Leap

We apologise for the break in communications...We're not lazy, just forgetful!

2010-04-21T13:31:00.005Z

Back in September last year our new website, the 'Leapsite', went live to tremendous fanfare.
The long and the short of this is that the Leap Blog is now hosted there.

Please go to: http://www.designforchange.co.uk/blog.php for more excellent Leap happenings!

UK Blackouts by 2016?

2009-09-11T14:46:00.003Z

The government's new energy advisor, due to take his post on 1st October, has told the BBC that by the time coal and nuclear power stations go offline in 2016, energy customers could already be experiencing blackouts.

Professor David MacKay, author of Sustainable Energy - Without The Hot Air is currently a researcher at Cambridge University, but has been asked to join the Department of Energy next month. He said that government policy was 'going in the right direction' but that the severity of the situation had not been made clear to the British public.

"There is a worry that in 2016 there might not be enough electricity. My guess is that what the market might do is fix that problem by making more gas power stations, which isn't the direction we want to be going in," he said.

"So we really should be upping the build rate of the alternatives as soon as possible."

A synopsis and full PDF copy of Professor MacKay's book are available here: http://www.withouthotair.com/ and is recommended by The Economist, The Guardian, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace.

Water Pilgrim Hits BBC Homepage!

2009-09-11T14:11:00.002Z

Maxim Laithwaite, aka the Water Pilgrim has been interviewed by BBC 5 Live and has ended up on the BBC Homepage for all its visitors to see!

Maxim started out on his 600 mile journey on 10th July in Minehead and reached Land's End on 2nd August. His epic journey was designed to raise awareness of water shortage in the poorest countries on Earth and is now coming to its end in Poole on Saturday (12th September).

Click here to view the BBC's Story.

Design Forum Launches Training Event

2009-08-25T14:29:00.003Z

The South West Design Forum has launched a series of training days for designers hosted across the South West region.
Entitled Design Train 09, the workshops are being supported and subsidised by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The workshops cover several subjects including Project Management, Digital Imaging, Leadership and Management, Sustainable Design and Service Design and will be delivered in Bournemouth, Bath, Falmouth, Bristol and Taunton.
For Further Information go to: http://www.swdf.co.uk/DesignTrain

"Radical Rent-a-Bikes Generate Eco-Friendly Energy"

2009-08-25T14:01:00.002Z

"Designer Chiyu Chen has conceived of an ingenious transit system that encourages the use of sustainable transportation by crediting people for renting and riding bicycles. His Hybrid2 system consists of a fleet of rentable bicycles that are capable of generating and storing kinetic energy, which is then used to power the city’s hybrid electric buses. Simply rent a bike, charge it up with kinetic energy from pedal power, and then return it to a kiosk - the station feeds energy into the city’s smart grid, and you receive a credit towards your next bus pass!"

What a Great Idea!

Do You Want to Eradicate Poverty?

2009-08-25T13:13:00.003Z

Christian Aid have had a great little video made as an introduction to their 'Poverty Over' website and evokes Nexus Productions' renowned animated title sequence for Steven Speilberg's 'Catch Me if You Can' from 2002. You can view the video here.

'Field of Light' by Bruce Munro

2009-08-25T12:22:00.007Z

Late last year, renowned light sculptor Bruce Munro and his team descended on the Eden Project in Bodelva to create a truly inspiring sight for visitors to see. Entitled 'Field of Light' the piece contained 6,000 acrylic 'stems' capped with glass spheres and used 24,000 metres of fibre optic cable.
“I think Field of Light looks fantastic at the Eden Project” said Munro “ I’m always slightly nervous before we’ve installed a piece, in case somehow it doesn’t work in the location. But I’m really happy at how it’s worked out.”

Place Based Learning Website Goes Live

2009-08-25T11:33:00.004Z

Place Based Learning, an initiative funded by the Carnegie UK Trust “encourages teachers and students to use the school site, the local community, and special places nearby as resources, turning communities into classrooms.”
This fantastic project being pioneered in Cornwall by Will Coleman; is designed to open up the endless exciting opportunities available to teachers and educational professionals just outside the classroom that will give children the feeling of place and membership of a community that is so lacking from recent educational approaches.

Green Awards Go with Park Lane Press

2009-08-24T08:32:00.005Z

Park Lane Press in Wiltshire have been chosen by the Green Awards 2009 as their printing sponsor. In this role Park Lane will print all the promotional material for the awards and is said by the company to be a celebration of ten years of waterless printing.
The company is also celebrating a highly successful year with their own awards with four major environmental awards being won by this already highly regarded press.
Like Leap, Park Lane Press are ISO-14001 accredited and back in June was awarded the Best SME Award at the second annual ISO-14001 Awards hosted by the British Standards Institution.
Park Lane’s waterless printing process saves a huge amount of water (obviously), but also energy and solvents, especially isopropyl alcohol (IPA). In ten years Park Lane has saved 58,700 litres of IPA solvent and over 7,300,000 litres of water.
Philip Sudwell, Managing Director of Park Lane Press said: “I would urge all businesses to see green not as a compromise in quality or an additional cost but the complete opposite. It’s what our customers demand and we have proved it is possible to place green issues at the heart of a successful business without jeopardising product quality or our bottom line.” Here here to that!

Leap has Pledged... Will You?

2009-08-20T15:50:00.001Z

"Truro Cathedral is behind a campaign to get Cornwall's voice heard at the next Climate Summit due to take place in Copenhagen in December. An open meeting has been convened at the Cathedral on Friday 9th October at 7.30pm in order that the voice of the ordinary people of Cornwall can be heard. Please tell as many people as you can about this event, there will be guest speakers and a chance to view the supporting exhibition."

A Cornish Declaration has been drafted that states:

We the people of Cornwall and our visitors, pledge to ensure that our families and our communities will survive to freely enjoy the bounty and beauty of Cornwall

We pledge:

to strive to restore the balance between nature and society
to strive to lead sustainable lives
to strive to leave positive footprints on the path to Copenhagen and into the future

We want Cornwall to be part of a planet which lives within its means.

At Copenhagen in December 2009 we want the Prime Minister and his Ministers to forge an agreement amongst all nations to keep the increase in temperature of this planet to below 2 degrees C.
Please goto: http://www.trurocathedral.org.uk/hot-topics/hot-topics.php to sign the pledge.

Waterslide!

2009-08-20T15:47:00.001Z

Here's something that Matt found the other week...

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Last Night at Transition

2009-08-07T12:06:00.002Z

Last night's Transition St Austell meeting was the first that Katy and I have attended. It was a film night showing Leonardo DiCaprio's The 11th Hour with a discussion to follow. Although not highly attended, we had a in depth discussion afterwards about the issues raised and how they might affect our town. The next meeting is due to be a seminar about renewable energy in the middle of September.

Leap Gains Ethical Accrediation

2009-08-07T12:02:00.003Z

Last week we received word that we have finally gained our ethical accreditation from the ethical company organisation. In their own words: “The Ethical Company Organisation is working for animal welfare, human rights and the environment by providing clear information on companies for ethical shoppers.” Their website, where you can find out all about their accreditation scheme and The Good Shopping Guide (their annual summary of all their research), can be found at: http://www.ethical-company-organisation.org/
Keep an eye out for the logo on our emails in the near future...

Next Transition St Austell Meeting 6th August 2009

2009-07-31T08:42:00.003Z

To support our client Transition St Austell we've lent the group two titles from our environmental DVD collection. Mark and Katie of Transition said: "We are back at the White Hart, St Austell for a film night. The film in question is The 11th Hour. Created, produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, on the state of the natural environment the film documents the grave problems facing the planet's life systems. Global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction, and depletion of the oceans' habitats are all addressed. The film's premise is that the future of humanity is in jeopardy. The film proposes potential solutions to these problems by calling for restorative action by the reshaping and rethinking of global human activity through technology, social responsibility and conservation."
At this early stage of the resurgence of Transition in St Austell it would be great if we could get more people at each subsequent meeting.
Let's try to restore the largest town in Cornwall to the rich community that it once was...

Leap Highlighted

2009-07-24T13:15:00.003Z

As a company with one foot in the media industry, we like to keep on top of ours and our clients exposure in the press and online. I was surprised this morning to find that we were featured in an article about ISO-14001 accreditation and the EMS Easy tool and how it's helping SME's on an online green newsletter entitled GreenWise.
The article discusses the benefits of the EMS Easy tool kit and that it enables smaller businesses to gain accreditations that five years ago they wouldn't have considered possible or economical to aim for.
"Apart from Cornwall-based Leap Media, four of Global Action Plan’s clients have achieved ISO14001 using the tool kit in the past year – none of them employing more than 50 staff – dispelling the myth that environmental management standards are the sole preserve of large organisations."
Leap previously worked for Global Action Plan and developed all branding and marketing collateral for their Envision project.
Full article is to be found here.

