This week we launched a joint campaign with 192.com calling for an opt-in system for phonebooks. Annually 75 million phonebooks are produced each year creating around 80,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and costing an estimated £7.5 million in waste disposal costs.

Every year I trip over new phone directories left outside my front door. I religiously put them by the phone, never use them and then the following year they are put in the recycling bag and replaced by a new directory. 

I would much rather be able to decide whether I want a directory or not and in research undertaken to support the campaign we found that 70% of respondents also supported an opt-in choice.

As technology evolves and more people have access to the internet new opportunities exist for cutting the amount of rubbish that we create.  Unfortunately we are sometimes a little slow to take up these opportunities and this campaign is really a nudge to speed the process up. 

More information can be found at the Say No To Phonebooks website. 

Cycle inventory

Our new office has a shower and this has removed my last excuse not to cycle into work everyday. After a month of cycling I thought it would be a good time to weigh up the pros and cons of my new daily routine:

Pros

Quicker, cheaper, keeps me fitter, avoids horrible stuffy trains, garlic intensive armpits and germ-infested commuters, avoids queuing and crowds, makes me feel good, cuts after work-drinking, starts the day with a buzz and makes getting to meetings so much easier. 

Cons

I look ridiculous in the cycling gear, falling off my bike in front of the office, head winds, rain and slippery metal manhole covers, my fragile middle-aged male ego when I (often) get overtaken by other cyclists, keeping track of clothes, increased laundry and subsequent need for more carbon-intensive ironing, traffic lights, showering in the office (weird), white vans, taxis and bus drivers.

What has struck me is that despite the many advertising campaigns to get people cycling it still verges on an extreme sport. Cycling lanes abruptly end and are not respected by most drivers and deep potholes provide an unwanted element of lottery to any trip. Despite these problems, the pros massively outweigh the cons and I am afraid I am totally converted to being a born-again cycling bore. 

Greenwash?

Ploughing through the papers this weekend I was stuck by a full page advert from SC Johnson. The advert made a compelling statement highlighting the fact that as a Family Company SC Johnson is committed to doing what is right for people and the planet.  

I know very little about the company and a trawl of their website certainly indicates the environmental issues are high on their agenda and I am sure that they are doing everything they can to improve internal environmental efficiency. 

The company does however produce the air freshener ‘Glade'. Now I know that I am sliding into grumpy old men territory, but adverts for this product really piss me off. If ever there is a pointless, resource wasting, carbon stealing product surely it is an air freshener with a built in motion sensor that gives you a burst of chemically induced smell anytime somebody walks in the room. 

If SC Johnson really is as concerned about the environment as they say they are perhaps they should take a fundamental look at their product range.

Carbon offsets

On Tuesday I spoke at a conference on the impact the Carbon Reduction Commitment might have on the carbon offset industry. I don't know why but there has always been something about carbon offsetting of which I am profoundly suspicious. This is largely driven by the early days of offsetting when there were many deals that even a used car salesman would have viewed as dodgy. 

Since those days the industry has definitely sorted itself out with higher standards and regulations but it is still struggling to shake off the earlier image. The future of the industry is uncertain. 

Carbon neutrality has lost its allure for many companies and new Government guidelines on greenhouse gas reporting have made offsetting a more expensive option at a time when companies are cutting budgets. It will be intriguing to see how the industry copes with these challenges.

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