The new Carbon Trust Standard

Spent a very informative day at the Low Carbon Innovation Exchange last Thursday, but was dismayed to hear that the Carbon Reduction Commitment only applies to companies whose energy consumption is 6,000 MWH or above - ours is way below that, so we needed something else. Luckily a meeting later that day with the Carbon Trust uncovered the new Carbon Trust Standard, which is ideal for companies below the Carbon Reduction Commitment threshhold. We'll be signing up for that, becoming one of their early adopters.

Happy Birthday Greenbang!

Went to Greenbang's first birthday party this week. Good to see so many people there supporting Dan. Also found out about a new sustech network.

Spent most of this week trying to assimilate the good stuff I heard at three separate sustainability events. More on those later.

Recycling medicines

Here's a novel take on recycling. Victoria Hale has founded a business called the Institute for OneWorld Health which picks up expired patents on pharmaceuticals and uses them to develop new cures for diseases which devastate developing countries where expensive patented treatments are beyond the reach of most sufferers. The first to be approved is a treatment for Visceral Leishmaniasis, a disease transmitted by sand-flies which kills almost half a million people every year in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. Next she plans to move on to Malaria. All credit to those like Bill Gates and the Lehman Brothers who are funding her work.

Jorre van Ast's Ingenious Jar Tops

I love elegant solutions that re-use items that might otherwise been recycled or, worse still, thrown away. I discovered Jorre van Ast's jar tops in the BA Business Life magazine (yes, I know, what was a doing on a plane? Sometimes it's inevitable, and at least I offset the carbon). Anyway, Jorre makes beautiful screw-on tops which turn empty jars into other useful vessels - like salt cellars, sprinklers, mugs, jugs and storage caddys. I suppose its an extension of the idea of selling chocolate spread in a jar which turns into a drinking glass when it's empty. Anyway, they are quite lovely and you can find them here.

You've got to laugh . . .

The spiralling cost of fuel is causing much hardship and consternation, but also some humour. My favourite from a selection of cartoons recently received is featured here. I suppose we should be grateful that more people are being persuaded to pay attention to their consumption of fossil fuels, even if their motives are entirely financially-based.

I was amused to notice that this particular collection of cartoons originates from America - imagine how they would feel if their fuel prices were at UK levels!