In South Africa especially, the underprivileged in society and depletion of natural resources has become a concern for the population, and corporations are becoming more involved than ever before with investments to help these problems.

Whether through employee donations, investments by the corporations themselves or simply time donated by businesses and employees involvement in various charities and outreach programmes by corporate social responsibility has begun to create a positive change for millions of lives in South Africa.

How corporations are becoming involved
Any corporation or business can become involved in a social or ecological responsibility programme. Many companies are ‘going green’ by encouraging employees to refrain from printing unnecessary documents and wasting paper to preserve trees. Recycling paper is another popular method used to create a more eco-friendly work place. Replacing air-conditioning systems which emit harmful CFC’s into the environment with more eco-friendly air conditioning systems is becoming commonplace as well.

Other methods of companies encouraging eco-friendly corporate behavior include recycling rubbish, forming lift clubs to decrease the number of cars required to transport employees to work, encouraging the use of public transport to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and requesting employees to be more eco friendly in their homes.

All of these things help to reduce a company’s carbon-footprint.

Teach a man to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime
Sustainable development is another positive venture which many responsible corporations have become involved in. Giving donations may be a viable method of helping a local community, but teaching a community a method of sustaining themselves has a more long term benefit.

Companies are now becoming involved in helping locals to create better opportunities for their own lives. Initiatives such as donating books and computers to schools, teaching locals how to care for sick children, how to make money using natural resources without damaging the environment, educating with regard to HIV and AIDS and how to care for the environment are just some of the methods of allowing locals to live a better life through education.

HIV, AIDS, violence and unrest
One of the main concerns in South Africa is the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Corporate schemes are able to donate money to help the people involved in the problems emanating from AIDS and HIV, but helping with medicine will only help the problem to an extent.

Many companies are becoming involved in the efforts to prevent the problems persisting and worsening through education. Education is South Africa’s best chance and weapon against disease, violence and poverty. Through these educational schemes which are made possible by corporate donations, effort and time; prevention is possible.

Added to the HIV/AIDS issues of South Africa are the problems concerning TB, cancer, malnutrition, drug addiction, crime, lack of proper housing, AIDS orphans, child abuse, violence against women, animal abuse, and other serious issues. These problems not only require counseling, medical treatment and other costs, but most of all require education schemes to alleviate lack of knowledge which is a major contributor to these problems.

Corporate social responsibility and social development is a venture which is creating positive change in the problems South Africa faces in terms of the environment and humanity. With corporate social responsibility a company is able to ‘put back’ some of the opportunities they have experienced into the less fortunate. Education is such an important tool for South Africa to be able to thrive, as is treating the many sick, abused, frightened and helpless.

According to global marketers, SMEs can play a huge role in helping the society at large by boosting their CSR initiatives. This can be carried out at the most basic level by extending a helping hand towards small communities and non profit organizations (NGOs). By supporting these small communities, the small sized firms can address issues of social importance. These may include topical concerns such as environment conservation and dissemination of information pertaining to literacy. This can prove especially effective in developing countries of the world that are plagued by several local issues such as female infanticide and malnutrition.

By bolstering their CSR initiatives at all levels, small and mid sized companies can build a strong brand image for themselves in the market and reach out to their prospects in an effective manner. In addition, successful implementation of CSR initiatives can contribute to the betterment of the society by getting all the employees involved. Although the small and mid sized firms have budgetary constraints while puling off their CSR activities, there are some highly productive activities that can be taken into account while zeroing in on the most appropriate option.

This report provides an in-depth analysis on the carbon policy initiatives by the European Union(EU), the US, Canada, Australia and other developed and developing economies. It details the regional climate change initiatives and the Kyoto Protocol and its mechanisms. It also provides an analysis on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) projects. The report provides an overview on various carbon registries, carbon exchanges and the major companies participating in the carbon trade. The report provides the latest information on the value, volume and price of the emissions traded in project-based mechanisms such as CDM, JI and secondary CDM, and allowance markets such as the EU Emission Trading System (ETS), New South Wales Exchange, Chicago Climate Exchange, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and Assigned Amount Units (AAUs). The report provides a forecast of the carbon market up to 2020. 

New and Proposed Carbon Trading Policy Instruments by the EU, the US and Other Majors will drive the Global Carbon Market Beyond 2012
The global carbon market experienced strong growth between 2007 and 2008 due to the expansion of allowance markets. The EU ETS experienced robust growth during this period. The carbon market will grow significantly beyond 2012 due to the EU’s initiatives to build worldwide carbon trading mechanisms, the prospective US Federal cap-and-trade program and the strong emergence of other regional market trading mechanisms.

Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRCEES) Launched by Britain Bolsters the UK’s Carbon Trading Markets
In April 2010, Britain announced the new CRCEES, a mandatory scheme for 5,000 companies to evaluate, assess and report energy usage and carbon emissions. The scheme is being introduced to reduce 4 million tonnes of GHG emissions and achieve GBP 1 billion in corporate savings from electricity bills. From April 2010, companies are mandated to measure and assess the energy usage and carbon emissions from their energy usage. These emissions need to be reported to the UK Environment Agency. Companies failing to register or report or exceeding emission targets would face a fine and carbon tax. These taxing mechanisms to improve energy efficiency would boost the carbon allowance market and hence promote the carbon trading market in the region.

Increasing Focus and Investments in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Domain Will Strengthen the Carbon Trading Volumes in Regional Markets
The RGGI states in the US – Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont – have been participating in numerous clean energy projects and initiatives. RGGI states have invested in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency projects to decrease their carbon footprints. These states have created employment opportunities and generated lower electricity bill values due to their low-carbon investments. These states are investing in green building programs and are conducting workshops and training programs to improve awareness on energy efficiency measures. The clean energy initiatives have therefore boosted carbon trade in the region and the trading of carbon permits experienced a rise of 42% in the last few auctions, from 28.6 million allowances to 40.6 million allowances.

Recycled Carbon Credits Selling Poses a Risk to the EU ETS
The EU countries are considering the sale of surrendered credits and these surrendered credits would influence the credibility of the EU ETS market. In March 2010, Hungary announced that it will sell 2 million metric tons of United Nations credits for $21 million. These credits reenter the market and might be mistaken for compliance grade credits. The entry of these credits into the market would lead to a lack of transparency and increase the risk of transactions. UN Certified Emission Reduction credits are on the ones generated by emission reduction projects in emerging nations and these credits can be used for compliance with GHG emission reduction targets or they can be used by power generation companies as an alternative to EU permits by governments. Hence, the Eastern European countries are using the surrendered credits in the trading markets. The International Emission Trading Association (IETA) has brought in certain initiatives to counter the resale of surrendered credits. The IETA mandates that credits surrendered to the EU registry cannot be deployed for compliance or for carbon trading systems. The European Commission (EC) and the IETA are working together to reduce the risk of surrendered transactions and therefore improve the transparency in those transactions. There are other challenges pertaining to surrendered allowances, such as that the credits can also be sold to markets outside the EU and there is no international authority to monitor these transactions beyond the EU ETS currently.

When we plan each day, it is around the sun. The sun determines our scheduled activities in the daylight and during the dark of each night. The changing seasons are a function of the number of hours of sunlight. So, if the sun is such a factor in our lives each day, why do we not even consider the sun as a catalyst for future global climate change?

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been looking in the wrong place for the cause of global climate change. It’s global climate change projections do not include the influence of the sun. As a result, it’s computer-generated model, which predicts a one-degree Fahrenheit increase in global temperature in each decade of this century due to human-emitted carbon dioxide gas, is in need of drastic repair.

The truth is that it is becoming clearer with each passing day that global climate change is a function of the sun and not a function of an increase in man-made CO2 emissions. The fact is that global temperatures have not increased in the last ten years, since 1998, even with a significant global increase in CO2. Also, consider that the first half of this year (2008) was actually the coolest of the last five years, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

So, the current trend of global temperature is becoming colder, not warmer, despite the continued increase in CO2. Of course, the reality for the United Nations is that, in all probability, the extent of their error is about to soon get much worse. Since they are looking at the wrong catalyst of global climate change, they really have no idea what is about to happen next. To more adequately predict global temperature in the next few decades, the IPCC should be looking at the activity of the sun.

Indeed, studying the sun is exactly what astrophysicist Dr. Willie Soon, a researcher at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been doing for years. Dr. Soon has identified a clear link between the sun’s activity as indicated by it’s magnetic activity and temperature variations in the Arctic and Greenland over a period of time of about 130 years.

Dr. Soon chose this area for study since it has good temperature records and is an area sensitive to climate change, so that the signal from any one climatic influence should be easier to spot. He also says he can point to a physical mechanism in the circulation of the ocean linking the sun’s influence on temperature in the region.

Dr. Soon discussed the conclusions of his research work recently as follows: “Global temperature change can be attributed to slight variations in the sun’s energy output, not man-made carbon dioxide emissions.”

