With British local elections taking place on May 6, it’s a fairly open secret that the current Labour government will call the general election for the same day in order to increase voter turnout and have a decent shot at retaining power, with pre-election polls showing that the gap between the Conservatives and New Labour are narrowing.

The potential change of government, of course, remains. With that change would come potentially influential changes in policy, and that will apply to the still forming UK environmental policy and legislation, as much as with more established policy areas.

Given that the growing interest in environmental policy led to Labour’s formation of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), and that the department is still in its infancy (it was formed in October 2008), an understanding of the effects of a shift in government is vital.

What, then, are the potential repercussions for environmental policy after the general election in May 2010?

If the Conservatives Takes Power

On the subject of a Conservative win in the upcoming election, there is something of a resignation in the UK press. An understanding of the main points on their environmental policy, then, is a must for anyone who takes an interest in the future of sustainability and the environment in Britain.

They have pledged to enact the following:

• Offer every household a Green Deal, the right to have up to £6,500 worth of home insulation improvements, enabling households to reduce their energy bills, with the costs being met from the much greater savings that arise;
• Transform electricity networks with 'smart grid' and 'smart meter' technology that automatically matches supply and demand, allowing a huge increase in renewable power;
• Create a decentralised energy revolution by introducing a system of feed-in tariffs to encourage micro-generation of electricity;
• Expand offshore wind and marine power and provide government backing for a network of large-scale Marine Energy Parks.

Similar to current New Labour plans in that the introduction of smart meters and a smart grid are a top priority, the Conservatives have spoken little of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) – where Miliband as will be seen, has championed it - but equally haven’t made many inroads into green energy, other than a cursory commitment to the growth of offshore wind power. Their plans for a large-scale marine energy network, though, is ambitious: how it could be implemented, though, remains to be seen.

If Labour Remain in Power

Ed Miliband will probably remain in his position as Secretary of State for the DECC, and as such remain the effective orchestrator of British environmental policy in the wake of changes to international obligation after the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit.

Generally speaking Miliband has been a popular appointment to the position of ‘Climate Change Secretary’ and would be one of the chief beneficiaries of a Labour re-election, with his generally good work having sounded him out as a potential candidate for future Labour leadership.

In his two year tenure Miliband has enacted the ‘Low Carbon Transition Plan’, and championed research into Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), which he has earmarked as a practical application of the ‘clean energy’ principle attached to the use of renewable energy, and the relatively limited funds attributed to environmental concerns from the government coffers.

A persistent presence at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, Miliband is an active player in the international scene, and despite his relatively low profile in the UK, has carved out a reputation that makes him one of the government’s more established politicians in international negotiations.

For continuing work in environmental policy, then, a Labour re-election – provided Miliband isn’t shifted around cabinet – could be the UK’s best option. Miliband and the DECC haven’t been without their criticisms, though: tentative support for nuclear power drew many in dissenters, and CCS is a little moderate for some. His seeming silence on the large-scale production of renewable energy capabilities, too, could lead to questions about his true environmental commitments.

If There’s a Hung Parliament

Long out of power, the Liberal Democrats could see their first shot at government in decades: speculations are rife on the prospect of a hung parliament, and for the first time the Liberal Democrats have made it clear that they would consider a potential coalition with the Conservatives.

The introduction of the Liberal Democrats into government could prove for interesting changes in relation to environmental policy. That, though, would depend on the party’s decisions regarding loyalties to the UK’s two major parties.

With the Liberal Democrats, renewables seem to enter the equation:

Both Labour and Conservatives support the construction of new nuclear power stations. More nuclear power will soak up subsidy, centralise energy production and hinder development of Britain’s vast renewable resources. Nuclear has a dirty legacy and increases global security risks. We oppose construction of further nuclear power stations.

Liberal Democrats will drive a massive programme of investment in renewable energy sources such as wind, wave and solar. We will also transform the National Grid into a smart decentralised grid which will respond dynamically to the changing patterns of energy demand. Smart metering and guaranteed prices will unlock the potential of local and community energy generation, giving people control over the energy they use.

