Article 13, a leading corporate social responsibility consultancy, has released a feature on CSR and sustainability reporting.  The feature takes an in-depth look at recent trends in CSR and sustainability reporting both in the UK and internationally. It also profiles ACCA and GRI sustainability reporting award winners and explores what the recent economic downturn means for reporting.

With the global financial crisis placing pressure on budgets, our CSR
expert view takes an in-depth look at the challenges of sustainability
reporting and how to make it more cost effective by focusing on WHO we
are really trying to convince and HOW we should go about it. 
Recognising that sustainability and CSR reporting are still in their
infancy, this opinion piece emphasises the importance of producing
reports that demonstrate the clear value of corporate responsibility in
practice if the field is going to survive inevitable budget cuts. 
“Sustainability reporting – demonstrating the value of sustainability
efforts” explores the complexities of having multiple audiences to take
into account when reporting on CSR; deciding on which of the multiple
reporting frameworks to use; and the recurring question of verification
of sustainability reporting.

In the CSR view from the field, Article 13 associate, Toby Radcliffe,
explores the role for CSR in a downturn and what changes this may see
to the profession.  Toby realises that businesses must prioritise in
the face of recession, but says that CSR and sustainability should not
be swept aside.  He believes that companies where management has fully
integrated sustainability will be more likely to see it through, but
those who are in the early stage ‘add-on’ phase are unlikely to be
robust enough or show enough foresight to survive the recession.  He
goes on to assert that CSR and sustainability must evolve in times of
recession to ensure that they take into account economic factors such
as maintaining cash and liquidity, reducing debt, managing costs more
efficiently and maximising productivity.

This feature on sustainability reporting also incorporates a series of
CSR best practice case studies, which profile winners of the ACCA
sustainability reporting awards and the Global Reporting Initiative’s
Readers’ Choice Survey.  They include BT, CLP Holdings, Shell,
Petrobras and ICT.  In addition, there are two briefing papers, which
overview reporting trends from around the world as identified by a KPMG
survey and how the new AA1000 assurance standard can help reporters
focus on what is really important.

To read the full CSR and sustainability feature, visit http://www.article13.com/csr/theissues.asp

Email:        fionab@article13.com
Phone:        +44 (0)20 8840 4450
Website:    www.article13.com

Imogen Stone, the online flower and gift store, has recently become a Fairtrade licensee

They became licensees to support the Fairtrade Foundation in their goal to transform trading structures and practices in favour of the poor and disadvantaged. You can support flower growers in the developing world this Valentine’s Day by purchasing flowers from Imogen Stone. Chocaid Fairtrade chocolates are also available with flowers for the perfect gift for your lover. Visit www.imogenstone.com

Go Eco Store has provided sponsorship to the Environmental Team at the University of Leicester (UoL) during their recycling campaign in early 2009.

UoL have a strong eco ethic and the Environment Team has an extensive list of issues that they intend to address covering all kinds of environmental impacts at the University. These range from the energy used and the things they buy, to how people get around the University sites and managing the estate to improve conditions for wildlife. It’s not just about how they manage their waste but anything that is of an important environmental concern.

Last year in 2008 UoL ran a Big Green Week and started their recycling scheme, both of which received “Green Apple Awards”, they also enlisted the help of the Carbon Trust to calculate their carbon footprint, and then implemented a carbon management plan with ways of reducing energy.

Some of the things events taking place during 2009 include a recycling campaign which consists of “Golden Bin Challenges” and a Fancy Dress competition evening where all students are required to dress up in “recycled” outfits. The best dressed students will win some eco products supplied by Go Eco Store which are intended to encourage students to adopt an eco lifestyle.

In 2008 the staff at Go Eco Store wanted to improve their lifestyle to be more Eco friendly and started to look at what was available in the high street. They struggled to find many suitable products so investigated the “independent” market. It became obvious that there were a great number of products available but it was difficult to tell which ones offered real value for money. So with this in mind they felt that there would also be many other people trying to do the same thing, and so Go Eco Store was born.

