3p Contributor: Hayley
Recent Articles
The French Condom Company Redefines the “Ethics” of Sex
We all know what it means to have safe sex. But what does it mean to have responsible sex? Be it during moments of intimacy or not, it could be safe to assume that very few of us think of how the average prophylactic was produced, where it came from, and its environmental impact.
Since 2007 and from a small team of three, The French Letter Condom Company Ltd has brought ethical condoms to the European market. French Letter Condoms (which was named from the British colloquialism “french letter” for condoms) reaches a market where choice of condom brand is possible and where sustainability, even in the bedroom, is relevant. But what exactly what makes a condom “ethical,” and importantly, can they be as good as the rest?
Business and Government Tackle Pollution Together in Mexico
Mexico City is one of the largest urban agglomerates in the World and as such suffers from extreme atmospheric contamination. It contributes 1.5% of the worlds total greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, conditions are so bad that around 4,000 people die every year as a direct result of air contamination and last year the Human Right Commission of the District Federal declared the city in “violation of the right to a healthy environment“.
The project “Sustainable Housing Units” seeks to tackle air pollution with design and engineering measures for residential building, so that residents may one day breathe more easily and see more clearly in a restored and vegetative urban environment.
Over the last decade some major environmental problems have emerged and received considerable coverage in public media. These situations, such as the extinction of many bird species from the contamination levels, have motivated actions from civil society groups, international organization, and more recently, the Mayor’s Office of Mexico City. This latest project seeks to achieve a greener and healthier urban environment for citizens through innovative measures such as the installation of “vertical gardens,” rain water filters, and solar panels in buildings.
Carbon -The Largest Commodity Market?
Carbon may become the world’s largest commodity market, according to recent investigations. The Financial Times reported late last week reported that the carbon market could “outstrip the conventional commodities markets” and other estimates of more than $3 trillion in 2020 have been cast, by Point Carbon for example, dependent on US participation. Bart Chilton, commissioner of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission has estimated that
“even with conservative assumptions, this could be a $2 trillion futures market in relatively short order.”
The carbon market emerged after the UNFCCC conference in Kyoto 1997, where over 30 nations adopted GHG reduction schedules. The Kyoto Protocol introduced emissions reduction trading using free market economic mechanisms which allowed the commencement of international carbon reduction transfers. Hence the emergence of a commodities market that is now rapidly escalating in value.
Great Wines and Sustainable Farming in the Central Coast
The Central Coast Vineyard Team is at the forefront of green viticulture, comprising an active network of local farmers committed to best practice wine-making. For nearly 15 years the Team has been developing and promoting sustainable methods of farming within the region. But even better, they have a profitable business model that produces flavorsome wine grapes whilst putting the environment first. It is a leading practice setting admirable standards in the wine industry.
The Team is a non-profit outfit; a collaborative partnership of scientists, growers, wine makers, researchers and natural resource professionals. Their mission is to promote sustainable winegrowing and they work in a dynamic industry that requires flexibility and innovation to tackle the complexities of environmental management. The diversity of programs undertaken by the Team and the ever-evolving nature of their practice has given them a wide range of experience, and now, the wines and the Team’s reputation are reaping the rewards.
The Team has been recognized as an innovative leader by regulatory agencies, educators, and environmental activists and has received awards from the US Environmental Protection Agency, CA Department of Pesticide Regulation, Regional Water Quality Control Board, SLO Community Foundation, and the SLO Air Pollution Control Board – as reported on their website.
Paul Polak on Poverty Alleviation
Paul Polak, founder of International Development Enterprises (IDE), has released an enriching addition to the poverty debate. ‘Out of Poverty’ clearly elucidates some of the great myths of traditional development approaches and, best of all, will have you thinking optimistically about solutions.
Polak’s work provides an innovative and well grounded approach to addressing poverty; a revolutionary style that recognises the competencies and enthusiasm of the poor as subjects in the development process.
It is “a wise and engaging new book” (The Economist) that offers “optimism not just for those fighting poverty and those fighting to get out of it, but for any company interested in a basically untapped 1 billion-person market” (BusinessWeek).