Leap Nominated for University of Plymouth Vice Chancellor Award

2009-07-21T09:25:00.002Z

Leap were told the other day that Unlocking Cornish Potential (UCP), the guys that brought Claire England and Chris Maynard into the company, have nominated Leap for the University of Plymouth Vice Chancellor Award for Enterprise in Cornwall.
It is awarded to businesses and individuals "for enterprising activities in Cornwall which have influenced thinking in the county and contributed to its economic, social and cultural development."
The winner will be announced at a black tie Awards Dinner to be held in the Graduation Marquee on Thursday 17th September.

Holz Eco House

2009-07-20T11:41:00.003Z

Claire found this last week whilst designing Holz' Autumn/Winter catalogue for 2009/10:

Plan ‘Green’ Dolls House
An exciting edition to our much loved dolls house collection. Made from sustainable rubber wood, this eco dolls house has a wind turbine, solar panel and electricity inverter. Its own water butt, recycling bins, an adjustable blind to regulate sunlight and air circulation, and biofacade which uses the natural cycle of plant growth to create shade. Also includes room furniture. Everything a modern doll family could need!

All for a very reasonable £142.90! Now, I'm sure that my sister's doll's house cost WAY more than that!

the creekside, west looe

2009-07-17T11:56:00.002Z

As you can see above Leap have branded an exclusive development of two bedroom apartments beside the river in West Looe.
The twelve energy efficient apartments are being designed and fitted to the highest standard and will be available later this summer.
If you follow this link here you will see Kieran’s beautifully designed website where you can find out more about availability of the properties and the town itself.
Claire is also putting the finishing touches to a comprehensive brochure that will show the apartments in their best light.

Leap is Now ISO-14001 Accredited!

2009-07-14T13:54:00.002Z

After two years of hard graft and the training of four of our five employees, we have now (last Tuesday in fact) been given our ISO-14001 accreditation.
This is culmination of a huge amount of work and drive by Matt and Jonny and singles us out as the only graphic design studio in the South West (and maybe the country) that has achieved this prestigious recognition.
The 14001 accreditation is concerned with Leap's environmental management system and calls for a measurable reduction in all of its outputs year on year.
For more information Jonny Parker should be contacted in the first instance.

2009-07-14T10:37:00.002Z

Upton Towans beach in Gwithian was sold at auction yesterday for £80,000. The proceeds from the sale will go to the Hall for Cornwall as the owner, Dennis Arbon, wanted the sale to benefit the people of Cornwall. The buyer is said to be keen to keep the beech totally unspoilt, which is another positive outcome from the sale. Without any chance of planning being granted now or in the future, you may ask what the buyer got from the sale. It is believed to be a literary trophy associated with one Virginia Woolf, as the beach is thought to be the inspiration for her 1927 novel To the Lighthouse. Tim Brinkman of the Hall for Cornwall said: "I'm absolutely delighted. It's a great fillip for the theatre." And were inclined to agree with him. We just hope that the Jack’s Cows project raises just as much if not more money for Cornwall’s premiere theatre.

Cleo Ready for Her Blooming Closeup on Pydar Street

2009-07-13T13:14:00.005Z

We've just been told this afternoon that Truro City Council have put in a publicity request for Cleo our climate cow. This week sees Truro putting in its RHS Britain in Bloom entry and as a result, the city has asked for Cleo to take pride of place on Pydar Street to boost the climate credentials of the entry. She will then be moved to take up her prestigious final position on Lemon Quay outside the Hall for Cornwall ready to take centre stage in this great fundraising event for the beginning of next week. In other bovine news, Claire’s designs for the Cow map are coming along well and should be ready very soon.

Heligan Wins Gold!

2009-07-10T15:25:00.002Z

Yesterday (7th July) the medal winners at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show were announced to the world with a name familiar to the people of Cornwall amongst them.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan in Pentewan, just outside of St Austell, won a Gold Medal for their Leap designed Camellia & Rhododendron display in the Plant Heritage Marquee.
As the only Cornish garden exhibiting this year, it was extra important to make sure that Heligan’s display was especially striking, especially because, due to disease control, they are not allowed to exhibit live samples; as Lorna Tremayne, Heligan’s Marketing and Media Manager explains:
“Due to restrictions on plant movement for sites like ours with the fungal disease Phytophthora ramorum, we are unable to take any plant material from our National Collection. This meant that we needed to create a purely interpretative display full of images and interesting anecdotes and facts to tell Heligan’s National Collection story.”
“We have worked closely with Leap Media who have created an eye-catching gallery style display for us.” Leap designer Claire England worked for three weeks on the display that tells the story of Heligan’s National Collection of Camellias and Rhododendrons and is thrilled with the award: “I’m really pleased with the finished result and so happy that our hard work has been recognised.”
Taking pride of place in the Plant Heritage Marquee, the display is made up of over 60 panels of images and information and reveals the adventures of the Victorian Plant Hunters, the fascinating stories of individual plants and the conservation and future of Heligan’s horticultural treasures.
In 2008, Heligan was granted National Collection status by Plant Heritage for its historical collection of ‘Camellias and Rhododendrons Introduced to Heligan pre-1920’. The collection, which boasts over 70 veteran camellias and 350 ancient rhododendrons, attracts thousands of visitors to the gardens every spring with its majestic and colourful blooms.
It’s been over ten years since Heligan last exhibited at Hampton Court. Leap are really excited to be involved with their return and with this success look forward to working with the ‘Lost Gardens’ in the near future.

We're experiencing some difficulties

2009-07-09T15:29:00.001Z

Hey everyone!
We're experiencing some difficulties with our email at them moment...
If you're waiting for a reply to something and it's urgent please give us call.

The UK Folding Plug

2009-07-06T15:10:00.002Z

This is such a great idea, we just had to spread it around!
Please Vote for it at: http://www.jamesdysonaward.org/

The Lost Gardens Return

2009-07-02T15:10:00.005Z

In association with Leap, The Lost Gardens of Heligan have completed their preparations for next week's Hampton Court Flower Show.

As the only Cornish garden exhibiting this year, it was extra important to make sure that Heligan’s display was extra striking, especially because, due to disease control, they are not allowed to exhibit live samples; as Lorna Tremayne, Heligan’s Marketing and Media Manager explains:
“Due to restrictions on plant movement for sites like ours with the fungal disease Phytophthora ramorum, we are unable to take any plant material from our National Collection. This meant that we needed to create a purely interpretative display full of images and interesting anecdotes and facts to tell Heligan’s National Collection story.”
Claire has been working on the display that tells the story of their National Collection of Camellias and Rhododendrons for three weeks and has just today gone to check the final product at Parc Signs. It will take pride of place in the Plant Heritage Marquee and is made up of over 60 panels of images and information.
It’s been over ten years since Heligan last exhibited at Hampton Court and Leap are really excited to be involved with their return.

(Left to Right) Lorna, Marketing and Media Manager from Heligan, Claire from Leap and Sarah from Heligan.

ShelterBox Goes Live!

