No.2/Dec ‘10AN INDEPENDENT PAPER FROM MEDIAPLANET

PHOTO: BEBOY

LIVE ETHICALLY In our hands: How small changes to your life can make a world of diff erence

GUIDEYOUR

COMPREHENSIVE

RESPONSIBLE CHOICES

House proud? Cut carbon emissions - and your bills

Fighting causes The celebrity working towards change

SILK STUDIOSTOCKLITE

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only will you reduce heat loss but you could also save £110* per year on your energy bills!

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*December 2010 on www.energysavingtrust.org.ukRef: KA162510

FULL CAVITIES STOP YOU EATING ENERGYDid you know that a third* of the heat in your home escapes through empty cavities in your walls?

AN ADVERTISING INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET2 · DECEMBER 2010

The choices for a sustainable future

The way we live our lives has a huge impact on the well-being of the planet. Which is why we need to ensure that the choices we make as consumers are responsible, ethical and sustainable

There may not be much to cheer about at this financial-ly precarious time; but here’s

one glimmer of light. We are, at last, living in a socially conscious era when more and more people real-ise that the choices we make as a so-ciety have an impact on our planet as a whole. These same people know that tiny changes to our lifestyles can make an important, positive difference to the world’s knife-edge ecological balance.

Viable option

1This means being more care-ful about the way we heat and

power our homes. Good insulation, the application of water-saving ide-as and the use of eco-friendly light-ing, for example, saves us money while reducing our carbon foot-print. And incentives introduced by the Government in April – aka Feed in Tariffs — have finally made alter-

native sources of energy, such as so-lar, a viable option.

It also means making responsi-ble choices with our money. Rath-er than investing in large carbon-belching businesses, we can choose instead to invest in companies which are big on corporate social re-sponsibility and operate ethical and sustainable policies.

Even when we go shopping we are faced with a choice. Mary Stu-art Masterson – the actress famous for her roles in Fried Green Toma-toes and Benny & Joon – is a board

member of the Rainforest Alliance, the worldwide environmental organisation.

Sustainable future

2“Every time you buy coffee, chocolate, bananas, wood or

paper, you become the last link in a global chain,” she says. “That chain connects you to millions of people who produce what you buy, work-ing on billions of acres of sensitive farm and forest land around the world.

“Your purchase decisions can drive the ecological destruction of that land and the exploitation of those people; or it can drive refor-estation, habitat protection, and sustainable and empowering liveli-hoods for millions.”

This supplement highlights some of the choices we have to make for a more sustainable future — and a better world.

Mary Stuart Masterson: Actress and member of the Rainforest Alliance

“The sustainable market is currently worth around five trillion Euro”

Sustainable investmentsHow your looking after your nest egg can have a positive effect on the environmentPAGE 6

RESPONSIBLE CHOICES, 2ND EDITION, DECEMBER 2010

Country Manager: Willem De GeerEditorial Manager: Katherine WoodleyBusiness Developer: Christopher EmbersonDesign: Danielle Stagg

Responsible for this issueProject Manager: Vicky BrucePhone: 0207 6654406E-mail: vicky.bruce@mediaplanet.com

Distributed with: The Guardian, December 2010Print: Trafford Park Printers

Mediaplanet contact information: Phone: 0207 6654400Fax: 0207 6654419E-mail: info.uk@mediaplanet.com

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AN ADVERTISING INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET4 · DECEMBER 2010

Question: Can home energy-efficiency measures really decrease fuel bills?Answer: Yes. Small changes can make a big difference – and have a positive impact on the planet, as well as your pocket

When the bad times bite, it’s impor-tant to squirrel away cash where you can.

Fortunately, notes Sarah Compo of the Energy Saving Trust, if you save energy on your fuel bills you’ll also be helping to save the planet. “It’s a win-win situa-tion,” she says. And easy to do.

Firstly, it’s never to late to insulate. If your house is leaking heat, your bills will be going up – as will your carbon use.

“Home insulation is the single most ef-fective method of saving money on do-mestic energy bills,” says Neil Marshall, Chief Executive of the National Insula-tion Association (NIA). “You typically cut around £265 per year by simply insulating your loft and cavity walls. For those with solid walls, the savings are even greater.”

High efficiencyIf your boiler is 15 years old or more, says Sarah Compo, you should

think about replacing it with a high efficiency condensing model. This will cut your home’s carbon dioxide emis-sions and could save as much as £225 a year. “Use the heat sensibly,” says Sarah. “By turning your thermostat down one degree, it can make you an estimated saving of over £50 a year.”

Think water, too. If you keep the tap on when you clean your teeth, you’re also letting money run down the drain. And when you shower, make it quick – and buy a water-efficient shower head.

As far as lighting is concerned, buy low-energy bulbs which are now far more technologically advanced. The old incandescent 100W and 75W bulbs have already been phased out across Europe - and 60W, 40W and 25W bulbs will follow. At the same time, a grow-ing number of CFL (compact fluores-cent lights) and LED bulbs will be com-ing on to the market.

It pays to PVPlus, thanks to the Feed in Tariffs intro-duced in April, it pays to consider alter-native energy sources, such as solar pho-tovoltaic (PV) technology. Feed in Tariffs are payments made by energy suppli-ers to householders who generate their own electricity from renewable or low-carbon sources.

“Using predominantly new renewa-ble energy techniques such as solar and photovoltaic roof panels, as well as some wind turbines, government-backed measures have made installation very worthwhile indeed,” says Andrew Leech, executive director of the National Home Improvement Council (NHIC).

