A couple of Mondays ago I found myself dodging BMWs and Range Rovers on a walk to the home of Gary and Danielle Lineker. My task when I got there was to spend a couple of hours helping them to green their home.

Greening the Linekers

I immediately felt spectacularly scruffy as Danielle opened the door looking ridiculously glamorous for an early Monday morning, but felt better seeing Gary making a cup of tea in t-shirt and shorts. 

I arrived at the house with a complete DIY environmental kit including a brilliant thermal imaging camera, smart meters, water efficient shower attachments, a bag full of drowsy tiger worms and a wormery. 

I had a really relaxed and enjoyable couple of hours.  The house was already remarkably energy efficient.  The kettle alone needed a science degree to work out how best to use it due to its range of efficiency settings.

Danielle was very receptive to the overall green messages (although seemed very keen to delegate worm duties to her husband) and was particularly interested in the environmental impact of the fashion and clothing industries. 

I left with the feeling that she will be an authentic and genuine advocate for environmental issues.  I was a little less successful with Gary who didn’t seem overly enthusiastic about turning out for our charity 5-a-side football team which has subsequently failed to win any games in our new season.

The coalition government and nuclear power

On Wednesday, I went to the House of Commons for the launch of EDF Energy’s Sustainability Commitment.  There were short presentations from both Chris Huhne and Charles Hendry, the Energy Minister.  I guess one of the joys of the new Coalition Government is that you get two Ministers for the price of one.

It was interesting hearing first hand from Chris Huhne what their position will be on nuclear power.  He was unequivocal in stating that there will be no Government subsidies for new nuclear but that Government will not stand in the way of the development of new nuclear plants.

Whilst the Governments position on direct financing for nuclear is clear enough, the fact that they are committed to a minimum floor price for carbon will probably tip the economic argument and it is fairly certain that nuclear will be part of the UK’s long-term energy mix.

Patio heaters and blankets

On Thursday, I went to a somewhat lacklustre debate at the RSA asking about the role that companies should play in nudging their customers to do the right thing.  Star billing went to advertising guru Sir Martin Sorrell, the Chief Executive of WPP. 

Rather than getting a thoughtful insight into the role of business, we were treated to a stilted recital of WPP’s internal environmental policy statement.  His only stand-out comment was that research has indicated that environmental concern amongst consumers in countries such as China, India and Brazil is significant and growing.

Far more entertaining was Dr Andy Wood, the CEO from the brewery Adnams, a company that brings the whole environmental debate to life by embedding it into their everyday activities. 

I particularly liked their decision to ask local community groups to knit blankets with the company name on them.  These are now handed out to customers who wish to drink outside saving the pubs the need to waste money and carbon on energy guzzling patio heaters.

Behaviour change and government

On Friday, I went to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to talk to them about how they can encourage Government Departments to implement employee behaviour change initiatives that will cut carbon and reduce energy wastage.

It is clear that initiatives such as these don’t fit with traditional government thinking.  Civil servants are far more comfortable with legislative or technical fixes.  I wonder whether this focus means that occasionally Government is missing a trick in its policy development. 

Time and again we see policy concentrating on large and expensive infrastructure answers to problems that could equally be dealt with by concerted and cost-effective behaviour change initiatives.

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Trewin has been blogging for Global Action Plan for the past few years. If you enjoyed this week's blog you can find more here.

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