2009-07-02T11:21:00.004Z

Within the last hour the all-new, Leap-designed ShelterBox website has gone live. One of the biggest elements of an ongoing 18 month re brand of the disaster relief charity and taking eight months alone, the new website is a cleaner design with the emphasis on recent successful deployments and making it easier for visitors to donate and volunteer their time.
ShelterBox package and deliver ten man survival kits, in their highly recognisable green boxes, to sites of humanitarian disaster all over the world. They also train volunteers to become part of their ShelterBox Relief Team with their gruelling nine-day training courses.
In August 2007 the Duchess of Cornwall became the charity’s President and Royal Patron following a visit with the Prince of Wales to Pakistan in 2006 where they saw the great work being done there by ShelterBox volunteers. Other patrons include Miss Joanna Lumley OBE and Lady Mary Holbarrow, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall.
Last year ShelterBox announced their One Million in Africa project that hopes to deploy one million boxes on the continent.
ShelterBox relies entirely on donations from the public and are very proud that 92% of all donations goes directly to those in need. To donate now go to http://www.shelterbox.org/

South West Tourism and the Tourism for Tomorrow

2009-07-01T15:28:00.003Z

The World Travel and Tourism Council have announced the winners and finalists of their annual Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.
The awards include four very different categories: the Destination Stewardship Award, the Conservation Award, the Community Benefit Award and the Global Tourism Business Award. As the only finalist from the UK, South West Tourism was exceedingly proud to be in the final twelve across the four categories and the final three in the Destination Stewardship Award.
Neil Warren, Sustainability Strategist for South West Tourism said: “We were surprised and delighted to make it so far and while a little disappointed that we didn’t win, it was further than I ever anticipated we would get when I sent the application in.”
Leap are very proud to be associated with South West Tourism and were more than happy to say so to the award judges, Matt said: “I was asked to meet with the judges to discuss Leap’s working relationship with SWT and what we do ourselves.”
Even though they didn’t win, Neil remains positive: “One of the best outcomes from the process was that the judging visit reminded me just how many great partners we are fortunate to work with. I’d like to thank them all again for their support in recent years, for their help with the judging in February and I look forward to continuing our work together in the future.”
The eventual winner of the Destination Stewardship Award was Grupo Puntacana from the Dominican Republic. The group own and run a Resort and Club, international airport, a community and an ecological foundation. Like a modern day Bourneville or Voltaire the group employs 1,700 people and provides all their educational and health related needs whilst sustainably developing the local infrastructure.
Neil said: “Congratulations to Grupo Puntacana on what looks like fantastic work in the Dominican Republic.”

[re]design and the Design Olympiad

2009-07-01T09:50:00.002Z

Back in October last year Sarah Johnson of [re]design gave a seminar to the 2008 Design Olympiad in Seoul, South Korea.
Entitled 'What is Design For?' the talk centred around how UK designers are 're imagining and reinventing our world...whilst respecting ecological limits' by emphasising good practice pioneers including Leap.
Leap embodies tactical changes that all designers could make in the way that we have revolutionised our design practice. By changing the way we think about and use paper along with other raw materials, we have neutralised our carbon output and reduced the waste that comes out of our studio.
Leap has shown leadership in other levels of our production process; by collaborating with St Austell Printing Company to develop an until recently unmatched carbon calculator, we have set ourselves apart from the competition by increasing our own sustainability and positive social outcomes. Its great for this to have been recognised and heralded by Sarah and [re]design and we'd like to thank them for thinking of us!
By the way, I don’t want to ruin the ending, but in case you didn’t catch Sarah’s talk; it turns out that design is for designing a better world…watch this space.

BPIF Launches Carbon Calculator!

2009-06-29T15:27:00.002Z

In March the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) launched a 'special carbon calculator' to measure the carbon footprint of a one-off print job and the annual carbon consumption of a printing business; only a few years after Leap launched theirs in conjunction with St Austell Print Company.
“We’ve tried to do a full life cycle of the printing process,” explains the BPIF’s Liam Gardner. “But it’s massively complex when you try to calculate the impact from cradle to grave,” he admits. For instance, if you’re looking at inks and solvents, do you calculate the energy needed to extract the oil in the first place, he asks. “So we’ve focused on getting the basics right,” he explains.
This move by BPIF couldn't come at a better time with the UK print industry worth over £14 billion with a carbon footprint to match.
For more information Click here.

Futerra's 10 signs of Greenwash

2009-06-29T15:02:00.002Z

These are the things to look out for on advertising and packaging that can indicate when a company is trying to use greenwash to sell its product or service, according to Futerra's Greenwash guide..

1. Fluffy language
Words or terms with no clear meaning, e.g. "ecofriendly".

2. Green products v dirty company
Such as efficient light bulbs made in a factory which pollutes rivers.

3. Suggestive pictures
Green images that indicate an (unjustified) green impact eg flowers blooming from exhaust pipes.

4. Irrelevant claims
Emphasising one tiny green attribute when everything else is "ungreen".

5. Best in a bad class?
Declaring you are slightly greener than the rest, even if the rest are pretty terrible.

6. When it's just not credible
"Ecofriendly" cigarettes anyone? "Greening" a dangerous product doesn't make it safe.

7. Gobbledygook
Jargon and information that only a scientist could check or understand.

8. Imaginary friends
A "label" that looks like third party endorsement ... except it is made up by the company itself.

9. No proof
It could be right, but where's the evidence?

10. Outright lying
Totally fabricated claims or data.

For more info visit: http://www.futerra.co.uk/
Or http://www.leapmedia.co.uk/

Maxim Laithwaite - The Water Pilgrim

2009-06-29T10:50:00.003Z

With the tagline "Walking without money for those without money", Max is walking the 1000Km of the South West Coast Path raising money for WaterAid. Taking just over two months, he will leave Minehead in Somerset on 10th July and (all being well) he will arrive in Poole on 12th September.
The route has more than 35Km of ascents which incredibly is four times the height of Everest!
Max is planning on Walking and talking along his route with several supporters and famous faces to raise his profile. To date he's invited Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Ray Mears, Rob Hopkins and Tim Smit to join him along his route and discuss the issue of water conservation.
Leap pledges their support and wishes him well!
To follow the exploits of this remarkable man click the pic...

Bear 13/Lucy McLauchlan - "Tacit"

2009-06-29T09:40:00.003Z

Here's a great piece hosted by Vimeo of Lucy McLauchlan and Beat 13's "Tacit", great music and great art!

Beat13 / Lucy McLauchlan "Tacit" from Beat13 on Vimeo.

Guerrilla Gardening: Fight the Filth

2009-06-29T09:28:00.003Z

A great link this one...
A guy in London who began planting his neighbourhood with seeds in all kinds of places...
Click the Pic for link

Great News on Two Fronts!

2009-06-22T12:00:00.003Z

So here we are, coming to the end of the awards season with yet more great news! The last post announced the nomination of the Good Energy Shop for the Observer Ethical Awards. We can now say that Leap designed the most ethical online retail site in 2009! That's right folks... Good Energy Shop won! Everyone is thrilled at the news and we'd like to congratulate everyone at Good Energy for ensuring that a great website is backed up with a great team and customer experience. As the award was decided by nominations from customers, we'd like to add to Good Energy's words by thanking all those customers who voted for the site. We also have had MORE good news... Leap has been awarded a Big Tick for Climate Change by the Business in the Community (Bit) organisation. As one of only 106 companies achieving this award nationwide and one of 12 in the Southwest, Leap are proud to be one of the only companies of its size achieving such a recognised accreditation. The ceremony is on Thursday and I will post the best pictures to the blog next week.

Nominations Galore!

2009-05-29T07:57:00.001Z

More great news on the awards front this week... Yet another Leap designed website has been nominated for a prestigious Observer Ethical Award. The awards sponsored by Ecover recognised that the Good Energy Shop site, designed by Leap in 2008, is one of the country’s top three Online Retail Initiatives. Upon being nominated by their customers Good Energy said: “As a young business (we're only 7 months old) it's a real pleasure to know that you support us in our aim to tackle climate change and are as dedicated to promoting low carbon living as we are.”
Voted for by Observer readers and a panel including Colin Firth, Ken Livingstone and Steve Punt, the awards are to be announced next Wednesday 3rd June.

Cornwall Business Awards

2009-05-15T10:32:00.001Z

Unfortunately we didn't win the Best Website Award at the Cornwall Business Awards. Congratulations go to Finisterre for their most excellent web store for selling their bodacious surf wear. But seriously, their website has contributed so much to their business success that they deserved to win unreservedly.
Other winners included: Best New Business; Large Diameter Drilling, Business Improvement Through People; Pall (Newquay) and Entrepreneur; Lyn Thompson.
Congratulations to all of them.

"Slowly but Surely"

2009-05-15T09:40:00.002Z

Scott Billings, in an article for Design Week Magazine last week, gave a detailed analysis of the state of designed obsolescence in graphic and industrial design.
He cites the 1964 publication of Ken Garland's 'First Things First' manifesto as: "a cry for less triviality, transience and wastefulness, and for more value." Scott also mentions the 2000 Adbusters version of 'First Things First' and how it lamented against "how graphic designers' 'time and energy is used up manufacturing demand for things that are inessential, at best'".
In the wake of Greenpeace's most recent Green Electronics Survey, Scott goes on to discuss the slow progress being made by the particularly polluting global electronics industry and highlights some exemplary products from the survey.
It's good to know that even some of the biggest players in industry are beginning to take sustainability seriously.
See the whole article here.