Go Eco Store is trying to help everyone to support their Eco lifestyle by offering a range of products which are not only better for our planet but also kinder on your pocket. We have spent a great deal of time evaluating many products that are eco friendly and have brought together a selection of products that in our opinion offer high quality and great value for money.

The eco qualities of each item have been assessed; their performance evaluated and then compared the cost of using these items to similar products available in the high street. You will find the value for money assessment against each product on the website with it being expressed in the following ways: cost per use, life cycle cost, equivalent cost or quality.

The eco products are energy saving, natural, organic or recycled products and all are intended to reduce the impact on the environment while supporting your Eco home, encouraging an Eco lifestyle….

Please click here to see the full article > > >

My Greener Home™ now sells the HouseHeat range of products to cut your central heating bill. Househeat is a fantastic new set of products that allow you to control the temperature of each room in your house independently to save you money. As long as you have Thermostatic Radiator Valves on your radiators you can fit Househeat in minutes and begin cutting your heating bill straight away. The equipment is modular so you can start by installing it in one room to try it out, and then expand it to control the radiators in each room of your home.

At its simplest, HouseHeat consists of a thermostat unit that you mount
on the wall of your room, which communicates wirelessly with a
motorised valve that you install on your radiator. When the temperature
of the room reaches the level you have set, the valve will turn the
radiator off, and when the temperature of the room starts to drop
again, the valve turns the radiator back on.

The benefit of HouseHeat is that it will control the temperature of
each room in which it is installed without any intervention by you. Ask
yourself how often you adjust the settings on your radiator. Do you
turn down the temperature settings in each room at night and then turn
them back up again in the morning? With the built in timer the
HouseHeat can allow the temperature of the room to fall to a lower
level at night (saving you money) and then bring it back up again in
the morning. The system can be set so you have more warmth in the
bedroom at night, and more warmth in the living room during the day.
All of these changes reduce the amount of time that your boiler is
burning fuel to heat parts of your house unnecessarily.

Visit My Greener Home™ at http://www.mygreenerhome.co.uk

…and see these new HouseHeat products here.

Further information:

With conventional hot-water central-heating systems using thermostatic
radiator valves, temperature-measurement errors arise because the
thermostat is too close to the radiator. With HouseHeat the Wireless
Room Thermostat is not physically connected to the radiator and may be
placed wherever desired in the room so temperature control is more
precise and is sensed in the desired location in the room itself, not
next to a radiator.

Furthermore, the room temperature only needs to be set at one location
in the room – namely on the HouseHeat Wireless Room Thermostat. With a
conventional heating system using thermostatic radiator valves, the
temperature needs to be set on each individual radiator.

A fully customisable daily and weekly programme enables the temperature
to be precisely regulated separately in every room in a house,
delivering accurate control of individual room temperatures according
to your personal needs and requirements. Separate day- and
night-programmes for each day of the week are definable. There is also
an override function to allow you to temporarily change the temperature
if required – for example, if you go away on holiday.

Because the HouseHeat system operates wirelessly, no cables, wires or
pipes are required for its installation – which means no disruption of
your home or damage to your décor. Installation is fast and simple,
with no need to drain radiators during installation.

About My Greener Home™

The company was founded in 2007, by Edwin Lloyd, formerly head of
global telecoms hedge funds at Norges Bank Investment Management, part
of the Norwegian Central Bank. He discovered the UK lacked a single
website selling credible energy and water saving products.  Consumers
affected by both the Credit Crunch and with a growing social
conscience, are demanding these products.  He, as a new father, also
wanted the safest and greenest goods for his children.

My Greener Home™ helps consumers save on their bills and reduce the impact on the environment. The four main product areas are:
1. Energy saving (reduce your heating bill and electricity usage)
2. Water saving (either by using less water, or by reusing rain or grey water)
3. Recycling (compost bins and rubbish compactors)
4. Lifestyle (wind-up radios and MP3 players, baby products)

The most popular product so far has been the Chimney Balloon which is
used to stop heat loss up (and cold air coming down) unused chimneys.
Father Christmas was the only one who didn’t appreciate it! My Greener
Home™ is constantly on the look out for innovative and inexpensive
devices to make homes greener. If you have heard of one, let us know,
and we’ll call them up.