“Now a homeowner with one of these systems installed, plus a special meter, can earn a fixed income for every extra kilowatt of electricity generated.”

Energy saving:a win-win situation

TONY GREENWAY

info.uk@mediaplanet.com

CHANGE

“Home insulation is the single most effective method of saving money on domestic energy bills”Neil Marshall National Insulation Association

INSPIRATION

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AN ADVERTISING INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET DECEMBER 2010 · 5

SMALL CHANGESEnergy saving lightbulbs are one of the many effective ways to cut down on bills and lower carbon emissionsPHOTO: STOCKLITE

Solid wall insulation

1Uninsulated walls are let-ting more than 40 per cent

of your home’s energy escape. Installing solid wall insulation can produce savings of around £375 a year on heating bills and reduce emissions by around two tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year.

Cavity wall insulation

2By installing Cavity Wall in-sulation, savings of around

£115 a year on heating bills can be made, reducing emissions by around 610kg of CO2 each year.

Loft insulation

3Loft insulation can make savings of around £150 a

year on heating bills and reduce emissions by around 800kg of CO2 each year.

Draft-free

4By installing draught proof-ing around doors and win-

dows, savings of around £25 a year can be achieved on heating bills, reducing emissions by around 130kg of CO2 each year. Whatever the insulation, install-ing adequate measures will re-sult in a warmer home, reduce bills and save carbon.

NEIL MARSHALL’S BEST TIPS

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YOUR HOME IS A POWER STATION...TURN IT ON TODAY!

Install solar panels today and the clean energy cash-back scheme means you can start getting your money back from day one! All you have to do is sit back, relax and let the savings begin!

Don’t just take our word for it “A 2.2 kWp system can generate around 40% of a household’s yearly electricity needs. If the system is eli-gible to receive the Feed In Tariff it could generate savings and income of around £900 per year.” (source Energy Savings Trust)

Contact Joju Ltd today on 0207 697 1000 or visit us at www.joju.co.uk for a free consultation/quote (GJAN2011)

AN ADVERTISING INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET6 · DECEMBER 2010

The rise and rise of sustainable investing

LOOKING FORWARDThere are a multitude of ways to invest ones money, but some can make a real difference.PHOTO: MAX TOPCHII

Perhaps it’s because of the bank-ing crisis, or perhaps we’re simply more aware of sustainable and ethi-cal issues these days. Whatever the cause, short-term, fast buck invest-ment isn’t the only game in town anymore. Putting your money in-to socially conscious companies or causes (you can call it sustainable, ethical or responsible investing) is on the rise.

David Harris, Director of Respon-sible Investment at FTSE Group, points to a recent report from the European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif) as evidence.

Better understanding“Eurosif is a trade association for sustainable and responsible in-vestment around Europe,” he says. “It estimates that the sustainable market is currently worth around fi ve trillion Euros; whereas, back

in 2005, it was valued at around one trillion. I think those fi gures speak for themselves.”

There is, says David, a better un-derstanding of sustainable invest-ment now. “Previously, the old-school approach meant not putting your money into companies which traded in, for example, tobacco or weapons,” he says. “But now people have a far greater understanding of the diff erent options available. Po-

tential investors take a nuanced ap-proach, assessing companies across a huge range of sectors and decid-ing which ones are behaving more responsibly than their peers.”

Becoming mainstreamThese days, investors look at how a company is managing its environ-mental performance, labour rights, retention rates and staff morale, for instance. These are all measures which can point to a company’s long-term prospects – and, possibly, an attractive rate of return.

As such, the future for sustain-able investments seems assured. “Part of it will become very main-stream,” says David. “Actually, that’s already started to happen because there are an increasing number of pension funds and high net worth individuals looking at how they can invest sustainably.

“I think we’ll even stop referring to it as ‘sustainable investing’, sim-ply because it’ll be what everybody does. It’ll become part of the normal investment approach.”

TONY GREENWAY

info.uk@mediaplanet.com

A study from Eurosif shows that the European sustainable and responsible investment market has doubled since 2008

It increased from 2.7 trillion Euros to 5 trillion Euros, as of December 31, 2009 - in spite of the financial crisis

This represents a growth of about 87% since the data was previously collected

FACTS

David HarrisDirector of Responsible Investment at FTSE Group

NEWS

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Question: Is investing with a socially conscious attitude a viable way to make a decent rate of return?

Answer: Increasingly so. In fact, the sustainable investment market is more popular than ever

Is investing in timber popular?

Yes. Historically, timber in-vestments have only been

available to banks & large invest-ment funds, investing billions per annum in this valuable commod-ity. Timber investments are now widely available, either directly or via a personal pension.

Will demand for wood keep rising?

Yes. With the rapid develop-ment of China & India, com-

bined with historical global de-mand, the trend for timber con-sumption is rising dramatically. The current annual demand for tropical hardwoods is equivalent to fi lling New York’s Empire State Building more than seven times per month. China is planning to build up to 50,000 skyscrapers and 20 new mega cities the size of New York to house the projected population explosion from 572m to 1 billion by 2025, consuming all of the world’s timber supplies at current levels. This why investing in sustainable timber has never been so important. It’s basic eco-nomics; demand is rising dra-matically, supply is dwindling.

Can you make a decent rate of return?

There is no trade-off be-tween investing sustaina-

bly and making a decent rate of return. Forestry investors get high returns, stability, steady growth and an environmentally sound product.

QUESTION & ANSWER

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