Articles in this issue

Articles in this issue:

From catch to caff: companies great and small achieve MSC accreditation

Andrew Purvis 13 October 2009, Fishing, Standards

Are you more likely to find sustainably sourced fish in your local eco-chic restaurant or staff canteen at work? Andrew Purvis sets out to find the answer, and asks whether size really is the issue.

What will tourism be like in the twenties?

Anna Simpson 10 October 2009, Holidays, Transport & travel, Travel plans

Tourism as we know it could be about to experience its greatest shift since Benidorm was a sleepy fishing village. And it won’t be so much changes in tourist appetites that drive it, but external pressures. There’s oil, for one thing, with prices inexorably rising. Then there’s the stop-start progress towards a functioning carbon market; looming conflicts over energy, water, crop land... So, what will holidays look like in the 2020s? Anna Simpson packs her bags.

London’s ‘low zones’ to make carbon cuts for Olympics

Sarah Roe 12 October 2009, Built environment

In a drive to reduce London's emissions by 20.12% by 2012, Boris Johnson has launched ten 'Low Carbon Zones', offering funding to selected areas in London in a bid to create flagships of low-energy development.

The cleantech revolution sweeps through America

Peter Madden and Polly Ghazi 2 November 2009, Americas, International policies & agreements, Procurement, Solar energy/PV, Wind power

A cleantech revolution is sweeping America - but will government have the courage to put the wind in its sails? Polly Ghazi investigates.

Can finance save forests?

Martin Wright 26 October 2009, Forests

If rainforests are so valuable, why can't we make them pay?
Martin Wright explores the profits and the pitfalls deep in the jungle.

The Green Futures interview: Zac Goldsmith

Martin Wright 2 December 2009, Culture, Finance, People, Politics, Visions & futures

The Green Futures Interview: Zac Goldsmith talks to Martin Wright about free markets, free choice, whether to trust politicians… and lessons from the stepsister of Anne Frank.

Can retail lead on green products?

Dax Lovegrove 23 November 2009, Behaviour change, Consumption, Green Futures partners, Retail

While some retailers content themselves with cheap wins, others are pressing ahead with greener products. It might have seemed savvy when the economic going was good, but what does it mean today, asks Dax Lovegrove.

A place for PVC in a sustainable world?

Iain Aitch 29 October 2009, Biotechnology, Chemicals, Materials, Pollution, Recycling, Waste minimisation

It’s cheap, durable and so versatile you’ll find it in your clothes, your garden hose, your raincoat and your Barbie dolls. No wonder global demand for PVC is over 35 million tonnes a year. But the environmental impact of its dependence on heavy metal stabilisers cannot be ignored. Deep transformation across the chemical industry is needed to make it sustainable - but who will take the lead?

Food industry leads on water

12 November 2009, Agriculture & Food, Consumption, Water

Without water, there’s no food. So it’s time the food industry led the way in conserving its most vital raw material, says Julian Hunt of the Food and Drink Federation.

Banks should be social commentators, says Triodos

Bevis Watts 30 November 2009, Awards & grants, Green Futures partners, Organics

It is unusual for a bank to have a view on organic farming, but Triodos Bank has launched a new loan package to help to sow the seeds for organic growth.

How Palestinian olive oil broke down a barrier

Anna Simpson 16 November 2009, Agriculture & Food, Fair Trade, Farming/Horticulture, People, Social enterprise

Occupied territories aren't the best backdrop for business...or are they? Heather Masoud tells Anna Simpson about the world's first fair trade olive oil.

Campaign sets out to debunk myths around print

Lorna Howarth 27 November 2009, Green Futures partners, Information technology, Magazines & newspapers, Products & processes

Until recently, the energy demands of the infrastructure supporting electronic media haven't been questioned, much less quantified. But as carbon-calculators become more effective and industry-specific, all this is changing.

How to make a detergent that doesn't soil as it cleans

Peter Malaise 7 December 2009, Chemicals, Eco-products & services, Green Futures partners

All too often cleanliness in the home leads to pollution elsewhere - natural, biodegradable ingredients alone do not make for green cleaning. However, following six years research in the pursuit of natural born bubbles, Ecover has launched a new range of 'Ecosurfactants'.

