Whittingstall, Head of PR and
Communication for Good Energy.

During July we were given our ISO-14001 accreditation for our Environmental Management System:
“After two years of hard graft and the training of four of our five
employees, we have now (last Tuesday in fact) been given our ISO-14001
accreditation.This is culmination of a huge amount of work and
drive by Matt and Jonny and singles us out as the only graphic design
studio in the South West (and maybe the country) that has achieved this
prestigious recognition.
The 14001 accreditation is concerned with
Leap’s environmental management system and calls for a measurable
reduction in all of its outputs year on year.”

Also in July Leap, in association with the Lost Gardens of Heligan won a gold medal at the Hampton Court Flower Show:

PICTURE CAPTION: From Left to Right: Lorna and Sarah with Claire England, Designer for Leap.

PICTURE CAPTION: From Left to Right: Sarah and Lorna Tremayne, Marketing and Media Manager from Heligan.

Last month we received confirmation that 

Leap had achieved the Ethical Company Organisation’s Ethical Award:

responsibletravel.com,
the world’s leading travel agent for responsible holidays is the first
travel agent to team up with newly launched TravelPledge – www.travelpledge.org 
 - the online charity donation scheme for travellers wanting to give
back to people and projects in the destinations they have visited.

This new partnership will offer responsibletravel.com customers the chance to donate money to trusted social and environmental projects in seven popular holiday destinations. responsibletravel.com
will also promote the scheme to its 900+ members (tour operators and
hoteliers around the world) to further encourage the take up of the
give back scheme among travellers.

TravelPledge screens the projects and facilitates online donations from travellers, adding gift aid when applicable.

Justin Francis, managing director, responsibletravel.com:
“This fantastic scheme has my full support. The feedback from
travellers we work with is that they are often left moved and inspired
by a holiday – whether it be due to encounters with local people,
wildlife or social and environmental issues in destinations – they come
back home wanting to help in some way. TravelPledge offers them the
chance to give something back.”

TravelPledge was set up in 2008 to respond to the increasing number
of requests from travellers to be able to contribute financially to
charitable social and environmental projects in the destinations they
visit. The charity ensures donations are processed effectively and that
the greatest amount possible reaches the destination. As a registered
charity, it retains zero percent of the consumer money donated to cover
its overheads.

Nick Chaffe, director, TravelPledge said: “By working hand in hand
with the travel industry and local delivery partners, TravelPledge
helps travellers to connect in more rewarding ways to the places
they’ve visited. We aim to deliver the most effective give back
mechanism for this sector. Our platform enables travellers to choose
projects and to donate quickly and easily online. Importantly we will
feed back to donors on the completion of each and every project they
choose to support.”

See
http://travelpledge.org/support/responsibletravel  for more information.
For interviews contact Krissy Roe, responsibletravel.com – mobile: 07717 348368

In
the run up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in
Copenhagen, latest research from EIRIS focuses on 300 of the world’s
largest companies to examine the progress they have made over the last
12 months in responding to the challenges of climate change.

Climate Change Compass: The road to Copenhagen
analyses the 300 largest companies listed on the FTSE All World Index
and finds that just over a third are failing to address the risks they
face from climate change – although the quality of companies management
response to climate change has improved overall.

Climate change has the potential to seriously impact shareholder value, especially in the medium to long term. As
the significant physical and economic impacts of climate change
increase, investors need to develop a greater understanding of the
extent and impact of corporate response to this issue. Highlights of
EIRIS’ research into how some of the world’s largest companies are
responding to climate change challenges are listed below:

Some improvements, but further momentum needed

§         Over a third (35.6%) of global 300 companies have a high or very high climate change impact¹. Of these, 33% are failing to mitigate their climate change risk (down from 34% in 2008)

§         99%
of companies with a high or very high climate change impact have a
corporate-wide climate change commitment (in comparison with 84% in
2008). This improvement can be explained by a number of drivers coming
into play including the increasing activity of investors

§         Almost
three quarters of companies (73% compared with 61% last year) have
referenced the wider policy context by referring to international
targets, regulations or the scientific imperative

Opportunities at Copenhagen

§         The
UN Climate Change Conference may create significant opportunities for
companies – linked to the development of green stimulus packages or a
clearer regulatory framework.

Engagement is key

§         Many large cap companies face significant climate change
risks and opportunities.  Investors must understand the impact these
issues will have on their portfolios and integrate climate change into
their engagement strategies or when exercising voting rights.

Climate
change affects businesses across every sector of the economy – from
aviation to agriculture. EIRIS’ latest research also outlines the
various risks and opportunities for companies and their investors which
climate change presents, including:

§         Regulatory challenges – Copenhagen
may bring about a number of changes in national and international
legislation for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Potential
environmental taxes and compliance costs must therefore be factored
into company valuation

§         Changing market dynamics
- relating to higher and fluctuating energy costs, especially for
energy intensive sectors. Changing consumer attitudes and demand
patterns also open up opportunities for new technologies, products and
markets

§         Changing weather patterns – security
and cost of water and energy supplies, plus the physical risks of
climate change, including damage to assets as a result of extreme
weather events all have cost implications

§         Reputational - customer, employee, investor and societal perceptions are having an increasing impact on brand value

Given
the importance of climate change and the likely impact of it on future
long-term corporate financial performance, it is increasingly seen as
an investor’s fiduciary responsibility to integrate consideration of
climate change into their investment strategy as outlined in the
UNEP-FI Fiduciary II report². Against a backdrop of the
recent global financial crisis and growing evidence of the significant
physical effects of climate change, the outcome of the Copenhagen
Conference will set the direction for a financial and policy framework
for future climate change investment for governments, corporations and
investors.

Stephanie Maier,
Head of Research at EIRIS said ‘Our research identifies a number of
improvements in the strategies that companies have put in place with
regard to their climate change impact. It is encouraging to see some
evidence that regulation and the increasing engagement activity of
investors on climate change are driving companies to focus more
attention on the climate change risks and opportunities they face.’

However, there are areas where further progress can be achieved. Stephanie Maier
added ‘Board level responsibility and ownership of a company’s response
to climate change is crucial. Linking remuneration to performance in
this area will help ensure companies remain focussed on these issues.
Likewise the increased use of verification for GHG emissions data will
provide investors with further reassurance on the reliability of the
information published. These are key areas where investors should exert
influence so as to help them minimise their risk.’

The full research report is available here (http://www.eiris.org/files/research%20publications/ftse300climatechangepaper09.pdf)

EIRIS
has developed a comprehensive suite of products to help investors
assess their portfolios and design investment strategies in response to
the challenge of a carbon-constrained economy. Click here for further information.
 
Press contact: carlota.garcia-manas@eiris.org, +44 (0)20 7840 5711