Whether we like it or not, most of us are consumers in a consumerist world. And whether the Economist* thinks so or not, we can make choices that will effect the future of our world. That is where EcoReports comes in. You can view information about the companies whose products you are using, or you can request that companies who aren’t making information available about their environmental responsibilities do so. The current listing of companies on the EcoReports site is dominated by social landlords and energy companies, but you are able to nominate any UK company to publish information. This site is a valuable resource for consumers who want to change the world.

*I’ve been reading the Good Food? article in a December issue of the Economist, not available online without a subscription, so there’s no link.

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In 2004, Norwich Union switched it’s Norfolk-based buildings to a renewable energy tariff. Nearly 3 years later, their parent company Aviva, has gone carbon neutral. Norwich Union insures one in five households, one in seven motor vehicles and more than 800,000 businesses in the UK, and actively encourages policy holders to help against the effects of climate change.

Richard Harvey, group chief executive, said that the decision to go carbon neutral was significant and not entered into lightly.

“We believe climate change to be the most important environmental issue facing the world,” said Mr Harvey.

“As a forward thinking company we are playing our part in addressing this challenge and would encourage other businesses to follow suit.”

Since 2002, the company says it has cut building and travel related carbon emissions by more than half.

In the UK, 100% of the group’s electricity is sourced from renewable, zero-emission resources.

A spokeswoman said the next step involved offsetting annual emissions by investing in carbon credits such as tree planting, investment in wind turbines and other green projects.

Aviva is lobbying the government to limit the effects of climate change on customers through flood-proof housing.

The group is also focusing on ways of making its products more environmentally friendly.

From The Guardian

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Thanks to Calvin Jones at Climate Change Action for letting us all know that this excellent film is now available to view online for free. An Inconvenient Truth has been uploaded onto YouTube in 9-parts, links to all 9 parts are available from Calvin’s blog.

As Jeff at Sustainablog points out though, there is no mention of this release on the official movie website, so it may not be up there for long. Don’t hang around, watch it! Now! You never know, you may learn something.

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