Green shoots in TV production, and its growing!

Albert is the new carbon calculator that’s been designed especially for the TV industry. Its purpose is to benchmark the carbon emissions on a particular TV production and over time help TV production companies to work in a more sustainable way and save money.

Originally created at the BBC, the calculator has now been ‘adopted’ by BAFTA who have brought together a consortium of broadcasters and leading independent production houses to make Albert available to the wider TV industry. The consortium includes BBC, ITV Studios, Channel 4, Sky and Endemol, Twofour, Talkback Thames, IMG, Kudos and Shine TV, all of whom have been instrumental in designing an industry-friendly tool which will appeal to production teams.

Albert was designed by Aerian Studios, has new functionality, courtesy of Sharepoint City and robust statistical data, provided by AMEE and audited by Mason Hardy. Microsoft is generously providing unlimited licences to use the calculator in its first year and the portal will be hosted by Outsourcery.

The aims of the project are simple but powerful. Over time the carbon calculator will allow production companies to build up valuable data on the carbon footprint of TV productions and strategically plan how to build sustainability into the production process. Over time, and as more companies join the project, Albert will be able to provide robust information on just how sustainable the TV industry is and where we need to take steps to reduce energy consumption.

The BAFTA Consortium hope that Albert will become a focal point for addressing wider concerns around sustainability in the production industry in the UK and maybe even globally. Although already mandatory for most programme makers at the BBC, wider success will depend on take-up by the rest of the industry. Albert will be free to use during 2012, if not longer.

And the UK industry is not alone: in Germany a group of film makers have got together to set up Carbon Film Quote, headed up by BBDO’s Stefan Gentis and they are attracting interest from production companies in other European countries and in the USA. In 2011 the Carbon Film Quote (CFQ) was set up as a process by which production companies are able to work in estimates of the amount of CO2 that’s generated by their productions and include these figures in their bids.  The pilot program was launched in early 2011 by Gentis among a group of German production houses, including Big Fish, Markenfilm, Who’s McQueen, Twin Film and Neue Sentimenal who have been beta testing the system.  Gentis has also been conducting an online survey of production companies around the world, inquiring about their views on green production and what they feel about the value of working CO2 estimates into their bids.  The survey is called the Global TV Commercial Producers Sustainability Survey which you can find here https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GREENTVC

For more details on Albert go to www.bafta.org/albert  And for a short video take a look at http://www.bafta.org/about/sustainability/how-albert-works-in-45-seconds,2021,BA.html

And for Carbon Film Quote go to http://www.sourceecreative.com/news.php?ID=5979

FAIR TRADE – TRADE FAIR!

The City of London Fairtrade Group and the Fairtrade Foundation would like to invite you to a “Fairtrade Trade Fair”

on Tuesday 1st May, 2pm – 5pm.

 The event is a unique opportunity to meet Fairtrade suppliers and brands, to taste and appreciate the high quality of Fairtrade products, get information on the world of Fairtrade and learn how easy it is to make Fairtrade a part of your business.

Who is this event aimed at?:

- Anyone responsible for purchasing or catering contracts

- Anybody interested in promoting ethical procurement, Fairtrade and sustainability in the City

The fair will be hold in the Basinghall Suite in Guildhall Art Gallery,

Gresham Street, EC2P 2EJ

Follow the link for the map 

Please reserve a place for the event by e-mailing

fairtrade@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Reserve your place before  3^rd  February to enter a free prize draw to win a case of Fairtrade wine!

Good Germans Groove For the Planet

UK Government will fight on to reduce FITs

The UK government has confirmed it is to appeal against the Court of Appeal ruling that its decision to cut solar feed-in tariff (FITs) before the end of a consultation period was unlawful. The appeal will now go to the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal has now upheld the High Court’s ruling, denying the government a right to appeal and instigating procedures that would prevent the rushing through of similar changes in future. “The Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court ruling on FITs albeit on different grounds. We disagree and are seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court,” Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne explained in a statement. He said the government has to protect the budget for FITs for all renewable technologies, which would come under pressure if another gold rush started as the tariff levels returns to 43.3p.

AIF STRUCTURAL AND CROWD SAFETY CONFERENCE

Following the tragic festival stage collapses in the USA, Canada and Belgium that shocked the world last summer, the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) will host a Structural and Crowd Safety Conference at London’s Southbank Centre on Friday 3rd Febraury.

The interactive workshop in the morning, run by evactuation specialist Tony Ball, will provide applicable and up-to-date training on dealing with an emergency evacuation and encompassing issues including health & safety. Delegates that attend the workshop as well as the afternoon sessions will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

The morning session is ticketed and there are very limited places, book early to avoid disappointment. There is a discount for AIF Members & Students.

BUY TICKETS HERE

The afternoon sessions are made up of a number of presentations and panels with dedicated Q&A intervals and are free for industry to attend. In order to safeguard against reoccurring tragedies key industry figures and specialists will be exploring the standard practise that needs to go into sourcing and constructing temporary structures and consideration of the very real effect of climate change on outdoor events. Discussions opening up to the floor will concentrare on the nuts and bolts of how to ensure the temporary structures at your outdoor event are safe and how to prepare for and manage crowd evacuation and movements in response to an emergency.

