Adessi 10:10 - Cycling in the City

Jude is doing a good job cycling to work every day, which must be helping him to reduce his carbon footprint and therefore helping Adessi's 10:10 campaign.

Cycling is a big deal in the news at the moment due to Transport for London's scheme to get more people riding their bikes in the capital. I think cycling in a city has it's pros and cons and may be more practical for some commuters than others, but overall I think it should be encouraged.

Does it make a difference what city you're cycling in? As a Londoner I heard all about the Congestion Charge when it was introduced and since then the effect on traffic has been controversial. If I had to guess though I'd say there's probably a lot more traffic in London than there is in Leeds or Newcastle. So should schemes like the one in London be rolled out across the country, where you can hire a bike to ride around the city? It's a really simple idea, where you become a member and pay an access fee of £1 for a day, £5 for a week or £45 for a year, and then you can borrow a bike from a docking station for different amounts of time: up to 30 minutes is free, three hours is £15 and the maximum of 24 hours is £50. A casual use scheme will be introduced soon, where you will be able to hire at the docking station and pay by credit or debit card.

Photo from samaw.com

I think the response has been quite mixed, but personally I think it's a good idea, and means if someone doesn't own a bike and doesn't want to spend the money on buying one they can still cycle and save on petrol or public transport costs. I'd look forward to the scheme being rolled out in other cities, as I can see it going down really well in places like York, where there is already a big cycling community.

I, on the other hand, won't be taking part if the scheme comes to Leeds because I can't ride a bike. Yes, I'm 21 and can't ride a bike. I don't drive either though, so I'm either on public transport or I'm a pedestrian, so my lack of cycling skills won't be affecting Adessi's energy use.

What do you think about a similar scheme being introduced in your city? We'd love to hear your views.

You can read all about the London scheme here.

Laura

Adessi 10:10 - The Fat Office

As we posted about last week, we're recycling our crisp packets at Adessi and at the Leeds office we think we're doing quite well...

We've only been collecting since Monday so although it's great for our recycling, I'm not sure that in the long run it's going to be too good for our waistlines!

I think I'm the worst offender with four packets (one for each day), Beth is second with three packets of Quavers (lets hope the office doesn't start to smell cheesy!) and Hayley and Jude are tied with one packet each.

Watch this space to see how the Newcastle office is getting on.

Laura

Adessi 10:10 - Ecological Impact Laid Bare

After reading this article on the guardian website, I got thinking about products and their impact on the environment. Although, I always try to recycle as much as I can, I have to admit I've never really thought about the eco-impact of how a product is made. World Tap Water Week has highlighted the impact of drinking bottled water, but what about the impact of other products, and how can the customer find out about this information?

It has been suggested that 'Radical Transparency' is the way forward, to inform customers of a product's ecological impacts in a clear manner. Transparency is already applied to price, and if it was applied to eco-impact, buyers would no longer know less than sellers.Walmart has discussed plans to introduce a 'Sustainability Index' where a clear rating of eco-impacts would be displayed on their products.Although to get all the information about a product's life cycle takes a lot of time and money, and a new 'Group of Ten' companies have developed the E2 Turbo, which measures just 20% of a product's life cycle, but accounts for 80% of it's environmental impact. This supply chain transparency could lead the way for products' eco-impact rating to be easily available to customers.

However, in one survey only 10% of people would go out of their way to find out about the eco-impact of products. The Good Guide have tried to make the information easier by releasing a free iPhone app which gives you informations about a product's eco-impact right in the aisles of the supermarket, and roughly two thirds of shoppers feel that it would be a part of their decision making process if the information was easy to come by.

Would this information make a difference to how you shop? Would you like to see a traffic light system for eco-impact right next to the calories, fat and salt readings?

I think this would be a really good idea, it would hopefully encourage companies to think more about their carbon footprint and how they make their produce so they could have a better reading. It's something I've never really considered, but is something I'd be interested to find out about, I'd hate for all the foods I eat to be having a huge ecological-impact and cancelling out all the good we're doing here at Adessi for the 10:10 campaign!

