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what’s new...
Signed, sealed and offset
Express parcel carrier DPD is providing carbon neutral
shipping at no extra cost to its customers. In line with its
Total Zero commitment, DPD parent company GeoPost is
making an annual investment of 5 million Euros to offset
carbon emissions relating to business operations in its five
largest markets. As a result, customers in France, Germany,
the UK, Netherlands and BeLux can now send carbon neutral
parcels of all weights and sizes to anywhere in the world.
As well as offsetting unavoidable carbon emissions by
investing in carbon reduction schemes managed by CDC Climat,
DPD is taking measures to shrink its own carbon footprint,
for example by sending parcels by road rather than air, which
produces eight times less CO
2
; by launching the Predict one-
hour delivery window, which has increased first-time delivery
success rates by 10%; and by using double-deck trailers that can
hold three times as much as single-deck vehicles.
DPD CEO Dwain McDonald said: “Many of our customers are
concerned about the environment and want to reduce their own
carbon footprint. Through our Total Zero commitment to carbon
neutral shipping, we are helping our customers deliver their own
CO
2
reduction objectives – at no extra cost to them or their
customers.”
Made to measure
Accor has developed a tool to measure
the carbon footprint of events held
in its hotels, including the Sofitel,
Pullman, Novotel, Mercure and ibis
brands. Due to be rolled out to all Accor
sales teams by the end of the year,
Carbon Optimizer factors in a large
set of variables including the number
of participants, how many nights they
plan to stay, how long the seminar
will last, the size of meeting rooms,
the energy mix in the host country
and food services, i.e. the type of food
served and whether meals are buffets
or sit-down. Accor says the ability to
measure indirect emissions associated
with organising seminars, such as waste
treatment, paper and food, makes its
product better than carbon calculators
that only measure emissions from
production processes and energy
consumption.
www.accor.com
A right
cover-up
Senical makes
sophisticated
smart meters,
automatic
meter reading
systems and this,
a refreshingly
low-tech solution
to a problem that the Energy Saving Trust
claims costs the average UK household
£85 a year. The Ban the Button is nothing
more than a cap that covers and disables
the standby buttons on remote controls,
forcing people to get up and switch off
TVs, audio and entertainment systems,
games consoles etc. at the plug or on/
off button. It is available on Amazon for
£3.99 including postage and packing.
www.senical.co.uk
Sustainable
Editor’s Choice Award
Humanscale
Accor’s Carbon Optimizer will allow
customers to choose menus based on
their carbon footprint and adopt more
responsible choices.
Concerned: DPD CEO
Dwain McDonald
Get smart with batteries
CTEK is advising owners of cars, motorbikes and golf buggies
to make use of smart battery chargers to get maximum value
from 12V lead acid batteries before they are disposed of for
recycling. The producer of smart battery chargers says that
too many batteries are thrown away sooner than required
and that regular battery charging and maintenance has the
potential to double or potentially triple a battery’s service life.
Jan-Ulf Soderberg, CTEK head of brand and marketing, said:
“Our research has indicated that battery failure is leading to
a high number of batteries being thrown away earlier than
necessary. Effective chargers help condition a battery to ensure
it is in peak condition for as long as possible.”
www.ctek.com
Own brand first
Image Recycled from Antalis
McNaughton has become the first own
brand office paper to be included on
theWWF Check Your Paper website,
which rates papers according to their
environmental performance. Launched
in December 2011, Image Recycled is
100% recycled and offers a range of
qualities, from general office paper to
formal company letterhead, in two high-
white shades and two off-white shades.
http://checkyourpaper.panda.org/
In its
element
A PIR occupancy sensor
that automatically turns the light
off when you walk away from your desk
and back on again when you return is just one of
many impressive features of Humanscale’s new
Element Disc LED Task Light. Advanced Thin Film LED
technology overcomes the weaknesses of conventional
LED task lights by offering brilliant 3000K illumination
and excellent light distribution in a slender profile.
Fingertip adjustability makes it easy to direct
light exactly where it is needed, with seven
levels of brightness. Element Disc
contains 62% recycled and 96%
recyclable content; uses only seven watts; is rated for up
to 50,000 hours of use, equal to 25 years in most 9-to-5
work environments; and contains no mercury, lead or other
hazardous materials.
www.humanscale.com