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The environmental accounting sector is rapidly changing and we are constantly researching developments to stay up to date. The “Best Foot Foreword” page shares some of our findings on recent developments in the sector, media reports and our news. If you would like to be kept up to date on our blog, subscribe to our RSS feed.
Showing entries 71 to 80 of 84
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Carbon labelling…may as well be in Japanese
Wed 20 Aug 2008
BFF has been closely involved with the development of PAS 2050 for product labelling in the UK. The principle of labelling is to inform consumers of products’ impacts to support decision-making, but the merits of the scheme have been intensively debated in the UK. Recent news has reported that Japan is also launching a labelling scheme which raises the question of compatibility - are study boundaries, conversion factors and reporting units (CO2 or CO2e) consistent? BFF will be keeping an eye on the international approach to product labelling.
China's ecological footprint
Fri 15 Aug 2008
While the international media focuses on Beijing, a new analysis of China’s ecological footprint has put the country’s environmental impact under further scrutiny. The report has found that despite having a low per capita footprint, China is living beyond its means, requiring twice the country's land area to support current levels of consumption.
BFF Technical Director Craig Simmons, who recently co-authored a European Commission study on the Ecological Footprint as a national sustainability indicator, commented: “Such studies are valuable in helping to identify strategic national environmental priorities and provide a metric for monitoring progress.”
ZEDbook going Japanese
Thu 14 Aug 2008
Publishers Taylor and Francis have announced that the best-selling ZEDbook; solutions for a shrinking world - co-authored by BFF Technical Director Craig Simmons - is to be translated into Japanese. The book is a practical guide to creating zero emission developments (the ‘ZED’ in the title). ZEDbook takes the reader from a basic understanding of climate change, ecological footprints and resource limits through to providing detailed design guides, case studies and real life applications.
Ad watchdog targeting carbon claims
Wed 13 Aug 2008
The UK Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that Shell misled the public when it claimed in an advertisement that a $10bn oil sands project in Canada was a "sustainable energy source". In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme the Deputy Director of the ASA said that they are receiving an increasing number of complaints about such green claims - especially where the terms 'carbon negative', 'carbon neutral' or 'carbon zero' are used.
To avoid this problem, BFF has been employed by high profile companies (other than Shell!) to ensure their carbon claims are not just 'greenwashing' and stand up to scrutiny. For example, Volkswagen employed us to calculate the emission savings from driving the Polo BlueMotion over a year instead of the average car in its class, and compared the figure to savings from recycling paper, drinks cans and plastic bags. Advertising campaigns were run in print, online and on television.
In the Radio 4 interview, Guy Parker, Deputy Director of ASA, said: "There are more and more environmental claims and we are receiving more and more complaints about them. We are at the forefront of trying to decide whether or not claims like 'sustainable', 'carbon neutral', 'carbon zero', 'carbon negative' are justified in the context of the initiatives that the advertisers have got."
Read more about the Shell case on the FT, Guardian and Telegraph websites. The ASA interview is available on the BBC's website (listen to the business news at 2hrs43mins). The ASA's full adjudication can also be read on their website.
In May, edie reported that greenwash complaints to the ASA had soared: "The ASA's Annual Report 2007 revealed objections about green claims more than doubled with 561 complaints about 410 adverts, compared to just 117 complaints about 83 adverts in 2006".
BFF Radiohead project on BBC Radio 4
Tue 12 Aug 2008
There has been considerable interest in the work we completed for Radiohead to assess the carbon and ecological footprints of the band's tours in the US. Although the study was completed in 2007, journalists continue to contact us to discuss the study. You can hear BFF project manager Simon Miller contributing his thoughts on footprints and festivals on The World Tonight programme on Radio 4. Play audio:
Masterclass course online
Mon 11 Aug 2008
BFF uses technology throughout the business to communicate its messages, so we have put a summary of our Carbon Footprint Masterclass online. The half hour taster from Simon Miller is (by his own admission) a little dry, but viewers may find it helpful to learn more about the course content. Visit Edie Live to view.
BFF welcomes new employee
Thu 07 Aug 2008
BFF has been recruiting again! Our newest employee is Charlotte Dickinson, who has joined us as a Project Manager. Charlotte previously worked for Ecofys, and before that spent 6 years at Thames Valley Energy (TVE). Charlotte brings in-depth expertise in renewable energy, and her strong analytical skills and management experience will be really valuable for our projects. Charlotte’s appointment brings BFF’s total staff to fifteen... and means we will soon need to take over the downstairs space in our office.
Summer newsletter published
Wed 06 Aug 2008
BFF has sent out its quarterly newsletter to contacts and subscribers. Our newsletter is intended to provide a quick update of what's changed within the company and a brief overview of some recent projects. The top stories this quarter are the website and logo redesign, new staff profiles and updates on projects for Radiohead, Ofcom and WRAP. If you missed the newsletter - or would like to sign up - you can view it on our website.
Footprint of 'supply' or 'demand'?
Mon 28 Jul 2008
A critical step in carbon footprinting is defining appropriate boundaries which capture all activities relevant to a study’s objective. The same principle applies to national footprints where questions exist over who should be ‘responsible’ for emissions arising from the manufacture of goods for export, and how should these emissions be managed under international agreements?
This debate is best exemplified by examining China – a nation commonly cited as an ever-increasing producer of carbon dioxide emissions. A recent study by Carnegie Mellon University has estimated China’s “export goods emissions” contribute 33% of the country’s national footprint - a total of 1.7bn tonnes of CO2 (equivalent to the combined emissions of the UK, France and Germany).
BFF considers that ‘demand’ from consumers at an individual, corporate, or national level drives the ‘supply’ industries. The production needed to ‘supply’ goods leads to GHG emissions but the responsibility for the emissions sits with the consumer, i.e demand, side. Of course producers must maximise their efficiency of production, but this is something that can be driven in part by demand preferences of consumers.
BFF recognises the complexity of developing national footprint accounts from our own experience (and the enormous challenge of developing international agreements). However, the progress of carbon accounting rules and associated agreements must recognise these underlying behaviours if change is to occur.
FTSE carbon reporting 'inconsistent', says report
Wed 16 Jul 2008
A new report from The Ethical Corporation Institute has highlighted 'staggering inconsistencies' in the way FT 500 companies are calculating and reporting their GHG emissions to stakeholders.