Boston’s green festival will begin at Boston City Hall Plaza with a Kick-Off Concert on Thursday, August 19, from 5-10 pm and will continue all day long, Friday-Saturday, August 20-21, from 10 am-10 pm. It is an event that will have something for everybody, young and old.

All of the neighborhoods will come together from across Greater Boston to work on solutions to make the city a healthy sustainable place to live. People from all over New England will be welcome to join. Boston GreenFest 2010 brings many opportunities to the heart of the city to learn about green products, services, ideas, networks, and jobs.

There will be interactive exhibits, workshops, presentations, and special features: continuous live entertainment on three stages, Time Tunnel, Eco-Runway (green fashion shows), GreenFilmFest for children and adults, eco-games, One Gallon Challenge – a “race” starting at 11 am on Thursday, August 19th from Greenfield to GreenFest for cars that can drive 110 miles on 1 gallon of gas and arrive at City Hall throughout the afternoon to be on hand during the entire festival, lots of great kids’ activities including puppet shows and yo-yo shows, great food, and much more.

Find out how to save money and make your home efficient. Buy local fresh and organic fruits and vegetables. Explore interesting vendors of unique crafts and products. Check out new clean technologies and green inventions. Be amazed at how we can begin to make a difference with small changes to our own lives and how we can build on these changes with our neighbors. Let’s learn and celebrate together!

A great way to cut down on carbon emissions when discovering this fascinating city and getting around the festival is to walk.

Photowalks has generously offered to sponsor numerous walking tours of 15 minutes each walking in different directions. One tour will mount to the State House, another may head in the direction of the Greenway and the North End. Take a historic walking tour with Saba and snap lots of photos along the way.

What a refreshing way to spend the weekend!

For more information, visit Boston GreenFest 2010.

Source: Boston GreenFest

Samantha Minogue

Editorial Director

Jon Dee, Founder of Planet Ark will be the keynote speaker followed by a schedule of presenters who offer first-hand accounts of how they implemented change and the strategies adopted to position their organisations for growth in a carbon-constrained economy.

Destino is the perfect opportunity to better understand the difference between being green, and being sustainable to an internationally recognised standard.

The schedule of speakers includes presentations from those at the forefront of a paradigm shift that is steadily changing how each industry, sector of government and community goes about their everyday business. They are not scientists, sales people or venture capitalists. They are engineers, general managers, operations managers and auditors; people who are responsible for implementing change and strategising the best ways to position their organisations for growth in a carbon-constrained economy.

Jon Dee, who is also the Founder & Chairman of Do Something and current NSW Australian of the Year is sure to deliver a rousing speech. Some of Jon’s initiatives have become role models for international change. He initiated the successful lobbying campaign for Australia’s three year phase-out of incandescent light globes; an initiative that has been adopted by other countries. Jon has also spearheaded the highly successful media campaign to phase-out the use of plastic shopping bags in Australia.

Sponsored by global giant Ecolab, Tourism Victoria and Destination Melbourne, Destino Australia includes a series of mock audits that provide a unique opportunity to peek behind the scenes of some of the world’s leading businesses, exchange ideas and assess the advantages and disadvantages of sustainable operational practices.

Day Two of the event sees a limited number of delegates visit a selection of Melbourne businesses that have been operating in a sustainable manner for a number of years.

In the afternoon, delegates can join a famil to Geelong Otway to see how local businesses are lessening their environmental footprints and enjoy one of Victoria’s most beautiful regions along the way.

EC3 Global is also holding an Environmental Assessment Training Workshop at the Crowne Plaza in the afternoon of the 20th for those who seek to come away with a valuable new skill set. Although this is at an additional cost, the extra $150 is unlikely to damage the hip pocket of any attendee and those lucky 15 who do take the course will come away with a certificate of achievement.

Destino Australia is likely to be a dynamic forum that will help delegates better understand the difference between being “green” or “eco” and being sustainable to an internationally recognised, verifiable standard.