For Polak, small farmer prosperity represents a great opportunity to end rural poverty and because of this, development initiatives should maintain a focus on rural development through investment within these communities. In doing so we must move away from the ‘business as usual’ approach and reject 3 great myths surrounding poverty alleviation, which are that:
1. We can donate people out of poverty;
2. We can end poverty through national economic growth; and
3. Multinationals as they are now will end poverty.
He elaborates on the significance of these myths within the book and also provides an outline in his latest IDE presentation, which can be seen on this youtube video:
Waste Recycling Targets set in EU
Agreement has been reached in Strasbourg by Euro-MPs to set new waste recycling targets, with tough penalties for non-compliance. By 2020 50% of household rubbish and 70% of construction and demolition waste must be recycled – with mechanisms to penalize governments through court action when the targets are not enforced. The new standard is, for some, a clear statement of the ongoing progressive, environmental mindedness emerging from the European centre. For others it is a compromise; it is too weak a solution that will not change the fundamentals of consumerism and problems surrounding waste management that persist with modern lifestyles.
The Waste Framework Directive increases recycling levels, requires the preparation of national programmes for waste management, international partnerships and more stringent measures for waste incineration. The author of the waste report, conservative MEP Caroline Jackson suggested that:
“this is the best deal available. Anyone who thinks that we could get anything better would be deceiving themselves.”
Furthermore, the conception of waste as an opportunity emerges within the agreement:
“This deal marks a shift in thinking about waste from an unwanted burden to a valued resource and helps to make Europe a recycling society, said European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas.”
Plug In Hybrid – Toyota to Finally Offer Model by 2010
By the year 2010 a plug-in hybrid vehicle will be available in Japan, the US and Europe as part of the green strategy released by Toyota on June 11 last week. The vehicles will be run with next-generation lithium-ion batteries and will be rechargeable from an electrical outlet. The ecological petrol-electric cars will be aimed at leasing customers and will operate longer and cleaner than regular hybrids.
The initiative comes as part of Toyota’s larger plan to create a more sustainable practice and to meet consumer demand from suffering drivers who are feeling the oil price crunch and who are becoming conscious consumers in the face of global warming.
“Without focusing on measures to address global warming and energy issues, there can be no future for our auto business,” Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe said.
International Carbon Initiative Failing: The Case of Papua New Guinea
In the pacific region countries have joined forces to tackle land-clearing in an attempt to reduce regional emission levels. One of the latest carbon partnerships, agreed to in April this year, is between Papua New Guinea and Australia. The agreement has been criticised from its inception and with the release of a recent forest analysis report covering PNG, the potential usefulness of the program going forward is further questioned.
Papua New Guinea is losing 362, 400ha of rainforest every year, one of the highest rates of deforestation and the worst scale of land-clearing as a percentage of the country size (1.4per cent of its land area). Farming and logging are the main industries leading to this depletion, which without being curtailed will result in more than 80 percent of the entire rainforest disappearing within 13 years. A rate ‚Äòconsiderably faster’ than ever before predicted.
UN Rome Conference: Mobilisation to Double World Food Production
UN chief Ban Ki-moon opened the international summit on the global food crisis in Rome last week by calling for a 50 per cent increase in food production by the year 2030. As the High-level Conference on World Food Security concluded the UN’s long-term focus was revealed; to improve food security whilst increasing production and agricultural financing. For Ban, the world has a “historic opportunity to revitalise agriculture” and must “respond immediately” to improve food security and eliminate “trade and taxation policies that distort markets.”
With this declaration the momentum for change is growing, but is this direction going to see the development of sustainable agricultural practices? Will it relieve hunger and improve the quality of lives for the global poor? Or will the rich poor divide worsen through further entrenchment of existing mechanisms that control trade and production in favor of Western politics and economics?
The global food price crisis has been brought about by an increased demand for biofuels, poor harvests from changing environments, increasing transportation costs, land development, a growing Asian market as well as unfavorable trade characteristics. The poorest people around the world have been hit hardest, sparking food riots in some places, for example Haiti, Cameroon and Egypt, as well as food export restrictions in many others such as India, Vietnam and Brazil.
Going Green through Wiser Investing: Spring 2008 GreenMoney Issue
Unprecedented opportunities for capital investments in green companies and technologies exist in a range of global economies. ‘Socially Responsible Investment’ is monitored and reported on through the Trends Report from the Social Investment Forum biennially and now, the 2008 Spring GreenMoney Journal expands our knowledge about these opportunities and trends. The Spring edition, the second most recent publication from GreenMoney, examines the ‘greening’ of the global economy and elucidates the broad range of new possibilities in sustainable investments for private and institutional investors as well as for pension plans, university endowments, foundations and mutual funds.
The Spring GreenMoney 2008 publication asks and answers, ¬¥Could the Greening of America actually be happening?, and ¬¥Is there a way to enjoy growth and prosperity…and save our planet too?’
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