The Crown Estate, which manages a property portfolio valued at more than £8 billion that  is owned by the British Crown, has announced plans to lease further wave and tidal sites in a bid to encourage and accelerate technology development. As manager of the seabed out to the 12 nm limit, the Crown Estate plays a major role in the development of the offshore wind energy industry in the UK.

The leasing will focus on test and demonstration projects to be installed in waters around the UK.

The further leasing adds to the numerous ways that the Crown Estate is supporting industry growth, including the recent announcement that it us considering investing up to £20 million in the UK’s first wave and tidal stream array projects.

The Crown Estate is enhancing its approach to leasing wave and tidal sites by introducing two new features.

* Demonstration zones: to help the industry focus on the best seabed locations, the Crown Estate is creating new zones for test and demonstration activities. Utilising its specialist knowledge of the UK seabed and working in partnership with statutory marine planning organisations, the Crown Estate is defining zones that offer appropriate wave and tidal energy resources and access to necessary infrastructure, including ports and the electricity grid.

* Third party management of zones: once the zones are defined, the Crown Estate plans to invite third party organisations to manage them and sublet areas within the zones for test and demonstration activities. The third party managers may be public or private sector organisations and, before subletting, may choose to undertake preparatory work, such as installing infrastructure to make the zones attractive for use.

Huub den Rooijen, head of Offshore Wind, says: “The emerging wave and tidal industry has already taken great strides, but we want to encourage faster progress in technology development and rapid cost reduction. By introducing managed demonstration zones we’re offering a key opportunity to other organisations to lend tangible support in their local areas.”

The new leasing is planned to commence in September 2013.

In the UK, 41 wave and tidal sites have already been leased with a total potential installed capacity of approximately 2 GW. This is the largest development pipeline of wave and tidal projects in the world.

The Environmental Pillar, a coalition of 26 national environmental organisations, is calling for key reforms to Ireland’s bioenergy policy. The benefits of these reforms would be felt in many rural communities in terms of long-term investment and job creation. Without these reforms, Ireland will struggle to meet its renewable energy targets without taking land out of food production and destroying important natural habitats.

Bioenergy is energy derived from material such as wood, plants, animals and waste. The drafting of a new national bioenergy strategy is currently underway by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

According to the Environmental Pillar, three major concerns need to be addressed in the new strategy:

* Supporting local biomass energy production for heat and electricity using sustainable methods;

* Promoting energy production from anaerobic digestion; and

* Removing subsidies for the use of biofuels in transport.

The potential positive impacts of the first two key recommendations are equally compelling, according to Michael Ewing, spokesperson for the Environmental Pillar. “Local energy initiatives will create investment in local jobs and will give farmers an added incentive to use sustainable agroforestry as another income source,” he says. “Promoting anaerobic digestion is just a no-brainer. We produce a million tonnes of food waste inIrelandeach year, and about 40 million tonnes of slurry from farms. Let’s use this waste as a sustainable, renewable energy source.”

He adds: “If incentives for biofuel production continue, we’ll see increasing intensification of agriculture as well as loss of natural spaces like border strips and hedgerows. We can’t sustain that kind of biodiversity loss without it impacting on our daily lives in the long term.”

94 % of bathing water in the European Union now meets the minimum quality standards. The latest EU bathing water report shows that water quality at Europe’s most popular summer destinations was generally good – Spain, Italy and Portugal had more than 80 % of sites with excellent water quality.

In Ireland, 97% of the bathing waters met the mandatory water quality in 2012, a slight decrease compared to 2011, which the Environmental Protection Agency said was due to last year’s record wet summer. Four of the country’s 136 popular swimming areas were given a poor grade after failing to meet basic standards – Fountainstown in Cork, Rush in north Dublin, Ballyheigue in Kerry and Clifden in Galway.

A total of 136 bathing waters were monitored in Ireland during the 2012 bathing season, of which 127 were coastal (121) or transitional bathing waters (six) and nine were inland bathing waters (0 on rivers; nine on lakes).

The full EU report shows that water quality at Europe’s was generally very good. Cyprus and Luxembourg top the ratings with all listed bathing sites achieving excellent water quality. Eight other countries have excellent quality values above the EU average including some of Europe’s most popular summer destinations: Malta (97 %), Croatia (95 %), Greece (93 %), Germany (88 %), Portugal (87 %), Italy (85 %), Finland (83 %) and Spain (83 %).