The afternoon sessions are free to attend, but you MUST BOOK IN ADVANCE due to capacity restrictions.

SECURE A PLACE HERE

SCHEDULE

11:00 -11:30 MORNING REGISTRATION

11:30 – 13:00 WORKSHOP
Tony Ball, Show And Event Security / International Centre for Crowd Management and Safety Studies – Interactive Workshop.

13.00 – 14.00 LUNCH BREAK (Cafeteria and local cafes. Not included in ticket price)

13:30 – 14:00 AFTERNOON REGISTRATION

14:00 – 14:15 PRESENTATION
Rudi Enos, Senior Designer of Special Structures Lab

14:15 – 14:30 PRESENTATION
Insurance – a key issue for events

14:30 – 15:00 PRESENTATION
Chris Kemp, Bucks New Uni / ICCMSS – European Response to Climate Issues

15:00 – 15:15 SHORT BREAK

15:15 – 16:30 PANEL / Q&A
Structural Safety and Outdoor Events

Andy Lenthall (PSA) Moderator
Andy Yates (Webb and Yates Engineers)
Richard Bryan (Spring Music Ltd / Bearded Theory Festival)
Roger Barrat (STAR Events Group)
Simon James (TESS)

16:30 – 16:45 SHORT BREAK w refreshments

16:45 – 18:15 PANEL / Q&A
Emergency Planning for Crowd Safety

Chris Kemp (Bucks New Uni / ICCMSS)
Jim King (Loudsound / AEG)
Paul Cook (Live Nation)
Simon James (TESS)

18:00 – 18:15 Extended Q&A time

18:15 – 18:30 CONCLUSION & ACTION POINTS
Rudi Enos, Senior Designer of Special Structures Lab

Obama looks to a greener future

President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday was a mixed bag of news for the environment, and a lot of his speech focussed on the US economy  making some far ranging comments on the United States, its economy and not least the need to  try balance the interests of America’s ultra-rich and the rest of the public, trying to present an election-year choice between continued leadership and an economy “built to last” and what he called irresponsible policies of the past that caused an economic collapse saying “I will not go back to the days when Wall Street was allowed to play by its own set of rules”. In one passage, delivered to a joint sitting of the Senate and the House of Congress, President Obama said the defining issue of the present time was how to keep alive the promise of America as a land of opportunity. “No challenge is more urgent.  No debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules”. In light of the revelations of the low tax rate paid by Mitt Romney, the multi-millionaire leading Republican presidential candidate, Obama cited the example of Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who admitted last year that he paid lower tax rates than his secretary, Mr Obama called on Washington to “stop subsidising millionaires” and rescind a trillion dollars of tax breaks for the wealthiest 2 per cent.

When it came to energy and the environment, President Obama said

“Nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy. Over the last three years, we’ve opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration, and tonight, I’m directing my Administration to open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources. Right now, American oil production is the highest that it’s been in eight years. That’s right – eight years. Not only that – last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past sixteen years. But with only 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves, oil isn’t enough. This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy – a strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.

We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly one hundred years, and my Administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy. Experts believe this will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. And I’m requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use. America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk.

The development of natural gas will create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we don’t have to choose between our environment and our economy. And by the way, it was public research dollars, over the course of thirty years, that helped develop the technologies to extract all this natural gas out of shale rock – reminding us that Government support is critical in helping businesses get new energy ideas off the ground.”

But President Obama had some more positive news for the environment, saying

“What’s true for natural gas is true for clean energy. In three years, our partnership with the private sector has already positioned America to be the world’s leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries. Because of federal investments, renewable energy use has nearly doubled. And thousands of Americans have jobs because of it.

Our experience with shale gas shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don’t always come right away. Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. I will not walk away from workers like Bryan. I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here. We have subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that’s rarely been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that’s never been more promising. Pass clean energy tax credits and create these jobs.

We can also spur energy innovation with new incentives. The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. But there’s no reason why Congress shouldn’t at least set a clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation. So far, you haven’t acted. Well tonight, I will. I’m directing my Administration to allow the development of clean energy on enough public land to power three million homes. And I’m proud to announce that the Department of Defense, the world’s largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history – with the Navy purchasing enough capacity to power a quarter of a million homes a year.

Of course, the easiest way to save money is to waste less energy. So here’s another proposal: Help manufacturers eliminate energy waste in their factories and give businesses incentives to upgrade their buildings. Their energy bills will be $100 billion lower over the next decade, and America will have less pollution, more manufacturing, and more jobs for construction workers who need them. Send me a bill that creates these jobs.”

See more at http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-01-24/state-of-the-union-transcript/52780694/1

Green Music Initiative announce new plans

7 February – green music event – BarCamp in Hamburg

On  Tuesday  the  7th February 2012  BarCamp will be held from  11.00 – 20.00  in the  House of Culture III & 70  in Hamburg, the first green music event, discussing sustainability and environmental protection in the music and event industry.