Laura

Adessi 10:10 - Saving an Absolute Packet

Alex D has been doing a bit of research and although you can’t actually recycle crisp packets you can send them to a charity down south who then send them off to the Philippines (in a boat that’s already going) and they turn them into woven purses and hand bags – and by sending your crisp packets apparently this means that the children of the women working in the factory can go to school.

You can read all about it here:

http://myzerowaste.com/2010/01/how-to-recycle-crisp-packets-bags-and-support-charity/

As a bit of a crisp addict herself, Al will be collecting her bags and sending them off once she's got a (in her words) 'canny collection of them' rather than just binning them – so if people want to start putting their empty bags in one of the recycling boxes downstairs she'll post them too.

Anyone who wants to do the same, the address is:

Philippine Community Fund
5 Gresley Gardens
Hedge End
Southampton
SO30 2XG

She's also found quite an interesting site which gives handy tips on to recycle/reuse things – although we're a tad sceptical on some of the crisp packet suggests! Make of them what you will…

http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20070822/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-crisp-packets

Adessi 10:10 - Not So Green Government...

After I blogged about how the government is getting green advice from high street names involved with the 10:10 initiative, Jude saw this article on the guardian website...

I think I blogged too soon about a green government.

Throughout the election, and as the opposition both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats were both very supportive of bringing in an "environmental performance standard" (EPS) which in it's simplest terms would cut greenhouse gas emissions.

However, this proposal is not going to be included in the coalition government's first energy bill, and understandably Green campaigners are outraged. Although they are saying it will be discussed in autumn, many campaigners are worried that coal-fired power stations are going to slip through the net and be built this year. Companies are already coming forward with plans to build new plants, and I don't see how the government can ignore them.

With Cameron declaring this coalition government to be the greenest ever and getting a lot of advice on how to save energy, it seems utterly bizarre that they can shelve the EPS plan. All it appears to come down to is money, and although that is one of the huge benefits of cutting your energy use, it can't be all you're focused on. To me, Cameron and Clegg are using the facade of being a 'Green Government' whilst not being bothered about green issues, energy or climate change.

Laura

Adessi 10:10 - World Tap Water Week

As a new member of the Adessi team, I wasn't here when the team originally made their first pledges. During my first weeks at the Leeds office I've been involved with a lot of Adessi's 10:10 plans, and it feels wrong that I haven't made a pledge to put on our green tree yet.

I've been thinking about various pledges I would like to make, and on Twitter yesterday I saw that 'Do The Green Thing' are running World Tap Water Week this week, and it got me thinking. I tend to carry a bottle of water around with me wherever I go, it's one of the reasons I need such a large handbag, but every now and again I'll forget my water bottle, and buy another one. I think I have four bottles in my room at home, and I refill one of them everyday to bring into work with me. I'm a big fan of tap water, I don't really like the taste of some bottled waters, but as long as the water from the tap is cold I like it. Therefore, I think my first pledge is going to be to stop buying new bottles, and make sure I have a bottle with me whenever I might need one. This is especially true on long car journeys when I normally forget to put a bottle in my bag!

The Do The Green Thing website has put together some great lists including 'Top 7 Shocking Tap Facts', 'Top 7 Criminal Mineral Ads' and 'Top 7 Ingenious Ideas' to promote World Tap Water Week. It's really opened my eyes to how important it is to drink water from the tap whenever possible, we're priveleged to have clean and safe tap water available right in our homes, so I will be making sure to not buy any more bottles, and I think I will invest in my very own water bottle.

Oh, and this is my personal favourite tap campaign from Tappening, if it doesn't stop you buying bottled water, I don't know what will!

Laura

Adessi 10:10 - Newcastle Gets Recycling

Over in the Adessi Newcastle office Stevie's been organising the recycling of toners for our printers, he said:

"I’ve been keeping the toners because they are massive and so I asked Konica what I could do with them and they put me in touch with their recycling partner Ereco It & Electrical Recycling. It costs us £30 per bag to recycle - but it's worth it!"

They'll be able to fit a lot of toner in that bag! Well done Stevie!