Every year, the European Environment Agency (EEA) compiles bathing water data gathered by local authorities at more than 22 000 sites across the 27 European Union Member States, Croatia and Switzerland, and measuring levels of bacteria from sewage and livestock. More than two thirds of sites are coastal beaches, with rivers and lakes making up the remainder.

Each annual report is based on data from the previous bathing season, so this year’s report is a compilation of data gathered in summer 2012. In spite of the general improvement, this year’s report reveals that almost 2 % of bathing sites at beaches, lakes and rivers have poor water quality. The highest proportions of non-compliant bathing sites were in Belgium (12 %), the Netherlands (7 %) and the United Kingdom (6 %). Some of these beaches had to be closed during the 2012 season.

In general, coastal bathing sites score highly, with more than 95 % of EU sites meeting the minimum requirements and 81 % rated as excellent. In comparison, 91 % of bathing waters in lakes and rivers score above the minimum threshold and 72 % have excellent quality.

Storm water overflows, caused when sewers cannot cope with heavy rains, are still a problem in some areas, although better water treatment and fewer raw sewage discharges into the environment have improved water quality. In the early 1990s, only around 60 % of sites had excellent quality water, while 78 % have excellent quality in this year’s report. Over the same period, bathing water sites meeting at least the minimum standards have increased from 70 % to 94 %.

GreenBusiness is one of the flagship programmes of the National Waste Prevention Programme. It has joined forces with IBEC to hold a series of seminars, aimed at advising SMEs on how to improve energy management in their business, cut costs and enhance profitability during these tough economic times (which are made more difficult by growing energy costs).

Established five years ago, GreenBusiness is a FREE and confidential resource efficiency service for all types of SMEs inIreland. It aims to deliver resource efficiency improvements and cost savings for businesses, through waste prevention and reductions in water and energy consumption.

Recent resource efficiency assessments of Irish SMEs revealed potential savings of €70,000 on average for companies visited, in areas including water, waste and energy management, with €20,000 of these savings achievable with merely better practices, at little or no cost to the business.

The free seminars, this May in Cork, Limerick and Dublin, are guaranteed to be a very worthwhile investment of management and staff time. They will include presentations from Green Business, SEAI, Philips Lighting, Verde LED and Resource Kraft. Case Studies from the food and drinks sectors will also be presented and discussed.

Some of the energy management issues that will be discussed:

* Key strategies required for good energy management;

* Reducing your energy bills, choosing the right tariffs and avoiding penalties;

* Guide to installing efficient lighting for your facility;

* Energy management solutions for the food and drinks industry;

* Case studies from industry.

James Hogan, Programme Manager with GreenBusiness claims that on average €40,000 in energy cost savings have been identified for companies which have availed of a Green Business resource efficient assessment. James states: “Every business has the potential to better manage its energy consumption, some more than others. There are significant opportunities for business who have not taken a structured approach to energy management.”

Dates and venues:

Dublin – 28th May – IBEC Offices, Confederation House, 84/86 Lower Baggot Street.

Limerick – 30th May- Castletroy Park Hotel, Dublin Road, Limerick.

Cork – 31st May –Tourism & HospitalityBuilding, CIT, Bishopstown, Cork.

To book a place at one of these seminars, please email contactus@greenbusiness.ie  or anne.murphy@ibec.ie

As part of the 45th Conference of Irish Geographers, Professor David Harvey, a leading theorist in the field of urban studies, will deliver a keynote lecture on Friday, 17 May at 5.30pm in the Engineering Building, NUI Galway.

David Harvey is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography at the Graduate Centre of the City University of New York (CUNY), Director of The Center for Place, Culture and Politics, and author of numerous books which have been widely translated. A leading social theorist of international standing, he is among the top 20 most cited authors in the humanities. Professor Harvey’s reflections on the importance of space and place and on global capitalism have attracted considerable attention across the humanities and social sciences.

Hosted by NUI Galway, the 45th Conference of Irish Geographers, will take place from 16-18 of May. With approximately 300 delegates attending, the conference will be the largest national geographer’s conference to date. The event brings together leading geographers from all over the globe to discuss key geographical research issues including: marine spatial planning; community geographies; climate change modeling; contemporary perspectives on urban planning, on migration, and on tourism; sustainable consumption policies and practices; art and geography; space and identity politics; marine and coastal processes; geographies of food as well as the interdisciplinary needs of contemporary environmental research.

Entire conference sessions will be dedicated to the internationally recognised key research areas within Geography at NUI Galway – Environmental Change, Geopolitics and Justice, Planning and Sustainability and Rural Studies.

