The Amazing Ashden Awards

I recently went to the annual Ashden Awards which reward local sustainable energy projects in the UK and across the developing world. The winners really illustrate the positive impacts that good, clean energy can have to both the environment and to people’s lives.

A UK project that stood out for me is run by the Sustainable Energy Academy in Milton Keynes. Winner of the charity award, the project aims to show policy makers and individuals that high energy savings can be made, even in hard-to-treat houses. ‘Superhomes’ have been set up to showcase the measures that can be taken and these are open to visitors to come and have a look. Each ‘Superhome’ has made carbon savings of around 70% and is inspiring others to take similar actions.

This project encompasses several elements of achieving successful behaviour change. Because people can view energy efficient improvements for themselves, they are able to visualise making these improvements in their own homes with little hassle (as well as how much money they will save on their energy bills). Through the Energy Agency, the ‘Superhome’ owners are able to pass on their sustainable energy knowledge to others and this has a positive effect in encouraging people to make similar changes. Hopefully the award will help the project to expand so that many more people are within easy reach of a ‘Superhome’.

The international project that most caught my attention is a partnership between the Aprovecho Research Center in the USA and Shengzhou Stove Manufacturer in China. Around 2 billion people in the world cook on traditional stoves and open fires. The smoke from these causes huge health problems and contributes to climate change. This project has developed a cheap, robust and efficient stove for mass production. These stoves save up to 50% of fuelwood and up to 70% of emissions. The award will help to increase production of these stoves, leading to both environmental improvements and improvements in the health of millions of people.

All the winning Ashden Awards projects are inspirational. They emphasise the power of local projects and education in influencing a shift towards more sustainable energy usage across the world. They also serve as a reminder of the impact and importance of simple measures in combating global climate change.

What do you do if Paul McCartney steals your thunder?

What do you do if you’ve spent over a year planning a campaign, you’ve got the web site, the supporters, the content – everything is in place and you’re ready to launch, and then 2 weeks before D Day Paul McCartney appears on TV with a carbon copy of your campaign?

That’s exactly what has happened to me!

I’ve been planning the “Meat Free Days” campaign for the last 12 months and was ready to launch on 1st July. The aim of the campaign is to encourage Londoners to have one meat free day a week as a way of reducing their carbon footprint and contributing to a more sustainable city.

But on Monday 15th June Paul McCartney launched his Meat Free Mondays campaign – with exactly the same aim:

It’s one of those weird situations where you are both pleased and fed up at the same time. I am thrilled that someone with the profile of Sir Paul is supporting the idea of having a meat free day, as the more people that pledge to eat a little less meat each week the better. On the other hand I can’t help but feel a bit deflated that a year’s worth a work has to be binned and someone else got there before me!

I had put the campaign together as part of my role as a London Leader in Sustainability. All London Leaders are appointed by the Sustainable Development Commission and approved by the Mayor’s Office. The aim is to give sustainability a human face and inspire people to take action in their own lives.

At the end of the day I want to see more people choosing meat free meals so I can’t be angry that Sir Paul had the same idea – we’re both striving for the same goal. I certainly support the campaign and we’ll be featuring more meat free ideas on Passion for the Planet in the coming months.

The question still remains though – what do I do next, now that Paul McCartney has stolen my thunder?!?