Trewin on the environmental impact of the recession and the power of film, the Green Party having a seat in Parliament, plus our great Sky partnership.

The environmental impact of the recession

Last year greenhouse gas emissions in the UK plummeted by almost 10% as the recession tightened its grip. UK greenhouse gas emissions are nearly 26% below their 1990 levels, far in excess of the12.5% to which the UK is committed under the Kyoto Protocol.

Whilst it is obviously great news that we are pumping less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere there are three inter-related reasons why the figures should cause concern for the environmental movement.

The first is that they will enable decision-makers to avoid or delay making difficult decisions. An early indication of this is that the UK looks to have successfully persuaded the EU to drop new regulation that could have lead to the closure of Drax and other heavy polluting coal power stations within six years.

Britain has succeeded in gaining an extra three years’ grace arguing that we are facing an energy crunch due to the delays in finding replacement energy sources. The decision could lead to a 60 million tonnes of extra carbon being released into the atmosphere by Drax alone. 

The second concern is that the recession will limit the amount of capital that is essential if we are to make the infrastructure changes required for the transition to a low carbon economy.  

Finally, if we don’t make the necessary changes now, carbon emissions will greatly increase as we move out of the recession and crucial years will have been lost.

The power of film

On Thursday, I attended an event at Soho House hosted by a group called Wonderful Women. I definitely felt like a Mouldy Man when confronted by the wall of elegance at the evening. The event was about the power of film and I was treated to a highly entertaining presentation by George Duffield the Producer of the documentary film ‘The End of the Line’.

The achievements of the film are quite amazing. The money it has raised has been used to double the amount of ocean space designated as marine conversation areas. George highlighted why the film has been so successful.

Primarily he felt that the film told one of the great unknown environmental stories. The involvement of the journalist Charles Clover ensured that the film gained high levels of media coverage.

The film was funded by a charitable foundation which meant that all the money raised could be ploughed back into promoting the film and the cause. Finally, the support of NGOs such as Greenpeace ensured that the first night screenings were virtually sold out which gave cinemas the confidence to block book the film.

The presentation made me wonder why more pressure groups don’t seek to make similar documentaries as successful films are clearly a fantastic way to get important messages across and to influence decision-makers.

Go Caroline!

At the time of writing this, discussions are on-going about who will form the new Government.

Environmental issues are relatively non-contentious between the political parties but even on this matter concessions will have to be made if we are to see a coherent Conservative and Liberal alliance. For instance the Conservatives are pro-nuclear power whereas as the Liberals have a very different view.

On a personal level, I was delighted to see that Caroline Lucas successfully won Brighton for the Green Party. There are depressingly few charismatic and thoughtful leaders in the environmental sector at the moment but Caroline is definitely a shinning star. I am sure that she will give the green movement a strong and much needed voice in the new parliament whoever becomes the Government.

Environmental accreditation

On Friday, we had our final IS014001 accreditation visit and I am both pleased and a little relieved that we are going to be recommended for accreditation. I would find it hypocritical if we were to advise other people on how to improve their environmental performance without walking the talk ourselves.

The ISO14001 accreditation is probably the most well-known and subscribed to environmental accreditation in the UK. To achieve it we implemented the EMS Easy process that we have helped to develop and which is particularly suited to smaller organisations. I think that the process is excellent and gives me more confidence in promoting it externally.

Although the accreditation itself is a bit of a paper-chase exercise it definitely has merits. The first is that it embeds environmental management systems into everyday management systems. The second is that it forces you to consider risks that you wouldn’t necessarily consider.

I have certainly learnt that the four innocuous looking wormeries that sit outside our office require a high level of compliance paperwork! 

Sky partnership

Our charitable partnership with Sky is nearing the end of its three year duration. The relationship has been transformational for the charity. It has enabled us to grow financially, broaden our activities and given us greater confidence and capacity.

I was able to reflect on this at a joint presentation I did about the relationship with Jo Fox from Sky at an Institute of Fundraising conference. The partnership has evolved over time as both parties have gained a better understanding of our different requirements and capabilities. One of the defining characteristics has been an openness and honesty which has ensured that the relationship has worked for both of us.

We are delighted that the partnership has been short-listed for two prestigious charity awards and we will learn whether we have won or not at the end of June.

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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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