Edwin Lloyd, Founder of My Greener Home™, commented:  ‘I started My
Greener Home™ when I found there was no single company that saved my
family money and had an environmental conscience.  We are always
looking for companies to work with, who have the same ethos as us.’

www.mygreenerhome.co.uk  
Enquiries +44 20 8133 9002

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

Put Spring back into your skin the natural way with buyOrganics’ expert advice

Despite months of slathering on creams, protective serums, blocks and foundations to shield our skin from the harsh winter elements, all of us are no doubt desperate to get back to the fresh, sun-kissed glow that is now just a memory from last year’s summer holiday….

It’s not always about what you put onto your skin however – as we are
all aware, most skincare products contain mind-bogglingly long lists of
ingredients, many of which are synthetic and quite possibly harmful
when absorbed into the skin and bloodstream, building up to cause
allergies, irritancy and even disease.

Organic skincare is the perfect solution – and buyOrganics’
range of carefully selected products will set you
up for the spring – sloughing off the winter and protecting new skin so
you’re ready to face the world again!  Two of buyOrganics’ ranges are
perfect to ease this transformation – and expert advisors from both
Essential Care and Organic Apoteke have some great tips and advice as
well.

Margaret Weeds of quality, affordable organic range Essential Care
says, “The skin is the largest elimination organ of the body, so using
chemical-free skincare products all year round will reduce toxic load,
but in order to slough off the winter from our skins, improving
sluggish circulations, focusing on exfoliation and extra moisturisation
with vitamin-rich plant oil products will pay dividends.”   

Margaret suggests using the Essential Care Tea Tree &Green Clay
soap or their Honey & Oatmeal facial bar to gentle exfoliate the
face, and to use a fine scrub mitt, brush or loofah with any of their
soaps, for the rest of the body.  Splash on cold water to boost
circulation and close pores the natural way.  

Cleanse with an Essential Care cleanser, followed by Rose Petal or
Citrus Tonic to gently tone the skin without stripping or irritation. 
Says Margaret, “For a fantastic glow and vitamin boost I strongly
recommend finishing with a couple of drops of Organic Superfruit
Concentrate.”

Left with dry, flaky or chapped skin from the cold, wind and central
heating?  Essential Care’s Ultra Rich Balm is economical and
multitasking, suitable for use anywhere on the body.  For particularly
badly cracked hands or heels, and even according to customer feedback,
psoriasis, use their Calendula Balm.

If you aren’t fussed about the pennies, then luxury skincare range
Organic Apoteke offers several products which are pure pampering heaven
– indulge in one or two special skincare treats from the range in
addition to your everyday cheaper products for perfect skin which won’t
cost the earth.

Dr Nitasha Buldeo, creator of the Organic Apoteke range, also offers a
simple and fun weekend detox plan to get the whole body, inside and
out, ready to face the world again.   As well as drinking plenty of
water, avoiding dairy, fried foods, preservatives and carbonated
drinks, she particularly recommends the following Organic Apoteke
products for glowing, toxin-free skin:  for the face, Active Face
Cleanse Gel and Active Herbal Toner, moisturise with their Active Face
Hydrating Gel and even have a go with the super cleansing Detox Face
Mask.  Use the Organic Apoteke Body Cleanse Gel and Body Hydrate Oil
both in Sicilian Orange & Mandarin to cleanse and moisturise the
body.

All products are available at top organic lifestyle online store buyOrganics: www.buyorganics.co.uk

Rescheduled for 5  March 2009

The Association for Sustainability Practitioners (ASP) are pleased to announce a new collaboration with University of West England (UWE) in Bristol.

The relationship will be between ASP’s “Learning Events” activities and UWE’s “Bristol Centre for Leadership and Organisational Ethics” a new initiative in the Business School, led by Prof. Peter Case, Dr Peter Simpson and Dr Robert French of the Department of Organisation Studies.

