That's Technology: Greening Government ICT Strategy will deliver sign...

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That's Books: Going Green The Essential Guide

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Listed buildings require 'sympathetic' facilities

Buildings are listed so that they can be cared for and protected and to ensure that their special features are not unwittingly altered or destroyed.

Building regulations do not allow unsightly exterior pipe work as it is not in keeping with the original façade, and the alternative option of drilling through existing floors to fit internal soil stacks is restricted if it affects the aesthetics and originality of a listed dwelling.

Lack of toilet and bathroom facilities is a major problem in most old buildings. The invention of small bore macerator pumping systems by Saniflo over 30 years ago has done much to assist the modernisation and enhancement of such buildings. The Saniflo discharges waste and water vertically or horizontally from a WC through small-bore 22mm pipe work to a remote soil system.

Saniflo’s great advantage is that you don’t have to rely on gravity plumbing to the soil stack or sewer. The products success in overcoming bathroom-plumbing obstacles has lead to an extended range to accommodate kitchen and utility environments almost anywhere.

Saniflo -A perfect solution to the preservation of our Heritage.

For details on listed building projects using Saniflo products visit

www.saniflo.co.uk

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Saniflo receives Green Apple Environment Award

Saniflo is developing products that will address the problems now seen to be crucial to a greener planet. The Sanicondens Best is a pump mounted adjacent to and connected to a condensing boiler.

It is designed to avoid serious damage to the structure of buildings and the environment, by neutralising waste condensate before it reaches the ground. Acid waste is one of the highest causes of mortar breakdown in brickwork.

Saniflo is developing products that will address the problems now seen to be crucial to a green planet, including reduction of water use in toilets, and safe disposal and treatment of waste water.

Environmentally friendly, this durable and economic unit brings all householders peace of mind.

For further information please visit www.saniflo.co.uk or email sales@saniflo.co.uk

That's Home and Household: Top Hungarian Interior Design House, Lima Europe, ...

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UK Solar Energy Website Guarantees Low Prices With The Launch Of Its New Nationwide Installer Network

Total Solar Energy, a top UK solar power information website, has just added a nationwide solar installation service to it's list of services.

Visitors to their website can now receive no obligation quotes for solar energy from leading installation companies in their local region. Visitors fill in a short form which is automatically sent to 2 or 3 carefully selected local solar installers who will then battle it out for the job ensuring a low price for the customer.

Explaining the new service, co-owner Gary Hodgson said, "My email inbox is always full of enquiries from people wanting us to quote them prices to install solar power. But it's a service we didn't offer ourselves. But due to the interest and volume of enquiries we were receiving I decided it was something my website visitors needed."

"So I contacted all of the leading solar energy companies and set up one of the largest networks of installers in the UK. All our registered installers have been vetted and are 100% MCS accredited so customers needn't worry whether they are hiring a bunch of amateurs."

"It works well on both levels as local firms receive local jobs and the end customer receives a really competitive price without having to spend their valuable time researching different companies. We've basically done all the hard work for them."

With the cost of solar panels dropping due to better technology and increased competition, Gary believes there has never been a better time to install solar energy. "I think that people are fed up of the ever rising costs of their fuel bills. And if you factor in the current push to go green then you have a lot of interest. The introduction of the feed-in tariff has also contributed greatly to the demand because many solar installation companies are now offering to lease free solar panels to homeowners as long as they are able to keep payments for the excess electricity that is fed back into the grid. Which is a win-win situation for both the company and homeowner."

To receive a quote for solar power installation from an accredited company in your local area or to learn more about solar energy go to www.totalsolarenergy.co.uk

That's Gardening: UK Top Tree Consultant Advises on 1,500 year old H...

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Radisson Blu hotel Krakow wins Leaders of Sustainable Development contest

Radisson Blu hotel in Krakow has won the "Leaders of Sustainable Development" contest that was organized by Forbes Magazine in Poland. Fulfilling the criteria of eco-certification BS8901 has been revealed as one of the seven most important initiatives in Poland.