Interestingly, and alarmingly for many, it could be that only a hung parliament may draw out any potential for renewable energy investment. Given that the chance of an actual Liberal Democrat victory is highly unlikely, it would seem that all renewable energy supporters can hope for is that in a coalition government, the Liberal Democrats could pressure their chosen dominant partner into certain commitments involving the technology.

Posted under Articles, Gas & Electricity

The credibility of carbon free homes up and down the country has been put under national scrutiny this week as Gordon Brown's government announced that only 24 buyers have taken advantage of a 2007 initiative put in place by the Prime Minister to instigate and attract the construction of environmentally friendly homes across the UK.

Mr Brown, in his final Budget as Chancellor, had announced that stamp duty would be scrapped on all new or developing properties worth up to £500,000 which achieve a zero carbon rating. Three years ago Mr Brown revelled in the press by concluded that the scheme would save an estimated average of £10,000 for each eco-home purchase. Deemed a key weapon in the fight against climate change, the then Chancellor set aside £15m for the tax relief.

It seems as though the now Prime Minister set himself for a great fall. Less than one carbon neutral home a month has sold since October 2007. Only a shocking 24 buyers have taken full advantage of the tax break since its initial introduction.

Grant Shapps, the shadow housing minister, had this to say: "Gordon Brown just can't seem to stop himself from announcing grand schemes designed to do little other than grab that day's headline.

"Rather than Ministers putting all their efforts into announcing glitzy pledges in order to grab a few column inches, it would be better for them to sit down and seriously work out ways to slash the 27 per cent of carbon emissions that emanate from Britain's homes."

With 2020 requisites looming, there is some weight to comments like these. However the tax break initiative found its roots in establishing and accelerating market interest for the national development eco-homes. Before October 2007, carbon neutral homes were scarcely heard of, let alone given column space in national newspapers. Despite the initiative's serious lack of interest from a general buying market in a time of steady recession, the scheme has certainly succeeded in opening up the widening niche area of Green living.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) relief scheme was designed to "help kick-start the market for new highly efficient technologies in homes, both for the fabric of the building and in the use of micro-generation."

Over the past three years there certainly has been a boom in micro-generational technologies, supporting grant schemes, development initiatives for connecting trades, as well as a steadily growing market for sales.

If the relief scheme can be perceived as a steamroller for what followed in terms of renewable energy development and carbon neutral design, then perhaps not all is lost.

Ms McCarthy-Fry continued: "We have always made it clear that the SDLT relief for zero carbon homes would evolve and we expect to see more of these homes built in the future."

Despite recent press scrutiny, the Government remain committed to establishing an environmental policy that will see all new properties to be carbon-neutral by the year 2016. This would require a vast amount of new technology, which critics have already brought under financial consideration.

Further to these investigations, the eco-critics stand steadfast to the need for existing home sites to be brought into the carbon neutral generation before flagship developments go ahead.

Posted under Articles, Eco Build

Household favourite, organic chocolate maker Green & Black's revealed earlier this week that it plans to switch its global food and beverage range to Fairtrade by the end of 2011. This move from the world's leading manufacturer of organic Fairtrade chocolate has posed the question for international eco-enthusiasts: Isn't it about time for the entire chocolate market to open wide to a Fairtrade solution?

Green & Black's were the first company to launch an official Fairtrade product for sale in the UK. The chocolate firm's Maya Gold chocolate went on sale to British appetites nearly 15 years ago. And by the end of this year, all Green & Black's products, including food and beverage, will carry the revered blue and green Fairtrade stamp of approval. Plans for a complete conversion are set to make their way through the 30 countries the chocolate makers distribute to by the close of 2011.

Not only will this provide siginificant funding for Fairtrade, through a rapid increase of worldwide sales, it will also expand and consolidate existing Fairtrade relationships with cocoa farmers through capital funding.

Developing business agreements like these are a formidable way of establishing regulations that seek to benefit all parties involved. And the Fairtrade Foundation's growth is another way to acknowledge the emerging prominence of Green markets.