10 Energy Myths

2009-04-22T12:10:00.005Z

Renewable technologies have had a tough time of it ever since they came onto the scene almost a hundred years ago. In response to their continued attack Chris Goodall, author of Ten Technologies to Save the Planet decided to dispel some widely held myths on the Guardian website. Highlights include: Nuclear power is cheaper than other low-carbon energy sources and Electric cars are slow and ugly.
You can read the full article here. There is a discussion of these myths here connected to the run-up to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.
Chris Goodall's new book, Ten Technologies to Save the Planet, is published by Profile books, priced £9.99.

Another Nomination

2009-04-16T13:36:00.008Z

In April we were told of our success in being nominated for a Cornwall Business Award in the Best Website Category. Entering on behalf of Bedruthan Steps Hotel, the website is a terrific fusion of intuitively tactile high design and practical functionality. Kieran's design encourages the casual viewer to 'discover' the various aspects of the website and the hotel in turn, whilst the visitor set on booking a room is able to do so quickly and efficiently. Through the use of an interactive 'window with a view' on each reception page, the visitor 'explores' their way to each page rather than just being taken there.
To see the website for yourself click here.
The winners will be announced at the awards dinner at the St. Mellion International Hotel, Golf and Country Club on May 14th, when I will let you know of the result...

Peak Oil Parliamentary Speech

2009-04-16T13:21:00.005Z

Prof. Thomas Homer-Dixon, author of 'The Upside of Down' and 'The Ingenuity Gap' is giving a major speech hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group On Peak Oil and Gas on 5th May. Entitled How Should We Respond to the Converging Crises of the 21st Century? the speech is concerned with Climate Change, Peak Oil, Economic Meltdown, Environmental Degradation and Population Growth.
If you happen to be in London on the 5th May the speech is being given at the Grand Committee Room within the House of Commons from 1830-2000hrs. For more information click here.

Adobe Goes Green

2009-04-16T12:20:00.005Z

At ETech 2009 in San Francisco last month, Adobe Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch announced a series of programs that could transform designers awareness of sustainability.
View the speech he gave here:

New Times Ahead, Porth, BAD BEEF & Cradle to Cradle Design

2009-03-31T10:43:00.009Z

Hey there, my name's Chris Maynard; I'm Marketing Assistant under Charlie and Matt and I have taken responsibility for the Leap-design for change blog. Don't worry, I will be asking for everyone's involvement over the coming months, but for the time being, I'll be the main contributor.
As a short introduction to myself; I'm a finalist at University College Falmouth on their Journalism BA course. I met Matt over a year ago at an event at UCF called InTransition. It was concerned with the role of the designer in a post oil future and really inspired me to turn a passing interest in the environment and sustainability into the core of my imminent career. In November of last year I started a five week placement with Leap and enjoyed it so much that I put all my effort into making myself indispensable. As it happened, fate stepped in to make it so.

First a bit of news:

On 12th March Leap won the best CD/DVD category at the Media Innovation Awards in Bristol. The award was given to our interactive CD-ROM that we designed and developed for the 'Tales from Porth' Cornish Language books. Leap managed to beat off competition from Mr. B. Productions and KOR Communications who respectively produced 'Substance' a surf film in association with Wavelength Magazine and 'Doing Our Part for Our Part of the World' for Clinton Devon Estates.

Click Here for thisiscornwall.co.uk Story

Matt forwarded me this Image that Lee had sent him on his web wanderings. I think this could form one of the major facts that will shape the next phase of the green journey; the quest for Water for All. One of the biggest uses of water in our day-to-day lives is in the production of the beef we eat. In the image it says that 1,500 gallons of water are used to produce just one pound of meat. This equates to over 12,500 litres for every kilo. (Click on image to find out more) I have just finished our entry to the Carbon Positive Awards 2009. At the end of the entry form there was a section for an inspirational quote and a couple of bullet points that are important in your resolve to combat climate change. The quote that I chose came from this TED talk back in 2005 given by one William McDonough. The co-creator of Cradle to Cradle Design describes the design brief for something as 'Simple' [sic] as a tree:

"To use something as elegant as a tree. Imagine this design assignment: design something that makes oxygen, sequesters carbon, fixes nitrogen, distils water, accrues solar energy as fuel, makes complex sugars and food, creates micro climates, changes colours with the seasons and self-replicates. Why don't we knock that down and write on it?"

Please click HERE to view the video. I also recommend the book 'Cradle to Cradle' for anyone struggling with the concept or for vindication that you're not alone in the climate struggle.

More posts soon...Peace

'Waste Not, Want Not

2008-12-23T12:25:00.005Z

Looking back at the austerity campaigns of World War II, you realise how little things change - recycling was called something different back then, but war-time make-do and mend was similar to our sustainability drive. What is different is how the message was put across. The war years were bleak, with many living in already austere conditions, yet the graphic energy and optimism is a far cry from some of the work we see today. The Dig for Victory poster shows a harvest festival of vegetables glistening with just-picked freshness, while Save Fuel for Battle includes a humorous cartoon and graphics that dance off the page. Some of the images are very much of their time, but others, like the Save Metal poster, have a timeless directness. An exhibition of austerity posters and pamphlets is at The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising, with director Robert Opie citing a raft of tip-top designers who gave the material such vibrancy. These include John Gilroy (of Guinness fame), Abram Games (who later designed the first moving ident for the BBC in 1953), and Fougasse, whose poster Careless Talk Costs Lives is as good as they get. 'Our situation is similar to the war years,' says Opie. 'We need to preserve raw materials, recycle and re-use. The war graphics were just so good at it.

National Tree Week

2008-11-19T20:06:00.000Z

26 November - 7 December 2008

National Tree Week is a great chance for communities to do something positive for their local treescape. Each year, Tree Council member organisations such as voluntary bodies and local authorities, up to 200 schools and community groups, 8,000 Tree Wardens and many others, support the initiative by setting up fun, worthwhile and accessible events, inspiring upward of a quarter of a million people to get their hands dirty and together plant around million trees.

To see what events are taking place around the country visit http://www.treecouncil.org.uk

Leap sponsors ‘Most Inspirational Film 2008’ at this year’s Cornwall Film Festival.

2008-11-10T10:54:00.003Z

On Saturday, the Sandsifter hosted Cornwall Film Festival's 'BOARDSHORTS' which was presented by film critic Mark Kermode and Leap was one of their main sponsors!
Most Inspirational film 08 went to The Life of Ply by Ocean Motion Pictures and Leap supported them by presenting a cheque for £250 !
The event showcased short films and slideshows from local and international talent, documenting the wonderful world of wave riding in all its forms.
This year the film festival trebled the capacity of the venue to include a marquee to accommodate the expanding audience.
The quality of the entries this year were outstanding, with entries from the Uk’s very best film makers and Leap was very proud to be a part of it!

2008-10-24T09:51:00.005Z

Leap are due to create the visual identity and communication collateral for what will be the UK’s leading eco-hotel The Scarlet.
The Scarlet is due to open in the Summer 2009 and offers an escape for grown-ups to eat, dream and play in peace.

First things first 2000 a design manifesto

2008-10-21T09:24:00.002Z

We, the undersigned, are graphic designers, art directors and visual communicators who have been raised in a world in which the techniques and apparatus of advertising have persistently been presented to us as the most lucrative, effective and desirable use of our talents. Many design teachers and mentors promote this belief; the market rewards it; a tide of books and publications reinforces it.

Encouraged in this direction, designers then apply their skill and imagination to sell dog biscuits, designer coffee, diamonds, detergents, hair gel, cigarettes, credit cards, sneakers, butt toners, light beer and heavy-duty recreational vehicles. Commercial work has always paid the bills, but many graphic designers have now let it become, in large measure, what graphic designers do. This, in turn, is how the world perceives design. The profession's time and energy is used up manufacturing demand for things that are inessential at best.

Many of us have grown increasingly uncomfortable with this view of design. Designers who devote their efforts primarily to advertising, marketing and brand development are supporting, and implicitly endorsing, a mental environment so saturated with commercial messages that it is changing the very way citizen-consumers speak, think, feel, respond and interact. To some extent we are all helping draft a reductive and immeasurably harmful code of public discourse.

There are pursuits more worthy of our problem-solving skills. Unprecedented environmental, social and cultural crises demand our attention. Many cultural interventions, social marketing campaigns, books, magazines, exhibitions, educational tools, television programs, films, charitable causes and other information design projects urgently require our expertise and help.

We propose a reversal of priorities in favor of more useful, lasting and democratic forms of communication - a mindshift away from product marketing and toward the exploration and production of a new kind of meaning. The scope of debate is shrinking; it must expand. Consumerism is running uncontested; it must be challenged by other perspectives expressed, in part, through the visual languages and resources of design.