The agency Zuendwerke initiative and  the Green Music Initiative are invir=ting club owners, promoters and festival organizers, consultants and political representatives to this event: . The  BarCamp  is  open-ended  design and encourages the participants for active participation in  the conference. The aim is to  exchange ideas and information  about green music events:  model projects  will be presented and the  network  between the participants is to be established.

We are all looking fir through innovative approaches to emission reduction and and resource efficiency. New ideas and projects from the kusic industry can spread i nto other sectors and music is the perfect medium to positively influence the zeitgeist.

SAVE THE DATE:

Tues 07.02.2012 / KULTURHAUS III & 70 / SHOULDER LEAF 73 / HAMBURG
applications from the BarCamp, session proposals, and project and corporate presentations immediately
at:  gme@zuendwerke.de

GME BarCamp on Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/events/341153632569082/

Links: 

www.zuendwerke.de / projects

Second Live 2020 – study

The study Live 2020, the questions about sustainability and future viability of the live entertainment sectoris still online.  The more responses we get from various stakeholders, the better.  The starting point is a  5 minute online survey and applicants from all parts of the live entertainment sector are welcome to participate. The resuklts will be presented  in March 2012.

Click here for the questionnaire 

7. Februar – GreenMusicEvent – BarCamp in Hamburg

Am Dienstag den 07. Februar 2012 findet von 11 bis 20 Uhr im Kulturhaus III&70 in Hamburg das erste GreenMusicEvent BarCamp statt und thematisiert damit Nachhaltigkeit und Umweltschutz in der Musik- und Eventbranche.

Die InitiativAgentur Zuendwerke und die Green Music Initiative bringen zu diesem Zweck Clubbetreiber, Veranstalter und Festivalorganisatoren mit Dienstleistern, Beratern und politischen Vertretern zusammen. Das BarCamp ist ergebnisoffen gestaltet und animiert die Teilnehmer zuraktiven Mitgestaltung der Konferenz. Ziel ist der Ideen- und Informationsaustausch zum Thema GreenMusicEvents: Modellprojekte werden vorgestellt und das Netzwerk zwischen den Teilnehmern soll aufgebaut werden.

Der Klimawandel als große Herausforderung des 21. Jahrhunderts verlangt nach Pilotprojekten abseits der ausschließlich politischen Arena, die durch innovative Ansätze Emissionen reduzieren und zur Ressourceneffizienz beitragen.
Neue Konzepte und Projekte lassen eine Strahlkraft auf andere gesellschaftliche Teilbereiche entstehen, in denen diese Themen bislang noch eher fremd sind.
Musik ist hierfür ein perfektes Medium, das es schaffen kann den Zeitgeist positiv zu beeinflussen.

SAVE THE DATE:
Di. 07.02.2012 / KULTURHAUS III&70 / SCHULTERBLATT 73 / HAMBURG
Anmeldungen zum BarCamp, Session-Vorschläge und Projekt- und Firmenpräsentationen ab sofort
unter: gme@zuendwerke.de

GME BarCamp auf Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/341153632569082/

Links:
www.zuendwerke.de/projekte

2. Live 2020 – Studie

Die Studie Live2020, die Fragen zum Thema Nachhaltigkeit und Zukunftsfähigkeit im Live-Entertainment-Sektor beleuchtet, ist weiterhin online. Je mehr Antworten wir von verschiedenen Akteuren bekommen, umso besser.
Ausgangspunkt hierfür ist eine 5 minütige Online-Umfrage, die sich an Vertreter aller Teilbereiche des Live-Entertainments richtet und zu deren Teilnahme wir dich hiermit herzlich einladen möchten. Die Ergebnisse werden im März 2012 präsentiert.

Hier gehts zum Fragebogen

http://www.thema1.de

Climate Week March 12th-18th

Last chance to enter Climate Week Awards - deadline 30 January The deadline for entering the Climate Week Awards 2012 is 30 January. The awards celebrate outstanding efforts to combat climate change in fourteen categories ranging from community groups and young people, to business and the public sector. The awards are free to enter, and judged by an eminent panel of judges including Bianca Jagger, the former CEO of Greenpeace International, Paul Gilding, and the government’s chief climate scientist, Sir Robert Watson. Details on how to enter are here. If you have questions, emailawards@climateweek.com or call 0203 397 2601. Please forward this email to everyone you know who may be interested in Climate Week.

Register your Climate Week events and activites There are just seven weeks until Climate Week (12-18 March), when thousands of organisations across Britain promote positive steps to help combat climate change. Last year there were over 3,000 events attended by half a million people. This year is expected to be even bigger – will your organisation be part of Britain’s biggest climate change campaign? Whatever you are planning, please tell us what you are doing by registering your activity on the Climate Week website.This takes just two minutes. If you register your activity on our online map: Your activity will inspire others to run their own Climate Week activities – catalysing an even broader social movement for change. Your activity will encourage others to act during the rest of the year – creating a shared vision of a low carbon Britain. Your activity will be seen by journalists, professionals in your sector, and the public – helping you gain profile and recognition. Your activity could be big or small, open to everyone or just for your organisation, a physical event or something online. Climate Week is all about showcasing real, practical actions and starting discussions about what might be possible. We can only do this by publicising everyone’s events and activities. Please tell us what you are planning! Register at www.climateweek.com/run-an-event/register-an-event/. Contact the Climate Week team on 0203 397 2601 or atinfo@climateweek.com For ideas about what kind of activity to run, visit our Ideas Bank.