Located in the heart of the city, the Radisson Blu hotel Krakow was appreciated by the Forbes magazine for being the world's first hotel with prestigious BS 8901 Certification. It was worked out by British Standard International in 2007. Today, it is the most demanding certification in the area of sustainable meetings and events management and is based on three priorities:

- Reducing negative impact on natural environment
- Positive impact on local community
- Reduction of production and exploitation costs

Forbes' jury appreciated the pro-social and pro-ecological aspects of this achievement, and drew attention to the hotel’s competitive advantage, based on CSR actions and integrated business strategy. Attainment of BS8901 inspired Radisson Blu Hotel Krakow to create its unique offer for business - the Green Conference Package. These are the meetings organised according to the rules of sustainability.

Nino D. Rosenlund, General Manager at Radisson Blu hotel in Krakow said: "The Green Conference Package we offer is not only applicable to the companies deeply involved in CSR activities but also for those which just want to start building their responsible business strategy. We organise these meetings in our eight Krakow conference rooms, in luxury restaurants or, for really big groups, in the spacious underground parking area. I think that in a year or two such responsible and sustainable meetings in many countries will be a standard, not the exception."

Depending on the clients, the hotel organises meetings according to the strict rules. These include responsible waste separating, using recycled materials, responsible transportation and food planning. Additionally, all products are ordered locally, the hotel works with regional suppliers and supports local community. After the meeting, the client receives a "Green Meeting Certification" and the CO2 emissions report. The client has also has the option to plant trees that will quickly eliminate the event's negative impact on the environment.

These principles help to reduce negative impact on environment and have a positive impact on the local community and reduce costs of production and exploitation costs. They are all included in the client document "Sustainable Meeting Policy". It applies both parties - the Krakow accommodation and the client - at every stage of the meeting organisation.



FACTFILE:

The Rezidor Hotel Group is one of the fastest growing hotel companies in the world. The group features a portfolio of more than 400 hotels in operation and under development with 88,800 rooms in over 60 countries, including hotels in Krakow, Ankara hotel, an airport hotel Paris and Amsterdam hotel.

Rezidor operates the brands Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inns & Suites in Europe, Middle East and Africa, along with the Club Carlson loyalty programme for frequent hotel guests. Under a worldwide licence agreement with the iconic Italian fashion house Missoni, Rezidor also operates and develops the new lifestyle brand Hotel Missoni.

In November 2006, Rezidor was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Carlson, a privately held, global hospitality and travel company, based in Minneapolis (USA), is the majority shareholder.

The Corporate office of the Rezidor Hotel Group is based in Brussels, Belgium.

For more information on Rezidor, visit www.rezidor.com

Trade Skills 4U launches sister company 'Solar PV Tools.co.uk'

Trade Skills 4U.co.uk, the UK's largest independent electrical & renewable energy training provider, have launched a brand new ecommerce website selling Solar PV Tools. The website, www.solarpvtools.co.uk, is designed to equip renewable energy installers with all the tools they would need to install, test and maintain solar PV systems.

Trade Skills 4U.co.uk Managing Director, Carl Bennett says: “We have always taken customer care very seriously, talking and listening to our customers and taking their views on board. We only recommend tools based on our own practical hands on testing; tools must be fairly easy to use and survive the rigours of daily practice to become a tool we trust, in order for us to feel able to sell them to our customers.

"Having found difficultly sourcing solar PV kits ourselves, it seems there is space for a market leader to supply solar installers with the kit necessary to complete installations and comply with MCS accreditation standards.”

In June this year, Trade Skills 4U successfully launched their Renewable energy training centre, complete with purpose built facilities built to cater for the demand for renewable energy installers. The centre houses the UK’s first and only single storey training roof that enables candidates to install solar PV at height and with all the necessary kit they would require on a real installation such as pulleys, ginn wheels etc.