During the three-day event 150 papers will be presented displaying the breadth and depth of the discipline of Geography. Papers will address topical and controversial issues of relevance to Irish society. Mike Goodman from Kings College London will present a paper on ‘The Lie of the Lasagne: Galloping Transgressions and (Horse) Meaty Tropes’, while Cian O’Callaghan and Mark Boyle form NUI Maynooth will discuss ‘Capitalist crisis, ruins, and uneven development: Ireland’s Ghost estates’. Garret Duffy and his colleagues in Earth and Ocean Science in NUI Galway will examine the ‘Origin of seabed heterogeneity around Inverin Bank: implications forGalwayBayfish farm siting’.

One of the most supported sessions at this year’s conference will honour the lifework of one of the most influential geographers of his generation, Neil Smith on Friday, 17 May. Given Neil’s recent passing, the session connects to his lifework with papers addressing the broad remit of his writing and activism. The day-long session will culminate in the launch of the Neil Smith Graduate Research Award, which is designed to celebrate Neil’s legacy by encouraging continued graduate research in the areas of geopolitics, development and social and environmental justice.

The session is being organised by the Geopolitics and Justice Research Cluster in Geography at NUI Galway. Cluster leader and session organiser, John Morrissey, said: “Neil was an inspirational and brilliant colleague, and to have such an array of contributory papers from across the UK, Ireland and France in a day-long session in Neil’s honour, is a great testament to not only Neil as a person but to the huge legacy and continued relevancy of his life’s work.”

Chair of the Conference and President of the Geographical Society of Ireland, Dr Frances Fahy said: “We in Geography at NUI Galway are honoured to be hosting the 45th Conference of Irish Geographers, particularly as it caps off a year of celebrating 50 years of Geography within our University. As geographers we have the capacity not only to reflect but also to shape wider discourses; this endeavour is mirrored in our conference theme for 2013 – Transformative Geographies: Critical Reflections on Environment, Sustainability and Governmentality.”

This year’s conference is being held in conjunction with the Galway Dance Days programme and as a result a range of innovative workshops and unique performances are taking place throughout the three days of the conference. Registration for the Conference is now closed but tickets are still available for some of the Galway Dance Days performances, please contact the Town Hall Theatre at www.THT.ie or 091 569777.

EU Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard has visited Kilbarrack Fire Station in Dublin because it is the only carbon neutral fire station in Europe. In order to become carbon neutral, a range of measures were implemented at the station to reduce energy consumption. These included installation of a high efficiency gas boiler with heating controls, light upgrading, pipe replacement lagged to the highest standard, and solar panel installation.

Kilbarrack Fire Station has implemented a ‘Green Plan’ to highlight the importance of sustainability and their social responsibility. Having reduced their energy consumption by 80 per cent they have now become an inspiration for all of Dublin.

“The whole story of the Green Plan started with the recycling of batteries in Kilbarrack fire station. We realised there was a green and moral conscience to take part in this project,” says Neil McCabe (pictured), firefighter and Green Plan manager.

The success of the Green Plan has allowed the fire station to complete over 354 individual and renewable projects that has saved energy while cutting costs. These include a rainwater harvester that collects 14,000 litres of water every ten days. By drawing on the other expertise among its staff, the station installed their own wind turbines, introduced a vegetable patch and now recycles almost 40 per cent of all waste.

The saving potential for Europe through improved recycling is huge; currently, well over 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions are being saved through recycling activities each year.

WWF has welcomed the adoption of key conservation measures for oceanic white-tip sharks, whale sharks and cetaceans following the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) annual meeting in Mauritius.

IOTC member states agreed on important measures for the management of tuna fisheries and other vulnerable species such as White-tip sharks, which are not to be retained and need to be released unharmed if possible, while purse seiners can no longer set around whale sharks and cetaceans.

One very positive outcome was the adoption of a proposal by the Maldives with regard to interim target and reference points, and a framework for management decisions to be taken in response to changes in stock status.

“This is an important step towards the implementation of full harvest control rules and paves the way for the development of management tools essential for a sustainable fishery,” says Dr Wetjens Dimmlich, Indian Ocean Tuna Coordinator for WWF’s Smart Fishing Initiative. WWF welcomes the increasing involvement of Indian Ocean coastal developing states in conservation proposals, demonstrating an awareness of the need to responsibly manage tuna fisheries in the region.

Opportunities to recycle beverage cartons in the UK continue to increase, as the proportion of local authorities collecting them from the kerbside has reached 50%, according to the latest figures from the Alliance for Beverage Cartons & the Environment (ACE) UK.

