Already worn and weary from this summer’s sharp spike in oil prices, most consumers and companies seem to think that the price of oil is about as stable as a leaky boat in the middle of the ocean during a hurricane. With the current economic downturn turning off the lights on the high street and emptying the world’s pocket book, we face an increasingly unpredictable climate, both economically and environmentally.

There is little reason to interpret news of the recent plummet in the price of oil as any sort of incentive to shirk environmental responsibilities, now or in the future.  Just recently one of the world’s most influential car manufacturers, the Ford Motor Company, sent lawmakers in Washington, DC the outline of a long-term plan to invest $14 billion in fuel-efficient technologies over the next seven years. 

By 2010, Ford wants a majority of its fleet of light-duty models to qualify as “Advanced Technology Vehicles” as specified in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Pub. L.110-140). The company predicts that percentage will increase to 75% in 2011 and to more than 90% in 2014. Like Ford, many of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers are implementing strategies that will limit their dependence on oil. 

To use a phrase from GM, vehicle manufacturers are “diversifying away from petroleum.” But, is this type of “diversification” based more on a regulatory incentive that is widely perpetuated by government-enforced quotas on carbon emissions and the use of bio-fuels? Have manufacturers finally made a lasting commitment to creating environmentally friendly vehicles?

Perhaps, with the price of oil so volatile, what we are witnessing now is that the primary objective of the green and alternative energy initiative has taken on a new focus – make sure the greenest alternative is also the cheapest alternative.  As Reid Detchon, executive director for energy and climate at the United Nations Foundation, explains, “The right way to think about a price on carbon emissions is not to make life miserable for consumers or prevent them from using energy the way they want to. The right way is to send a signal to investors and technology developers that clean energy products will be favored in the market.”

Detchon uses an example to illustrate his carbon and cost saving point, “If electricity from coal becomes more expensive than electricity from solar panels, more people will buy solar panels. Regulations will play a key role in the greening process.” If global governments back alternative energy and green initiatives as a matter of national priority and policy, there is reason to believe that the will to stay invested for the long term will be adopted by the general populace and supported by the manufacturer. By getting the rules right, global governments can encourage the adoption of clean-energy technology by both businesses and consumers.

When it comes to cars, economy is a leading incentive, and not just for the manufacturer.  According to a recent the Energy Savings Trust survey of UK consumers, fuel economy rated third on their list of top concerns, just a few points behind overall price and safety. 

While it is true that the average consumer is making choices that reflect a more environmentally aware position: organic produce, energy efficient light bulbs, solar panels, wind farms, locally sourced produce and dolphin-free tuna - studies like this suggest that there is still a strong economic factor at work.  With fuel economy so prevalent a concern, what consumers want is the most efficient return on their investment.

People, businesses, even governments will always focus on maximising profits, but what we are slowly beginning to realise is that many of the new green initiatives and “diversifications” might actually improve our global bottom line. Regardless of the price of oil, eco-friendly vehicles have the potential to put both fuel economy and fuel efficiency on their side.  The supported development of innovative, less environmentally harmful fuel and energy alternatives, will help everyone achieve a more stable and sustainable vision for the future that satisfies every agenda (and comes in every colour, especially green).  

The break up of liner conferences on European trades provides an opportunity to further develop collaborative relationships in order to reduce supply chain uncertainty and therefore cost. This was one of the messages from a speech by David Mawer, Joint Managing Director, JF Hillebrand, at a meeting of the European Shippers Council today.

“Optimum efficiencyis achieved by collaboratively working to reduce uncertainty, which means improving reliability and responsiveness in the supply chain. Minim ising inventory whilst maximising availability,” Mawer explained.

From 17 October onwards, shipping lines will set their own freight rates based on service levels, internal costs and market conditions. Furthermore, individual lines will be responsible for determining their own surcharges such as THC (Terminal Handling Charges), BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) and CAF (Currency Adjustment Factor).

While it is unclear how carriers will react to operating individually, there are certain to be major changes for shippers and a lot more scope for negotiation. Certainly there are significant opportunities for both shipping lines and shippers alike, but there are also dangers. One of the major dangers is poor capacity planning leading to oversupply or undersupply. The lead time of putting a large containership into service from order to delivery is a matter of years, therefore the shipping industry is much less able to react quickly to changing market conditions. Oversupply of tonnage will push rates down and could put some lines out of business. On the other end of the scale, undersupply will push up freight rates and could affect global trade growth. 

Whether for good or bad, life is going to get a lot more complicated for all involved. But the key consideration in the post-conference world is not to base decisions purely on freight rates as these are not the sole cost in a supply chain. Shippers could find that cutting costs on the carrier could end up costing them more elsewhere in the supply chain.

The British International Freight Association (Bifa) has expressed gratitude at the news that the government has postponed plans to increase fuel duty by two pence per litre from October.

“This is a positive message to freight forwarders whose services are so highly dependent on fuel, and play such an important role in the UK economy and international trade,” said Bifa director general Peter Quantrill.

“Our members are facing fuel prices at record levels, as well as steep rises in other costs. Foreign hauliers are offering cross border services with cheaper fuel purchased abroad.

“Whilst we welcome the news of the postponement, we will continue to urge the government to take the next step and cancel it, as well as introduce an essential user rebate,” he said.

Mr. Quantrill said the decision was a demonstration of support from government to businesses with the tightest of margins and puts the industry in a better position to compete with foreign competition.

Britain’s Prince Charles has converted his 38-year-old Aston Martin to run on biofuel made from surplus wine, his office revealed Tuesday.