“We are in great support of this growing industry and have invested £350,000 into building our dedicated renewable energy centre; it seems like a step in the right direction to enable candidates to buy the kit we trust whilst they train with us. We are continually innovating and improving our products and services. The new website is the natural next step," added Carl Bennett.

Joe Bennett, Sales Manager of the new site added: "We are in a competitive market. Customers rightly expect a good deal and a professional service. At Solar PV Tools we know that our products are not only the very best available but also that we listen to our customers and construct the kits they need for the job. We provide fully bespoke solar PV tool kits which installers and contractors can design for themselves based on need and continue to refine our products and services to meet their needs now and in the future."

FACTFILE:

Trade Skills 4U LTD are the UK’s largest independent electrical training centre that specialises in electrical training courses. Their Renewable Energy Training facility will be launching in May where a range of Renewable energy skills such as Solar PV courses will be on offer.

Carbon Zero Solutions launches

Dr Martin Blake today announced the launch of Carbon Zero Solutions (CZS) Limited. CZS supports executives and their organisations by providing leadership in the inception, development and successful deployment of energy efficiency programmes that improve profitability and reduce environmental and social impact. “It’s a multiple win,” claims Dr Blake.

“By investing, businesses stand to save money, reduce their carbon footprint, reduce their exposure to energy market volatility and, in doing so, improve their brand and customer acceptance.”

Dr Blake was until recently the architect of, and inspiration behind, the award-winning Carbon Management Programme at Royal Mail, the UK’s biggest postal services company. As Head of Sustainability Team for seven years, he oversaw a multi-pronged strategy in the areas of energy reduction and efficiency, waste management, water conservation and workplace diversity. Together this team of energy experts is credited with reducing UK Royal Mail Group’s annual energy bill by over £30million.

When Dr Blake left the Royal Mail at the end of October 2010, he left behind a legacy that is recognised as one of the best energy management programmes in the world, with 75 national and regional awards. “I wanted to share our learning and utilise the knowledge and experience of this team by making an impact on the most challenging environmental problems faced by some of the largest companies in the world,” said Dr Blake.

Speaking about the launch of CZS, Dr Blake suggested that UK Boards are poorly served by many ‘environmental consultancies’ that put compliance and marketing of green credentials before energy related savings. “In my time at Royal Mail Group, our main objective was to deliver bottom-line savings. The Board was rightly concerned about our environmental and social impact and the need to be sustainable, but there is absolutely no doubt that £30million in annual energy savings was an extremely significant motivator, thereby delivering a double win.”

Dr Blake continued, “There are many examples of boards that have not pursued the benefits of energy reduction because they are being sold on outputs that cannot be adequately quantified or explained. Too many initiatives have been conceived and implemented in a piecemeal fashion. Individually they may have been effective, but unless taken together within a wider coordinated programme, it is unlikely they will each deliver quantifiable ROI. It is therefore not surprising that some board directors feel ambivalent or wary.”

CZS brings together the same experts that Dr Blake convened at the Royal Mail Group, including Professor David Strong, a globally renowned practitioner in sustainable building design and refurbishment, Robert Evans, an expert in the field of low carbon transport, together with experts in the fields of energy wholesaling, energy data management, and a range of other carbon and energy reduction disciplines.

Nick Allen, Managing Director of CZS commented, “The CEO’s of large UK firms must now start viewing sustainability as a competitive tool. Their commitment and leadership is imperative, as the most significant opportunities of a low carbon strategy cannot be realised without full management and workforce engagement. Commitment from the boardroom to the factory floor is essential to achieve tangible and long lasting results.”

The team consists of:
• Dr Martin Blake, Executive Chairman – Dr Blake is an internationally recognised expert on carbon reduction. As ex-Head of Sustainability at the UK Royal Mail Group for over eight years, Dr Blake led a successful carbon reduction transformation strategy that reduced Royal Mail’s annual energy bill by more than £30 million. He has a track record of large scale corporate transformation and has developed programmes and influenced high profile stakeholders within Government and NGOs, as well as the postal, construction, healthcare, oil & gas and charity sectors.