He continues, “When the sun is slightly brighter, meaning giving more light to Earth’s system, the temperature warms in the Arctic. With the cooling that we observed in the Arctic from the 1940s to the 1970s, guess what the sun is doing? It’s actually dimming slightly, ever so slightly. And then, guess what happened after the late 1970s? The sun brightens again.”

Meanwhile, a new research paper from the Astronomical Society of Australia also identifies the sun as the catalyst for global climate change. The paper contends that the level of activity on the Sun will significantly diminish sometime in the next decade and remain low for about 20 to 30 years. On each occasion that the Sun has done this in the past the World’s mean temperature has dropped by 1 – 2 degrees C.

Of course, all this recent research just confirms earlier findings about the sun’s role in global climate change. Consider that the sun’s influence in the long term cooling and warming of the planet was discovered by the Danish Meteorological Institute in 1991. The Institute released a study using data that went back centuries which showed that global temperatures closely tracked solar cycles.

Then, several years later, a Hoover Institution Study examined the same historical data and came to a similar conclusion. “The effects of solar activity and volcanoes are impossible to miss. Temperatures fluctuated exactly as expected, and the pattern was so clear that, statistically, the odds of the correlation existing by chance were one in 100,” according to Hoover fellow Bruce Berkowitz.

As world politicians and the United Nations continue a misguided global warming focus on man-made CO2 emissions, evidence of the sun ‘s role in global climate change continues to grow.

So, it should not be surprising that to predict global climate change in the decades ahead we should look to the sun, just like we do in preparation for each calendar day.

There is a real and potential danger for organisations to find themselves on the wrong side of the law as well as causing environmental damage through negligent e-waste disposal. Under legislation such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive), if you are a producer, re-seller or importer of electronic equipment you will have legal obligations with regard to the recycling, reuse and disposal of electronic equipment or components. 

New regulations have been introduced to tackle the growing amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). It is one of the fastest growing waste streams in Europe, and in the UK alone; we throw away around 2 million tonnes of WEEE every year, much of which ends up in landfill. The regulations aim to ensure that more WEEE is separately collected for treatment and recovery, and less goes to landfill.

The regulations apply to all companies who import, manufacture, or re-brand electrical equipment in the UK; these companies are known as “producers”. They also affect everyone who uses, sells, treats or disposes of WEEE. They affect the way WEEE is disposed of by setting treatment standards and recycling targets and, importantly, by making producers, rather than end-users, pay for its treatment and recycling in most cases.

Implications for Business Users

Shifting the burden of payment for the treatment, recycling and disposal of WEEE from end-users to producers will have a significant impact on purchasing and disposal arrangements.

Responsibility for Business WEEE

If you bought equipment before 13 August 2005, and are replacing it with new equipment fulfilling the same function, then the producer of the new equipment is responsible for the collection, treatment and recycling of the old equipment, regardless of whether they were the original manufacturer. If you bought the equipment before 13 August 2005 and do not replace it, then you are responsible for financing and arranging treatment in accordance with the WEEE Regulations and existing waste management legislation, including the Duty of Care and the Hazardous Waste Regulations.

If you bought electrical equipment after 13 August 2005, then the producer of that equipment is responsible for its collection, treatment and recycling when you dispose of it. If you lease or rent equipment, the producer is usually responsible for its disposal. The regulations allow producers and business users to agree ‘alternative arrangements’, whereby the business user agrees to take on some or all of the future costs of the end-of-life treatment of the equipment he buys. This is a commercial decision that you will need to make and is likely to form part of the normal negotiating processes for supply contracts in the future.

Collection Arrangements

WEEE from business users may be collected by the obligated producer or the compliance scheme working on its behalf. WEEE may either be collected directly from your premises or you may be asked to take the WEEE to a local collection facility (which should be easily accessible to you).

What You Need To Do

Think about the environmental consequences before deciding to replace equipment. Do you really need to buy a new product? Your equipment could be upgraded or you could buy a refurbished product instead. If you have working equipment that you no longer need, think about passing it on to others instead of throwing it away. Remember to take account of the WEEE Regulations when entering into commercial negotiations and procurement decisions concerning EEE.

If you are buying electrical products from a distributor or other intermediary, make sure that you obtain the producer registration number for the equipment being supplied so that you know who to contact to arrange disposal at the end of its life. Suppliers of EEE should always be able to provide this on behalf of producers.