To secure your place, simply fax a completed Registration Form to EC3 Global today.

As with other Destino events held overseas, Destino Australia’s Program offers first-hand accounts from tourism market leaders who are taking a hands-on approach to managing their environmental footprint and increasing efficiencies to help fatten profit margins.

Source: Earth Check

Samantha Minogue

Editorial Director

This morning at 06h45, the Solar Impulse Mission Team had to take the difficult decision to postpone the first night flight attempt.

The problem comes from the telemetry transmitter that has broken down. This system enables the ground team to follow in real time the flight mission and to monitor thousands of crucial parameters. With a prototype such as Solar Impulse currently in an experimental phase, this system is an essential component without which, the mission was not possible.

Due to this inoperative piece of equipment produced specifically for this prototype, they were unfortunately unable to replace it and subsequently had to postpone this first attempt.

The entire team is of course intensively working to find a solution, however at this particular time they are unable to announce another date for the next trial.

“The pilot and the aircraft’s security comes first!” explained Claude Nicollier, Head of Flight Testing of Solar Impulse. “Without this communication system, the mission becomes too risky.”

“Let’s not forget that this is an experimental project and these types of difficulties are inherent in this adventure.” reminds André Borschberg, CEO and Co-founder of Solar Impulse. “Every piece of the plane is optimized and we are continuously seeking the limits of the technology. This regrettable decision will serve as an important experience.”

“I succeeded the first nonstop around the world tour in an air balloon only after the third try! Patience and perseverance are essential values in this type of project” declares Bertrand Piccard, Chairman and Initiator of Solar Impulse.

A new attempt will be foreseen as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Solar Impulse blog will be regularly updated with information on next steps and developments.

Two men, both pioneers and innovators, both pilots, are the driving force behind Solar Impulse. Bertrand Piccard, psychatrist and aeronaut, who made the first non-stop round-the-world balloon flight, is the initiator and chairman. André Borschberg, an engineer and graduate in management science, a fighter pilot and a professional airplane and helicopter pilot, is the CEO. The former’s avant-gardist vision and the latter’s entrepreneurial and managerial experience are an ideal combination.

Watch this space to find out when the solar powered flight around the world will take place. For further information regarding solar powered flight have a look at Solar Powered Plane

Source: Solar Impulse

Samantha Minogue

Editorial Director

As keen green travelers, it is great to know that even your coffee can be green. I would like to shed some light on this fantastic company and share some of their innovative green initiatives.

Starbucks believes that “businesses can – and should – have a positive impact on the communities they serve.”

Since Starbucks opened their first store in 1971, they have dedicated themselves to earning the trust and respect of their customers, partners and neighbors. How? By being responsible in the following areas:

Community

As good neighbors they get involved with local efforts to bring people together and create positive change whenever they can.

Environment

They’re finding ways to minimize their environmental footprint, tackle climate change, and inspire others to do the same.

Ethical Sourcing

Starbucks Coffee Company is committed to buying and serving the highest-quality, responsibly grown, ethically traded coffee to help create a better future for farmers.

Wellness

Their dedication to wellness means supporting policies and efforts to improve the health of our communities in addition to offering balanced food and beverage options to their customers.

Diversity

By welcoming a diversity of people and ideas to their business, they create more opportunities for learning and success that benefit customers, partners (employees) and suppliers.

The innovative green coffee company offers others the choice to make a difference as well. They have many green projects on the go including a massive recycling movement.

“Join the movement. Bring a reusable travel mug and get a 10 cent discount on any Starbucks beverage, anytime.”

“One person can save trees, together we can save forests.”

For the good of the planet, Starbucks is encouraging everyone to switch from paper cups to reusable travel mugs. One day in March thousands of New Yorkers made the switch. Join them now by taking a pledge to do the same.

Starbucks passion for reducing cup waste did not start with the Green Project. Since 1985, they have offered a discount to customers who bring in a reusable travel mug and will continue doing so. This is just one of the ways they are fulfilling their commitment to environmental stewardship while they work towards a long-term goal of 100% reusable or recyclable cups by 2015. To learn more, visit their Starbucks Shared Planet goals and progress.