• Professor David Strong, Lead Advisor for the Built Environment – Professor Strong is one of the most influential figures in sustainable building design and refurbishment and he specialises in low/zero carbon buildings. He established the UK Green Building Council and was presented with the “Building Sustainability Leadership” Award in 2007.

• Robert Evans, Lead Advisor for Transport & Logistics – Robert is a recognised expert in the field of low carbon transport. He is CEO of Cenex (Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell Technologies) and has more than 20 years’ experience in innovation and integration of new environmental technologies in transport applications, including low carbon vehicle emissions control.

• Bill Wright, Programme Leader – Bill was previously Corporate Energy & Environment Manager of the John Lewis Partnership (covering Waitrose & John Lewis department stores). He was responsible for the procurement and efficient use of all utilities and during his time there, his team achieved a 20% improvement in energy efficiency.

• Nick Allan, Managing Director – Nick is a corporate change specialist with more than 20 years’ experience in helping companies in the financial services, technology and energy sectors with corporate transformation, building workforce capability and strengthening and aligning leadership.

The CZS team will utilise Dr Blake’s carbon reduction methodology that he created whilst at the Royal Mail, providing programme components ranging from board engagement and programme definition through to full programme development and implementation. CZS predicts that it can save most organisations between 20% and 30% of the cost of their energy bills.

“Our team is accustomed to operating at board-level. It is the board that must articulate, embrace and lead the programme. We talk to many Directors who believe they are running a carbon or energy management programme, to then find it is contained within a silo somewhere in facilities and with little or no company-wide mandate. Worse still, most think that carbon and energy management programmes are a cost, when in reality they should always be cost neutral and bottom-line positive,” said Dr Blake.

“I have never articulated or deployed a programme that has not delivered bottom-line savings, and neither do I intend to start doing so now, because if you have not saved money, you have not saved energy. The CZS team members are not simply environmental evangelists; we are experts in the key disciplines that enable companies with multiple sites, complex property portfolios, large transport fleets, manufacturing plants, or long supply chains to drive real and measurable bottom-line savings,” he concluded.

For more information, please visit www.carbonzerosolutions.com

That's Home and Household: Exclusive New Products Unveiled at UK Oak Doors

That's Home and Household: Exclusive New Products Unveiled at UK Oak Doors: UK Oak Doors ( www.ukoakdoors.co.uk ) are delighted to announce a selection of brand new products that have been added to the existing portfolio... (ED: doors are cert PEFC)

Solarhybrid Builds the Largest Solar Power Plant in Europe

solarhybrid AG has started work, as a general contractor, on the expansion of the solar power plant, FinowTower, at the former Eberswalde/Finowfurt military airport in the district of Schorfheide, north east of Berlin. The expansion adds 60.2 MW and increases the capacity of the power plant to a total of 84.5 MW. This will make it the largest solar power plant in Europe, extending over an area equivalent to 260 football pitches.

 The contract for the expansion given to solarhybrid is worth approximately EUR111.5 million. Deutscher Solarfonds Stabilität 2010 GmbH & Co. KG, initiated by Altira Renewables Management GmbH, is the client and investor as well as the operator. Commerzbank AG is providing the outside financing.

solarhybrid has developed the large-scale project itself, from the initial concept to the construction and building permit including the financing and structuring. The expansion is the result of the successful realisation of the first building phase, FinowTower I.

Proven partners from previous large-scale projects are involved in this second phase of construction, FinowTower II: photovoltaic modules from Suntech, inverters from SMA, mounting technology from Mounting Systems, planning by Enerparc, installation by Conecon.

The solar power plant, FinowTower II, should be on line in late December. It is expected to generate 82 million kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, which will be able to meet the needs of approximately 23,500 households. By eliminating 1,550,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 20 year period, FinowTower will make an important contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and to the expansion of renewable energies.