In just over a decade, the Fairtrade market has grown from a net value of £22m in 1999, according to Co-op surveys, to harvesting £635m in product sales, with the Co-operative predicting that this year's sales could see the Fairtrade company exceed the £1bn barrier in 2010. At present, Green & Black's annual retail sales are estimated at £65m, which would add an additional growth-spert to the greener side of the chocolate market.

The Fairtrade funding generated by this move will be invested in Dominican Republic farmers. The funding, which is estimated at approximately £300,000 a year, will support initiatives set to increase sustainability by improving quality, yields and education, which will boost income for local farmers and help protect the cocoa industry by securing the supply of high-quality organic cocoa beans and sustain the brand's international growth.

Market analysts seem encouraged by this bold move by leaders Green & Black's and expect to see similar approaches taken by competitive companies.

Dominic Lowe, managing director of Green & Black's, said: "We buy quality, organic Trinitario cocoa beans from co-operatives in the Dominican Republic, and have done so for 10 years. Up until now we have committed US $500,000 in local initiatives to improve quality and availability, but we wanted to do more to support farmers."

It is by developing trade relationships like these that the Fairtrade organisation set out in its fledgling stages.

The Fairtrade Foundation (UK) executive director, Harriet Lamb, commented: "This newest commitment to Fairtrade will enable producers to benefit themselves, scale up their businesses and invest in their communities, not just now but for the future."

This move represents the latest in a series of recent developments within the food and beverage industry. It seems that the Fairtrade Foundation is set to find new and growing support as a widening market of chocolate lovers finally begin to demand all things Fair.

Posted under Articles, Companies

They've been at the forefront of the media industry, international popular cinema and, unfortunately, the international culinary elite. Bluefish tuna have become the worldwide symbol for the state of the over-fished oceans.

Brought into focus by Cannes film festival only a few years ago with the debut of The End of the Line (a film documenting the harsh realities and fishing habits of local and international fisherman) bluefish tuna are on the brink of extinction.

Leading national tuna industries remain polemic in their approach to such a serious topic. Two countries in particular - Malta, who harvest a billion dollar tuna industry, and Greece, another nation with a thriving fishing market - are posed to take up this discussion this March, through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) which is sure to expand on the problems facing the bluefin tuna and its equals this Spring.

Despite international rallying to ban fishing on this particular species, the bluefin remains only three years away from total extinction, scientists say.

The EU Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas, has been a key speaker for the ban to take place. On an ethical and economical footing, Dimas has taken a stand against continued harvesting of bluefin. His arguments have followed such logical conclusions that insist by following existing methods the industry is simply creating cause for its own collapse.

In reaction to recent media coverage concerning these affairs, high street retailers such as Pret have since taken positive action to help ensure the survival of the bluefin and the longevity of tuna fishing as a whole. The End of the Line movie-documentary also did its best to bring together the severity of the situation and rise it to the fore of public concern.

But now, with Maltese interests defining the short-term tone of political response to existing concerns, there seems to be waves of ecological pessimism driving through our soon to be empty oceans.

Cites, who was instrumental in saving the African elephant from ivory poachers, rely on European support in banning trade in the bluefin. Hopes rest with commissioners such as Nicolas Sarkozy, who last year publicly supported that a ban should be enforced. However, as was proved since the ebb-and-flow of last year's political declarations, the French industry's interest may not be enough to keep support for the ban buoyant.

One can only wait and watch as issues like that of the bluefin tuna are sprinkled into March's political fish tank, and hope that any growing pessimism is filtered out.

Posted under Articles, Wildlife

In a sweeping move to win Republicans and moderate Democrats on energy legislation, US President Barack Obama has recently endorsed nuclear power with revised vigour. In his State of the Union address, Obama outlined the next budget year for the US to include billions more dollars in support of new nuclear reactors.

Despite deep-set concerns over radioactive waste, Obama's administration has refocused its tentative outlook on nuclear power to concentrate on a White House priority - climate and energy legislation. Such reaffirmations have been set in state planning to provide a growing number of 'clean' energy jobs to neighbouring districts.

