Cancun - hot debate or hot air? |  So what was all that about? Copenhagen, in the press, in the news, in your face, and a painful demonstration of political inertia as the Copenhagen Accord delivered the West of Scotland Youth League Cup when we had expected the Champions League trophy. At least all those political leaders of our age could say they came back with a cup in hand, albeit a half empty one. And now Cancun. Switch bitterly cold Denmark for warm sandy shores in Mexico, switch universal optimism for global apathy, switch front page headlines for page 4 comment and we arrive at what some commentators called `the extra time for tackling climate change’. So what was achieved? The short answer is a lot more than Copenhagen. A global consensus that emission cuts are vital, that climate change is something that we all need to tackle, that we all need to play a part in curbing. It delivered more meat on the bone for developing countries, with a fund to channel money from the West to developing nations. Under the deal, developing countries will receive aid for not burning or logging forests. Deforestation produces about 15% of the world's carbon emissions. But did it go far enough. Again, a short answer. No. The emission cuts did not go deep enough. They are not legally binding. Research suggests that if all the agreements reached are implemented, temperatures would still rise by about 3.2 degrees Celsius, far more than the 2 degrees considered `safe’. So what does all this mean for Scottish businesses? Well, 2 things. Firstly our climate will change, you need to make sure you are future proofed. Are you liable to flooding? In severe weather events, can you continue to operate? How will your staff get to work? How will you maintain service to customers? How far do your supply chains reach? What is happening in those locations? Are your supply chains as robust as you need them to be? Secondly, climate change, one could say, should have no bearing on greening your business. The Scottish and UK governments are taking action. They have declared war on environmental obesity. New legislation is coming. Waste costs are rising. Energy costs are rising. Resources are diminishing. The costs are therefore rising. Customers are looking for new, innovative green products. Forget all the hot air in Cancun. To grow your business, to enhance your brand, to save money – managing your environmental performance has never been so important. Take action now, And then influence others to do the same. That’s what being part of Scotland’s largest network of businesses tackling climate change is all about. The Met Office has created a number of publications and fact sheets to ensure that you know all the facts click here for more information Are you looking for some quick wins for your business? Click here to find out more Centotre - savings are the recipe for success | 
After an initial consultation with the Mayday Network Scotland, Centotre was able to identify total cost savings of £4,932 per year through improved resource efficiency.
Centotre is a popular modern Italian style coffee house/restaurant situated in the heart of Edinburgh. The restaurant is keen to reduce its environmental impact and approached Mayday Scotland for support to establish their current baseline and to provide recommendations for further environmental improvements. Having strong links with a range of environmental orgtanisations in Scotland, Mayday were best placed to signpost Centotre to the most relevant and effective available, in the this case it was Zero Waste Scotland's Small Business Service. Their review identified that by taking simple steps to reduce waste production through measures such as removing paper towels from public washrooms in preference of hand driers, reducing individually packaged items such as sugar and through increasing the recycling and composting rate of materials the company could reduce waste production by 2 tonnes and divert 28.9 tonnes of waste from landfill. These environmental savings equated to financial savings for Centotre of £2,911 realised through reduced purchase cost and waste uplift charges. The business could also reduce water consumption by 83m3 and energy consumption by 19,057kWh (31 tonnes CO2) per year, saving a combined £2,021 through implementing a range of measures including installing tap aerators, fixing water leaks, installing energy efficient equipment and by using timer plugs to switch of electronic equipment at the end of the day. Since receiving the report Centotre have increased staff awareness of water use in the kitchen and energy use throughout the site. Increasing staff awareness is expected to save 46m3 water, 6,579kWh and just over £800 per annum. Centotre is also currently replacing their stock of lighting, replacing the current inefficient lamps with energy efficient alternatives where applicable. This will result in a reduction in purchase cost over the life time of the lamps and reduce energy consumption levels by around 4,478kWh saving Centotre £477 per annum.
