Cool tech

I'm always interested in advances in technology which minimise environmental impact. There is an interesting new piece of air conditioning technology reported at engadget. Not only is it 90% more efficient but doesn't use f-gases with their high global warming potential, instead using a salt solution as a refrigerant. I tend to think that much of the UK could do without aircon but there are places in the world that are almost unliveable without cooling. Speaking of uninhabitable areas, there is another story that Nevada is set to become the Saudi Arabia of geothermal power. These two technologies are made for each other. Las Vegas, one of the least sustainable cities on earth, can now be a little bit greener! Finally, in the realms of greentech, a potato powered battery has been developed. This technology s being made freely available to the developing world.

Oil use statistics

There are some fascinating snippets around regarding the increasingly appalling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. After the Exxon Valdez disaster Greenpeace ran an advert that said:

It wasn't the Exxon Valdez captain's driving that caused the Alaskan oil spill. It was yours. ~Greenpeace advertisement, New York Times, 25 February 1990

As always with major environmental incidents there appear to be a large number of contributing factors. The culture of the three companies involved in the drilling, the lack of adequate regulation and oversight, the drive to cut costs to maximise profit; all the usual culprits.

And now the blame allocation is well under way. I have occasionally said that any Quality Management System has a secret procedure, QP00 'Allocation of Blame'. In this disaster it is quite obvious that management systems have not been properly implemented. The blame allocation flow chart is flailing around, coating everyone in a slime of toxic sludge. I know that politically everyone wants to be teflon coated however I feel that right now the extreme effort could be more appropriately directed to stopping the flow and dealing with the pollution. What was learned from the Valdez? That sooner or later, if corners are cut there will be a disaster. Here we have just such another instance. Cutting edge technology occasionally falls over. The closer to the edge we are the more likely the fall over the ragged edge of disaster. The closer to the edge the more important that we have an effective plan in place for when it all goes wrong. Because it will.

So, whilst we are looking for someone to blame, BP's statistics have been published in the Guardian with a fascinating graphic showing which countries have the highest oil consumption and where the proven reserves are. Have a look. There is also an interesting opinion piece in the Washington Times which brings you and me into the blame target and comments that if we want to avoid this sort of thing we (the general public) need to learn to live with higher prices because safety costs money.

I admit I have a mild tendency to smugness in my assessment of my own environmental impact but in reality I, in common with most middle-class greenies in the UK, account for the use of a great deal of oil. But then it is so much easier to see the mote in someone else's eye!

Summertime but the living is far from easy

Again with the excuses. It's been a while since we have published regular posts. Life got hectic in May and June and there haven't been enough train journeys where we have had time to think and write. I'm glad to say that Alison had one of those yesterday when she travelled down to Birmingham and back to deliver talks familiar enough not to require a lot of preparation. Three hours on the train with minimal phone reception gave her enough time to catch up on some of her reading and write a piece for the blog, for which I'm very grateful.

I'm hoping that in July we'll get a bit of breathing space and get back to more regular postings. I've got a number of topics I'd like to hold forth on from the joys of public transport to the delights of auditing.

But for now there are presentations to be written, reports to be completed and admin to be done not to mention our Achilles audit to be prepared for when we're on the other end of the clipboard of questions.

Low Carbon & Construction - Top Ten Thoughts from Alison

How are the construction industry going to embrace the challenge of the Government’s plan to work towards a low carbon economy in the UK? That is a question that has been considered in the recent report issued by the Construction Innovation & Growth Team working group. It’s a really interesting report, and I thought it would be useful to paraphrase a few of the key facts, findings and recommendations that have come out of it. Alternatively you can access the report here.

1. The UK is committed by law to reduce carbon emissions (Climate Change Act) and due to the significant emissions from built infrastructure, the construction industry have a big part to play in working towards the carbon reduction targets
2. The Government’s ‘Low Carbon Transition Plan’ should be seen as a business plan for construction over the next 40 years
3. Whilst the construction industry has a lot to think about at the moment, the focus on carbon provides a simple and rigorous focus for action
4. For companies in the construction supply chain, their task is threefold:

• De-carbonise your own business

• Build energy efficient buildings

• Provide infrastructure for a low carbon economy.

5. To do this, each part of the construction supply chain (client, designer, buyer/surveyors, site team, final user) needs to understand and accept their responsibilities for creating a low carbon economy
6. To achieve this, we need skilled and enthusiastic people in the industry
7. Currently, there is no accurate understanding of the scale of change required to meet these challenges
8. Carbon presents 4 key opportunities for the construction industry:

• Lots of work – newbuild and refurbs to meet stricter carbon requirements

• Reform the structure and practice of the industry

• Export products, knowledge and skills

• Enthuse future generations to work in a forward-thinking and exciting industry

9. There are barriers that may hinder progress, including:

• Over-regulation and confusing support from Government

• Silo-ism and lack of collaboration and communication in the supply chain

• Up-skilling

• The gap between design and implementation in practice of low carbon buildings

• Focus on initial costs versus lifetime value

• Lack of drivers for change in customer demand, which leads to inertia on the supply side

10. The report has just ONE key recommendation to Government: employ a competent person to make sure we can actually implement the UK’s Low Carbon Action Plan in the construction sector.

In (environmental) praise of budget hotels

I have recently been spending quite a lot of time away from home. It's part of the job and I don't mind it, though it's by no means the glamorous lifestyle it seemed from the outside. When the client is paying expenses, staying at a luxury hotel is not an option. It has always been our policy to stay at budget hotels but it has taken a while for me to embrace the idea wholeheartedly. After three weeks, off and on, living in a Travelodge I think I've finally got there, mainly because I've been impressed by the reduction in environmental impacts demonstrated by the budgets.

Those little bottles full of toiletries are a huge generator of waste and, quite honestly, it's very rare that I love the contents. The honourable exception is Hotel du Vin who provide large bottles of Arran Aromatic toiletries that you are encouraged to take away at the end of your stay. These are so nice that I am tempted to scrape the money together for another stay with them at some point, when they have an offer on, maybe. But generally, no, most hotels provide only-just-good-enough toiletries. It would be untrue to say that I haven't accumulated a stash of half used tiny bottles in the pockets of my luggage that I used to use when staying in budget hotels. Following my recent lengthy stay, however, my nasty little bottles ran out. No problem. There was a Lush nearby (you can tell!) and I followed the overpowering scent inside and bought one of their solid shampoos. What a jolly good idea! No plastic to dispose of, no liquid to leak into my bag. Why hadn't I done this before?

I thought about the toiletry issue whilst packing my bag to go home. I always take my own toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, face-wipes and moisturiser. Why not add a shampoo/conditioner bar to the bag and save myself (and my client) £20 (at least) per night? All I want from a hotel when I'm staying away from home on business is a clean comfortable room with a window that opens within walking distance of a reasonable restaurant. I can live without the pictures on the walls, the trouser press and the 'free' packet of biscuits. The shower and sink fittings tend to be water efficient to minimise the water cost to the hotel and I like this too.

Only two things would make my experience of the Romford Travelodge better. One would be free wifi and the other is a mirror in natural light that didn't have a sink or a desk in front of it so that I can see to put my mascara on. Never mind. I've bought another dongle and I just hope for the best with the make-up.