If the producer is responsible for disposal, establish whether it is the producer or the producer’s compliance scheme who will be arranging for disposal, and whether collection will be from your premises or a local collection facility. Organisations will also need to be aware of their responsibilities under other waste management legislation, such as the Duty of Care and the Specialist Waste Regulations

For further information on WEEE & EEE please Contact Us

It cannot be emphasized enough that green cleaning is good for the environment, our health, our pets health, and may increase our lifespan. Our bodies simply cannot keep inhaling toxic chemicals on a regular basis without it affecting our hearts, lungs and skin. These products may even cause cancer. There are some of us of has been putting on the thick rubber gloves and covering our mouths just so we could clean our ovens with chemical filled cans of foam? Was it really worth the risk to our health? And sadly, it wasn’t even really needed, as baking soda and lemon juice will do the job perfectly and leave a fresh scent too.

All of us has a responsibility to do their share in creating a clean earth for themselves and future generations. And with simple green cleaning steps to a sparkling home, everyone can. On the Internet there are many ways to get eco friendly products and even some recipes for those who prefer to make their own. Coconut water is a great cleaner, as is lemon juice or vinegar.

When you think of it to clean your house, all you really need is some baking soda and vinegar. For instance, a small amount vinegar rubbed onto glass with a piece of crumpled newsprint will give you a clean shine on window panes. No glass-specific cleanser needed.

When purchasing for cleaners which boast they are cleaning green products, don’t always believe that to be true unless there is an eco friendly seal on the container. One such product with rave reviews is the eco friendly cleaning cloth. This cloth is thick, toxin free, and picks up dirt, grime and even grease quite easily with just a swipe. You will not have to scrub, nor break a sweat with this microfiber powerhouse. More great news is the cloths last a long time so they are affordable too. We may just increase our lifespans, finally end cancer and a host of other chronic diseases forever.

The conflict about what is best for the environment and the planet is the responsibility of all of us, not only of the commercial interests.

Commercial organisations exist to respond to the demands for their goods and services, although it is also true that in order to survive and grow they need to “create” new demands for new products.

We can’t any longer ignore the effects continuous growth are having on the earth’s atmosphere and environment and one of the biggest causes for concern is the loss of forests.

Trees and forests are important for a whole variety of reasons but two of the most significant are their effects on the air we breathe and the health of the soil we depend on for the food we need.

Not only do they produce the oxygen without which we could not exist but they also help clean the air. A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year and trees intercept airborne particles, reducing heat, and absorbing such pollutants as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.

Trees remove this air pollution by lowering air temperature, through respiration, and by retaining particulates. They also lock up carbon dioxide, identified as a cause of global warming. To produce its food, a tree absorbs and locks away carbon dioxide in the wood, roots and leaves. A forest is a carbon storage area and can lock up as much carbon as it produces.

By either storing harmful pollutants or converting them to less harmful forms trees also help clean the soil. They also help fight soil erosion. Their roots bind the soil and their leaves break the force of wind and rain on soil, but they also act as wind breaks, which can also reduce the drying effect on soil and vegetation behind the windbreak and help keep precious topsoil in place. They can also help reduce flooding.

More than 25% of our modern medicines originate from tropical forest plants. Even so, we have only learned how to use 1% of these amazing plants. This could prove to be a rich source for the Biopesticides Developers currently working to produce less harmful low-chem agricultural products, such as biofungicides, biopesticides and yield enhancers, to replace the older generation of chemical based products that are increasingly being taken off the market amid growing concerns about harmful and unhealthy residues in our food.

Consider all this and the continued destruction of the rainforests in places like the Amazon basin and in Indonesia seems like sheer lunacy.

But there are so many tree-based products that we take for granted and can’t imagine living without – from building materials, furniture, paper, palm oil or the fruits and seeds thay produce.

While there are many organisations battling to protect the world’s fast-diminishing rainforests, and across Europe paper is now largely sourced from sustainable forests, there are equally powerful interests, like mining, logging, oil and gas companies whose activities are important to the Peruvian economy, resulting in attempts by the Government to expel the catholic missionary Paul McAuley, who campaigns on behalf of the Amazon Forest’s indigenous people and their local environment.

In Indonesia it’s the huge profits to be made from forest plantations for palm oil and paper that are threatening the rainforests.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. In Africa there is evidence that a particular tree can increase maize yield as well as having an impact on climate change.

The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), recently highlighted some of its recent research, designed to increase maize production in Africa by up to four times by planting trees that act as organic fertilizers.

The tree that is the secret to higher maize yield, Faidherbia, has special nitrogen-fixing property and an unusual habit known a “reverse leaf phrenology”. Unlike other trees, Faidherbia sheds its leaves and goes dormant during the early rainy season.

Its leaves grow again only in the dry season, which makes it compatible with food crops because it does not compete with them for water, nutrients or light.