Prince Charles, pictured with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall on a visit to a whiskey distillery in Northern Ireland last month.

The car was a 21st birthday present from Queen Elizabeth — and the prince has converted it to run on 100 percent bioethanol as a way to reduce his carbon emissions, his office, Clarence House, said.

The prince has also converted his other cars — several Jaguars, an Audi and a Range Rover — to run on 100 percent biodiesel fuel made from used cooking oil, his office added.

Details of the prince’s biofuel use were made public Monday in his household’s 2008 Annual Review, which details the prince’s income and activities over the past year.

The report says Charles and his household reduced their carbon footprint by 18 percent last year after switching to green electricity supplies and reducing their travel-related emissions.

Charles, 57, has a strong interest in environmental issues and rural affairs. He is active in environmental charities, and his food company, Duchy Originals, uses ingredients produced at his organic farm in Cornwall, southwestern England.

The biofuels are converted and provided by Green Fuels Limited, a British company that previously provided biodiesel to power the royal train, Clarence House said.

The wine used for the bioethanol comes from current vintage that remains after English wine producers reach the EU limit for annual wine production, a spokesman for Green Fuels said.

The prince uses wine from a vineyard close to his Highgrove Estate, the spokesman said.

The global contract logistics industry was largely immune to the economic downturn hurting other transport and logistics sectors in 2007, but can expect the next few years to be more challenging, according a new report from Transport Intelligence (Ti), a United Kingdom-based analyst.
Figures published today in Ti’s latest report, Global Contract Logistics 2008, show that the worldwide contract logistics industry grew 9 percent to slightly more than 140 billion euros in 2007.
The biggest growth was seen in the Asia Pacific, which grew in excess of 11 percent, although Ti said that figure hides a high level of variance.
“China’s contract logistics sector continued its extraordinary growth, no doubt aided by the run-up to the Olympic Games. Japan, however, has fallen back into its long-running economic malaise and its contract logistics market returned one of the smallest growth rates from across the region. It was outshone by a range of up-and-coming markets such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia,” Ti said.
Europe was helped by strong low double-digit growth in its largest market, the United Kingdom. Growth rates in Germany and France were “solid” as the manufacturing and retailing sectors in both countries held up well. Boom markets in Europe were Finland, benefiting being a gateway to Russia, while all Central and Eastern European countries grew “significantly faster” than their western counterparts on the back of ongoing foreign investment in manufacturing facilities and the trend towards near-sourcing, the analyst said.
The U.S. market was the only one to slow from the previous year with growth of 7 percent, down from over 10 percent in 2006. A slump in the construction industry, the “credit crunch” and lower retail sales all contributed to that slower growth, with the sector related to the distribution of import volumes from Asia Pacific particularly affected, Ti said.
“So far, the contract logistics industry has shrugged off talk of the economic downturn and even in the U.S., where the transport industry is struggling, growth rates are remarkably good,” said John Manners-Bell, Ti’s chief executive officer. “However, we believe that markets around the world will inevitably be affected by the ‘credit crunch’ and a loss of consumer confidence. Consequently, we are downgrading our forecasts for the industry accordingly.”

 The Rail Britannia Campaign — some key points for further discussion …

Sea transport is among the most economically and environmentally friendly transport modes. Retailers and importers want to increase its use in the supply chain, but there is a current lack of sufficient infrastructure coupled with unreliable or underdeveloped service levels. 

In the new era of increased corporate responsibility, more and more major industries, businesses and retailers within the UK are taking on the initiative to drastically improve their supply chain logistics. Through more efficient shipping and movement of products via UK ports and rail freight, these companies are seeing vast reductions in their carbon emissions and are effectively providing better service options.  Unfortunately, efforts by these businesses to utilise viable shipping alternatives are being squashed on a daily basis by the government’s own lack of direction when it comes to the use of the UK’s rail infrastructure. 
 

In the UK, overcapacity is becoming a real problem for many of the established ports, at a time when sea transport is becoming more popular. The government needs to support new deep sea terminals to ease the pressure and respond to changing transport needs.

PD Ports (PDP) terminal at Teesport North East England, currently handles around 13 trains per-day.  However, following approval of the company’s plans for a deep sea terminal, known as the Northern Gateway Container Terminal (NGCT), rail transport at this key UK port is set to greatly increase. When the NGCT begins planned operations in 2011, PDP wants to expand rail services.  This will lead to the handling of an additional 10 trains per-day when NGCT is fully open.  While these extra train paths are available using the current infrastructure, it will not be possible to transport the increasingly popular high cube containers on standard rail wagons. 

At present, the government seems to be making no progress toward reducing carbon emissions from transport and is blaming increased personal wealth for the rise in car use and increased personal travel. While this may be true, it should not be used as an excuse for doing nothing to reduce the UK’s transport emissions footprint. Greater use of Northern UK ports, plus the use of rail is a viable option for reducing carbon emissions from the UK and reducing transport costs at the same time.

In the UK we produce over 27 million tonnes of rubbish a year

Each UK household produces over 1 tonne of rubbish annually

There is enough rubbish produced in the UK in one hour to fill the Royal Albert Hall

We produce and use 20 times more plastic today than we did 50 years ago

This has to be the most fun anyone can have at work … I’m completely addicted to this game!

Play the Linde 39X Game now:

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According to just released brain scan results … when musicians stop playing regular sheet or prearranged music and begin to improvise … the lateral prefrontal areas of their brains (the part responsible for planning and self-censorship) switches  off.

Meanwhile, the medial prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain linked directly to self-expression and activities like story-telling) lights up brightly!

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