US spokesmen have addressed Obama's actions as reflecting his long term support of nuclear power. However, there has been considerable pressure on the White House for not exploring the viable role nuclear energy and its existing infrastructure can play in mitigating global warming.

Presently, there are over one hundred nuclear reactors in operation, providing around 20 per cent of US electricity. But the potential of nuclear energy and its operating success in pollution-free power sources outweighs even some of the more esteemed favourites, such as wind power, solar and hydroelectric dams. Nuclear energy contributes 70 per cent of power in this field. And US senators are ever-more aware of these potentials.

Nuclear power generation in the US has proved to be a remarkably safe and reliable form of power generation since its first sites came online. However, in order to ensure that nuclear power can act as a viable source of energy for the US and other global markets, engineers and not scientists have got their work cut out for them. It is less with the technology of nuclear power rather than with the constructability of nuclear units throughout the US that need to be addressed.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, for instance, plans to see 100 plants built over the next 20 years. This is not unrealistic according to the Environmental Protection Agency who, after recent surveys, postulate 180 new reactors would be supporting the US energy grid by 2050.

As with any national plans to fully integrate a modified - and by all means advanced - method of generating power, the changes made to the face of American power industries will be vast and demanding. And this has evidently been acknowledge by White House planners.

Even Obama himself has changed the course of his rhetoric to suit forthcoming advancements. He said last week:

"Up until now, the administration has been pursuing a national windmill policy instead of a national energy policy, which is the military equivalent of going to war in sail boats."

Brook Buchana, a spokeswoman for Sen. John McCain, has stated that the senator was enthused by the President's momentum, but also highlighted some of the potential quandaries facing the current administration.

McCain, who criticised Obama's standing on nuclear power throughout the 2008 campaign, remains, along with a large number of state senators, unclear as to whether or not the President receives full backing at this time in present. Industry talks are set to clarify some of the next steps over the oncoming months.

Posted under Articles, Climate

Reports from the Renewable Fuels Agency have warned that using bio-fuel in vehicles may be having adverse effects on the environment. A watchdog recently reported that the use of bio-fuels could actually be helping to destroy the rain forest rather than saving it. Enquiries also point to the possible rise in pump prices due to the Government's policy of ensuring fuel companies add bio-fuels to stand along side petrol and diesel.

Over 1 million hectares of land was used in Britain to contribute approximately 2 per cent of the required fuel last year.

This is a relatively new initiative enforced by the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation, one that is in place to shepherd a growing proportion of bio-fuel into the UK fuel market. On average, 3.25 per cent of fuel must be renewably sourced this year. And by 2020, this figure will rise to 13 per cent. Although this is a positive step for the renewable fuel markets, its immediate impact on consumers may increase fuels prices quite considerably.

The Renewable Fuels Agency revealed that leading fuel companies had previously exploited a loophole which excused them from reporting the exact source of almost 50% of the bio-fuel they supplied to filling stations last year. In 2009, Esso identified the source of only 6 per cent of its bio-fuel and BP, with a similarly low figure, reported only 27 per cent. This activity has been subscribed to the somewhat loose practise that fuel companies are able to describe fuel origin as "unknown" if it is from recently cleared land.

Grey areas such as these need to become a clear Green before 2020, where over a tenth of fuel will be required to have come from renewable sources - a reality which requires the significant adoption of large patches of land. The agency's concerns over the "unknown" areas of last year's reports stem from the threat of a net release of carbon. Such carbon release may have been detrimental to last year's bio-fuel savings as a whole if, for instance, even a small percentage of the "unknown" land was carbon-rich grassland or forestland.

Another concern that has been flagged by recent reports is the method that some companies have partaken in to ensure they achieve bio-fuel targets.

A majority of fuel companies have been keeping up their bio-fuel obligation by buying large quantities of palm oil. Although palm oil is a relatively cheap alternative it is also, potentially, one of the most threatening to the environment due to the carbon-release caused by deforestation in order to create plantations. The Renewable Fuels Agency added that industry leaders had failed to invest in more expensive, sustainable palm oil and have thus stimulated rather dubious areas of the renewable field.