One of the significant challenges Starbucks is facing is a wide variance in municipal recycling capabilities. This inconsistency makes it difficult for a company like theirs, with more than 16,000 retail locations around the globe, to efficiently and effectively implement a recycling strategy. In order to achieve greater scalability and standardization, they set a goal in 2008 to develop a comprehensive recyclable cup solution by 2012. Ultimately, they would like their paper and plastic cups – which in the U.S. account for approximately 95 percent of their in-store beverage packaging – to be universally recyclable in form and in practice.

When Starbucks initially delved into this issue, they believed making their cups from alternative materials was the key to broader acceptance into the recycling stream. In May 2009 they hosted a cup summit, convening local municipalities, raw materials suppliers, cup manufacturers, retail and beverage partners, recyclers, NGOs, and academic experts for the first time. Employing systems thinking, a problem-solving approach that analyzes how the various segments of a structure are interconnected, they addressed recycling challenges with a view of the entire value chain.

This dialogue revealed a fundamental need to improve recycling infrastructures while continuing to explore materials and design. The result has been enhanced collaboration and meaningful action, including innovative testing. One such example is a pilot program sponsored by Global Green USA’s Coalition for Resource Recovery to test the recyclability of their paper cups with old corrugated cardboard, the most extensively recycled material in the U.S.

In 2009 approximately 70 percent (2,163) of their company-owned stores in North America that control their own waste collection recycled items made from one or more materials; however, these were typically back-of-store items that are widely accepted for recycling, such as cardboard boxes. Among remaining retail locations in North America, the majority were limited by operational impasses, such as minimal store space or lack of commercial recycling services.

Although many of Starbucks customers order their beverages “to go,” front-of-store recycling is an important part of their effort to develop a comprehensive recyclable cup solution. In 2008 we set a goal to implement front-of-store recycling in all company-owned stores by 2015. While they made only slight progress toward this target in 2009, with bins present in roughly 5 percent (399) of their company-owned stores in North America, they believe they’re taking the right steps to drive change in the near term.

The use of post-consumer recycled fiber (PCF) in their cups and other packaging also continues to be a priority for them, as it has been since 2006 when they launched the industry’s first paper beverage cup containing PCF. Over time, this effort has enabled them to conserve more than 60,000 tons of virgin wood fiber, the equivalent of more than 422,000 trees.

In addition, Starbucks is asking its partners (employees) and customers to join forces with them. Their goal is to serve 25 percent of the beverages made in their stores in reusable serveware or tumblers by 2015. In 2009 customers brought their own tumblers into stores more than 26 million times. Although serveware and tumbler use accounted for only 1.5 percent of total beverages served last year, this simple shift in behavior kept nearly 1.2 million pounds of paper out of landfills. One of the ways they’re rewarding customers for tumbler use is by offering a beverage discount, as they’ve done since 1985. They’re looking forward to increasing serveware and tumbler use in the future.

So when you are out and about and need a little pick-me-up, Starbucks will aid your green journey. You can rest assure that Starbucks is actively facing and combating their carbon emissions and continuously finding new and innovative ways to preserve our planet. Help Starbucks’ mission to reuse and recycle by filling up on coffee with your reusable container.

Source: Starbucks Coffee Company

the European Union (EU) publishes an annual report on the quality of coastal and freshwater bathing areas, as reported by EU Member States. Since 2009 the European Environment Agency (EEA) and its European Topic Centre on Water have prepared the report in cooperation with the European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment.

Each year millions of Europeans spend their weekends at their local beach or visit Europe’s hugely diverse and beautiful beaches and bathing areas. Naturally, they have a keen interest in the quality of the bathing waters. The European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission are therefore pleased to present this year’s bathing water report, which will help Europeans make informed choices about the bathing sites they visit. The report assesses bathing water quality in all 27 EU Member States in 2009, thereby also indicating where the best quality bathing is likely to be found this year.

