News / climatechange

Smart thermostat developer Switchee wins Climate category at Impact Awards

Switchee, which describes itself as "the first smart thermostat for affordable housing", was voted winner of the Climate category at last week's Impact Awards which celebrate the best in 'tech for good'. The Impact Awards Climate category showcases technologies and services that help manage and understand environmental change better,

The Planet Mark™ to sponsor Climate category at DigitalAgenda Impact Awards for 2nd year

The DigitalAgenda Impact Awards celebrate innovations that improve lives and the world around us. The Planet Mark™ is sponsoring the Climate category for a second year, It follows a successful inaugural awards at London’s Barbican on March 1 2017, which featured Sir Tim Smit, founder of the Eden Project, (pictured) as keynote speaker. Next

Trump withdraws from Paris Climate Agreement: reaction from The Planet Mark™

On June 1 2017, President Trump confirmed that he was pulling the US out of Paris Climate Accord, and agreement which for the time has brought together almost every nation in the world in a commitment to keep global warming to well below 2C this century. President Trump’s retrograde and backward-looking decision has generated worldwide

Planet Mark-certified Wiles Greenworld supports local woodland education programme

Wiles Greenworld, which is owned by business services specialist Commercial Group, is donating £8,000 to Perivale Wood’s education programme over three years. The Perivale Wood education programme was chosen because it was local to Wiles Greenworld's offices and because of “the long-term benefits associated with hands-on environmental

The Planet Mark™ sponsors Climate category at inaugural DigitalAgenda Impact Awards

The DigitalAgenda Impact Awards are open to any business, government or non-profit using digital products or services to make the world a better place. The Planet Mark™ joins headline sponsor Nominet Trust, the UK’s leading social tech funder, and other category sponsors including Digital Catapult, Edtech UK and Future Cities Catapult,

Steve's Blog: it’s 2017…time to set three-year carbon targets with our ‘2020 Vision’ programme

Take a look into the future. Would you like your organisation to be a leaner, greener operation in three year’s time while contributing to the local and global effort to tackle climate change? We’re kicking off the new year by incentivising organisations to set and achieve three-year targets to reduce their carbon emissions. We’re

Steve's Blog: Planet Earth has the X Factor

More young people are watching Sir David Attenborough’s Planet Earth II than Simon Cowell’s_ X Factor _results show. According to the BBC and ITV, latest audience figures show that a series average of 1.5 million 16-34 year olds prefer to spend their Sunday evenings immersed in the wonders of nature, which is 100,000 more than those

Steve's Blog: is Trump's victory 'game over' for climate or is there room for optimism?

Climate scientists and environmentalists are warning that a Trump administration could mean “game over for the climate”. They have a point. Not only has Trump vowed to cut clean energy funding, dismantle the Obama-Clinton Climate Action Plan and scrap America’s Clean Power Plan, he’s described climate change as a Chinese hoax designed

Kigali Signals Death Knell for Hydrofluorocarbons

These manmade substances which are used mainly in refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment, have a global warming effect up to 15,000 times greater than carbon dioxide and are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. The UK has been a leader in eliminating HFC. The recent agreement represents a significant step

Historic Paris climate agreement to come into force in November

The UN confirmed on Wednesday that the climate treaty would take effect from November 4, after the European Union voted to ratify the historic agreement negotiated in Paris last December by almost 200 nations. The EU, with 28 members, accounts for 12 per cent of global emissions, which is enough to reach the 55 per cent threshold

Paris Agreement on climate change set to come into force

The 31 countries, which include Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates, bring the total to have signed up to the agreement to 60 – representing 47.5% of global emissions. 13 other nations today committed to doing so this year. The Paris Treaty was a commitment made last December by almost 200 countries to keep global

Steve's blog: is there life after DECC?

Apart from another record-breaking hot month (Jan-June 2016 were the hottest 6-months since records began according to NASA), this summer is proving difficult to predict decisions and second-guess outcomes. The latest relates to the disbanding of DECC and the likely after effects. DECC has been merged or subsumed into the new Department

Department of Energy and Climate Change axed

BIS has been renamed the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Greg Clark, former Secretary of State for the Department of Communities and Local Government, has been appointed to head the new ministry. The announcement was made yesterday, as part of May’s reshuffle, which also saw Andrea Leadsom, a former Climate

Eden Project's Festival of Hope returns for a second year

Eden Project held its first Festival of Hope on the eve of the 2015 Paris Climate Talks. The event was dubbed "a celebration of the inspirational people, businesses and sustainable solutions paving the way for a low-carbon future" and was so successful that Eden is planning another this year on Sunday November 27th. We'll update