Adessi 10:10 - Green Government

On only his third day in goverment David Cameron pledged to cut the government's energy use by 10% and declared his government "the greenest ever". At Adessi we are hugely dedicated to cutting our carbon footprint, and it seems the government is too, as they have asked top high street names such as Tesco, Marks and Spencer and HSBC to advise them on the best ways of cutting energy.

Some examples of the easiest ways they are cutting energy are motion sensors in offices so lights go out when noone is there, and organising energy saving competitions between departments. At Adessi, we have tried to encourage everyone to think green by making pledges which are displayed in the office, and by using this blog to chart our progress. If we know as a company we're cutting our energy usage every month, it should encourage us to carry on going, as we know this isn't a short term project, it really is for life.

The Energy Event being held in Birmingham on the 8-9th September will be holding seminars such as 'Implementing Initiatives: Costs and benefits of carbon reduction programmes', to encourage businesses to cut their carbon footprint in 2010, which we are definitely supportive of. Our client Bergen Energi will be appearing at the exhibition and their energy experts will be offering the best advice to businesses on how to deal with the coming challenges of environmental issues and the high cost of energy.

At Adessi we're trying to make cutting energy as fun as we can, although we are focussing on the important tasks of cutting our mileage and electricity use, we're also trying to think of other ways to save. We don't think being green means being boring, we're getting to paint walls and eat chocolate cakes! I wonder if the government will be painting trees in Parliament...

Laura

Adessi 10:10 - Free Food

As I posted last week, I've been riding my bike into work as much as possible, in order to cut Adessi's carbon footprint. The benefits are not limited to being good for the environment, there's also free food involved! On Wednesday morning, on my way to Adessi I saw a plum tree and found lots of plums in the road:

So I picked some off of the tree and brought them into work as a delicious treat for my colleages:

Unfortunately, I don't think Hayley, Beth and Laura appreciated my efforts as they're still on my desk today uneaten amidst fears they are poisonous...

Jude

Adessi 10:10 - Green Trees

As part of the Adessi 10:10 initiative both offices have planted...no, painted trees, where we can all post our pledges. Every Adessi employee has been encouraged to make at least one pledge in order to save energy!

Here is a picture of the original Newcastle tree painted by Peter:

The pledges are written on cut outs of people's hands, and include promising to not waste food and to bring lunch into work everyday so as not to drive the car at lunchtime.

Yesterday, Hayley at the Leeds office was asked to paint a tree for the meeting room:

Here is our finished tree, where the Adessi Leeds staff will post their pledges!

We're hoping that the trees will be something to talk about with anyone visiting the office, while also reminding us to stick to our pledges over the next 12 months.

Laura

Adessi 10:10 - Saving the Planet with Chocolate

This week at the Adessi Leeds office, we have found out that Beth is a domestic goddess! She brought in chocolate fairy cakes, they tasted great and looked amazing as they were hand decorated:

Not only were they a great treat with a cup of tea, they stopped Beth driving to the shop at lunchtime to buy chocolate and therefore helped us to reduce our carbon footprint! So, at Adessi Leeds we are definitely going to keep trying to save the planet with chocolate as part of the 10:10 initiative.

Laura

Adessi 10:10 - Pumpkin Up the Volume

Adessi's pumpkin plants are already looking pretty awesome. Given that they were only planted from seed a shade over two weeks ago, they're coming on very well already and feel very much like part of the Adessi family. The carrots, cauliflowers and beetroots are also looking good, albeit smaller than the pumpkins.

Quick cry for help, though - we're being infested with tiny little flies. Not sure at this stage if they're causing any damage to the little guys. Of course, dousing them with harsh pesticides wouldn't be very 10:10, so if anyone has any organic suggestions for keeping the critters off, I'd appreciate hearing them.

Steve

Adessi 10:10 - Turning Off Plugs

One of the simplest ways to start cutting your energy use is one that many of us forget about – turning off plugs. Although at Adessi, we’re all very good at making sure our computers are turned off before we leave the office, it’s important to turn off the plugs too. Even when items are switched off they can still use energy known as ‘phantom usage’, and although most appliances don’t use a lot of energy when they are turned off, when all the computers, telephones, printers etc. are combined it can add up to a lot of wasted energy and money!