The overall message in the report is that in 2009, 95.6 % of Europe’s coastal bathing waters and 89.4 % of inland bathing waters met the minimum water quality standards set by the European Bathing Water Directive. This is consistent with the pattern of the last decade when bathing water quality in Europe has largely remained high. Between 2008 and 2009 there was a slight deterioration in the number of bathing waters meeting minimum standards, with reductions of 0.7 % for coastal sites and 2.6 % for inland bathing waters. While such fluctuations are not unusual by the standards of recent years, they remind us of the need for continuing efforts to ensure that the quality of bathing waters is constantly maintained and improved.

This report also illustrates how you as an interested citizen can access more information about bathing waters than ever before. In addition to the annual bathing water report, online tools now let you access data for a selected country or region and make comparisons with previous years. Geospatial mapping programs also allow users to visualise data in new ways. Such tools help respond to the demand for reliable local information, which has grown rapidly in recent years.

Citizens also share a sincere interest in the quality of the marine environment and inland waters more generally. Efforts to improve the quality of bathing waters should therefore not be seen in isolation but in the context of the good ecological and environmental status we aim for in implementing the Water and Marine Framework Directives.

The European Environment Agency would like to encourage readers to make full use of all the information sources presented in the publication. They also encourage you to get more actively involved in protecting the environment and helping to improve Europe’s bathing areas.

The first European bathing water legislation, the ‘Bathing Water Directive’ (2) was adopted in 1975 and came into force in 1976. Its main objectives are to safeguard public health and protect the aquatic environment in coastal and inland areas from pollution.

New European legislation on bathing water was adopted in 2006 (3). The ‘New Bathing Water Directive’ updates the measures of the 1975 legislation and simplifies its management and surveillance methods. It also provides for a more proactive approach to informing the public on water quality and creates four quality categories for bathing waters — ‘poor’, ‘sufficient’, ‘good’ and ‘excellent’. The classification of bathing water quality is determined on the basis of a three- or four-year trend instead of a single year’s result, as was the case for the Bathing Water Directive. Therefore, the procedure for assessing quality classes of bathing waters under the New Bathing Water Directive gives more reliable and realistic results than the assessment under the Bathing Water Directive.

The classification under the New Bathing Water Directive is also less susceptible to bad weather or one-off incidents. Heavy rain or similar exceptional situations may cause pollution problems for a few days. In such situations authorities have to introduce immediate measures to lower health risk to bathers.

The New Bathing Water Directive is based on scientific knowledge on protecting health and the environment, as well as environmental management experience. It lays down provisions for more sophisticated monitoring, assessment and classification of bathing water quality. It also provides for better and earlier public information about bathing water quality and public participation, as well as for comprehensive and modern management measures. It requires bathing water profiles to be drawn up describing bathing waters and potential impacts and threats to water quality. These serve both as information for citizens and as a management tool for the responsible authorities, and enable grouping of bathing waters.

The results presented in this report are based on sampling carried out by the authorities in all EU Member States reporting under the Bathing Water Directive or the New Bathing Water Directive.

Bathing Water Directive

The results of sampling are checked against a set of physical, chemical and microbiological parameters. These include testing for the presence of coliform bacteria normally found in faeces and other sources, the colour of the water, residues of petrol-based mineral oils, foam from detergents and toxic acids such as phenol. Other tests can be conducted to verify the presence of salmonella or the acidity (pH) of the bathing water.

Using the results of the sampling for five parameters (total coliforms, faecal coliforms, mineral oils, surface-active substances and phenols) the bathing waters are then classified into the following categories:

• those that comply with the mandatory values;
• those that comply with the more stringent guide values;
• those that do not comply with the mandatory values;
• those that are banned or closed (temporarily or throughout the bathing season).

New Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC)

The New Bathing Water Directive reduces the number of key microbiological parameters to two: intestinal enterococci and Escherichia coli. These are the most robust and relevant microbiological indicators for human health. The sampling is complemented by visual inspection to identify, for example, algae bloom and oil.