In 1964, 22 visual communicators signed the original call for our skills to be put to worthwhile use. With the explosive growth of global commercial culture, their message has only grown more urgent. Today, we renew their manifesto in expectation that no more decades will pass before it is taken to heart.

signed:

Jonathan Barnbrook
Nick Bell
Andrew Blauvelt
Hans Bockting
Irma Boom
Sheila Levrant de Bretteville
Max Bruinsma
Siân Cook
Linda van Deursen
Chris Dixon
William Drenttel
Gert Dumbar
Simon Esterson
Vince Frost
Ken Garland
Milton Glaser
Jessica Helfand
Steven Heller
Andrew Howard
Tibor Kalman
Jeffery Keedy
Zuzana Licko
Ellen Lupton
Katherine McCoy
Armand Mevis
J. Abbott Miller
Rick Poynor
Lucienne Roberts
Erik Spiekermann
Jan van Toorn
Teal Triggs
Rudy VanderLans
Bob Wilkinson

and many more

original Manifesto, 1964

reaction
by Jouke Kleerebezem

disciussion
Info Design Cafe mailinglist

miscellaneous reactions

Bedruthan Steps hotel gains triple success at this years Cornwall Tourism awards 2008!!

2008-10-17T15:40:00.003Z

Last night at the Cornwall Tourism Awards 2008/9
Bedruthan Steps hotel won the following awards:

Gold Large Hotel of the Year
Gold Sustainable Tourism of the year
Silver Website of the Year

Well done Bedruthan!

Zero Waste - throw away less and make more of a difference

2008-10-15T12:58:00.002Z

Zero Waste Week is running from Monday,October 20th until Sunday,October 26th and has been set up by Cornwall County Council To order an advicepack about taking part in the Zero Waste Week Challenge visit.http://www.recycleforcornwall.org.uk/zerowaste/

Lee’s view of Porthmeor last weekend

2008-10-14T08:41:00.001Z

Godrevy last weekend.

2008-10-14T08:38:00.001Z

Simple changes can often bring impressive results.

2008-10-13T19:59:00.001Z

As the depressive wave of the credit crunch consumes the nation and we acclimatise towards a more penny-conscious society, some fear corporate and consumer commitments to
sustainability might weaken. But to what extent is the economic situation having a positive impact on environmental activities – are the links growing between
financial stability and sustainability?
At the moment, competition is rife within all sectors. With fewer business opportunities around, such a competitive market enables companies to be more fastidious in their
supplier selection process. Where one company ’s offer is much the same as another, environmental and ethical credentials can provide a strong advantage.

BANKSY IN NEW YORK?

2008-10-13T10:39:00.002Z

The Village Petstore and Charcoal Grill - www.thevillagepetstoreandcharcoalgrill.com

Out of the Green!

2008-10-10T18:19:00.005Z

Leap reaches international acclaim in Korea

The Seoul Design Olympiad (SDO) is taking place this weekend and the British Design Council will be attending, representing Leap amongst others.
The Design Olympiad 2008 is a world design festival hosted by Korea’s capital city of Seoul. It is organised by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to enhance and promote Seoul as the center of world design, in line with its designation as the World Design Capital in 2010.

Re-design’s Sarah Johnson is taking part in two of many sustainable design events during the Seoul Design Olympiad and is putting forward Leap’s work as an example for sustainable design: challenge and opportunity for creatives.
Sarah will be discussing the following topic:

What is Design For?
What is the purpose and potential of design? How are UK designers reimagining and reinventing our world, so it is better set up to fulfil our physical and emotional needs whilst respecting ecological limits?
There is a multitude of inspiring tactical approaches taken by UK designers in response to issues of waste and climate change. But for greater effect, some designers are beginning to revolutionise design practice. They are working strategically, using creative processes to intervene at higher levels in systems. These pioneers are leading the way, developing innovative process models, and positive environmental and social outcomes.

For more info view…
http://www.designcouncil.org.uk
http://www.redesigndesign.org/

Cornwall's Greenest Design Agency Welcomes New Recruit!

2008-10-09T09:09:00.001Z

Leap-design for change http://www.leapmedia.co.uk, a St. Austell based design agency, announces their latest recruit to the team as Marketing and Project Manager Charlie Guidal. Leap offers a high level environmentally friendly alternative to design and print and Charlie will be bringing a ‘one-to-one - thoughtful’ approach for all clients. Charlie had previously worked as a Marketing & Events Consultant for Cornwall & Devon Media Ltd and with a background in design and media she brings fresh knowledge, creativity and energy to Leap-design for change. Charlie quotes “ The new website re-launches in October and so my hands are going to be pretty full promoting and guiding people through our carbon calculator which also includes an interactive map that will help the client choose a green printing company near to them”. Since establishing in 2004, Leap has grown from strength to strength as more and more clients realise that high quality, sustainable design and print is a valid and affordable option. Leap now comprises a 9-strong team passionate, creative staff.
Matt Hocking, Director of Leap has won several environmental and creative awards and is passionate and proactive about promoting sustainable and non-polluting practices. This ethos is reflected in Leap's work and is shared by the whole team, who are rewarded with a bonus for commuting in less polluting ways such as cycling or by train.

ENDS
07/10/08

Futerra's 10 signs of Greenwash

2008-09-30T19:22:00.003Z

Very interesting report on greenwash from Futerra reported by the Guardian:

Futerra's 10 signs of Greenwash
These are the things to look out for on advertising and packaging that can indicate when a company is trying to use greenwash to sell its product or service, according to Futerra's Greenwash guide..

1. Fluffy language
Words or terms with no clear meaning, e.g. "ecofriendly".

2. Green products v dirty company
Such as efficient light bulbs made in a factory which pollutes rivers.

3. Suggestive pictures
Green images that indicate an (unjustified) green impact eg flowers blooming from exhaust pipes.

4. Irrelevant claims
Emphasising one tiny green attribute when everything else is "ungreen".

5. Best in a bad class?
Declaring you are slightly greener than the rest, even if the rest are pretty terrible.

6. When it's just not credible
"Ecofriendly" cigarettes anyone? "Greening" a dangerous product doesn't make it safe.

7. Gobbledygook
Jargon and information that only a scientist could check or understand.

8. Imaginary friends
A "label" that looks like third party endorsement ... except it is made up by the company itself.

9. No proof
It could be right, but where's the evidence?

10. Outright lying
Totally fabricated claims or data.

Little goes a long way!

2008-09-29T21:29:00.001Z

Leap is proud to have helped a Cornish author (and friend) reach the top of the book charts– outselling Harry Potter at a bookshop in Truro.
The Little Book of Cornwall hit the shelves 12 months ago, its pages filled with snippets of history and facts about the county and was designed & interpreted by one of our youngest team members, Claire England.

The miniature book has proved a hit with holidaymakers and local residents and sales have soared. Written by Emma Mansfield from Lostwithiel, the book is well on its way to being the best-seller in Waterstones,Truro with more than 14,000 copies sold to date.

The Little Book of Cornwall is on sale in all major book retailers across Cornwall, at The Eden Project, both in the shop and online, and it costs £4.99, perfect stocking filler prezzie!
www.littlebookofcornwall.co.uk

Claire has also had the opportunity to design its follow-up, ‘The Little Book of the Mind’, which is due to go to print this week.

Well done Claire, they look beautiful :)

How the Credit Crunch will Affect Britain

2008-09-26T10:42:00.004Z

Will one be wanting fries with that?

Friday 26th September is FSC day!

2008-09-26T10:32:00.002Z

The aim of the day is to raise awareness of the FSC logo.

For details log on to www.fsc-uk.org/fscday

FSC UK’s Marketing Officer, Rosie Teasdale, explains "We want to use FSC Friday to make people more aware of the importance of responsible forestry and the role of FSC. Ancient forests are still being destroyed at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, the products of illegal logging still find their way into the British marketplace. The FSC logo gives consumers confidence that they are not supporting this destructive industry."

www.fsc-uk.org
Forest Stewardship Council – the mark of responsible forestry.

Cornish towns go plastic free!

2008-09-04T08:50:00.005Z

‘Leap’ – Design for change and ‘Go Jute’, the South West’s leading importer and manufacturer of environmentally friendly jute & cotton bags, are succeeding in changing the way the public shop with their latest promotion in the Cornish towns of St Austell and Newquay.

Sponsored by Restormel Borough Council and Cornwall & Devon Media, ‘Go Jute’ provided 2000 jute bags, designed by us at Leap, to this initiative with the aim of persuading local people to stop using disposable bags।
A voucher system advertised through the local press helped raise the public interest, and every single bag went within the week!

