SPROUT POWER, giving up fizzy pop, protesting tip fees and COP21
Sprout power
British households’ consume over 25 million Christmas puddings and 370 million mince pies over the festive period. But this festive over indulgence creates around 230,000 tonnes of additional food waste, the equivalent weight of 38 million turkeys, most of which ends up rotting in landfill.
To encourage people to waste less, Tamar Energy have produced a Season’s Eating infographic to highlight Christmas waste and show consumers ways to reduce it. They’re also inviting people to share their best leftover recipes on social media, using the hashtag #SeasonsEatings.
21 days without fizzy drinks
Sugar has remained in the news – with 12-13 year olds from Blackpool taking the GULP (Give Up Loving Pop) challenge. This involves giving up fizzy drinks for 21 days – the time it takes to break a habit. 80% of the kids completed the challenge, and with 36g of sugar in one popular cola, each saved around 756g of sugar during the challenge. Let’s hope it will make a long-term difference and help the children make healthier choices next time they fancy a fizzy drink.
Waive tip fees or be shamed
Today (Friday) is the second day of a Unite Fair Tips protest outside STK, the American steakhouse in the ME Hotel Aldwych, London. Protesters are urging management to join Pizza Express and the Giraffe chain by scrapping the six per cent admin fee it takes from tips paid on a card. Unites’ Fair Tips protest, which targeted Pizza Express, has been credited with forcing many of the UK’s most popular restaurant chains to drop the unfair practice of pocketing a percentage of staff tips as a so-called administration fee.
COP21 – almost one week on
AFTER THE euphoria, the COP21 backlash is in full flow. Critics, including the “godfather of global warming” James Hansen, have been lambasting the fact that emission reduction targets are voluntary without any legally binding caps or oversight. Fossil fuel bodies have been trying into deflect its impact on the industry. Meanwhile, many campaigners remain frustrated that agricultural and food related emissions were not given more of a focus.
Yet with major, and previously obstructive, emitters such as China and the US supporting the deal, there is still much to celebrate. With high profile figures such as Jim Yong Kim at the World Bank describing the deal as a “game-changer”, its seems likely that, despite the naysayers, change is coming. From more powerful carbon markets putting pressure on businesses to reduce emissions and tackle issues like waste, those who are part of the COP21-driven transformation to a low carbon economy will be the ones who reap the rewards.
