Make it clear - message to go green

Aug 28 2007 by Helen Logan for the Evening Gazette

THE environment has risen to the top of everyone’s agenda, which is great news for those of us working in that sector.

But as more businesses fight for a bit of the ‘green pie’ how do we ensure that the right messages are getting across and we’re not confusing the public with a plethora of eco-related terms they don’t understand?

‘Green’ is now used as a catch-all description for everything associated with the environment. But when tackling the core issues, we need to use the other labels accurately and in a manner that is easily understood so they maintain their relevance for us all.

Here I have attempted to demystify some of the most frequently used phrases with a brief explanation of their use and meaning.

Carbon footprinting focuses solely on carbon dioxide emissions, enabling the measurement and interpretation of climate change. So the method can be used to assess the impact of all of a company’s carbon emissions or just certain aspects.

Carbon neutral: to achieve carbon neutrality an organisation tries to balance the carbon dioxide they produce with the same intake of energy from renewable sources, in theory cancelling each other out. However claiming to be fully carbon neutral could be very difficult as an organisation could just be counting their business processes rather than other activities such as staff travel.

Carbon off-setting is having your carbon dioxide emissions offset through schemes like tree planting. But by simply paying into a scheme a company may not be addressing the issue of reducing its carbon emissions. It is hoped that where offsetting is seen as a solution it is used hand-in-hand with other more immediate and active measures to reduce emissions.

Climate change describes the variation in the Earth’s climate over time-scales ranging from decades to millions of years. These changes can occur due to the Earth’s natural processes, external forces like the sun, or more recently human activities. Global warming is one element of climate change.

Ecological footprinting helps us understand the amount of resources and energy we use to support our way of life. This can be done for an individual or for a whole geographical area.

Green fuel or bio-fuel is produced from plant matter, and is considered to be a renewable energy. Crops used to produce bio-fuel are wheat, sugar beet, maize, oilseed rape, sugar cane and palm oil.

Green energy is often used as a marketing term for renewable energy products. An EU directive passed in 2001 set an EU wide target for 21% of electricity consumption to be produced by renewable sources within a decade. The UK was one of the signatories to this.

In March this year European heads of government, including our Prime Minister, agreed another binding EU-wide target to source 20% of all their country’s energy needs from renewable sources by 2020. Because of these directives we all have access to renewable energy through our energy suppliers.

Resource efficiency - an expression now frequently associated with businesses and their operational impact on the environment. Resource efficiency refers to using raw materials wisely, reducing energy costs, and minimising the amount of water or paper used. By looking at related costs a business can identify where savings can be made, which in turn can help the environment and go toward improving a company’s corporate profile.

Sustainability - this is a phrase often seen in government papers and information regarding the environment. In development terms it means the balancing of the needs and outcomes of economic and social objectives with those of the environment.

Helen Logan is the former business editor of the Evening Gazette and now works for Recognition PR.