The entire construction will be documented using four time-lapse cameras. The images can be seen via live streaming at www.solarhybrid.ag once construction begins.

6th INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS™ extends entry deadline to Friday 16th September.

The INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS™, a global programme recognising inspiring, innovative and creative approaches to sustainability, is extending its deadline for entry to Friday, 16th September 2011.

Judged by some of the world’s most influential sustainability experts and media luminaries, including Arianna Huffington, Baroness Barbara Young, David de Rothschild and Sir Crispin Tickell, the Awards are the perfect opportunity to present your sustainability story and be recognised as a genuine visionary on an international platform.

In its 6th year, the Royal Society of Arts accredited environmental awards scheme looks to showcase those organisations which are demonstrating stellar best practice and setting the industry benchmark for sustainability that can inspire organisations, governments and citizens across geographic boundaries.

“In a finite world, the only way that humanity can sustain economic and social development is through innovation – finding ways to meet our needs at lower cost to the environment. The International Green Awards™ 2011 are a welcome recognition of the diverse forms of innovation required to create genuinely green economics”, commented Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director, European Environment Agency.

There are 20 categories this year including those relating to business leadership and entrepreneurship, energy efficiency, water stewardship, biodiversity, ‘Green Government’ and technology, amongst others. With 2011 marking the International Year of Forests, the Awards also include a category dedicated to conservation efforts. The heritage of the past years’ Awards is also evident where the focus was on sustainability focussed communications including Best Green Audio- Visual, Print, Social Media and Green Advertising categories that are available to enter this year again.

The Awards Steering Group is still to announce this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award honouree; a distinguished individual who would need to meet the high benchmark set by 2010 honouree Sir David Attenborough CBE BBC Broadcaster and Naturalist who commented, ‘Biodiversity is the core of the sustenance of life; which currently hangs in delicate balance. By recognising creativity in sustainability the International Green Awards™ are a genuine effort to promote positive attitudes towards biodiversity and sustainability.’

Recognising the influence that celebrities can have over their ‘fans’, the Awards have included the inaugural ‘Best Green International Celebrity’ Award open to a public vote with the winner being announced in October. Vote now at http://www.greenawards.com for your favourite responsible celebrity from a list of 15 nominees including Sir Paul McCartney, Leonardo DiCaprio too supermodels Helena Christensen and Gisele Bündchen.

David de Rothschild, Environmentalist & Explorer & ‘Plastiki’ Expedition Leader commented, “Bigger dreams, more creativity and increased inspiration are going to be three vital components in moving the needle towards the sustainable ways of living and acting that nature and humanity so desperately crave! The International Green Awards™ manages to instigate all three and more!”

To enter before the deadline of Friday 16th of September visit http://www.greenawards.com

"We inspire innovation for sustainability by recognising people and organisations whose ideas are creating positive change."

www.greenawards.com

Categories

Best Green International Business Award (Large/Multi-national)
Best Green International Business Award (Medium)
Best Green Entrepreneur Award (Start-up)
Best Sustainable Investment Award ( BRONZE Partner Emerald Knight)
Best Green Energy Efficiency Initiative Award
Best Green 4R’s Award (Reduction, Reuse, Recycling, Recovery)
Best Green New Product Innovation
Best Green Service Innovation Award
Best Green Conservation and Biodiversity Award
Best Green Water Stewardship Award
Best Green Collaborative Initiative Award
Best Green Technology Award (BRONZE Partner Danwood)
Best Green Intelligent Buildings Award
Best Green Public Sector Award
Best Green Educational Awareness and Sustainability Award
Best Green Not for Profit Organisation Award
Best Green Employee Engagement Award
Best Green Cross Platform Digital Media Solution Award
Best Green Advertising & PR Award
Best Green Audio-Visual Award
International Green Awards Grand Prix
Lifetime Achievement Award
Best International Green Awards Celebrity