There's a strong 'lean and green' case for some spending cuts, says Jonathon Porritt

Jonathon Porritt 16 December 2009, Budget/Taxation, Green government

There’s a strong, sustainability-driven case for a much ‘leaner and greener’ take on many key areas of public expenditure, says Jonathon Porritt, Founder Director of Forum for the Future.

Major transport alliance backs buses

27 October 2009, Commuting, Mass transit/Public transport

Fancy knocking a billion car rides off Britain’s roads? Then get on board Greener Journeys, an alliance of Arriva, First, Go-Ahead, National Express and Stagecoach, in partnership with Forum for the Future.

Tomorrow’s leaders: Joanna Yarrow

9 December 2009, Education & Careers, People

Since 1996, Forum For the Future’s Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development has been training the sustainability leaders of the future. Each issue, we track the career of a Forum alumnus.

NHS could pioneer low-carbon future, says new report

12 November 2009, Health

Forum for the Future sets out a vision for revolutionising health care, prescribing shorter working hours, green gyms and healthy-eating vouchers to help create a low-carbon, sustainable NHS.

What does the future hold for Pepsico?

Dan Crossley 9 November 2009, Consumption

Pepsico takes steps to ‘future-proof’ and prepare for the challenges of 2030, focusing on sustainability and health to bolster its strategy.

The London Eye gets greener

Nick Chan 9 December 2009, Energy conservation & efficiency

The London Eye – the capital’s iconic ‘big wheel’ – is to cut 20% off its electricity consumption in a £12.5 million ‘eco-refurb’.

Long-range solar flight planned

Roger East 12 November 2009, Aviation, Solar energy/PV

If efficiency savings and biofuels are the step-by-step path to greener aviation, the Solar Impulse project is a leap of faith. It’s “a paradox, almost a provocation”, in the words of its pilot, Swiss adventurer and round-the-world balloonist Betrand Piccard.

A swift come-back

Anna May Shamoon 16 November 2009, Wildlife

A high-pitched warble will soon be sounding out from the roof of Islington council’s offices in North London. It’s a swift call, in stereo, designed to lure the birds back to the borough.

Small sheep greens wine

Anna May Shamoon 18 November 2009, Farming/Horticulture

A New Zealand wine maker has found a novel way of reducing the carbon footprint of wine – by using miniature sheep.

Novel font uses holes to save ink and the environment

Giovanna Dunmall 17 December 2009, Information technology, Products & processes

Dutch creative communications agency Spranq has developed a sans serif typeface with small circular holes that offers over 20% in ink savings – and environmental benefits too.

Green profits from property

Sophie Blakemore 10 December 2009, Construction, Finance, Housing

The financial returns from property portfolios are directly related to environmental performance. That’s the resounding message from a survey of unlisted UK and European property funds.

Campaign for greener cities gathers pace

Mark Jansen 1 December 2009, Air quality, Carbon reduction, Urban

Green roofs could keep our cities cool in the stifling summer sun, according to a new report. Research shows that grass or wooded areas can chill surface temperatures by up to 15˚C, which in turn cools the ambient air.

Costa Rica tops Happy Planet Index

Gustavo Montes de Oca 23 November 2009, Americas, Awards & grants, Lifestyles

Costa Rica has come first in the Happy Planet Index (HPI). Developed by the New Economics Foundation, it measures life expectancy, life satisfaction and ecological footprint. The UK came 74th – five places above Iraq; the US, 114th.

Wind power drifts out to sea

Nick Chan 15 December 2009, Americas, Asia, Wind power

Revolutionary floating turbines, based on oil platform technology, could take wind power far out to sea, where it can harness higher and more consistent wind speeds. It could also bring offshore wind within reach of major energy consumers, like the US and Japan, which lack suitable shallow water sites.

Florida and Vegas – green makeover

Tricia Holly Davis 3 November 2009, Construction, Solar energy/PV

A solar-powered city is set to rise from the Florida swamplands. It’s just one of a series of newbuild idylls designed with green energy, transport and space in mind, which are changing the face of major US tourism destinations.