Using the monitoring results of the sampling for Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci, the inland and coastal bathing waters are then classified into the following categories:

• those that have excellent quality;
• those that have good quality;
• those that have sufficient quality;
• those that have poor quality;
• those that are closed temporarily or throughout the bathing season;
• those that are new (not yet classification possible);
• those where changes occur that affect the classification of a bathing water (meaning that classification is not yet possible after the changes).

The present report presents the 2009 bathing season results and the trends in bathing water quality.

Of the more than 20 000 bathing areas monitored throughout the European Union, two-thirds are in coastal waters and the rest in rivers and lakes. The largest number of coastal bathing waters can be found in Italy, Greece, France, Spain and Denmark, while Germany and France have the highest number of inland bathing waters.

The countries where the highest percentage of bathing waters met the guide values are Greece (99.8 %) (11), Cyprus (99.1 %), France (95.7 %), Malta (93.1 %), Bulgaria (90.3 %) and Portugal (90 %). Countries where more than 80 % of bathing waters meet guide values are Finland (88.5 %), Spain (84 %), Italy (83.5 %), Ireland (82.4 %), Germany (81.2 %) and Sweden (80.6 %).

Pollution takes many forms. For recreational activities, such as swimming, faecal contamination from sewage makes water aesthetically unpleasant and unsafe. Twenty to forty years ago, large quantities of largely uncontrolled, untreated or partially treated municipal and industrial wastewater was being discharged into many of Europe’s waters. Thankfully, due to EU and national water policies and actions to reduce pollution and treat wastewater, Europe’s bathing waters are today much cleaner.

Clean unpolluted water is essential for our ecosystems and economic activities such as tourism. Plants and animals react to changes in their environment caused by changes in water quality. We need to manage our water resources well to sustain human and economic development and improving the essential functions of our water ecosystems. The solutions lie in more integrated and sustainable water resource management, including full implementation of the Water Framework Directive, with its objective that all water bodies should have achieved ‘good status’ by 2015.

Source: European Environment Agency

Three Princess Cruises ships—Sapphire Princess, Sea Princess and Star Princess—have just been named as gold-level winners of the Port of San Francisco 2009 Cruise Ship Environmental Award. The awards honor the ships’ “outstanding record in safeguarding the environment and protecting the air and water quality of San Francisco Bay during their port calls.” This is the fifth year Princess ships have earned this prestigious distinction.

The annual award recognizes the vessel for demonstrating “the strong environmental commitment of Princess Cruises in the areas of air emission reduction, waste water treatment, and recycling and disposal programs for solid waste.” The honors are determined by San Francisco’s Cruise Terminal Environmental Advisory Committee (CTEAC), which operates a program to recognize cruise lines that are committed to environmentally responsible operations, include the deployment of ships using reduced emission system technology or cleaner-burning fuel.

The San Francisco awards follow on the heels of other environmental honors earned from ports where Princess ships call, including the Venice Blue Flag, recognizing the line’s commitment to reducing polluting emissions by burning cleaner fuels, plus the Port of Los Angeles Vessel Speed Reduction Recognition Flag for actions to reduce air emissions.

The Venice Blue Flag is awarded for the line’s efforts to safeguard the city of Venice, Italy, by burning low sulfur fuel in port to reduce air emissions. The flag recognizes ship companies who make a commitment to preserve this unique city and its historic monuments. This was the second year Princess has been honored with this flag. Four Princess ships – Royal Princess, Ruby Princess, Crown Princess and Grand Princess called in Venice in 2009.

The Vessel Speed Reduction Flag recognizes Princess ships based at the Port of Los Angeles for following reduced speeds while entering and leaving the port as part of an effort to reduce air emissions. Princess was the only cruise line to earn this award, with all three home-ported vessels – Sapphire Princess, Golden Princess and Coral Princess – commended for 100 percent compliance in following the reduced speeds.