This news comes at the same time, under a European directive, that from March 2011 fuel companies will receive another get-out-clause; that being, fuel firms will not be required to declare using rain forest land if the trees were removed before 2008.

Posted under Articles, Climate

Ground Source Heat Pumps: What Are They?

In essence, a Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) is a renewable energy unit that utilises a network of pipes buried under the surface of your garden to convert heat from these grounds into your home. Traditionally a GSHP system will be used to warm water for your radiators or generate heat for a underfloor heating system. It can, on occasion, be used to contribute to general facilities like heating the water that goes into your boiler. Located beneath the ground surface around your home, the earth will stay at a constant temperature. Therefore GSHP can be used all year round as an effective and efficient renewable energy source.

How Do GSHPs Work?

A GSHP will be installed into your home grounds - conventionally a back garden. The circuit is formed by pipes leading away from and then back into your home. A mixture of water and antifreeze is then pumped around this loop of piping. As the formula travels around the loop (known as a ground loop) it absorbs heat from the ground. The length of the piping will depend on how much heat you will require and other variables like the size of your home. Whether your home is big or small there are reasonable methods to ensure that a GSHP unit will work with optimum efficiency once installed. For instance, in most homes the GSHP will be laid flat, or laid in coils in trenches (approximately 2metres deep), but if your garden is relatively 'tight' for space, then a vertical installation can be deployed. This is where the pipes are installed direct down into the earth in a vertical loop to depths of up to 100 metres.

"The ground loop absorbs heat from the ground. The heat is transferred to a refrigerant by the evaporator, changing it from liquid to gas. The compressor compresses the gas, causing the temperature to rise. The condenser then transfers the heat from the hot gas to the central heating system." - Energy Saving Trust

What Are The Benefits?

The benefits of installing a GSHP system are varied and great, depending on your style of living. But there are three key points that apply to all homes:

• It will reduce your CO2 emissions: in place of a traditional oil boiler, GSHPs will save over 500kg of carbon dioxide every year.
• Rid you of Fuel Bills: these systems run solely on electricity, so gas, oil and solid fuels are made obsolete for your home.
• Reduce your electricity consumption: GSHPs are very efficient, far more efficient than using electric radiators.

Are They Suitable For My Home?

Generally speaking, GSHPs are suitable for most homes. However, there are some crucial areas that need to be considered in order to help determine whether or not they are the most effective route to renewable energy:

• Although your back garden doesn't have to be particularly large, the ground must still be suitable for installing a ground loop. Ask yourself whether it is accessible to digging machinery, or, for instance, how suitable the soil is for digging? If the garden is small and the soil is laden with concrete foundations, will you really be able to accommodate a borehole. Such practicalities are best figured in the early stages of installation in order to avoid any hidden disappointments later on.
• Make sure you'll be able to keep the heat in your home. How well insulated is your house? GSHPs produce, although carbon-friendly and consistent, low temperature heat compared to traditional furnace style boilers. Therefore, to ensure that you get the best out of your GSHP, thorough insulation is a must.
• Costs and Savings. The initial cost of installing one of these systems is quite considerable. However, grants and funding are available for eligible applicants, and will help source around 1/3 of the costs. Savings will vary with depending on the size of the home, amount of heat required etc., but a GSHP system, on average, will start your savings off at around 500kg of CO2 and £160 annually - if you're replacing an oil-fired central heating system.

Whatever your motives are for installing Ground Source Heat Pumps there are a wide range of benefits, grants and savings that, in the long run, will set the perfect temperature for your home. We recommend that you visit the Energy Saving Trust for further information.

Posted under Articles, House & Home

Rated above bonds, cash and property investments, farmland in its current standing is being outlined as "the best low-risk investment over the next decade." MoneyWeek magazine have singled-out 'Britain's greener pastures' in the busy and bustling world of investment management as actually being Britain's Green Pastures. And according to a recent report from Savills, there is almost £7.5bn in cash waiting to buy farms and regional estates throughout the UK in response to low cash and gilt yields. This has the potential effects of increasing prices by half in just three years according to MoneyWeek - which is no mean feat.