ANOTHER PLANET

Glyndebourne Productions have installed a wind turbine at the famous opera site, despite protests from local people who say that the sound of the turbine may affect performances. The Glyndebourne  turbine is supported by opera fan Sir David Attenborough who said that any noise issues were ‘trivial’ when compared to health and pollution issues from fossil fuels, and that the turbine was ‘elegant’ and ‘in harmony with nature’.  The Company said that 90% of the electricity required to run the opera house will now come from  renewable energy.

BP may pay out up to $25 billion to settle actions brought by the US authorities, local businesses and its own workers arising from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. It is thought BP is keen to avoid a court action, scheduled to start on February 27th in New Orleans. BP has already spent $15 billion cleaning up after the massive spill and has paid $10 billion into a Gulf compensation scheme. analysts say if BP lost the court case its potential liability could be up to $69 billion.

Meat production is one of the major contributors to global environmental degradation especially deforestation, water scarcity and loss of bio-diversity – as well as on fifth of the World’s greenhouse gas emissions – so its interesting to see that a Dutch scientist says he is close to producing laboratory grown meat – or ‘cultured’ meat.  It sounds like science fiction but Mark Post from Maastricht University claims he will be able to produce a cultured burger by the end of the year. PETA, the animal welfare group, have a separate $1 million prize available until 30th June 2012 for the first scientist to provide cultured chicken that can be grown in quantity and cannot be distinguished from real chicken. Post hopes celebrity chef Jamie Oliver will cook his first commercially produced burger.

Oil and gas company Cuadrilla felt the wrath of furious local residents at a public meeting to discuss its proposed plans to drill test for shale gas in the South East of the UK. During the meeting, held in West Sussex on January 11,, Cuadrilla’s chief executive Mark Miller met with about 200 local residents and anti-fracking protestors to discuss plans for fracking work in the area.

New Research aims to look at the local options in power grids to reduce peaks and dips associated with renewable energy and cut fossil fuel use. Work by Australia’s Queensland University of Technology (QUT) will aim to overcome one of the ‘main hurdles’ to increased use of wind and solar energy. QUT’s chairman in power engineering, Professor Gerard Ledwich, said because renewable generation ‘was not predictable’ other power sources had to be used to supplement it but says he hopes to develop storage and demand management systems to make sure renewably generated power can be better stored during low usage times for use in peak periods.

The European economy could save €72bn a year if member states implemented EU waste legislation in full, according to a European Commission (EC) study. Such a move would also increase the annual turnover of the EU waste management and recycling sector by €42bn and create over 400,000 jobs by 2020.

Luxury London hotel The Langham is looking to raise recycling levels from 35% to 75% over the next 12 months and make significant cost savings in the process. The five-star hotel has appointed waste management company SWR to manage all of its waste. This will involve greater source-segregation with the installation of new bins, a cardboard baler, a bin press and a glass crushing machine.

Uncertainty continues to dog the solar industry as the Government drags the fights over subsidy cuts back to court. The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is going back to London’s High Court to appeal the right, won by campaigners to have a judicial review over cuts to the Feed-In Tariff scheme (FITs). The court ruled last year the cuts, implemented durig a consultative phase, were ‘illegal’ . Ministers have made one minor concession saying that householders who installed panels after the 12th December will continue to  get the full Feed In Tariff, but only until March 2nd, when it will halve.

Boosting plastics recycling in the UK will be a “key focus” for 2012 as the sector continues to develop PET and HDPE bottles recycling technologies.  That is according to resource and recovery specialist Keith Freegard, who predicts further investment in technology and equipment capable of extracting a wider range of materials from mixed plastics collections.  And Reducing water use by 20% by 2020, compared with a 2007 baseline, in the production chain is the second key area flagged up in the British Soft Drinks Association’s (BSDA) Sustainability.

Budget airline Ryanair will add a small charge to every passenger’s costs after claiming new European emission cutting rules were ‘loony’.  The Irish based airline is furious over the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), which makes large organisations monitor and report emissions. No problem for me as I don’t and won’t ever use Ryanair if I can help it as I find most of their charges stark raving mad. And train’s are much nicer anyway.

Edie.net reports that Apple has extended its reuse and recycling programme to the UK, France and Germany in the form of a customer cashback scheme for old devices.  The service has been operating out in the US for some time, but hit European shores last week. The scheme, which is being managed by Dataserv, also accepts certain non-Apple products such as desktop computers. Under the scheme, customers can hand back their used iPads, iPhones and Macs – but not iPods.