“We are gratified that our environmental efforts are being recognized in many different ways in places around the world,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. “We make our living taking people to beautiful destinations. We’re committed to doing our part to make sure they stay that way.”

Princess Cruises is committed to environmental practices which set a high standard for excellence and responsibility, and which help preserve the marine environment in which its ships operate. The company’s environmental goals and policies go beyond what is required by law and include a zero solid waste discharge policy, state-of-the-art environmental technology and waste management equipment, programs to minimize waste generated, and recycling where possible. The company also pioneered the use of shore power programs in the cruise industry to reduce air emissions.

Source: Princess Cruises

both low in cost to your pocket and more importantly, the environment. The travel and hospitality industry is changing the way they practice business and this is fantastic news for all you Low Cost Travellers. Keep up the high demands to ensure companies continue complying and reducing their carbon emissions. Here are some of the things resorts, in particular are doing in order to further improve the environment.

Ecotourism is ‘in’, travelers do not want their precious holidays to create a giant carbon footprint that harms the environment, but rather that they are at least carbon neutral. And the hoteliers are responding.

Going green is not just a good idea for impressing guests and supporting the environment, but energy-saving practices also often benefit the bottom line. For now, some resorts use it as their “unique selling propositions”.

In Hawaii, an increasing number of hotels and resorts now use recycled water and computer-monitored ‘fertigation’ (irrigation with doses of organic fertilizer). Another attractive feature they provide is beach-site, solar-powered bathrooms.

Nominated for the World’s Leading Green Resort and located in Bahia, Salvador, Brazil is the beautiful and luxurious Tivoli Eco-resort Praia do Forte. Boasting five stars, this idyllic resort features simple architecture in harmony with the spectacular scenery and the impressive biodiversity of the area. Guests enjoy colorful gardens and natural pools as well as “a culinary journey through exotic flavors”.

Founded after British environmentalist/businessman, Jan Telensky happened upon a pipe gushing hot water near Slovakia’s High Tatras Mountains, AquaCity was named the World’s Leading Green Resort in both 2008 and 2009. AquaCity uses available geothermal energy to heat and power its extensive facilities.
 
Guests minimize their carbon footprint while at the same time enjoying the highest standards of service at affordable prices. AquaCity has earned a global reputation for its pioneering approach to green tourism. Since it opened, it has welcomed over 2 million travelers and now daily saves more than 27 tons of carbon from entering the atmosphere.

In the February issue of its in-flight, Qantas announced its “Awards for Excellence in Sustainable Tourism”. Among its state award winners are the Crowne Plaza Alice Springs, Australia. The hotel identified 30 actions it could take to become more eco-friendly. Among them are replacing light bulbs, reducing water and gas usage, and installation of a system that reduces in-room air-conditioning use by 25 to 40 per cent.

Expect the “green movement” to gain momentum, as every industry will look for ways to go green, while saving energy (and money) and attracting both talent and customers.

Source: Joyce Gioia, The Herman Group of Companies

 The words, volcanic ash have since recently, seriously struck panic in the lives of regular travelers and even people taking a holiday or short trip, especially with the return of the volcanic ash cloud, with memories fresh of the widespread travel chaos seen in April.

Scientists are adamant that the worst of disruption has passed, and new regulations by air traffic controller NATS allow carriers much more leeway in operating flights. Yet Icelandic Volcano specialists are saying that the volcano is very much active.

Many people are still rightly concerned about their holidays. This guide gives an overview of the steps you can take to reach your destination whether it is by booking flights in confidence or finding an alternative more eco-friendly mode of transport.

Consider finding an alternative

Most travellers’ immediate response is that their travel plans are ruined and they have no alternative options to turn to. We would like you to take the time to consider the purpose of your trip and therefore the necessity to travel via airplane.