With St Austell hoping to go plastic bag free soon and, having been recently awarded status as a ‘Fairtrade town’, this couldn’t have come at a better time.

Well done Leap & Go Jute, let’s keep St. Austell moving forward ☺

Paper prices

2008-08-12T22:23:00.002Z

Mundane I know but as with everything else now paper is going to go up, the report below is fairly conservative as I'm hearing possibly 20%+ increase from September 08.

We are receiving communications from our paper suppliers that another price increase is imminent.

This is likely to be as much as 10% which will apply from early September. There are also strong hints of further increases later in the year and into 2009.

Whilst we are doing all we can to resist and work with suppliers to minimise and delay increases, in reality, like the cost of oil, we can do very little. As there have already been price increases this year we feel it would be helpful to highlight the major contributing factors behind this situation.

Rising Fuel Prices – paper mills are extensive users of energy and the price of a barrel of oil has risen from $70 to $130 a barrel during the last 12 months (85% increase). With predictions of $200 a barrel by January 2010 this will continue to be a major contributing factor.

Currency Changes – Sterling has devalued by 15% in the past 12 months. This means that the return from the UK market is now less appealing for the Western European mills in particular.

Reduction in supply – currently demand is greater than supply. During the last 3 years over 3.4 million tonnes of production has been lost across Western Europe (1 million in the UK alone). There have been at least 300 mill closures since 2000 and large paper mills have taken drastic action to balance supply and demand. Over the past few years Far East paper mills have had a positive affect on keeping prices down but their home markets have increased to such a level they are unwilling to offer competitive export pricing.

Raw material increases – pulp prices are at a five year high from $580 dollars in January 2006 to $903 in June 2008. Chemicals prices also continue to increase.

What can you do? Why not review your planned print expenditure and consider placing imminent orders before the end of this month to protect current pricing. At the very least talk to us about how we may be able to help?

Heh heh says it all really

2008-06-17T20:21:00.002Z

Although I'm a cider drinker...

Show me the balls

2008-04-30T08:23:00.002Z

made me laugh this morning!

www.uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MEaYbAzOfqe

Alastair Fuad-Luke / slowLab

2008-04-22T05:32:00.002Z

A well placed and great lecture for all involved in design!

Sustainable design facilitator, lecturer & writer Alastair Fuad-Luke will talk about his evolving conversation around ‘slow design’ and his work with Carolyn Strauss of NYC’s slowLab, an organisation taking a curatorial role to reveal diverse creativity around the concept of ‘positive slowness by design'.

Alastair Fuad-Luke is a sustainable design consultant, facilitator, lecturer and writer. He is a contributor to the international debate about design and sustainability, and author of The Eco-Design Handbook. He works with diverse clients in Denmark, France and the UK. Currently he is Project Manager for DEEDS (Design Education & Sustainability, www.deedsproject.org) supported by the EU Leonardo da Vinci programme. He is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Plymouth, University College for the Creative Arts, University College Falmouth, and Royal College of Arts in the UK, and has also lectured in the Europe, USA, New Zealand and Australia.

SlowLab is an emerging organization based in New York City and with activities worldwide. The mission of the organization is to promote 'slowness' or 'slow design' as a positive catalyst of individual, socio-cultural and environmental well-being. Engaging the innate creative capacities of individuals and leveraging the collaborative potential of communities to spur networks of cooperation that incite new thinking and approaches.

As a design ‘activist’, Alastair is the founder of SLow, a web site exploring ‘slow design’ (www.slowdesign.org); Vice President of New York based SlowLab (www.slowlab.org); and a former member of the Advisory Board for the 10th & 11th Towards Sustainable Product Development conference, the Centre for Sustainable Design (www.cfsd.org.uk), UK. He is passionate about society-wide engagement with design as a means to live a more fulfilling, sustainable life, while respecting our bio-diverse planet.

The lecture will take place as usual at the Main Lecture Theatre on our Woodlane Campus at 6pm. For more information go to http://rane.falmouth.ac.uk/lecture_series_frm.html

Artful Ecologies 2

2008-04-22T04:45:00.001Z

Art, Nature & Environment Conference 2008
9 - 12 July, University College Falmouth, Cornwall, UK

The second Art, Nature & Environment conference organised and hosted by the RANE research cluster at University College Falmouth, will take place over four days in July of this year. The conference aims to bring together some of the leading members of the artistic community and the growing community of artists and researchers already engaging with RANE, to consider and discuss how artists might best address current ecological concerns.

Since the successful inaugural Artful Ecologies conference in 2006, any doubts that our planet's ecology is now in real danger have been left far behind. Many now argue that we are on the verge of a crisis that could very soon turn to catastrophe. The number of different scenarios we now face, largely of our own making, all present harsh realities and paint bleak pictures of our future. These problems include the creation of a climate that will make large regions of the earth uninhabitable and force an unprecedented loss of species to rival the planet’s previous mass extinctions. Within a generation, toxic levels of pollution and the predicted population explosion will begin to place huge demands on limited resources, with potential shortages of food and water making survival for many an impossibility. The magnitude of the task ahead is almost impossible to imagine, harder still to tackle.

Over the course of four days we will be asking whether there is a role for art to play in facing this impending ecological crisis. If, among other things, art is to be seen as a method for making sense of the world; as a means of interpretation and communication; as a way of exploring and proposing alternatives, then is there more for art to do than simply foreground the problems? What can artists do to provide solutions and address practical concerns? With our environment in crisis, what role for art?

For details of booking rates, including student concessions and artist's bursaries, plus how to register for the conference please visit www.rane-research.org/ae2

Please note keynote speakers and the final schedule are still to be confirmed, so please re-visit the website for regular updates to the conference programme.

Clean Cornwall Week

2008-04-11T20:14:00.000Z

A brief note to remind you that Clean Cornwall Week starts tomorrow.

There has been a huge amount of interest and we already have over 150 events registered on the web site www.cleancornwall.org

If you are not able to participate in any of the events you could still contribute by picking up just one single piece of litter during the week.

If everyone in Cornwall did this it really would make a big difference.

Many thanks, and don't be shy to pass this message on to others !!

Leap Media and South West C+ Carbon Positive Awards

2008-04-01T22:11:00.003Z

Woo hoo, thanks to Jonny from our team who entered us into the South West Carbon Positive awards, we got a call today to say that Leap is a finalist and to turn up at the Met Office for the finals in May.

Details of all finalists will be live on
www.bitc.org.uk/carbonpositiveawards

Drawing straws time for the team then to see which two will represent on low carbon wine drinking;)

Carbon capture has arrived, just don’t let yourself go…

2008-04-01T05:37:00.004Z

Quench your thirst and save the planet!

ho ho ho
matt

the page is linked to the site, just click on Carbon Capture... title to take you to the site!

http://ev-eon.com/
................

Quench your thirst and save the planet!

E.on is delighted to announce the discovery of a new form of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).

Burning coal to generate electricity produces Carbon Dioxide (CO2), a green house gas that contributes to climate change. However by capturing the CO2 before it is released into the atmosphere and piping it through natural spring water we at E.on are able to create carbonated drinking water that is bottled and sold in Italian restaurants under the brand name evE.on

Although a simple solution, the implications are huge. With over a hundred years worth of coal deposits left and with massive growth in energy demand CCS will allow E.on to continue to burn coal for decades to come. evE.on's Chief Executive Taton Rebfluw says, "climate change had turned coal into a dirty word, but carbonated drinking water could be the silver bullet we have been looking for" a quick sip of evE.on bottled water and he continues "the water tastes great and drinkers have the added bonus of helping combat climate change – the more water they drink, the more CO2 they store, and the more coal can be used to generate electricity, this really is symbiosis at its very best".

evE.on is available now in restaurants and cafes. Please drink responsibly and refrain from burping or breathing the CO2 back into the atmosphere otherwise you may be responsible for causing climate change.

Find out more or to order online visit, www.ev-eon.com

Happy Fossil Fools Day ....

you know you want to

2008-03-28T20:20:00.002Z

Dear Friend,
Last week I asked you to get your friends involved in our campaign to stop global warming and you responded: more than 70,000 people have joined in the last week alone. That's simply amazing and shows that there is immense support behind our call for solutions to the climate crisis. Today we are just 76,000 short of reaching our goal of 1,000,000 members by April.

You can help put us over the top. Right now I need you to forward the email below to everyone you know and ask them to get involved.

More than 924,000 people have already joined us, but if we are going to succeed we need to reach 1,000,000 by April.

