Illustrating some of the pitfalls in greening British business today, the Guardian has a lengthy article talking about how although Jamie Oliver has gotten junk food out of schools, the students are, shock, just going across the street for their packets of crisps. Not only this, but vending machine companies are actively boycotting the schools because they're losing so much money on the deal. (Hold fast fellas, the free market will take care of this.) Another problem is coming from Tesco: crisp company Tyrell's promised they would only sell their luxy crisps to Waitrose and indie stockists, but Tesco is stocking them anyhow and ignoring Tyrell's polite requests to the contrary. According to Tyrells “nobody is going to pull them up for their behaviour because they will get delisted as a supplier”. Eesh. [GT]
Pay more or we quit, canteen operators to tell schools as vending machine purge hits profits
Related stories: The WEEE man cometh | Miz Liz Diz Organics Biz (full-time-like)
EIRIS stands for Ethical Investment Research Services. They provide information to investors, investment managers, individuals, financial advisers, charities, corporations and academics about the ethical circumstances of a given research topic. Topics range from specific corporations, to commodities, to futures, to specific governments, and beyond. They are specialized in offering services in English and Japanese, and have offices in London and Boston, Mass. [GT]
EIRIS: Ethical Investment Research Services
Related stories: New ethical fund from Aberdeen Unit Trust Managers Ltd | Has Brown been green enough? | Invest ethically, make a killing
While tidying the prodigious collection of familiana in my to-be-in-laws spare room, I discovered a packet of Old Money. No, not cash - that is, not anymore. Dolphin Blue Tree-Free stationery are made from kenaf, denim trimmings and old bills. Rather than dump bleach into the environment, all products are left their own low-key and lovely colour of ivory, pale blue or pale green respectively. Writing on the latter is a particularly luxurious experience (though one wonders how many recycled $20 bills are in there and therefore what the cocaine content is). [GT]
Dolphin Blue Tree-Free stationery
Related stories: Recycled back to school kit | Seven Steps to Green your Office | Elephant poo paper (no really)
If you run a green business, do drop us a line at editor@hippyshopper.com. But also, GreenBusiness.net is a site for professional greenies. The fees are $12 a month and there are, at last update, 207 members specifically involved in green industry that you can network with. These kind of things are very hit-or-miss, but Jason offers a two week free trial where you can poke around and see if it's going to be valuable. His personal success story, involving saving $15,000 USD, was the impetus to found the site. He also has a raft of testimonials from members who have found the focus well worth the fees. [GT]
So you're on your bicycle. And you're in an American state that has Better World Club insurance. And you get a flat. Call 'em up and they'll come over and fix your tire. Twice a year. (Assuming you have the version of their insurance that covers bikes.) Naturally that's not all that they do. 24 hour emergency assistance, coverage in any car, family coverage, flat tire change, battery jumps, emergency tows (depending, again, on the level of insurance), fuel delivery service, and $100 locksmith benefit. Then there's the actual cash and benefits for hybrids in particular.
Continue reading >>
Looking for a few extra quid to put your green house in order? By which I mean your actual residence, not your garden (although there may be money for that too). Check out the energy saving grants all neatly organized for your perusal at the Energy Saving Trust. The UK government funds up to £2,500 for renovations, energy companies have their own programs, and then local authorities "provide grants and offers for local residents to install energy efficiency measures in their home." And while you're there, take the poll.
Continue reading >>
The Aberdeen Ethical Engagement UK Fund is a sub-fund of Aberdeen Investment Funds ICVC (UK-domiciled OEIC). In ethical funds, "the manager aims to use his position as stakeholder proactively to promote ethical corporate behaviour and will favour companies demonstrating progress in that regard." Basically, you give the manager some money, he puts it in a bag with money from other people, and when the bag gets big enough, he can use it to smack people when they're not nice to their workers. This is better than giving it to a manager who uses the full bag to smack anybody who gets in his way.
The Aberdeen Fund in particular focuses on good corporate governance, the environment, labour equity and human rights. All of which are good.
Continue reading >>
digg this | del.icio.us this
| 
Stumble It!