ANOTHER PLANET

It seems a number of recent murders in France are not linked to underworld crime such as drugs, gambling and prostitution as first supposed by French Police – but are connected to a multi-billion Euro fraud targeting VAT discrepancies on permits used in the EU’s Carbon Emission Trading Scheme. The European Police Agency, Europol, have estimated that the frauds have cost the EU E5 billion. Last year a German court in Frankfurt sentenced six men to jail sentences for their part in a E300 million fraud.

New research from two doctoral students at  Columbia University hopes to. shed some light on the slow take up of electric cars.  Researchers Garrett Fitzgerald and Rob van Haaren looked at the assumption that range anxiety is one of the main barriers to the electrification of the U.S. car fleet, the pair used a 2011 Acenture survey that showed that US drivers think they need a range of 272 miles in order to consider purchasing an electric car as their next vehicle. That’s in sharp contrast to our actual driving needs and habits which actually showed that 10% of individual car trips are under a mile, 95% of trips are under 30 miles, and 99% of all trips are under 70 miles: Urban households’ trips averaged 8.5 miles, while rural households’ trips averaged 12.1 miles. Car commuting distances were found to average just around 12.6 miles nationally, with 95% below 40 miles and 99% shorter than 60 miles – which means that an electric vehicle currently could handle the vast majority of the individual trips Americans make with no problem, especially if a recharge was available at the other end for the small amount of journeys between 30 and 70 miles. With many American households owning at least two cars it seems possible for a majority of households to have an EV as their second gas vehicle. But why do Americans crave so much range? Fitzgerald and van Haaren speculate that it’s a ‘freedom and comfort’ standard that Americans are particularly imbued with. In addition, globally consumers seem to still feel unsure that they know enough about EVs to buy one. To help change American’s knowledge base about EVs, Fitzgerald and van Haaren are planning to use  using only solar power to charge an electric vehicle as they cross the the USA giving lectures on EV technology. They will drag a trailer that can hold 7 kWp of flexible solar panels and batteries for extra juice.

Employees could save businesses and public bodies £500m and cut 2m tonnes of C02 through ‘empowerment’ according to the Carbon Trust.  The Trust has  launched an online tool to help organisations, and says engaging employees in cutting energy use, paper waste and travel could save small business more than 15% in energy costs.

The United States has, for the first time, moved “to impose catch limits for every species it manages, from Alaskan pollock to Caribbean queen conch”. That means each of the 528 commercially fished species that the U.S. oversees will have distinct catch limits that prohibit overfishing and protect stocks that are rapidly being depleted.

Welsh environment minister John Griffiths has identified food waste as a key driver in exceeding a 50% recycling target in 2012 as he urged people in Wales to recycle more. According to the minister, recycling rates in Wales have risen from just 7% in 2000 – 2001 to a peak of 48% between April to June 2011 – making recycling rates in Wales the highest in the UK. However, he warned that there was still a “long way to go” to meet the Welsh Government’s target of 70% recycling by 2025, adding that increased food waste recycling was needed.

Shanks has opened the first of two mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plants in North Cumbria as part of a 25-year £700m waste disposal contract with Cumbria County Council.  The facility based at Hespin Wood in Carlisle has opened three months ahead of schedule and aims to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill by 80%. The second plant is currently under construction in Barrow and is expected to be operational by April 2013. Edie.net reports that the County Council deals with around 250,000 tonnes of household waste per annum. Each MBT plant has the capacity to process 75,000 tonnes a year, enabling up to 150,000 tonnes of waste to be processed through the facilities.

The NSW Court of Appeal has rejected implied limits in CO2 emissions case saying that Environment Protection Licence conditions will not be easily implied, and in any event must be consistent with the statutory licensing regime under which the licence was created and it seems Environment Protection Licence-holders now have more certainty about what their licence conditions are. In the case,  Peter Gray and Naomi Hodgson, two members of the climate change action Rising Tide, claimed that the Environment Protection Licence (EPL) issued to the Bayswater Power Station’s operator, Macquarie Generation, is subject to implied statutory restrictions that limit permissible CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere and restrict coal consumption at the Power Station. The NSW Court of Appeal summarily struck out the action, unanimously holding that the imposition of such implied conditions or limitations was incompatible with the existing statutory regime for EPLs. Macquarie Generation v Hodgson [2011] NSWCA 424;

The UK’s National Grid is paying millions of pounds to wind farms – to STOP producing clean energy. It seems National Grid cannot cope with the excess of electricity on windy days and last year spent £25 million turning off wind power, equating to 149,983 mega-watt hours or 1.49% of the total energy produced from wind.

The biggest wave energy facility in the world has been given the go-ahead for a site of the North East coast of Scotland in a project jointly funded by a French company Alstom and Scotland’s SSE. The generating machines (the AWS III) will be 45 metre wide giant ‘doughnuts’ and will begin operating in 2016 and the wave array will be fully operational by 2020. The rubber machines expand and contract as they are hit by waves creating pressurised air that drives turbines in ducts.

Image:  www.freefoto.com

European Border Breakers Out!

