I spent a great day at Eco-Build last week. It is so much better than the last time I went ( 2 years ago) and what’s more you get in FREE!
This year they had full support from the UKGBC who had a fantastic range of speakers from Michael Portillo to Margaret Beckett and Germaine Greer ( yes Germaine was talking about green housing). Excellent.
Of course I was there to meet colleagues and to sell Planet Positive. As this was an eco event my sales pitch was easy ‘Could you give me a details of the carbon footprint of your fantastic product’; The responses were varied and somewhat surprising. Not one company could give me any data, some said they were doing it and most said ‘we do not know’!
I was both heartened and dismayed by this. Heartened by the business prospects opening up in front of me, but dismayed by the fact that so few supposed eco-companies actually had the facts to back their claims up. I find this worrying. It;s all very well SAYING that you are green, but if you can’t prove it with facts, then I am sorry to say it, but you are talking GREENWASH!
Guy Battle
8th March 2009
ps If you want to get more information on carbon footprinting get in touch! info@planet-positive.org !!
Two articles caught my eye today.
The first an article from The Earth Blog that tells us that the world’s economy must shrink if we are to survive. The second, today in the Guardian, an article by Timothy Garton Ash discussing the future of capitalism ‘2009 brings hard choices over the future of capitalism’.
The ‘Earth Blog’ argues that unless the world economy shrinks and we move away from a growth economy then all is lost. Mmm, whilst I totally disagree with those who believe in reverse growth as the only way forward, it seems that according to Timothy that we may get there anyway!
It is clear from the fall out over the past months that the liberal and unchecked capitalism that has brought us to this abyss is dead (Madoff has all but sealed the coffin with the final nail!) .
But without capitialism or some form of it, the poor will stay poor, suffering will continue, democracy and free speech will slip away and certainly global warming will not be solved. It therefore seems to me that capitalism needs to be defined, and re-energised. A new set of values and a new mission.
In his book ‘the extreme future’ James Canton talks about the ‘Innovation Economy’ and defines it with the following formula
I+C+D=P2 or Innovation+Capitalism+Democracy=Prosperity and Peace
I just love his distillation of the core issues and the audacity of his simplification ! If only it was that simple but I guess that JC has the advantage of being a futurist - he can afford to ignore the details and just get on with the vision of the future, that is assuming no Black Swans (wtt NN Taleb) swim along to mess it all up!
And so my question is; Is there such a thing as Responsible Capitalism ( Bill Gates calls is Creative Capitalism, but this title seems to be just plain woolly) or is such a conceit just a contradiction in terms? Does capitilism by its very nature have to inspire both the good and the bad i.e. you cannot have the good without the bad; it is just a matter of limiting the bad and maximising the good?
Thoughts?
GB
2nd January 2009
So now is the time, in fact some of you should already have made them!
My green ones are…
Drive less
Eat less meat
More conference calls rather than flying
Recycle more
Put curtains on my single glazed windows in the kitchen
and of course get out there and promote Planet Positive!
If you are looking for some good ones try these courtesy of Sustainablog.
Happy New Year!!
Guy
31st December 2008
ps Green Champage thanks to The Green Parent - they also have a host more resolutions if you are still stuck!
