Page 6 - LONDON EDIT 2008-2009 pj

06 sustainabletimes 0870 903 9500

On the slide

The economic crisis is pushing sustainability down the boardroom agenda, according to a survey by Echo Research. Nearly two thirds (63%) of opinion leaders surveyed said they viewed it as a low or non-priority, and almost half (47%) said that businesses would do less in the current economic climate. Fewer than one in three (29%) believe that business is making a significant contribution to sustainability.

www.echoresearch.com

Paper recycling on target

The paper and board recycling rate in Europe reached 64.5% in 2007, according to The European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC). This confirms that the industry is on track to meet its voluntary target of 66% by 2010. The total amount of paper collected and sent to be recycled in paper mills was 60.1 million tonnes, an increase of 7.6 million tonnes (or +14.5%) since 2004, the base year for the target.

www.paperrecovery.org

Double the money

The Carbon Trust is doubling the size of grants available under its flagship Applied Research scheme from £250k to £500k. Carbon Trust Applied Research grant funding supports the development of technologies that have the potential to reduce UK carbon emissions. Since 2001, it has invested £18.5 million in 145 projects as diverse as fuel cells, combined heat and power, bioenergy, solar power, low carbon building technology and wave energy convertors. Of the 95 projects completed to date, 70% have filed patents, secured follow-on funding or generated commercial sales.

www.carbontrust.co.uk 0800 085 2005

How to save

Businesses can identify where to make savings using a free online tool developed by BT Business. Based on work that BT and Global Action Plan have undertaken on behalf of corporate clients, the BT Business Environmental Self-assessment Tool (BT BEST) identifies where businesses have an environmental impact and what they can do to improve their green credentials.

www.bt.com/btbest

greenBrief

Don’t neglect tried and tested CHP

Sustainable power group ENER-G is warning that tried and trusted technologies, such as combined heat and power (CHP), should not be sidelined in the rush to develop power from renewables.

Alan Barlow, managing director of ENER-G Combined Power, points out that the simultaneous generation of electricity and useful heat is almost twice as efficient as conventional power generation and is a proven technology.

“CHP reduces greenhouse emissions drastically by capturing the heat output that is wasted in conventional power generation. But unlike renewable technologies such as wind it doesn’t benefit from large subsidies and suffers from ‘Cinderella syndrome’ in which its value goes largely unrecognised.” He added: “We need renewable generation, but in our race to meet targets we must not forget about those important technologies that help consumers cut their carbon output. CHP electricity is around one third of the price charged by conventional UK suppliers and cuts carbon by around 20%, yet out of all the members of the European Union the UK’s current CHP capacity is the fourth lowest.” Official statistics show that every 1 MW of CHP operating in the UK helps reduce carbon emissions by between 510 and 760 tonnes every year. The Government’s target is to reach a UK CHP capacity of 10,000 MW by 2010.

www.energ.co.uk

greenAgenda

RSA urges landlords to do more than the minimum for an EPC

Insurer RSA is urging landlords to do more than the bare minimum to comply with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Instead of simply obtaining an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), it is advising them to follow the EPC’s recommendations for improving energy-efficiency. EPCs – mandatory for all buildings being leased or sold – indicate how energy efficient a building is on a scale of A to G and recommend ways to further improve energy efficiency, for example by resetting building management systems or replacing air conditioning units or windows. RSA is following the EPC recommendations for its Manchester office EPC by purchasing a duct for the heating and ventilation system at a cost of £15,000. It is estimated that this investment will lead to an annual savings of £6,000.

www.rsagroup.com

By preventing heat loss through poor insulation or windows, businesses like the RSA Birmingham ICC can significantly reduce heating bills.

Two’s company

Userful is giving away free software that enables two people to share a single computer, eliminating the need to buy a second home PC.

The two-person version of Userful’s Multiplier desktop virtualisation software enables a single PC to support two users simultaneously. All the second user has to do is connect an extra monitor, USB keyboard and mouse.

The full version of the software can create up to 10 independent workstations from a single PC, reducing the number of computers that need to be purchased and maintained. It is already used on 30,000 workstations in schools, libraries, hotels and other businesses worldwide.

http://userful.com/products/free-2-user

Bio-plastics set for wider use in MFPs

Canon U.S.A. and Toray Industries have developed the first bio-plastic suitable for use on the exterior parts of MFPs.

Plastics that contain plant-derived components require less oil and have 20% fewer manufacturing-related CO 2 emissions than wholly petroleum-based plastics, but their use to date has been limited due to shortcomings in the areas of flame retardance, impact resistance, heat resistance and malleability.

Ecodear bio-plastic overcomes one of the main objections to the wider use of bio-plastics by meeting the highest levels of flame retardance (5V classification under the UL 94 flammability testing program), which is essential for exterior MFP parts.

In 2009, Canon plans to use 100 tons of the material, which includes 25% plant-derived material (by weight).

From 2009, the outer panels of certain Canon MFPs will be made from bio-plastics