More from EuroSonic in Groningen where the European Border Breakers Awards were handed out in a ceremony hosted by Jools Holland and filmed for Dutch TV and a number of other EBU countres. The Awards go to new or emerging European artists or groups who have had success in reaching audiences outside their own country with their first internationally-released album. The public could also vote for their overall winner, and the Public Choice Award went to Belgian act Selah Sue. The final list of winners of EBBAs  is:

Elektro Guzzi (Austria)
Selah Sue (Belgium)
Agnes Obel (Denmark)
Ben l’Oncle Soul (France)
Boy (Germany)
James Vincent McMorrow (Ireland)
Afrojack (Netherlands)
Alexandra Stan (Romania)
Swedish House Mafia (Sweden)
Anna Calvi (UK)

Anna Calvi said ”I am really honoured to have won this award. My father is Italian, my mother grew up in Switzerland. I don’t just feel English, I feel very European and it’s been really important for me that the record has done well in Europe as a whole”. Ireland’s James Vincent McMorrow who performed two songs at the Border Breakers Awards ceremony said “This is fantastic. I was here at Eurosonic last year and it was here where it all began. From then on it led to incredible things and this award means a lot to me”.

European Festival Awards 2011 announced

Coldplay - headliners of the year in 2011

The best European festivals, artists and promoters of 2011 were revealed last night at a sold out ceremony, featuring performances from James Vincent McMorrow, Selah Sue and Dog is Dead. Taking place at Groningen’s De Oosterport in The Netherlands, the third edition attracted over 350,000 public votes and had more than 200 festivals taking part from 32 different countries. The final winners, decided by a combination of public vote and industry juries, are:

Best Major European Festival – Sziget Festival (Hungary)

Best Medium-Sized European Festival – Off Festival (Poland)
Best Small European Festival – Haldern Pop (Germany)
Best New European Festival – Extrema Outdoor (Belgium)
Best Indoor Festival – I Love Techno (Belgium)
Best European Festival Line-Up – Rock Werchter (Belgium)
YOUROPE Green ‘N’ Clean Festival Of The Year – Melt! (Germany)
Artist’s Favourite European Festival – Southside / Hurricane (Germany)
Best Newcomer association with Eurosonic Noorderslag – James Blake
Best Headliner – Coldplay
Festival Anthem of the Year -  Coldplay ‘Viva La Vida’
Virtual Festivals Europe presents Promoter Of The Year – FKP Scorpio (Germany)
YOUROPE Lifetime Achievement Award – Michael Eavis, Glastonbury (UK)

Fruzsina Szep from Sziget festival made an impromptu offer to all of the guests at the Awards after receiving the Best Major Festival award , inviting everyone to join her in a drink of Palinka: “We were very much hoping to win this award and it really means a lot to us because 2012 will be the 20th edition of our festival.”

On receiving his lifetime achievement award Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis said: “42 years ago I started something on my farm towards the end of the flower power era in the 60’s and we had less than a thousand people and now we have 150,000 people registered to buy a ticket for 2013.  Thank you very much to everyone and thanks to all the people who have been involved in our show and thanks to all the people who buy tickets every year. I hope there are a few more years to go yet, another 10 years maybe.” James Drury, MD of Festival Awards Ltd, which organises the Awards said: “The further growth of the European festival awards and another record-breaking event highlights just how important festivals are to people across the continent. It’s testament to the hard work and passion of everyone involved with festivals that they continue to be so popular. With Glastonbury being the inspiration for so many festivals, I was especially delighted to welcome Michael Eavis to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been seminal in the success of the festival scene in the world.” Christof Huber, General Secretary YOUROPE added “Michael Eavis is an icon in the European festival scene and in my view, Glastonbury is the mother of all European festivals. He is just the right person to get the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Festival Awards Europe.

GO Group plans a busy year

With three panels at this week’s EUROSONIC NORDERSLAG Conference in the Netherland, GO Group (Green Operations Europe), co-initiated by Bucks New University, GreenEvents Conference, Green Music Initiative and Yourope (the European festival association) is moving forward in 2012 with more projects related to sustainability in the festival and event business. GO are happy to announce the first confirmed dates and our online-home and social media sites:

-  New web and social media-URLs

-  GO Group hosts three panels on event sustainability at Eurosonic Noorderslag

-  GreenEvents promoter Holger Jan Schmidt to present the green festivals award at the EFA

-  2nd GO Group Workshop at Gödör Club, Budapest, Hungary on April 23/24 2012

-  GO Group will be part of the 3rd GreenEvents Europe Conference at Wissenschaftszentrum, Bonn, Germany on November 5/6 2012

The new contact details for web, Facebook and Twitter are

www.go-group.org

www.facebook.com/gogroupeurope

www.twitter.com/gogroupeurope

1) 2nd GO Group Workshop for Sustainable Festivals & Events in Budapest | 23-24 April 2012

GO Group goes east with its second international workshop. After the successful debut in Amsterdam in May 2011 with 35 international participants, Green Operations Europe heads to Budapest for a second edition on event sustainability with great presentations, information and best practise exchange. In four intense sessions taking pace over two days, the GO Group workshops will cover major issues for sustainable event management such as international green standards, green issues communication, waste or mobility management. The workshops will feature speakers from festivals and science alike. Find out more on www.go-group.org soon.