According to the Agroforestry Centre, Malawian farmers in Malawi say it is like “fertilizer factory in the field”, as it takes nitrogen from the air, fixes it in the leaves and subsequently incorporates it into the soil. In places where tree canopies were established maize yields increased by 280 per cent when compared with the zone outside the canopy.

In Zambia, too, unfertilized maize yields in the vicinity of Faidherbia trees averaged 4.1 tonnes per hectare, compared to 1.3 tonnes nearby but beyond the tree canopy. Plainly there’s more to trees than most of us imagine.

These renewable energy sources have demonstrated to be of great aid in cutting down the amount of toxins, which are by-products of the consumption of energy. These sources also preserve most of the natural resources that people use as resources of energy. For example, after a solar panel converts the sun’s rays into energy, the sun will still shine for someone else to use. What are the most popular sources of renewable energy? Here’s a list to give you some basic information:

1. Solar Energy – Harnessing the sun’s powerful energy is definitely not something new. Capturing the radiant light and heat from the sun has been practiced since ancient times. Since the rapid evolution of technology, we are now able to trap the sun’s rays into solar cells. Since the 1950′s solar cell technology has been advancing and has come quite a long way. The process turns the heat coming from the sun into electricity. Photovoltaic cells mounted on rooftops are used to heat water using the sun’s rays. The water goes into a storage tank where the power is stored, ready for use. But you don’t need all these scientific processes to be able to benefit from solar power. All you really have to do is open the windows and blinds on a nice sunny day to let the sunshine in.

To date, the main disadvantage of using this source is that it is limited. You cannot use it obviously on nighttime and during days when it is raining or even on cloudy days. This has been acted upon through solar power stations. But these are too expensive so there aren’t too many of these stations around the globe.

2. Wind Energy – Another ancient source of power, wind energy has been harnessed by sailors, farmers and architects for many years, even documented as far back as 5,000 years ago. The energy coming from the wind supercharges the blades of the wind turbines. As this happens, electricity is produced through the use of an electrical generator. In the old days, windmills were created so that mechanical machinery could perform physical labor. This includes the pumping of water and crushing of grains that were essential in planting and farming.

Now there are large scale wind farms that produce electrical currents. The end products are then distributed to national electrical grids and small turbines owned by individuals to distribute electricity to far flung areas and homes. There are many advantages of this kind of power. The main one, of course, is that this doesn’t produce any by-products that can be harmful to the environment. And we will never run out of this source of renewable energy. One of the main disadvantages of wind power is that it’s never a constant speed or direction, so wind turbines have to be able to move with the direction of the wind.

3. Geothermal – Geothermal energy is energy obtained by tapping heat from the earth itself. Holes are drilled in certain regions, and the magma and radioactive decay that can be found underneath produce steam. This steam is purified and used to drive turbines. These turbines then become the power source for electric generators.

The downside to geothermal energy is the fact that it is expensive to build, and to ensure that no harmful by-products are going to be produced in the process, geothermal plants must be created accordingly. On the other hand, because the earth’s crust continuously decays replenishing the heat, it is still a renewable source of energy.

4. Hydroelectricity – The use of hydroelectric power or even hydroelectricity dates back to Ancient Greece and China where they installed waterwheels in rapidly flowing rivers to turn millstones and other equipment. Hydroelectric plants today still use the same basic principles as the historical waterwheel, but with some variations. The difference is that we use the force of the water to push the turbine which in turn powers a generator thus generating electricity. The idea here is to make use of the kinetic energy of water. To make sure that there is a steady flow of power being produced, a dam has to be built to retain the water. If there is a need for more power, the gates of the dam are opened so water can be released.

There are issues with the use of hydroelectricity. Some claim that it poses a problem for fish and aquatic plants on both sides of the dam. Because the flow of water has been altered, the nutrient rich silt which helps crops grow could be affected.

5. Bio-Fuels – Bio-fuels are also a green energy source. They have been around for a very long time however just lately, people are beginning to take notice.During photosynthesis, plants grow and produce biomass. Also known as bio matter, biomass can be used directly as fuel or to produce bio-fuels. Agriculturally produced biomass fuels, such as bio-diesel, ethanol can be burned in internal combustion engines or boilers. Typically bio-fuel is burned to release its stored chemical energy. Liquid bio-fuel which is the one used in cars is a natural and renewable domestic fuel that can only be used for diesel engines. This can be made from vegetable oils mostly soy and corn. In fact diesel engines were originally created to run on vegetable oil! The nice thing about bio-fuels is that they contains no petroleum, and they are nontoxic and biodegradable.