With your help, we'll reach this goal and send a powerful message to the world. Please ask your friends to get involved today: http://wecansolveit.org/invitealliance

Thank you,

Al Gore

P.S. You can donate to our efforts here: http://www.climateprotect.org/donate You can unsubscribe from future emails here.

--------------------

Dear Friend,

The world's scientists are calling for immediate and urgent action on global warming. The good news is that we have the science, technologies and policies necessary to stop it. What's needed is action by concerned people like you and me.

That's why I've joined with Al Gore and others across the country and around the world who want to halt global warming.

We're on the verge of being over one million strong and I'm asking you to join us. Please click here today to become part of the solutions to global warming: http://wecansolveit.org/alliance

We need to come together and demand our leaders take the steps necessary to ensure our children and their children have a positive future. That's why I'm asking you to get involved today:

http://wecansolveit.org/alliance

Together, we can stop global warming.

My first award

2008-03-16T20:50:00.002Z

This is a slide from an amazing day organised by CoaST www.coastproject.co.uk that happened on 13/03/08. Leap was asked to run a taster workshop on communicating the green and ethical message - tools and tone of voice, this was co-hosted by Jez Prins of www.hardworkingwords.co.uk a good session, way larger group than expected. And the discussion kind of got off tangent, with views on how the ICT sector is already surpassing the aviation industry on a co2 level to do we really need brochures! But we said what was needed to be said and it is mainly about make sure you say what you do and say it as you...not Innocent unless you are Innocent!

I hope so because I love paper.

The slide was for a 5 minute to show talk on winning awards and accreditations - marks of distinction, authenticity and benchmarking yourself. The Blue Peter badge was won when I was 7 or so and has always appeared on my cv. Mainly because cv's are humorless...:)

we are still here

2008-03-12T23:55:00.003Z

It's true... been very quiet on the blog.. not so in the studio. Lots of change, 3-4 weeks for the new website, Gary and I have been talking jute and meeting jute in Kolkata, India. We're doing lots of talks and have won or been gifted with some really nice new clients recently. As well as lots of returning clients. We've got some new team members, in for some awards and doing some more talks. Clare is running the studio mostly now too so I can do more creative malarkey. Which is ace because I'm pap at paper work unless I'm designing on it.

Latest project just delivered this afternoon, identity and stationery for Hab Housing which is run by Kevin McCloud of TVs Grand Designs fame amongst other accolades.

more to come, promise soon. trying to keep these short .. er...

green rival to the trusty ipod?

2008-02-11T21:12:00.000Z

Japanese paper firms admit recycling lies

2008-01-27T20:59:00.000Z

We only use European papers but just goes to show everything can prove other than it actually is. We trust our suppliers to keep us up to date with all the information we require. But every so often we do get our papers tested by specialists to make sure they are what we have requested (and we have had one printer use a stock that wasn't a recycled stock at all).

The Guardian, Saturday January 19 2008
The reputation of Japan's paper industry lay in tatters yesterday after the market leader, Oji Paper, admitted it had lied for more than a decade about the amount of recycled paper it used.

The revelation comes days after the country's second-biggest paper company, Nippon Paper Group, admitted it had made similarly false claims.

Oji Paper said the amount of recycled paper in its copy and printing paper was as high as 50% when the real figure was between 5% and 10%. The firm's envelopes contained, at most, 30% of recycled paper, although consumers had been led to believe it was as high as 70%. Some products contained no recycled material at all.

"We had let the ratio of recycled paper fall amid rising shipments while the amount of recycled paper did not grow," Oji Paper's president, Kazuhisa Shinoda, told reporters in Tokyo.

Shinoda said he would not resign over the scandal but apologised for misleading consumers. The fabrication, he said, had "betrayed public trust and we apologise to our clients and customers".

Nippon Paper's president, Masatomo Nakamura, said he would take responsibility for the scandal and resign.

Oji Paper and Nippon Paper are among five firms accused of misleading customers about the recycled-paper content of product lines, including millions of new year's greetings cards.

The scandal dragged down shares in paper companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Nippon Paper's shares plummeted 10% to 267,000 yen (£1,269) after Fuji Xerox and other firms said they would stop selling its products. Shares in Oji Paper dived 4.7% to close at ¥476.

Japan's fair trade commission is expected to decide soon whether the companies can be prosecuted under mislabelling laws.

We've been saying this for a while!

2007-12-28T11:29:00.000Z

It seemed quite obvious to us at Leap that the ICT sector is a massive carbon abuser. Businesses say about giving up paper as it saves the environment but the increased demands on bandwith and server use is several times more detrimental to the environment. Alright it saves businesses money on marketing by specifically using the web and it also gives the feel it's not harming the environment, simply because that information to date hasn't been available. But now from one of our clients it is.

An instant counter balance would be to change business electricity use to a 100% renewable electricity tariff and the only true one of those and the only one we'd ever use to date is Good Energy's supply.

matt

The ‘Inefficient Truth’

An Inefficient Truth is the first research report produced by Global Action Plan on behalf of the Environmental IT Leadership Team. The Leadership Team is a unique gathering of major ICT users from a range of different sectors (NHS, John Lewis, Sony etc) who are committed to taking practical action to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

The report contains four sections.

The first section assesses the environmental impact of the ICT sector which is virtually the equivalent of the aviation industry.
Section two analyses survey results from major ICT users and discovers how quickly and effectively the sector is responding to the environmental agenda.
The third section takes a snapshot look at some case studies illustrating how companies are implementing practical solutions that are reducing carbon emissions and saving them money.
Finally, there is a Call to Action from Global Action Plan setting out some of the challenges facing Government, vendors and users in order to move the sector towards a lower carbon future.
An Inefficient Truth is the first part of a longer journey which will see Global Action Plan using its position as an independent practical environmental charity to help cut carbon emissions from the ICT sector. Please contact me for more details on how we are working with the IT industry further.

http://www.globalactionplan.org.uk/event_detail.aspx?eid=ef0cecc6-2621-4a3c-962c-e4758b8952f8 – to download the full report

http://itn.co.uk/news/3bc1df24a662a3db3f3d911a7a83ef32.html - ITN Video coverage

Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/dec/03/carbonfootprints.carbonemissions?gusrc=rss&feed=technology

The information and communication technology (ICT) sector in the UK has a carbon footprint as big as the aviation industry, according to a report released today.

ICT equipment accounts for 3-4% of the world's carbon emissions, says the report by Global Action Plan, which warns that growth in carbon emissions from the sector is exacerbated by government policies requiring higher levels of data to be stored.

The report found that 61% of data centres only have the capacity for two years of growth and 37% of companies are storing data indefinitely due to government policy.

It also revealed that 86% of ICT departments surveyed did not know the carbon footprint of their activities, 80% of respondents did not believe their company's data policies to be environmentally sustainable, and less than 20% have even seen their energy bills.

The report, An Inefficient Truth, is understood to be the UK's first survey to measure awareness between the use of ICT in business and its contribution to the UK's carbon footprint.

More than 60% of the chief executives, IT director and senior decision makers from 120 UK enterprises which took part in the survey said time pressures and cost were the biggest barriers to adopting sustainable ICT policies. They believed that recognised standards and tax allowances would help the sector to reduce emissions.

Global Action Plan is calling on the government to provide incentives to help companies reduce their ICT carbon footprint and to review its policies on long-term data storage to take into account the carbon implications.

It wants ICT vendors to improve the quality of their environmental information, for ICT departments to be accountable for the energy costs of ICT equipment and for companies to ensure their ICT infrastructure meets stricter efficiency targets.

Trewin Restorick, the director of Global Action Plan and chairman of the environmental IT leadership team, said: "The average server has roughly the same annual carbon footprint as a [sport utility vehicle] doing 15 miles per gallon.

"With carbon footprint now equal to the aviation industry, ICT, and how businesses utlitise ICT, will increasingly come under the spotlight as government seeks to achieve carbon cutting commitments."

He added that ICT departments have been "slow off the mark to address their carbon footprint", but awareness was now growing.

"To turn this into action, ICT departments need help. They need vendors to give them better information rather than selling green froth, [and] they need government policies to become more supportive and less contradictory," said Restorick.

Tom Kelly, the managing director of Logicalis UK - sponsors of the report – said under-utilisation was a prime example of "energy abuse". The report found that almost 40% of servers are underutilised by more than half of their capacity.

He called on business to evaluate the efficiency of existing ICT infrastructure and improve efficiency in order to avoid legislation.