GO Group meetings are open to stakeholders interested in actively pushing the sustainability and green agenda. Therefore everybody – you, your sustainability manager, your production managers – are invited to take part in the discussion. Participation fee for the 2nd GO Group workshop will be 200 € (plus VAT). There is a special offer for Yourope members (25% deduction for max two participants per Yourope-festival). Registrations will be available at the Bucks New University online shop shortly.

The workshop will be kindly co-hosted by Gödör Club (Erzsébet tér, 1051 Budapest, Hungary).

About Gödör Club – Cultural Centre on Erzsébet square

Gödör Club has been set up as a community space and a meeting point for artists. Within a short span of time the Club has become one of the defining art venues and community spots in Budapest. Now, it is a popular meeting point, a café, a civil agora, arts venue – all in the city centre, open from early afternoon until dawn. In 2010, they launched an environmental programme, GreenGödör.

www.store.bucks.ac.uk

www.godorklub.hu

2) GO Group at 3rd GreenEvents Europe Conference at Wissenschaftszentrum, Bonn, Germany on November 5/6 2012

The 3rd international GreenEvents Europe Conference in Bonn will take place on November 5 and 6. 2012. After the huge success of the second edition with more than 100 German and international guests joining to discuss sustainability and environmental protection at (major) events, the conference aims to grow even more. For the third time members of the international live music industry and related suppliers, scientists and initiatives will come together in Bonn to discuss sustainability and environmental protection within major events. The aim is bringing together experts and practitioners and stimulate exchange between participants.

The GO Group and Yourope will support the conference content wise and by hosting various sessions.

Find more information at: www.green-events-germany.eu

 

Deauville welcomes green films!

The Deauville Green Awards, the first international festival of corporate films on sustainability development and ecology will be hosted in Deauville between the 11th and 12th April 2012.

To discover more go to www.deauvillegreenawards.com

 or contact  contact@deauvillegreenawards.com

ANOTHER PLANET

The Royal Navy could be barred from using sonar in certain circumstances  because of planned clarifications in the international laws on protected species. Sonar has been blamed for mass strandings of whales and dolphins and the the potentially disorientation of deep diving mammals, amongst other things. EU rules prohibit the the deliberate disturbance of protected species. Experts say that naval commanders already voluntarily turn of sonar if they know cetaceans are in the area. The new guidance could also effect gas and oil exploration where high intensity sound is used to search for fossil fuels.

Rick Santorum, who is currently 2nd in the Republican’s presidential candidate race, having gathered a 21% share, is a man prone to speaking his mind. And what a mind it is: Contraception for example is “not okay” as it is “a licence to do things in the sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be”. The (allegedly) deeply religious Santorum also thinks that Europeans “are  people who are not reproducing at any rate to sustain a population” and on climate change “drill everywhere … there’s no such thing as global warming”.  I pity his kids.

Businesses in Scotland have called for the country to seize the opportunity to make 2012 the year of wind power it was announced. Top companies in the country have also backed a new label promoting products and services made using wind power – called WINDMADE – which is also supported by the WWF in Scotland. And one of the UK’s ‘big six’ energy companies has seen the result of building large onshore wind farms – it has topped the 1GW mark for the first time. The company said that ‘good progress’ at its sites in Clyde, Griffin and Gordonbush in Scotland as well as Slieve Kirk in Northern Ireland meant more than 300MW of onshore capacity has been commissioned by SSE in the first nine months of this financial year.

Measures to improve air quality in the capital have come into force. The New initiatives, stemming from the Mayor’s Air Quality Strategy and controlled by Transport for London (TfL), are aimed at deterring some of the oldest and most polluting vehicles from driving into London through changes to the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and reforms to taxi licensing standards.  According to TfL leading health organisations including Asthma UK, the British Lung Foundation and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy have voiced their support for the changes.

UK Government figures have revealed billions of pounds and thousands of jobs have been created by the business of renewable energy. The figures don’t address possible job losses from cuts to renewable power, such as with the Feed-In Tariff (FITs) changes, and were published as an update on progress to source 15% of the UK power from renewables. Energy |Secretary Chris Huhne, said the latest research from the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) shows that so far this financial year, companies have announced plans for almost £2.5billion worth of investment in renewable energy projects in the UK, with the potential to create almost 12,000 jobs across the country.