Perhaps you were heading overseas or within Europe on Business. With the technology of today you are able to have high quality video conference calls. Most mobile phones, iphones and smart phones offer fantastic camera and video features so if you needed to travel to find samples of products, you are now able to take high resolution pictures and videos which you can send directly from you mobile phone or laptop. We urge you to reconsider the necessity to take flights to hold business meetings.

If you are travelling on holiday or for a short trip, perhaps you should consider using an alternative mode of transport. For instance, the Eurostar is a highly efficient form of rail travel operating between London and Paris. Most of Europe and England has cost effective rail routes that are sure to take you to your destination. This option may take a little longer but it is absolutely a greener way to travel than flying.

Don’t rely on your insurance provider

The question of whether your insurance company will foot the bill depends on when you purchased your policy and of course the terms and conditions outlined by your provider.

Several insurers, including First Direct and Direct Line, did agree to cover policyholders in the initial aftermath of the first eruption. However, most have since made it clear that any customers who purchased their policy after the onset of disruption (around April 15) will not be bailed out. Consumer group Which? Holiday says it is not aware of any insurers categorically pledging to cover ash disruption.

One company that bucked the trend was domestic airline Flybe, which launched one-off volcanic ash cloud insurance cover promising to pay out up to £2,000 for cancellations and £150 per day for extra expenses. The product was available for £6.99, but is no longer being sold to customers.

Choose your airline wisely

This is by far the best advice we can give. When UK airspace was shut down for six days in April, some 150,000 Brits were left stranded overseas. The assistance offered by their airlines and tour operators varied immensely, with some carriers falling short of expectations.

When booking with an airline, investigate how it performed in April and check whether it has a free telephone customer service line. One low-cost carrier made it clear last month that it would do everything possible to avoid paying out compensation under EU regulation 261 – only backing down at the last minute. Others such as British Airways received widespread praise for their handling of the situation.

Booking with a non-EU carrier is another potential risk factor. Regulation 261 explicitly states that the obligation to meet expenses “does not apply to non-EU air carriers’ flights into the EU”.

Talk to your employer before leaving

Even though it is extremely unlikely you will be stranded overseas, you should ask your employer about its policy for dealing with such an eventuality. As with the fine print in your insurance policy, the question of liability will come down to the precise wording of your contract.

What’s clear is that in most cases an employer is only legally obliged to pay staff for work they have actually completed, subject to policies that may state otherwise. The Working Time Regulations 1998 further blocks employers from forcing staff to claim unexpected absences as holiday, though many companies are exempted. Check with your company to see where you stand.

If you get stranded, keep all receipts

Regulation 261 obliges EU airlines to meet all costs incurred as a result of flight cancellations, which includes accommodation and other “reasonable” expenses.

Wherever possible you should speak to your carrier before paying for anything, as they may be willing to foot the bill up-front by sending you to a partner hotel. That will spare you the hassle of having to claim back expenses at a later date, and will make it easier for the airline to keep you updated.

Clearly, however, this sometimes won’t be possible. If you’re unable to speak to your airline then the crucial thing to remember is that you must keep your receipts. As long as your expenses are reasonable and proportionate, that should make the claiming process far easier.

How do we learn our travel lesson?

Remember that air travel is not the only mode of transport available. It is in fact one of the least environmentally friendly options. We need to take the time to consider various options and make plans in case of any global emergencies.

Watch this space for further insight into green travel during global emergencies.

 
As part of this worldwide initiative, the Airbus Corporate Foundation is set to launch a biodiversity volunteer program that directly involves its employees with nature, endorsed by The Ministry of Environment, India. In association with Raleigh International, Airbus will announce the first employees selected from around the world to participate in a three-year biodiversity project in India. Airbus teams will also be involved in numerous events with their local communities. From tree planting in Spain, Japan and Vietnam; to creating new gardens at the Airbus Innovation School in China; and encouraging wildlife to inhabit Airbus site areas in France.