To find out how your business can take advantage of the numerous energy, waste and cost saving inititives please contact the Mayday team or call 0131 451 1100. To have your company profiled through our website, our Newsletters and our regular communications please contact Todd Henshaw or call 0131 451 1100 To see our full list of case studies please click here 60 Second Interview - Michael Tracey - 20:20 Group
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Name: Michael Tracey
Organisation : William Tracey Group
Position: Managing Director What is your role on the 2020 Group? Chair of the Waste and Resources Sub-group What is the most interesting aspect of your role within the 2020 Group? Meeting a variety of people from different sectors and different organisations outwith our normal business circle and listening to and understanding their views on how the Climate Change agenda could impact on their activities and what they are doing in their different ways to address these issues. What do you believe to be the key challenge Scotland faces in achieving the 42% reduction in carbon emission by 2020? In particular with regards to Waste and Resources? Our key challenge is to develop and build some momentum so that so that the many changes required to deliver the targets can be accomplished within the timescale. Scotland has made a good start in converting from a wasteful society with a reliance on landfill to one which values its resources and recovers and recycles these for future use, however there is still much to be done and we need to move on from policy decision making to seeing action on the ground to deliver a Zero Waste Agenda. What opportunities do you think the move to a low carbon economy can bring to Scotland? Movement to a low carbon economy in terms of the contribution from Waste and Resources will bring many opportunities in that new jobs will be created and new skills will be developed in creating and operating infrastructure such as segregated collection systems and reprocessing facilities. Also the recover of resources will create further opportunities for existing or new industries to develop using these recovered resources as raw materials for their processes. Energy generation from the processing of suitable materials, such as food wastes in facilities such as Anaerobic Digestion, will create additional opportunities by creating local energy sources (heat, biogas and electricity) to support other developments. What would be your `top tip’ for a business looking to engage in environmental sustainability? Many changes will occur over the next few years and my top tip would be for businesses to identify and work with a strong partner with expertise and resources to support them through this period of change. How has the William Tracey Group incorporated environmental sustainability? Environmental Sustainability is at the core of what we do and deliver for our customers therefore it is integrated into all aspects of our business processes. Our sector is heavily regulated on these issues and legal compliance is a given for our customers therefore we have introduced and developed environmental management systems to ensure our day-to-day activities meet all such legal requirements. Going beyond this, we have various staff members whose roles include research and development of new processes, new activities and new services which will bring additional environmental improvements (for example by offering new services such as segregated food waste collection) and provide continuous improvement for our customers. What direct business benefits have you had from implementing environmental measures within the business? We have been able to develop business growth by introducing and offering new services to our customers (for example composting of organic wastes, recycling of timber or glass and recovery of recyclates from mixed material streams). We have also been able to convert former waste materials into products which takes us into new markets. Recovery of value from former waste materials by realising their resource value is a benefit that can be shared with customers. What personally motivated your journey to tackle climate change? Moving to a resource recovery society makes good business sense but there is also a more forceful imperative in that I believe the risks of unmitigated Climate Change are real and pose a real threat to our way of life. We have an obligation to our children and future generations to tackle these issues now and develop solutions now if we are to allow them to enjoy the stability and opportunities which we have taken for granted in previous years. | 
Scottish Business in the Community’s Awards for Excellence 2011 are now open for entry, Rewarding innovation and inspiration in responsible business across the UK.
ScotHot 2011 Scotland’s only hospitality, tourism and catering trade show, takes place at the SECC from 28 February – 2 March and will see over 8,000 key decision makers and buyers from the hospitality industry meet over 250 exhibitors.
The show has a number of Green Exhibitors who are ready to help visitors understand and implement sustainable initiatives, providing 'green' products, ideas and sharing experiences encouraging other businesses to act in a responsible way.
Scotland’s most environmentally-friendly businesses have been acknowledged and rewarded this month (Wednesday 1 December) at the prestigious VIBES award ceremony held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow.
Do you know a young person who is passionate about all things green? Someone who works tirelessly to inspire others to action and make their green ideas a reality?