Now, if you are like most of us then the fast and furious world of investment may just wiz by in a blink of an eye at a jargon-fuelled blur incomprehensible to the strongest grips of concentration. But after sieving through the chunks of nomenclature, kneading some of the more convoluted statements and by bringing the key ingredients forward to stand for themselves, then it soon becomes plain to see that there is definitely something wholesome to be had here.

Put it this way, due to their recent bad-press over the past ten years or so, a general lack of interest from 'new-buyers' and a scare easy standing from potential investors, farms are cheap. Not only have they become financially viable but they are also 'sustainable' investments too: there is income to be had from the crops grown and produced on the land; EU subsidies are set in place for the next five-to-ten years or so; and then finally there are sizeable tax breaks - including breaks on inheritance tax, reclaimable VAT and even initiatives for budding entrepreneurs!

Okay, before we rear off this quite idyllic country road and find ourselves toe-to-toe with gaz-guzzling red sports cars then there is a word of caution that should be added. Although farms are cheap, investment isn't easy. It requires a thick-skin, hard head and lots and lots of craft(y) work. The reality for this scale of investment is not all wellington boots and robins perching spades. Instead what lies ahead is a strict route and keen sense for the 'right of way' privileges that farmers are entitled to. For instance, one of the driving factors for investing in arable land (whether it be deemed 'right') is not the soil-rich country lifestyle that accompanies it, instead it is, quite simply, a much-employed way to protect existing capital from biting taxes.

Inheritance tax, for example, no longer becomes applicable for a person who owns agricultural property and farms it on a day-to-day basis for a minimum of two years. The proprietor of the property is free to pass their plump little cash-cow on to heirs without having the tax man come knocking at the door with his sharp set of carving knifes. The bare bones of it stands like this: the Government wants to encourage national investment, especially in British agriculture. Exactly why may be beyond a simple sensibility like my own. However, it has to be a good thing. Right?

From the ecological perspective, investment into (what has been) a much ignored sector of UK industry, moreover, one that is committed to developing and refining the ways of 'working with the land', has got to have a positive outcome in store. Especially in today's environmentally-aware consumer society, and with E.U. requisites focuses their firm eye, we can live in hope that there will be little room for woodland, agricultural and arable farming to be led astray into the wilder-than-wildlife cages of business investment. Can't we?

Posted under Articles, Money & Finance

If Your Name's Not on the List
You're Not Coming In
In these days of check-lists, special requirements and quality control, we have come to expect only the very best from the products and services found in the market place. And why not? It seems that the more aware we become as general consumers, the more precise our buying demands also become. When we pick up a packet of this-or-that in the supermarket, more and more of us are running our fingers down the list of ingredients, quickly calculating whether or not it is the "right" thing to buy. But what does "right" really mean? More ticks than crosses, more pro's than con's? It's possible. But when we fall short of reaching the sum of our thoughts, losing track of it or just without the time to qualify a decision, we can often rely on a good old seal-of-approval. These little stamps have become the insignia for hundreds of hard-working, certified bodies who offer their thumbs-up to the worthy few selling quality assured products throughout the UK.

And let's face it, sometimes, no matter how deep we delve into piles and piles of facts and figures available to us at a click of a button, a little peace of mind is always proffered when a see the sign and guarantee that nothing's being hidden and that everything's A-Okay!And, in the same breath, should we expect anything less than the very best from the Greener side of the British consumer market? Of course not. There are a great number of certified bodies upholding the Green standard we've come to expect and want to sustain. That's why - especially in the labyrinths of renewable energy and microgenerational technologies - you can be happy to know that we've got our very own street map.

