Hill+Knowlton Strategies

Yesterday’s Energy and Climate Change Committee report on consumer engagement with energy markets made for interesting reading. From a PR perspective the section on media reporting on energy costs was particularly compelling. The rising cost of energy and impact of ‘green’ policy has been one of the hot topics of 2012 – capturing the attention of the trades, broadsheets and the tabloids alike. And for a sector that’s traditionally not the topic of pub chat, this is the year that the country got talking. With squeezed wallets and fluctuating weather conditions, combined with the challenge of global warming and carbon reduction, the public is taking notice.

Depending on your newspaper of choice you will likely read very different views on how serious our energy challenge is – both in terms of dwindling resources, and environmentally sustainable sources. Yesterday’s report states that “It is likely that consumers get a lot of their information about energy issues from the media.” So with increased, and often emotive, attention now focused on energy it becomes even more important to know where our media stand on the issues, and crucially – how accurate their reporting is.

The Energy and Climate Change Committee is troubled by concerns raised over media reporting on energy matters. The report points to several witnesses who have suggested that media reporting of the cost to consumers of DECC’s environmental and social policies may be misleading. The Carbon Brief says that a series of newspaper articles have overstated the current impact of green policies on energy bills, either through error or selective research. Scottish Renewables suggested that the media preferred to rely on figures that fitted with their editorial line on energy and climate issues – relying on “unverifiable leaked reports or skewed research by think-tanks and individual consultants”. RWE npower said of media reporting, “Very often, it is a case of ‘not letting the facts get in the way of a good story’”.

The Committee wrote to the print media requesting responses to the evidence it has received on media reporting of these issues. Whilst only 6 of the 17 publications replied, the answers are telling. The Sunday Times decided its coverage has been “very balanced”, focused on the science, while The Financial Times put responsibility with the reporter. The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph responded that the costs of green energy were “hotly disputed” but that they reported “all sides of the debate”. The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday acknowledged that “mistakes are occasionally made” – hmm…

One national newspaper responded that they were “uneasy that a Committee of the House of Commons appears to be asking a newspaper to justify its reporting on a particular issue based on vague, partisan criticisms from lobby groups with an interest in the issue”. That same paper failed to print a letter from the Committee’s Chair highlighting factual inaccuracies about an article on the effect that investment in renewables would have on consumers’ bills. No coincidence then that such disdain comes from the paper with perhaps the most supportive line on fossil fuels, with anti-rhetoric towards wind energy? I’ll leave it you to work out the paper in question…

Of course, in the fast paced world of journalism mistakes from time-to-time are inevitable. But the Government must do everything in its power to make facts and figures on the cost of going green transparent. It is all too easy for the media to hide behind confusing and conflicting data so they may follow an editorial line that misguides an already bewildered public. Renewable technologies and environmentally sustainable practices are a necessity not a choice for our long-term energy future. Isn’t it better that now the public’s attention is caught they get a full, accurate and honest picture?

In the Energy and Industrials team we are partial to some tech prowess, especially if that technology is geared towards saving energy, saving money or looks particularly nifty (remember those Back to the Future self-lacing shoes Mr Chris Pratt lusted after?).

Detailed here you’ll find just a few of the weird, wonderful and stylish energy-saving or sustainable products and gadgets that I find quite snazzy.

Cardboard fun



You might not be able to use it outside, but hopefully cardboard furniture which is 100 per cent recyclable will soon be all the rage. From beds to work seats all you have to do is fold it together and voilà!

Sun in  a jar

Solar-powered lights have always been popular for guiding people up garden paths the world over  but not many people have ventured to using them indoors which is why I like this next product; the Sun Jar. Just sit it on your window sill during the day when you’re at work and then use in the evening when you come in.

Speakers

Personally I love these acoustic iPod speakers which are made from reclaimed wood and old instruments; let’s face it they would look great on anyone’s mantelpiece.

