Biodegradable is not my bag (May08)
Chuck away plastic and it lasts forever. That doesn’t sound great, particularly for things that are only useful for hours at best – seconds at worst. And if that plastic ends up littering the hedgerows or floating around in the oceans it’s not only an eyesore but can be damaging to wildlife too. So, many […]
Carrier bags – Fact sheet and video – (Apr08)
M&S took a lead in charging for carrier bags and have subsequently reduced the amount handed out by a staggering 80%. My view is that this is a good initiative but that the issue of carrier bags has been given far too much attention, given the relatively small impact they have. Early in 2008 I […]
Unwanted phone directories 50 times as high as Everest! (Feb08)
I don’t use phone directories any more – I always look up numbers on the internet. But I’ve still got a pile of these weighty tomes in the corner of my office, collecting dust and doing nothing useful. I’ve now discovered that 50 million telephone directories are distributed each year and 17.5 million of these […]
Christmas waste (Jan08)
One of the most striking things about Christmas is the amount of waste we all produce. Waste heat, waste light, waste food and most of all waste packaging. Actually, quite a lot of presents are wasteful too. I wonder what percentage of gifts are actually appreciated and how many of those are useful. I have […]
Battling for recycling (Oct07)
When I agreed to oppose the motion that ‘Recycling is a waste of time’ it didn’t occur to me that most of the audience would be actively hostile to my position. Set up by the Institute of Ideas, the Battle of Ideas was a whole weekend of debates covering topics as diverse as ‘What’s the […]
Food Advice (Oct07)
In 2007 I was asked by M&S to help them in developing their food strategy, thinking creatively about what innovations they might consider. Clearly, sustainability issues relating to food are becoming increasingly important. And, as M&S says, they may need to think the unthinkable. Topics covered included climate change and food crops, vegetarianism, local sourcing, wild […]
Waste disposal is not for seagulls (Jun07)
I love the Brighton buses. Every stop has a sign telling you how long it is before your bus arrives. I also rather liked the sound of seagulls when I woke in the morning a stone’s throw from Brighton beach. But I discovered that residents are not so keen. I had thought that bird-related complaints […]
Easter holidays (Apr07)
Juggling Easter holidays with work commitments is a lot easier with an au pair! Alex is Australian and only with me until mid June but she’s wonderful. Had lunch last week with Arthur Llewellyn (www.hfhmanagement.co.uk), who worked with Green Spirit fuels until December last year, promoting bio-ethanol. He introduced me to a nearby pub, the […]
Marks & Spencer (Mar07)
I first started working with Marks & Spencer in 2002 when I was commissioned to do a report on sustainability issues relating to the food sector. The brief was to look at the broad drivers for change, to prioritise the key issues affecting food, identify the key organisations shaping the debate and make recommendations on […]