In the UK, the Zoological Society of London will play host to the touring “See the Bigger Picture” biodiversity photo exhibition of photographs taken by children around the world, from a contest partnership between Airbus, the CBD Secretariat and National Geographic. Airbus employees will also join local schools and scientists taking part in the UK’s second annual “BioBlitz” – a 30 hour race against the clock to identify as many species of animals and plants as possible in one area.

In Germany, Airbus teams will be setting up hives for 100,000 bees at Finkerwerder Airport. Last year the bees produced 160 kg of honey – after 150,000 flights to 15 million flowers! Airbus teams are currently working on setting up a similar project in France.

Out of reach for even the longest-range Hamburg bee, Airbus Americas is partnering with the Explorium Museum in Mobile, Alabama to launch a biodiversity photography contest. The competition forms part of the build up to the forthcoming See The Bigger Picture exhibition, scheduled to visit Mobile as part of its international tour in September.
CBD Executive Secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf said: “In this, The International Year of Biodiversity, it is vital that major global businesses such as Airbus support us in spreading awareness of the importance of protecting the rich biodiversity of the world we live in. I hope that Airbus’ work will inspire other businesses to work with us in raising awareness and developing sustainable solutions to protect life on earth.”

Airbus President and CEO, Tom Enders, said: “We already put a huge effort into tackling the 2% that aviation contributes to man made CO2 emissions. Our partnership with the CBD reflects our commitment to support those tackling the other 98%, such as the 17% from deforestation. Aeronautic engineers have been inspired by nature since the days of Leonardo da Vinci. Today, biomimicry continues to inspire solutions for greener flight. So we need to get better at learning from nature – it might just hold the key to our future as well as its own. That’s why we are using our global outreach to help the CBD raise awareness. I’m extremely proud that Airbus employees are playing their part in preserving it.”

One of the hottest topics at the moment is cutting down electricity usage and specifically, ways in which we can create our own sources of electricity.

One hotel in Copenhagen has come up with a fresh idea to generate electricity by installing electricity producing bicycles in its gym for guests to use. The Crowne Plaza is the innovative hotel.

They have claimed to want to create “a world first by giving guests the chance to help power the hotel whilst getting fit at the same time.” 

Guests are thanked for their contribution by receiving a “locally produced complimentary meal encouraging guests to not only get fit but also reduce their carbon footprint and save electricity and money.” They can also use the new electric bicycles “to monitor how much electricity they’re producing via iPhones mounted on the handle bars”.

Starting in June, enthusiastic fitness fans can also race against the hotel’s solar panel system in a bid to produce the most electricity.

In a similar vein, Crowne Plaza hotels world wide (with a test run in Europe) are embarking on a “new drive to save energy by reminding businessmen and women to switch off laptops and mobile phones in the evening.” Guests choosing to support this drive will receive a telephone service, “a call to their room, reminding them to turn off their technology at 19:00pm.”

A secondary benefit to guests is that by turning off their technology, they get a good nights sleep. We all know that when you leave all your equipment on through the night, it becomes “a physical disturbance and a constant reminder of work that needs to be done.” Evidently, in the incessant chase for productivity guests end up being less productive as a consequence of sleep deprivation.

Other chains are not to be outdone in the endeavor to reduce one’s carbon footprint by enlisting their guests. The Hilton in Nagoya, Japan announced earlier this week that the hotel “has started offering its guests free use of bicycles to get around the city, part of an experiment that the company hopes will be adopted by its properties around the world.” 

Some cities around the world have already successfully implemented the free bicycle idea. Cities include Paris, Barcelona, Geneva, Stockholm, Montreal and finally, London which plans on rolling it out in July of this year. Two other Japanese Cities (Kyoto and Nara) have already launched a tourist tricycle which “features washi doors (a traditional form of Japanese paper) and lithium-ion batteries.

The latter enables the ‘vehicle’ to travel at up to a thrilling 25 mph. The former adds to the quirky appearance.” While many resorts around the world have offered bicycles for guests, promoting benefits including fitness and energy saving that reduces the carbon footprint in an urban setting is likely to catch on in many more places.

Source: The Crowne Plaza Hotel