4 January 2017, The Conversation, How and why we are moving beyond GDP as a measure of human progress. How we track our economy influences everything from government spending and taxes to home lending and business investment. In our series The Way We Measure, we’re taking a close look at economic indicators to better understand what’s going on. Ever since 1944, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been a primary measure of economic growth. It’s in the news regularly and, even though few can define what it means, there is general acceptance that when GDP is growing, things are good. There are problems with this simplistic formulation. GDP measures production only. It does not capture collapsing fish stocks, increasing obesity and diabetes, or new types of synthetic drugs. When people choose to work part-time to have a better work-life balance, GDP actually goes down. This narrow focus distorts our perception of progress. It guides our representatives to focus only on certain things – what is measured – and allows them to ignore what isn’t quantified and regularly reported. But a new set of measures is slowly being established, which aims to capture a wider range of human experiences and reset our idea of “success”. Called the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), these aim to include all the main pillars of a progressive society, from physical safety through to economic opportunity and good health. SDGs will force action by highlighting what is currently covered up by the narrow measures of how our economy and society are faring. A new way of framing progress The SDGs arose out of the expiration of the Millennium Development Goals in 2015 (which focused primarily on poverty reduction). Out of a growing awareness of the ecological limits of the planet, and a desire to ensure that progress is fair and accessible to all people, attempts were made at creating a comprehensive set of national goals for all nations. Read More here
Category Archives: Building Resilience
26 December 2016, Climate News Network, Online calculator cuts farms’ emissions. An internet tool is now available that helps to quantify and control farms’ greenhouse emissions released during the crop production cycle. It’s called the Cool Farm Tool (CFT) – an easy-to-use online calculator that helps farmers monitor their emissions of greenhouse gases. Agriculture accounts for about 15% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, though when fertiliser manufacture and use and the overall food processing sector are included in calculations, that figure is considerably higher. The land can also act as a vital carbon sink, soaking up or sequestering vast amounts of carbon: when soils are disturbed the carbon is released, adding to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The CFT was initially developed by researchers at the University of Aberdeen in the UK in partnership with Unilever and the Sustainable Food Lab. Now managed by a group including academics and food manufacturers called the Cool Farm Alliance, the CFT is free for farmers to download. Various details, including the crops being planted, soil types and pH levels (the relative acidity or alkalinity of the land), are entered into a series of boxes. Moisture levels, amounts and types of fertiliser used and general management details are also entered, along with information on quantities of diesel and electricity used in the cultivation and storage of crops and the fuel needed to transport goods on and off the farm. Halving emissions In 2010 PepsiCo, the drinks and food conglomerate, launched a programme aimed at making its operations more environmentally friendly. In particular it sought to halve the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and water use arising from production at its Walkers Crisps factory at Leicester in the UK – the largest such plant in the world, producing five million packets of crisps (known as potato chips in the US) every day. A central part of the PepsiCo project involved encouraging its potato suppliers to farm more sustainably through the use of the CFT and by using other devices to monitor and cut back on water use. New potato varieties with improved yields were also introduced. Within six years, the goal of halving carbon emissions and achieving a 50% reduction in water use was reached. Read More here
19 November 2016, One Step off the Grid, Enova reaches major milestone, looks to expand and try peer to peer trading. Australia’s first community-based electricity retailer, Enova Energy, has reached major milestone of 1,000 customers, and is already looking to expand its geographic base and push into new areas such as peer to peer trading. Enova, based in Byron Bay in the northern rivers region of New South Wales, says it has reached its 1,000 customer level several months ahead of target, as it seeks to reach its break-even goal of 4,000 customers within the first two years of operation. CEO Steve Harris says the retailer has also attracted a higher number of business customers – 70 so far – which will help revenues, and possibly offset a small impact on margins from rising wholesale prices and high prices for large scale renewable energy certificates. Harris says there is clearly a groundswell of community interest in alternatives to the big oligopolies, and a fair deal on renewable energy. Nova, which describes itself as a “community owned renewable energy company”, pays 10c/kWh for solar feed in tariffs, more than 50 per cent above most retailers. “The higher feed in tariff is paying dividends for us. But it’s about community and it’s about environment. Households and businesses are showing they are quite happy to switch from their existing provider,” Harris told One Step Off The Grid in an interview. Harris says Enova is also benefiting from partnerships, such as a solar bulk buy program on the south coast of NSW, and another solar initiative in the ACT. Read More here
11 November 2016, Energy Post, Lumenaza creates regional electricity markets: “We want to connect up all 1.4 million solar PV producers in Germany with consumers locally”. A new software platform in Germany lets utilities buy and sell “regional electricity” by connecting up small producers with consumers. Start-up Lumenaza, founded three years ago, meets a growing demand for transparency, explains CEO and founder Christian Chudoba in an exclusive interview with Energy Post. Unlike a typical virtual power plant, Lumenaza targets tiny producers such as owners of rooftop solar. Its goal is to connect up all of Germany’s 1.4 million small power producers. Lumenaza was inspired by a family party in southern Germany. Christian Chudoba, today the company CEO, realised that everyone around him was generating electricity, but there was no way of buying this local produce. In response, he founded co-Lumenaza with his Siemens colleague Bernhard Böhmer in February 2013. Three years later, the company offers utilities a software platform that directly connects up small, local producers with consumers in the same region. Eight projects are up and running and another 3-4 expected by the end of the year. Chudoba comes from the world of software telecommunications at Siemens. He had the business idea; Böhmer, today Chief Technology Officer, supplied the software expertise. Oliver March, now CFO, jointed one year later bringing in the financial expertise. The two have created a product that they believe can help improve the acceptance for building more renewables in Germany. Just as consumers like to buy local, producers “like the idea of knowing where the electricity they produce is going”, says Chudoba. We call it a marketplace or “utility-in-a-box” software. The platform buys the electricity from local [renewables] producers and sells it to consumers. Read More here