Being the last to leave the office Beth was given the important task of turning off all the plugs at Adessi Leeds.

Here she is doing a great job:

Doing some research on this ‘phantom usage’ it turns out that a computer can use 15 watts every hour when it’s turned off but still plugged in. Although that doesn’t sound like a lot, over a year that’s a lot of energy and therefore a lot of carbon emissions. This simple measure will surely be helping Adessi cut our emissions by 10% within the next 12 months, and we hope our clients will follow us in our dedication to the 10:10 campaign.

As well as saving energy, we will be able to save somewhere in the region of £600-£800.

For more information about ‘phantom usage’ see the Electricity Bill website and you can find out more about the 10:10 campaign here.

Laura

Adessi 10:10 - Lighter Later

As part of the Adessi 10:10 campaign across the Leeds and Newcastle offices we are encouraging our employees and clients to sign the Lighter Later petition. Basically, they want to shift the clocks forward by one hour throughout the year, resulting in more people being awake for the sun shining!

Not only will it be nice to have more sunshine in the evenings after work, the idea has the potential to cut at least 447,000 tonnes of CO₂ pollution each year, which is the equivalent to more than 50,000 cars driving all the way around the world! At the moment, especially in winter, lights are switched on very early in the evening, so as well as cutting carbon emissions; it would also lower electricity bills.

As well as these great benefits to the environment, adding an extra hour of daylight to our evenings also has the potential to increase road safety and could save 100 lives per year, and save the NHS £138 million a year through reducing road casualties.

All these reasons and more for signing the petition can be found here. At the moment, the Lighter Later bill is due to be debated by MPs in early December, so get on Facebook and Twitter to spread the word! 

You can find out more information about the campaign and sign the petition to shift the clocks forward by an hour at http://www.lighterlater.org/.

Laura

Adessi 10:10 - Cycling to Work

I decided that I should be riding my bike to work seeing as it’s only 2 miles from the Leeds office and Adessi has signed up to the 10:10 campaign! It’s all downhill on the way to work and all uphill on the way home… I’m not sure if this is the best way round or not but at least it means I only have to really pedal on the way back! With the help of a couple of websites I’ve worked out my car’s emissions and it will save about 175kg of carbon emissions if I do it every day (Monday to Thursday) in the next twelve months. I’m sure I’ll bring the car some days to be honest but if I can do it 75% of the time it will be a good addition to Adessi’s aim to cut our carbon emissions by 10%, and I might get fit again too!

Jude

Adessi 10:10 - What it's all about

Adessi has signed up to the 10:10 campaign, which is a simple idea to encourage people, as individuals, families or businesses, to cut their carbon emissions by 10% in one year. As a company we are determined to save energy and help the environment.

We’re professionals, and we’ve done our research: the world is already locked into a temperature rise of about 1.5 degrees. This may not sound like a lot, but if the world gets only 1 degree warmer:

• Rice yield drops by 10%
• No fresh water for one third of the world and
• Places like the Maldives will disappear under the sea.

The results of our actions just keep getting worse which is where the 10:10 campaign comes in. Climate change is happening, and it will affect all of us whether it is directly or indirectly, but there is still time to change and improve things! The 10:10 campaign focuses on small actions that can make a big difference, here at Adessi we’ll be making sure we turn off our plugs, turn lights off when they’re not needed and only print when we really need to.

We are aiming to cut our carbon footprint by 10% across four key areas:

• Grid electricity
• Fossil fuel use
• Vehicle fuel use
• Air travel

By combining these factors our carbon footprint works out at 36,786kg which is equivalent to eight fully grown Asian elephants!

Adessi is a very successful PR, marketing, design, events and advertising agency and we want to encourage others to join us in our 10:10 campaign. If we can encourage others to cut their emissions by 10% this year, we’ll be starting to make a real difference. This blog will be following our progress over the next 12 months, and we hope you will join us!