Category: Sustainable development

Concern about the overuse of ‘sustainability’

The word has become so corrupted as to not only be meaningless, but to actually obscure the real issues, according to a very thoughtful article provided by Doug King in The Guardian.   Why the word 'sustainability' should be banned While the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that became all the rage some time … Continue reading Concern about the overuse of ‘sustainability’ →

News from the European Commission

DG Energy has published report on energy performance certificates On 20 June 2013, the Commission published a study on "Energy performance certificates in buildings and their impact on transaction prices and rents in selected EU countries". The study shows a positive impact of the Energy Performance Certificate under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (Directive … Continue reading News from the European Commission →

There are some things we should not ignore – but we do

If you don’t read everything Andrew Sims writes, you should. Andrew Simms is chief analyst at Global Witness, a fellow of the New Economics Foundation, and the author of Ecological Debt, Tescopoly and Eminent Corporations.  What he does is make us think.  This article is must reading.   We keep moaning about population, but ignore … Continue reading There are some things we should not ignore – but we do →

China taking more action to address air pollution

Keith Bradsher reports in the New York Times that the Chinese cabinet recently approved new measures to tackle the increasing problem of air pollution.   China Sets New Rules Aimed at Curbing Air Pollution China’s cabinet has adopted 10 measures to improve air quality in the latest move aimed at responding to the dense smog … Continue reading China taking more action to address air pollution →

New report on cities and the contribution green policies can make to growth

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has recently published report on the benefits that can be achieved by cities taking a “green” approach. Cities can generate growth and jobs while becoming greener – this is the message of the OECD’s new Green Growth in Cities report.  Drawing on case studies of Paris, Chicago, … Continue reading New report on cities and the contribution green policies can make to growth →

The idea of a value-based economic structure

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, a Sufi teacher and author, writes in the Guardian about an alternative view of economic growth and sustainability. The author argues that corporate visions of sustainability focus on material prosperity – but leaders must respect the soul as well as the soil.   Eco-spirituality: towards a values-based economic structure  As our world stumbles … Continue reading The idea of a value-based economic structure →

New report on moving to a low-carbon Canada

The Trottier Energy Futures Project has come out with an important new report on Canada moving to a low-carbon economy.  An Inventory of Low-Carbon Energy for Canada shows that Canada’s supplies of solar, wind, hydroelectric and biomass energy are much larger than the current or forecast demand for fuel and electricity, and technology costs have … Continue reading New report on moving to a low-carbon Canada →

Impact of air pollution in the UK

John Vidal writes in the Guardian about air quality in UK cities, although primarily London, and what it is doing to health. One monitoring station in London shows the fourth highest levels of NO2 of over 2,000 monitoring stations in Europe. Cities are missing targets set under EU laws, but questions arise as to who … Continue reading Impact of air pollution in the UK →

New report on private green investments

The year 2013 promises long strides away from the fossil-fueled Industrial Era as illuminated by the Ethical Markets Green Transition Scoreboard® (GTS) which tracks private investments growing the green economy worldwide since 2007, finding $4.1 trillion invested or committed as of Q4 2012. The year 2012 was an inflection point for the green transition worldwide.  … Continue reading New report on private green investments →