ASP Learning Events are highly interactive workshops and enquiries, based on collaboration, sharing and learning, on topics aimed at business leaders and sustainability practitioners.

These events will provide UWE with opportunities to exchange ideas
and knowledge between their faculty members, management and students
and ASP associates and the sustainability practitioners and business
leaders who attend the events. UWE will host and actively participate
in the Bristol-based ASP events.

The first event in this relationship will be the second in a series of
enquiries ASP is running called “Creating Futures, Beyond Profit” on
3rd February at UWE.

Confirmed contributors for Bristol:

Jenny Wardle – MD ChangeForum Ltd.

Dr. Martin Blake – Director CSR Royal Mail, Trustee Findhorn

David Bent – Head of Business Strategies, Forum For The Future

Prof. Richard Owen – University of Westminster

Jamie Walton – Independent Financial systems Researcher

Ian Chambers – Programme Director, Orange

Jim Roberts – Independent Consultant in Financial Services and Investment

Prof. Richard Owen – University of Westminster

Details for Bristol 5th March: programme

Register: registration

County’s leading fair trade store bucks gloomy High Street trend

Small retailers in Norfolk can maximise their chances of weathering the economic storm by concentrating on business ethics – that’s the message from the county’s biggest fair trade retailer, which is reporting strong sales growth in 2008.

The Living Rooms, in Poringland, saw sales grow by nine per cent year-on-year, with sales in the final quarter of 2008 a full 15 per cent ahead of the same period in 2007. The business, housed in a 4000 ft2 converted barn on the outskirts of Norwich, imports and sells fair- and ethically-traded goods for the homes and garden from all over the developing world. 

“There is a perception that when times are tough, people’s principles become less important,” said Jill Roberson, who runs the business with husband Stephen. “But what we are proving is that by sticking to our ethical vision, we are performing better than the High Street as a whole. It’s great to see that Norfolk people are not abandoning the concept of ethical shopping in the recession.

“There is a lesson here for Norfolk’s locally-owned retailers: when money is scarce, shoppers think more carefully where they spend their money, and that can benefit those of us who run businesses based on a guiding principle and vision.”

The Living Rooms growth came throughout its product range, with even furniture sales holding up during a tough period for homeware retailers. Christmas was a particularly strong period, with gifts and decorations contributing strong growth.

“This year most people changed their Christmas shopping habits,” said Mrs Roberson. “Instead of simply throwing money at the task, many people thought a bit harder about what presents they would give, and this has benefited us.

“It’s clear that 2009 is going to be very tough for everyone in retail, but it is gratifying to know that by sticking to our ethical principles we are not just doing the right thing, but we are being supported by Norfolk people as well.”

More details about The Living Rooms can be found at www.the-living-rooms.co.uk.

All we are saying is give Bees a chance this Xmas

Help fight the decline in the bee population with a range of habitats and homes from ecotopia.co.uk

While Albert Einstein did not say “if the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left” there is a lot of truth in this comment. Here are Ecotopia we are seriously worried are the decline in the bee population and encouraging people this Christmas to consider that a bee is not just for summer, they are needed for life – Life of the ecosystem.

We are in serious trouble without our friends. Not only are they the only insects that produce food for humans in the form of honey, they pollinate more than 100 crops as well as 90 percent of all flowering plants. We couldn’t begin to duplicate the work accomplished by bees – every bee makes 10 or more flights per day and each flight lasts more than one hour, visiting between 50 to 100 flowers.

So what can we do to help the bee population survive the current climate? It isn’t difficult to make your yard, garden or even patio space a haven for beneficial bees. You’ll be helping these important insects, as well as bringing more nature to your backdoor.

We are now doing some great deals on bee habitats to encourage customers to support these beautiful creatures. Try our wooden Bumblebee Nester at £19.99 or the ceramic nester at £16.59. These nesters are ideal to attract bees to your garden. Check out our other bee homes like the solitary beehive at £19.53, the insect theatre at £29.31 or pollinating bee log at £14.67.

And don’t forget we have a whole host of Burt’s Bees’ Product for Bee lovers!