Beyond Green(wash)

I've been looking at the website of an eco consultant, beyond green, who appear to be a greenwash specialist. Their website www.beyondgreen.co.uk is terrible, the text barely readable, so I suspect they arent much good at their job.

One of their main people Joanna Yarrow has a blog that discusses green issues, but it isnt a blog but a website, and its sponsored by a soap powder! www.doagoodturn.co.uk/sustainability_media/sustainability_joanna_blog.php at the footer says 'Procter & Gamble 2007©'. So much for independent thinking. Her blog text is also hard to read, maybe its just me. She actually says some good things mind.

The irony is that she was a judge at 'The best green websites', voted by some of the web’s leading eco-bloggers and green social media junkies. www.nigelsecostore.com/green-web-awards/

Jonathan Smales, Group Chief Executive of Beyond Green drew on the example of Vancouver which has managed to get its public sector emissions from the city as a whole up by 5%. 'Vancouver is seen as the poster child for globally sustainable cities.' Perhaps.

In 2004 he was invited by the BP Pension Fund to help conceive and plan 'a project that has become the UK’s most carefully considered, joinedup, large scale sustainable development proposal: a 25,000 home urban extension north of Harlow.' Sounds like greenwash to me, its not green to knock down buildings to build new ones. Its far better to improve on existing buildings, but wheres the big money to be made doing that. BP pension Fund is clearly willing to pay for greenwash.

www.stopharlownorth.com says 5000 local people objected to the scheme,



The independent Panel's reasons for rejecting building thousands of houses north of Harlow were comprehensive, including the high quality environment that would be destroyed, the lack of infrastructure and a rejection of the notion that such development would aid the regeneration of Harlow.

"Our Gilston Great Park report sets out an exciting prospect for the area as "actively managed countryside" which could meet both Ropemakers financial needs and the communities' aspirations. It provides a viable alternative to unsustainable housing development." stated Nigel Clark Secretary of STOP Harlow North, the publishers of the report. The Gilston Great Park proposal is a ground breaking piece of work that deserves support from all those that care about both the environment of Essex and Hertfordshire as a whole and Harlow in particular and the quality of life of people who live and work in the area. It is a prime example of working with nature for the benefit of all, preserving and enhancing the best while promoting improvements, like extended woodlands, and small scale development appropriate to the area. It is reminiscent of the care and long term planning that went into the development of the great country estates of England but with the added bonus of public involvement in the planning and execution and enjoyment of the fruits of their labour." Mary Edwards, Friends of the Earth Regional Campaigns Co-coordinator, East of England