WARC (November 28)
Carbon offsets hearken back to the pre-crash CDO market. In 47% of the transactions Bloomberg recently analyzed, there was inadequate “information to link them back to a buyer. It is, effectively, an opaque market…. The trouble is that this confirms many people’s – often correct – perception that they can’t trust what most brands tell them about their carbon footprint.”
Tags: Bloomberg, Brands, Buyer, Carbon footprint, Carbon offsets, CDO market, Inadequate, Link, Opaque market, Perception, Pre-crash, Transactions, Trust
Reuters (June 4)
“A Swedish-born anti-flying movement is spreading to other European countries.” The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is “shrinking its carbon footprint” and working to avoid stigma with a sustainability plan that “is among the most ambitious and globally focused of any industry.” Carbon emissions have roughly been halved for flights since 1990, “largely thanks to more fuel-efficient aircraft.” For the moment, however, “trains are benefiting from the anti-flight movement.”
Tags: Aircraft, Carbon footprint, Emissions, Europe, Fuel-efficient, IATA, Stigma, Sustainability, Sweden, Trains
The Economist (September 10)
“New techniques mean that wood can now be used for much taller buildings,” potentially reducing the carbon footprint by nearly 75% compared with conventional steel and concrete structures. A 14-story wooden structure in Bergen, Norway will soon be unseated as the world’s tallest when an 18-story wooden dormitory goes up at the University of British Columbia in Canada in 2017. But UBC’s Brock Commons will soon be surpassed by a 21-story building in Amsterdam. “Some architects have even started designing wooden skyscrapers, like the proposed Tratoppen…a 40-floor residential tower on the drawing-board in Stockholm.”
Tags: Amsterdam, Architects, Buildings, Canada, Carbon footprint, Concrete, Norway, Skyscrapers, Steel, Stockholm, Structures, Tratoppen, UBC, Wood
Independent (November 8)
“Most British businesses fail to comply with government guidance on reporting their carbon footprints.” New voluntary reporting standards were released by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in 2009. According to a study by Deloitte, 349 of the top 350 listed companies disclose some information on their carbon footprint, but only37% made formal disclosure in a report while less than 10% complied with Defra guidance or provided third-party assurance. As the Defra guidance may become mandatory from 2012, there is still a long way to go.
Tags: Carbon footprint, Defra, UK