The Microgenerational Certification Scheme
Launched by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), in 2006, under the BERR's Microgeneration Strategy, the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) was born. The MCS sets and updates requirements on products and installers to sign up to a Code of Practice in keeping with the Office of Fair Trading's Consumer Code of Approval Scheme. Since 2008, the MCS grew quite considerably so that the initiative gained funding from the microgenration industry itself, instead of the government - making it an independent governing body. Led by a panel of stakeholders, the MCS has set out its objective clearly:

"The development of new standards for the Scheme is undertaken by Technical Working Groups, to ensure that the Scheme stays up to date with technology and skill set developments. To date, standards have been developed for:

• Solar Heating Collectors
• Solar PV
• Micro Wind
• Heat Pumps
• Biomass
• Heat-led Micro-CHP

Work is underway to finalise standards for hydro turbines, combined heat and power and fuel cell products.
Any eligible organisation is able to apply to become accredited by UKAS to act as a Certification Body under the MCS. Certification Bodies will certify products and installers against the Scheme standards, enabling those products and installers to carry the MCS ‘mark'. "And there are further benefits, too, for following the MCS guide on products and services. Working in partnership with the DECC's grant scheme and the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, the MCS will be able to offer grants and funding for eligible applicants investing in certified products and installers. So, simply by following the MCS guarantee, we can get a little extra help to start us out on our new installation, and well on the way to greater savings each year!

How To Apply
Whether you're either an installer or producer of microgenerational technology, you can start your application by visiting the Microgenerational Certification Scheme website. There you can find a full list of Certified Bodies and begin to put your next step in the capable hands of the MCS initiative.

Posted under Articles, Renewable Energy

Even though it is common knowledge amongst most eco-crowds that a large area of domestic and industrial Britain is to be made sustainable by 2020, a lot of people won’t have found out that the Government also plans to make every school a ‘sustainable school’ by the very same year.

In 2006 the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) launched their Sustainable Schools Framework after the Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP revealed the ‘greener’ blueprints for British schools to adopt and enhance learning about sustainable development issues and put sustainable practices into everyday school life.

Four years later, and now only a decade away from an increasingly significant year, has there been much of an improvement? Well, yes, actually.

And good for us! Hundreds of schools nationwide have risen to the challenge by not only becoming ecologically aware, but also training to be that bit more eco-practical. Once more, to keep things running smoothly, the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) has created an international award programme that helps ‘teach’ schools on a variety of topics they might like to add to this year’s curriculum.

Quite conveniently named, Eco-Schools is the FEE’s brainchild that has set out a practical framework to aid school learning and embed a collection of eco-principles into the centre of school activity.
Only just fewer than 50 countries located around the globe take part in the Eco-Schools programme – from the UK to France, from Morocco to South Africa – there is an international network of 40,000 schools, linking teachers and students alike.

Administered by Keep Britain Tidy, the Eco-Schools programme is free to join and is a great way to manage and maintain the progress of your school, whether it is a children’s centre, nursery, primary school, secondary school or a school with special status.

As soon as your school is registered you’ll help follow a simple seven-step process which helps both children and adults to address a range of environmental issues. Recycling, waste, healthy living and biodiversity are to name but a few. Eco-Schools say:

Children are the driving force behind Eco-Schools – they lead the eco-committee and help carry out an audit to assess the environmental performance of their school. Through consultation with the rest of the school and the wider community it is the pupils that decide which environmental themes they want to address and how they are going to do it. Measuring and monitoring is an integral part of the Eco-Schools programme, providing schools with all the evidence they need to really shout about their environmental success.

Schools work towards gaining one of three awards – Bronze, Silver and the prestigious Green Flag award, which symbolises excellence in the field of environmental activity. Bronze and Silver are both self accredited through this website and Green Flag is externally assessed by Keep Britain Tidy.

The Eco-Schools programme is a proven way to save money (by making small changes to the environmental management of a school, financial savings can be considerable), gain valuable recognition and publicity (the programme supports schools to ‘do good’ wherever possible, and this can be recognised locally, regionally, nationally and, who knows, maybe even internationally), build strong partnerships with local communities (young and old will be encouraged to engage with local decision making), and improve the all-round focus of your school.

Check out the Eco-Schools website for further information about how to join, Today!

Posted under Articles, Companies