The airline and aviation industry has joined the European Carbon Trading Scheme (ETS) meaning that all carriers using EU airspace must pay for the carbon the emit. And many airlines including Lufthansa, BA and Emirates have said that they will pass the new cost on to customers with Lufthansa saying the ETS will cost them $108 annually. Under trading scheme rules, airlines will be given permits for up to 85% of their emissions but must buy permits to cover the rest. If an airline could reduce fuel use below the permits it was originally allocated it could sell any surplus to less efficient airlines. For each tonne emitted without a matching permit airlines will be fined E100. Whilst this gives a financial incentive to promote furl efficiency, airline bosses say the high cost of fuel was already a big driver! A challenge to the law by US airlines failed before the European Court of Justice who said the ETS scheme did not violate international law. China has also objected and is putting financial pressure on the EU by blocking orders for new aircraft for China from Europe and said it would not pay for permits. Virgin, Easyjet and Ryanair have all objected to the rising cost of environmental taxes.

Search engine giant Google has put $94m into four solar photovoltaic (PV) projects currently under construction in California near Sacramento. The new projects bring Google’s investment in renewables up to more than $915m.

The Genuine Solutions Group says it has diverted 600 tonnes of waste from landfill in the last year, recovering and reprocessing more than 7 million mobile accessories. Last year the company won the Queen’s Award for International Trade and is busy supplying used and recondition mobiles to customers in more than 30 countries, many in the third world.

Nike, Adidas, Puma and other global brands have joined forces to develop a roadmap to completely eliminate the release of toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020. As part of the plan, the group – which also includes C&A, H&M and Li Ning – will conduct pilot projects between 2011 and 2013 to better understand scope of use and discharge of hazardous chemicals.  The roadmap also sets out a number of specific commitments and timelines to reach the 2020 goal. These include initiating an inventory of all chemicals used in clothing and shoe manufacturing by the end of 2012, disclosing the results of all pilots and studies undertaken, and reporting publicly on progress achieved.

Thousands of tonnes of ‘extra’ waste electrical and electronic equipment, WEEE , is finding its way back into the recycling market in the UK according to the latest modelling research The study, compiled by WRAP, indicates that over 50% of WEE is being reprocessed or reused – as opposed to the 37% officially recorded through approved authorised treatment facilities. However, this figure could increase significantly if more items were channelled through the right routes to start with.

Edie.net’s environmental ‘ROUND UP OF 2011’ is a good read – you can find it here http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?src=nl&id=21567

Euronsonic 2012 gets the green agenda

EuroSonic Nooderslag is now one of Europe’s most important music conferences and is joined to a massive European live music showcase which is all held in Groningen the Netherlands from Wednesday 11^th to Saturday 14^th January 2012. The whole show kicks off this year on Wednesday 11^th January at 18.00 with the European Border Breakers Awards (hosted by Jools Holland and live on NTR TV in the Netherlands) and then at 20.00 its time for the European Festival Awards – and the special recipient this year is Michael  Eavis, organiser of the Glastonbury Festival who wins the Lifetime Achievement Award.

There are two key green panels this year in the conference programme organised by GO Europe and the first looks at communicating the “green” message and the second looks at the different international standards that can be used by green events: There are quite a few other panels at the conference which might be of interest to our readers and we have highlighted some below. Highlights of the live showcases include James Vincent McMorrow (IE), Anna Calvi (UK), Elektro Guzzi (AT), Boy (D) and Selah Sue (BE) along with many many other performers including The Medics, Animal Kids, Death Letters, Lilian Hak, Blaudzun,  Baskerville, Effi, Haas, Krystl, Bombay Show Pig, LeMaitre, We Are Evergreen, Wolfendale, The Cyborgs, Pinkunoizu, Lucy Rose, Tove Stryke and Reptile Youth.

Some of the Conference panels:

Thursday 15.00 – 16.00  ACTS OF GOD – ISSUES FROM WEATHER AT FESTIVALS: With Sabine Funk (Rheinkultur/IBIT, D),  Henrik Neilsen (Roskilde Festival, DK), Gary Latham (DF Concerts, UK) and moderated by Professor Chris Kemp (Buckinghamshire New University ,UK)

Thursday 16.30 – 17.30 NEW EURPOEAN UNION SUPPORT FOR THE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE SECTORS with Ann Branch from the EU Commission, moderated by Willem van Zeeland (VPRO, NL)

Friday 12.30-13.30 LESS TOURS, LESS TICKETS? With Rob Chalice (Coda UK), Charlie Presberg (Pollstar, UK),  Eric van Eerdenberg (MOJO, NL), Sebastien Vuignier (Paleo Festival, CH), Stephan Thanscheidt, FKP Scorpio, D) and moderated by Allan McGowan (UK).

Friday 13.30-14.30 GREEN FESTIVAL COMMUNICATION with  Julia Gudzent (Melt! Festival D) and Carlijn Lindmulder, ID&T, NL) moderated by Holger  Jan Schmidt (Rheinkultur/Green Events Germany, D)

Friday 15.00 – 16.00  THE DEBATE ABOUT DISCOUNTING TICKETS  with Stewart McKie (UK) and Will Page (PRS for Music, UK) and moderated by Greg Parmley (UK)

Saturday  12.30 – 13.30 GREEN INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS IN EVENT MANAGEMENT WITH Rachael Saunders (Sustainable Events, UK)  and moderated by Jacob Bilabel (Green Music Initiative, D)

http://conference.eurosonic-noorderslag.nl/en/home/