This milestone represents a 12-fold increase on 2006 levels and follows sustained, close co-operation between ACE UK and its members – Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc – and local authorities and consumer groups. When ACE UK’s own bring-bank system is included, 89% of local authorities collect cartons for recycling.

Ceredigion County Council has become the 203rd local authority, out of 406 nationally, to make it easier for residents to recycle cartons by adding them to its kerbside collection scheme.

A further boost is expected later this year with the opening of the UK’s only beverage carton reprocessing facility at the Sonoco Alcore paper mill near Halifax, West Yorkshire. Capable of recycling 25,000 tonnes of cartons sorted from household and commercial waste streams, the facility will offer a range of benefits to local authorities and their waste management contractors – not least the assurance of a non-export market for this material stream. In fact, cartons collected in 187 local authority areas are already set to come to the new plant for recycling.

“In the year that the UK’s only dedicated recycling facility for cartons is scheduled to open, we are extremely pleased that our strategy to increase kerbside collection and make it easier for residents to recycle cartons is also paying dividends”, says Richard Hands, Chief Executive of ACE UK.

He adds: “In addition to Ceredigion County Council, we would also like to praise the 11 Northern Ireland councils which form the arc21 waste management group. All have now introduced kerbside collection of cartons and plan to send them to the new Sonoco Alcore plant for recycling.”

Each year, approximately 60,000 tonnes of paper-based cartons are used in the UK to package milk, fruit juice and an increasingly wide range of food products, including soup, chopped tomatoes and pulses. This equates to around 2.3kg of cartons per household  which could be recycled instead of being thrown away as waste. 

Beverage cartons are easily recycled using a simple pulping process, where the paperboard and non-fibre layers are separated and turned into new materials. The wood fibres can be used to produce new high-strength paper products, such as cores and tubes for consumer and industrial applications, while the polymer and foil layers can be recycled or used for energy recovery.

ACE UK has a dedicated recycling team which offers advice and support to local authorities and community recycling networks wishing to collect cartons.

The European Commission has adopted a new strategy for encouraging the use of green infrastructure, and for ensuring that the enhancement of natural processes becomes a systematic part of spatial planning. Green Infrastructure is a tried and tested tool that uses nature to provide ecological, economic and social benefits. Instead of building flood protection infrastructure, for example, a green infrastructure solution would be to allow a natural wetland to absorb the excess water from heavy rain.

Green infrastructure is often cheaper and more durable than alternatives provided through conventional civil engineering. Biodiversity-rich parks, green spaces and fresh air corridors can for example mitigate the negative effects of summer heat waves. In addition to the health and environmental benefits, green infrastructure also brings multiple social benefits: it creates jobs and makes cities more appealing places to live and work. And it allows for wildlife to thrive, even in an urban context.

Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik says: “Building green infrastructure is often a good investment for nature, for the economy and for jobs. We should provide society with solutions that work with nature instead of against it, where that makes economic and environmental sense.”

The newly launched strategy will focus on:

* Promoting green infrastructure in the main policy areas such as agriculture, forestry, nature, water, marine and fisheries, regional and cohesion policy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, transport, energy, disaster prevention and land use policies. By the end of 2013, the Commission will develop guidance to show how green infrastructure can be integrated into the implementation of these policies from 2014 to 2020.

* Improving research and data, strengthening the knowledge base and promoting innovative technologies that support green infrastructure.

* Improving access to finance for green infrastructure projects – the Commission will set up an EU financing facility by 2014 together with the European Investment Bank to support green infrastructure projects

* Supporting EU-level GI projects – by the end of 2015, the Commission will carry out a study to assess the opportunities for developing an EU-wide network of green infrastructure.

By the end of 2017, the Commission will review progress on developing Green Infrastructure and publish a report on the lessons learnt together with recommendations for future action.

BASF is the first chemical company to achieve gold-level certification according to the European Water Stewardship (EWS) standard for its production site in Tarragona, Spain. In order to attain this certificate, auditors of third party certification body TÜV Nord Integra assessed the entire water management performance of BASF’s production site, from extraction of water at its source to its reintroduction in downstream water bodies.

The European standard was developed by governments, businesses and NGOs under the leadership of the independent organization European Water Partnership (EWP) and became effective at the end of 2011.

The application of the EWS standard aims to lower the quantity of water used by companies and farms while simultaneously safeguarding the integrity of local ecosystems within the vicinity of the site. The assessment includes more than 50 indicators, addressing the four principles of water stewardship: sustainable water abstraction, ensuring good water status, protection of high conservation areas and equitable water governance. Amongst others, the assessment requires a water recycling strategy and a cohesive crisis management strategy to be in place.