Brexit: Amber Rudd seeks to reassure businesses over climate action

Speaking at the Business and Climate Summit on Wednesday (June 29), Amber Rudd sought to quell businesses and investor nerves, saying the Government remained firmly committed to the Climate Change Act. She confirmed the Government would approve a world-leading carbon emissions reduction target for the early 2030s by tomorrow – the

Planet First response to EU Referendum: "our mission as a business remains the same"

Steve Malkin, CEO of Planet First and founder of The Planet Mark™, commented: "The country has spoken and so has the Prime Minister. "Some will have woken this morning feeling euphoric and others disappointed. "This is a momentous day and the uncertainty will be disruptive as organisations come to terms with how leaving the

Cool Earth best charity at cutting carbon emissions through rainforest protection

The findings are the result of research by leading charity advisor Giving What We Can (GWWC). It assesses which charities around the world are most effective at what they do. GWWC looked at around 50 climate change charities and concluded the most cost effective is Cool Earth. Cool Earth works alongside indigenous villages putting

Planet First partner World Bank spreads learning on climate action through free online course

‘Turn Down The Heat: From Climate Science To Action’ is a five-week course based on the World Bank’s Turn Down The Heat series of reports. Described as an “action-orientated” Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), it will bring together renowned scientists and policymakers to explain the most recent scientific evidence on climate change

Street artists to paint giant mural in East London to raise awareness of endangered species

On Sunday April 10th, railway arches near Mile End in East London will become home to some of the world's most threatened animals and plants as 13 UK artists put 'paint to wall' to raise awareness of the growing number of endangered and extinct species in the world. ENDANGERED13, is a giant mural that when complete will stretch

Paris Climate Deal to cut carbon emissions to zero to be enshrined in UK law

Energy minister Andrea Leadsom said on Monday: “The Government believes that we will need to take the step of enshrining the Paris goal for net zero emissions in UK law." The Paris Treaty, signed in December, commits countries to zero emissions by the second half of this century. Former Labour leader and Climate Change Secretary

Earth Hour 2016: use The Planet Mark toolkits and “shine a light on climate action” on March 19th

To mark the special occasion, WWF, the charity behind Earth Hour, is urging supporters to “shine a light on climate action” and make Earth Hour 2016 bigger than ever – using the power of social media. On Saturday 19 March at 8:30pm local time, the world’s most iconic landmarks will switch off their lights for an hour to mark Earth

Planet Mark event praised for “real insight” on Paris Climate Deal and carbon action

“Beyond Paris: The Climate Deal and what it means for me” addressed the impact of the Paris Climate Deal on business and society. Those attending praised it for the “real insight” it brought to complex issues such as climate change and the carbon footprint of products and services, as well bringing home the importance of businesses

“A peace treaty for our times”: the Paris Climate Deal and the battle to get there

Day Thirteen, Saturday 12th December: I make my way to Le Bourget once again, hopefully for the last time. I have a Eurostar back to London booked for this evening. Outside my hotel, students are gathering for a demonstration 350.org has planned for today […] I find a far-flung spot in the media centre, stock up with food and

Fiji, the Paris Climate Deal and what next on tackling our carbon footprint?

On February 25th, climate experts and business and environment leaders will lift the lid on the Paris Climate Deal and what it means for businesses at an event being organised by The Planet Mark. 'Beyond Paris: The Climate Deal and what it means for me', will examine the outcomes of the Paris summit and discuss the next steps businesses

Cutting carbon: 39% of COP21 ‘climate pledges’ are from small business, UK-GBC reports

Planet First was one of more than 60 UK companies that showed their 'collective commitment' to put the buildings and construction sector on a “below 2°C path” at the climate change talks (COP21) in Paris last year. The companies included major corporations such as Land Securities, JLL and Hanson, but 39% were small businesses,

Planet First event to lift lid on Paris Climate Deal

'Beyond Paris: The Climate Deal and what it means for me', will examine the outcomes of the Paris summit and discuss the next steps businesses can and should be taking. Keynote addresses by Jane Burston, head of Climate and Environment, National Physical Laboratory and member of The Planet Mark Advisory Panel, and Marcus Pearson,

Corporate sustainability and your business in 2015

We (yes you as well) are heading into a huge year for corporate sustainability and climate change with news, announcements, legislation, data, decisions and challenges being presented daily. This is why 2015 is the year to take action. Improve corporate sustainability in your organisation. “We definitely face challenges, but

Getting to Grips with the Carbon Budget

Struggling to understand why you should act on climate change? Take a look at it through the Carbon Budget and open your eyes to why it is not too late to make a difference and why change needs to happen now. Click on the image below to zoom in.