Keeping warm (yes that is a picture of Matt Damon in a ’slanket’)

From my days living in a drafty student house it was either a choice of wearing a blanket around the house at all times or trying to find an inexpensive way to save heat. After exhausting all the usual tips (foil behind radiators, draft protectors on doors) we found the most effective product we used was window insulation glaze. It costs around six pounds and is basically sticky backed plastic for your windows which really does work!

These are only some of the products I have come across recently but it is clear to see that eco and sustainable goods are a growing market with websites dedicated to selling everything from homemade wind turbines to recycled cushions made from plastic.

I’ll admit it. 

I didn’t want to go. 

Where, I hear you ask? 

Ecobuild. 

Nothing against sustainable construction, mind you.  It’s just I’m not a huge fan of the ExCeL centre, or – and I hate to say it – trade shows in general. 

But….

I was pleasantly surprised. Dare I say it, I even enjoyed myself.

This year’s event was HUGE.  Bigger than I anticipated, even though I did check out the website and peep some of the vendors sites before I went.  There were more than 1,300 exhibitors from the fields of design, construction and what Ecobuild calls “the built environment”.  Still not sure what that is. Seems a bit vague….but I think they mean people who sell and install things for inside your building…floors, toilets, plumbing, windows, etc.

So, why did I enjoy it?

1. I got to know a very cool company – REC Solar.

2.  I was thrilled to see what a huge presence solar was at the show.  Despite concerns around the government’s planned review of feed in tariff policy and what this could mean for the UK solar industry – all the big players were out in force. Go team.

It’s a solar bear…get it?!

3.  I got to get back in touch with my techie roots and play with phase change materials (PCMs for the uninitiated) – check out BASF and DuPont.  There was a great little demo centre called the Cool Workspace, which showed how PCMs can be used to create a more sustainable office environment by storing both heating and cooling, reducing the carbon footprint of buildings by up to 30%.

4.  The people. Yes, that old chestnut.  I was genuinely impressed with the huge range of people that were drawn in.  From the big corporate sales guys, to students, to apprentice builders, to eco-conscious consumers, to, er… models dressed as Canadian mounties (see below).  While most of the attendees were indeed more of the corporate ilk, it was refreshing to see that there was a noticeable representation from a huge range of people. 

As nice as it would be to preserve all the green space left in the world, that’s never going to happen.  Construction and physical development is a reality.  Even here on our little island, we’re expected to increase our population to from 61 million to 70 million in about 15 years.  Whether that growth is sustainable from a resources point of view or not is a different blog post, but that’s a lot of new housing, schools and hospitals. Let’s hope they’re built in a way that takes a lesson from Ecobuild.

I stumbled across a neat little initiative while perusing BusinessGreen during my lunch break – edible curtains.  Yes.  Not technically curtains, mind you, which was a little disappointing but I am still impressed.

Kyocera, the Japanese tech group, is pioneering the initiative at 20 manufacturing facilities in Japan, Thailand and Brazil. They basically created what I think we’d call “hedges” around their buildings to block direct sunlight in a bid to not only lessen the need for air conditioning, but provide a health snack for employees to nibble on.  They’ll also be used in the company cafeterias.  Nifty little energy saving initiative, I say.

Employees harvesting the curtains

For the sceptics out there, Kyocera has confirmed that the curtains lower wall temperatures, and “decrease temperature by as much as 15 degrees C”. Covering roughly 32,750 square feet (3,043 square meters), the curtains are expected to absorb an estimated 23,481 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions – the same amount that can be absorbed by 761 cedar trees.

The kind folk at Kyocera have set up a website where you can find more information on the curtains, as well as helpful tips on how readers can grow their own. I recommend checking out the “What is a Green Curtain” section for some cute (always important) graphics. 

Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re in the best location to grow our own edible curtain at 20 Soho Square, and my repeated requests to build a roof terrace where we could grow our own garden have been denied (something about health and safety…).  But if we could, I think I’d like to grow flowers so we could stop paying to have them brought in.  And some cherry tomatoes.

What would you grow?