BASF uses water as a coolant, solvent and cleaning agent, as well as directly in chemical production. The company has implemented the standard in order to promote its global water goals. By 2020, BASF wants to reduce the withdrawal of drinking water from supply sources for production by half compared with 2010. The emissions to water of organic substances and nitrogen are to be reduced by 80 percent, the emissions of heavy metals by 60 percent, compared with 2002.

BASF aims to improve its sustainable water management even further. In regions considered to be “water-stressed,” more than 60 percent of the naturally available water sources are exploited by humans. In total, 20 percent of all BASF sites, includingTarragona, are located in water-stressed areas. Last year, BASF abstracted around 7 percent of its worldwide water supply from these areas. “By the year 2020, we want to introduce a water management following the EWS standard at all sites where water is scarce,” says Dr Ulrich von Deessen, head of BASF’s Competence Center Environment, Health and Safety.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF had sales of €72.1 billion in 2012 and more than 110,000 employees.

The Cabinet has approved proposals for the preparation of a new Planning and Development Bill to establish a new Planning Regulator. The establishment of a Planning Regulator was the most significant recommendation regarding planning made by the Mahon Tribunal when it issued its final report in March 2012.

According to Minister for Housing & Planning Jan O’Sullivan TD: “Evidence based, proper forward planning is essential for our country’s future.  We need to ensure that the decisions we take regarding local and regional development facilitate sustainable development and enhance the lives of our citizens and the communities in which we live.  The Planning Regulator will provide an additional and important check on the quality of forward planning decisions.”

A new Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) will be established as a new and separate corporate identity. This Office would be staffed and resourced, in so far as possible, by staff taken on secondment or on a permanent basis from An Bord Pleanala.

The Planning Regulator will carry out independent appraisal of all relevant statutory plans – including local area plans, development plans, regional planning guidelines etc.

The Planning Regulator will advise the Minister on the content of the plans and where appropriate provide advice that all or part of a plan should be amended or rejected (through a Ministerial Direction). This advice will be published.

The final decision on whether to issue a Direction will reside with the Minister who will be accountable to the Oireachtas for his or her decision.

The OPR would also be mandated to carry out the research, training and education roles identified by the Tribunal.

The OPR will also have investigative powers along the lines currently provided for by Section 255 of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2012.

ARAMARK Ireland is to expand its Energy Management division following the company’s success in implementing significant energy projects on behalf of leading organisations including Forfás, Liffey Meats and the Royal Victoria Eye & EarHospital.

ARAMARK Ireland is a leading integrated services provider of food, environmental, facilities and property management services to clients in the pharmaceutical, financial services, IT and manufacturing sectors, as well as institutions in the educational and healthcare sector. As one of the country’s largest employers with 4,000 people across 980 locations throughout the island of Ireland, ARAMARK Ireland is headquartered in Dublin, with regional offices in Cork, Limerick and Belfast.

Donal O’Brien, Chief Executive of ARAMARK Ireland, says that the company’s ‘green business’ was set to grow exponentially as the EU transitions to a competitive low-carbon economy, leading to the creation of an additional 25 jobs over the next twelve to eighteen months.

“Realising the energy efficiency potential of buildings is central to the EU’s energy efficiency policy and we anticipate growing demand for our building retrofit services which will create additional employment of engineering and science graduates in our Energy Management division. These jobs will be located inIrelandprimarily, but as we export our service capabilities acrossEurope, there is the potential for additional job creation and growth,” he explains.

Buildings across Europe waste €270 billion every year and account for 40 per cent of CO2 emissions. 80 per cent of the buildings to be occupied by 2050 have already been built and a sustained campaign for energy efficiency in buildings is being planned across the EU.

“According to the Forfás, Cost of Doing Business in Ireland 2012 Report, Ireland is the fourth most expensive location in the Euro area for electricity. After employee costs energy is one of the biggest costs on businesses, and this is only set to increase in the future, given our dependence on imported fossil fuels. Energy efficiency is a priority for many companies and retrofitting is an investment which yields immediate and substantive savings to the bottom line,” adds Donal O’Brien.

The company is currently implementing the country’s largest energy efficiency campaign in 250 state buildings on behalf of the OPW in order to assist with the reduction of 20 per cent in total carbon dioxide emissions. “We have found that through staff behavioural changes alone, savings of up to 20 per cent can be achieved,” he points out.