Solar ship takes to the seas

April Streeter 29 October 2009, Carbon reduction, Shipping

When the car container ship Auriga Leader chugged into the Californian port of Long Beach, it was greeted with a torrent of positive press reports. With 328 PV panels on deck, it is the world's first freighter to be partially powered by the sun.

German town pools produce for biogas

Alex Johnson 10 December 2009, Biofuels, Farming/Horticulture, Waste to energy

A German town is poised to be the host of the world’s first biogas heat and power network. Lunen’s 91,000 people will soon have half their energy needs met from the 2.5MW plant, which converts animal manure and crop waste into methane.

UK breakthrough for tidal power

Mark Jansen 18 December 2009, Energy sources, Wind power

The world’s first commercial tidal plant has come onstream at Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland. Tidal power could contribute at least 12% of the UK’s electricity needs.

What to look forward to in the Low Carbon Transition

Roger East 30 October 2009, Carbon reduction, Energy conservation & efficiency, Green government

The UK has published details of its Low Carbon Transition Plan, setting a mandatory carbon budget to limit each Government department in their use of both carbon and cash.

Sustainable sci fi: the nano world of 2020

Peter Madden 24 November 2009, Information technology, Nanotechnology

By 2020, there’ll be billions of tiny computers embedded in pretty much everything: stuck on our food labels, woven into our clothes, even injected into our skin. Peter Madden explores the potential of a sci-fi future.

Algae biofuels race hots up

Ed Gould 27 October 2009, Biofuels

The race for algae-based biofuels is heating up across America, with new biorefineries planned across the country.

UK wind power industry set to boom

Roger East 8 December 2009, Politics, Wind power

Britain’s offshore potential gets most of the attention paid to wind in the Government’s latest renewable energy strategy, in an attempt to get one gigawatt of new schemes up and running.

The power of the sun in a nuclear state

Alex Johnson 14 December 2009, Solar energy/PV

The French Government is aggressively developing its solar power infrastructure, investing in photovoltaic (PV) plants and providing tax breaks for commercial and private producers of the renewable energy.

Green Skills Centre to open in former Welsh mining town

Gustavo Montes de Oca 26 November 2009, Employment, Regeneration, Skills & training

A former Welsh mining town is to lead the way on green skills, with the UK’s first dedicated training centre.

Intermittency “no obstacle to wind power success”

Roger East 2 December 2009, Energy sources, Wind power

Wind farm developers everywhere will be heartened by three UK reports this summer addressing ‘intermittency’ – and assuring us that it’s much less of a problem than is sometimes claimed.

M2M innovations to cut carbon and costs

Sarah Roe 12 November 2009, Carbon reduction, Information technology, Telecommunications

Mobile phone technology could help to cut carbon emissions in industries as diverse as logistics, manufacturing and utilities, according to a new report published by Vodafone.

Bank makes a stand on tar sands

Mark Jansen 18 November 2009, Conservation, Corporate responsibility, Fossil fuels

The Co-operative Bank, a major ‘ethical’ bank in the UK, has donated over C$200,000 (£104,000) to a legal campaign to stop the extraction of tar sands in Canada, which it says could cause an environmental catastrophe.

Rotten logic

27 November 2009, Biotechnology, Information technology, Visions & futures

Could your kitchen mould be capable of complex calculations? Plasmodial slime moulds could potentially be used to develop the next super-computers.

Fast as a feather

27 November 2009, Biotechnology, Visions & futures, Waste to energy

Chicken feathers could be used to develop the next generation of hydrogen-fuel cells. New research from the University of Delaware has found that the tiny hollow and porous tubes found in the fibres of chicken feathers can absorb almost 2% of their weight in hydrogen.

Free as a farm

27 November 2009, Fishing, Marine/coastal

In the future, tidal-powered fish farms could carry their shoals to new waters, mimicking natural migration for breeding and feeding.

Catalysing disruption

Chris Sherwin 27 November 2009, Business, Corporate responsibility, Innovation

If we’re to rise to the huge challenges facing us, then business as usual, done a bit more efficiently, simply won’t cut it. We need truly game-changing, disruptive innovations.

Renewed incentives for offshore wind

April Streeter 18 March 2010, Wind power

In a bid to make borderline offshore wind projects viable, throughout 2010, each megawatt installed will earn two renewable energy certificates (ROCs) - instead of just one.

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