Greener Love

For those of you dashing out today for some last-minute Valentines shopping, take a look at The Guardian’s guide to making those roses and chocolates a bit greener.

Don’t worry, you don't have to do a zero-carbon option of serenading from a balcony instead of giving a card.

The Guide will have you buying your card from M&S’ FSC-certified range, indulging in some Booja Booja organic chocolates, and heading out for a romantic meal at sustainable restaurant The Zetter. This is full blown direction to greener loving.

Oxfam 100% giving

Oxfam have just launched a new concept called 100% giving that involves companies paying the charity running costs so 100% of money donated goes to the cause.

www.oxfam.org.uk/giving

I've seen the Oxfam pitch and it's positioned as the biggest innovation in corporate giving for well...a long while. Their vision is that they lead it but that other charities and corporates adopt it.

The idea came from detailed consumer research about obstacles to giving and apparently one of the biggest ones is that people think most of their money goes to admin / marketing etc rather than to help those in need.

It's a clever concept but is it opening a can of worms and presenting a challenge for non-100% giving in the future?

Livewell

The WWF has come out with a 'Livewell diet' deemed to be cheap, nutritious and good for the planet.

It's actually not that much of a shift from what we eat now, less meat and more complex carbs but interestingly the same amount of dairy and an emphasis on white bread. There's no booze in there either so no comments on the environmental impact of vineyards...

Plus at £29 / head for food only I'm not sure whether low income families would manage it financially.

Better world, or better communication?

Top marks go to some eye catching load of rubbish, this year. Nike has launched its Better World Website: an edgy, tell-it-how-it-is communication platform that’s set the blogosphere alight and converted some old foes to friends.

Nike says it’s all about making the world better through sport. “Trees should be hugging us”, Nike hollers. Scrolling through the sections – and you really can’t help but scroll on and on – takes you on a journey from a bolshie video describing Nike’s commitment to a better world, through recycled polyester football shirts, and ending with news of Nike sharing the technology behind its “environmentally preferred rubber”.

Is creating football shirts from recycled material as impressive as, say, committing to 100% sustainably sourced materials and halving waste by 2020? (Well done, Unilever.) Probably not. But Nike is certainly mastering the art of communicating what it is doing. The magic of the site makes you read it all. This is a new and exciting level of sustainability communication.

The pitfalls of mining

Fuelled by UK Coal’s plan to open a mine in Measham, the small town where my Dad lives, Dad has made himself a world expert on open cast mines.

And he’s done pretty well. Through MOPG (the protest group he’s spearheading) he’s written three reports on the mining industry, been interviewed on 5 Live and featured on Countryfile. But it’s his latest campaign that has the potential to have the biggest impact.

Through close collaboration with MOPG, a Leicestershire MP has tabled a private members' bill to propose 500-metre buffer zones around mine sites, meaning coal can't be quarried within close distance of people’s homes. This would align England with Wales and Scotland, where the negative community and environmental impact was formally recognised years ago.

The bill gets its second reading on the 11^th of February. Good luck Dad!

Giving the gym a purpose for 2011

It is about this time of year that many of us look in the mirror and wonder if we should have eaten that extra mince pie or allowed ourselves that second helping on turkey. The reaction for some is then to sign-up to the gym, go for the first month, and then end up paying for something we don't even use.

The problem I have always had with the gym (and I have signed up for a few in my time) is that other than the obvious health benefits it lacks any purpose. You are running on a running machine, but not going anywhere. You are rowing on a rowing machine, but all the energy you are expending is powering nothing. It all lacks purpose and, for me, I really need a clear purpose to get motivated.

For many, even going for a run outside can be a challenge as there little purpose (other than getting fit). Whereas if you are playing a sport, you usually playing to win - there is a clear purpose.

This is where the Good Gym may have hit on a winner. It basically encourages people to exercise, but while they are doing it they do something good. For example when you go for a run, you run to a less mobile isolate person in the local area deliver something nice, have a chat and then you are on your way again.

Could this be the perfect combination of the end of the season of good will and a new year's resolutions to get fit?

Missed the e-bulletin?

Not wanting to look back so early on in 2011, however, just in case you missed it in the flurry of snow and festive good will - here is the link to our latest e-bulletin. You can check out all our previous e-bulletins here.