"A flabby business that guzzles budget and energy is likely to be a prime target for impending legislation," said Kelly. "In short, efficient IT equals green IT."

US pull sucker punch at Bali?

2007-12-18T09:47:00.000Z

this is from George Monbiot, always worth listening to.

Published on Monday, December 17, 2007 by The Guardian/UK
We’ve Been Suckered Again by the US. So Far the Bali Deal Is Worse than Kyoto
America will keep on wrecking climate talks as long as those with vested interests in oil and gas fund its political system
by George Monbiot

“After 11 days of negotiations, governments have come up with a compromise deal that could even lead to emission increases. The highly compromised political deal is largely attributable to the position of the United States, which was heavily influenced by fossil fuel and automobile industry interests. The failure to reach agreement led to the talks spilling over into an all-night session.”

These are extracts from a press release by Friends of the Earth. So what? Well it was published on December 11 - I mean to say, December 11 1997. The US had just put a wrecking ball through the Kyoto protocol. George Bush was innocent; he was busy executing prisoners in Texas. Its climate negotiators were led by Albert Arnold Gore.

The European Union had asked for greenhouse gas cuts of 15% by 2010. Gore’s team drove them down to 5.2% by 2012. Then the Americans did something worse: they destroyed the whole agreement.

Most of the other governments insisted that the cuts be made at home. But Gore demanded a series of loopholes big enough to drive a Hummer through. The rich nations, he said, should be allowed to buy their cuts from other countries. When he won, the protocol created an exuberant global market in fake emissions cuts. The western nations could buy “hot air” from the former Soviet Union. Because the cuts were made against emissions in 1990, and because industry in that bloc had subsequently collapsed, the former Soviet Union countries would pass well below the bar. Gore’s scam allowed them to sell the gases they weren’t producing to other nations. He also insisted that rich nations could buy nominal cuts from poor ones. Entrepreneurs in India and China have made billions by building factories whose primary purpose is to produce greenhouse gases, so that carbon traders in the rich world will pay to clean them up.

The result of this sabotage is that the market for low-carbon technologies has remained moribund. Without an assured high value for carbon cuts, without any certainty that government policies will be sustained, companies have continued to invest in the safe commercial prospects offered by fossil fuels rather than gamble on a market without an obvious floor.

By ensuring that the rich nations would not make real cuts, Gore also guaranteed that the poor ones scoffed when we asked them to do as we don’t. When George Bush announced, in 2001, that he would not ratify the Kyoto protocol, the world cursed and stamped its foot. But his intransigence affected only the US. Gore’s team ruined it for everyone.

The destructive power of the American delegation is not the only thing that hasn’t changed. After the Kyoto protocol was agreed, the then British environment secretary, John Prescott, announced: “This is a truly historic deal which will help curb the problems of climate change. For the first time it commits developed countries to make legally binding cuts in their emissions.” Ten years later, the current environment secretary, Hilary Benn, told us that “this is an historic breakthrough and a huge step forward. For the first time ever, all the world’s nations have agreed to negotiate on a deal to tackle dangerous climate change.” Do these people have a chip inserted?

In both cases, the US demanded terms that appeared impossible for the other nations to accept. Before Kyoto, the other negotiators flatly rejected Gore’s proposals for emissions trading. So his team threatened to sink the talks. The other nations capitulated, but the US still held out on technicalities until the very last moment, when it suddenly appeared to concede. In 1997 and in 2007 it got the best of both worlds: it wrecked the treaty and was praised for saving it.

Hilary Benn is an idiot. Our diplomats are suckers. American negotiators have pulled the same trick twice, and for the second time our governments have fallen for it.

There are still two years to go, but so far the new agreement is even worse than the Kyoto protocol. It contains no targets and no dates. A new set of guidelines also agreed at Bali extend and strengthen the worst of Gore’s trading scams, the clean development mechanism. Benn and the other dupes are cheering and waving their hats as the train leaves the station at last, having failed to notice that it is travelling in the wrong direction.

Although Gore does a better job of governing now he is out of office, he was no George Bush. He wanted a strong, binding and meaningful protocol, but American politics had made it impossible. In July 1997, the Senate had voted 95-0 to sink any treaty which failed to treat developing countries in the same way as it treated the rich ones. Though they knew this was impossible for developing countries to accept, all the Democrats lined up with all the Republicans. The Clinton administration had proposed a compromise: instead of binding commitments for the developing nations, Gore would demand emissions trading. But even when he succeeded, he announced that “we will not submit this agreement for ratification [in the Senate] until key developing nations participate”. Clinton could thus avoid an unwinnable war.

So why, regardless of the character of its leaders, does the US act this way? Because, like several other modern democracies, it is subject to two great corrupting forces. I have written before about the role of the corporate media - particularly in the US - in downplaying the threat of climate change and demonising anyone who tries to address it. I won’t bore you with it again, except to remark that at 3pm eastern standard time on Saturday, there were 20 news items on the front page of the Fox News website. The climate deal came 20th, after “Bikini-wearing stewardesses sell calendar for charity” and “Florida store sells ‘Santa Hates You’ T-shirt”.

Let us consider instead the other great source of corruption: campaign finance. The Senate rejects effective action on climate change because its members are bought and bound by the companies that stand to lose. When you study the tables showing who gives what to whom, you are struck by two things.

One is the quantity. Since 1990, the energy and natural resources sector - mostly coal, oil, gas, logging and agribusiness - has given $418m to federal politicians in the US. Transport companies have given $355m. The other is the width: the undiscriminating nature of this munificence. The big polluters favour the Republicans, but most of them also fund Democrats. During the 2000 presidential campaign, oil and gas companies lavished money on Bush, but they also gave Gore $142,000, while transport companies gave him $347,000. The whole US political system is in hock to people who put their profits ahead of the biosphere.

So don’t believe all this nonsense about waiting for the next president to sort it out. This is a much bigger problem than George Bush. Yes, he is viscerally opposed to tackling climate change. But viscera don’t have much to do with it. Until the American people confront their political funding system, their politicians will keep speaking from the pocket, not the gut.

George Monbiot is the author of the best selling books The Age of Consent: a manifesto for a new world order and Captive State: the corporate takeover of Britain.

Marbel Eden Project photoshoot

2007-12-16T21:17:00.000Z

Ok, so I'm very bias here and perks of our clients made a great opportunity to get my fantastic daughters involved in one of our newest clients projects. The client was Marbel - Beautiful, safe, environmentally friendly and naturally made wooden toys to help your child learn through play. They have a wonderful range of toys and Leap was called in to work on their 2008 showcase catalogue, which will be out in January 2008. With a 3 week turnaround...

As with all our work we are producing the brochure for the first time on 80% recycled stock and we managed to beat the price of the previous brochures virgin stock! And nice vegetable based inks.

Leap also arranged the photo shoot and we pulled in a favour with our old workplace Eden, an ideal setting for a bunch of kids (and some kid like adults) to to a days photo shoot in the Warm Tropic Biome. With the excellent snapping of one of Cornwalls finest photographers Bob Berry. (shot attached is one of Bobs http://www.bbphoto.net/ )

About 30 seconds after this very excitable shot of Bo was taken she came a cropper and tore the skin off her knees. Alas it was then time to whisk her and her sister Gracie away to nursery so Daddy could continue the shoot.

www.marbel.co.uk

more habbits

2007-12-16T21:11:00.000Z

This ones for my lovely business partner (and girlfriend) Clare. Still don't understand how she beat me - I personally think she's slightly damaging to the environment... well more than I.

matt

story of stuff

2007-12-15T14:58:00.000Z

this is long but a great eye opener! ENJOY OR NOT;)

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Team Habbits

2007-12-12T21:18:00.000Z

this could become a really useful tool and I've asked my whole team to create their habbits. Although I'm disappointed that there isn't too much between us on eco levels and there was me thinking I was super green...just shows. Admittedly they could be telling pork pies to get on my happy side:)

Great idea though and interesting to play with, every part of the body, eyes, feet, hands, butt etc represents and environemental aspect, ie food, travel, technology.

Attached are me, Darren our senior creative and Graham who does all the nice (and way over my head) coding.

Cornwall Sustainability Awards

2007-12-10T22:01:00.000Z

Wowie,
we won two awards at this years CSA07 held at the wonderful Trebah Gardens. We won the SME and Overall winner categories in which we were up against some mighty fine 'doing the right thing' sustainably active Cornish businesses. And keynote speaker for the awards Charlie Brown, environmental manager for Ikea has asked us to come and see them to talk further, based on hearing our presentation. Which was about how it is so important for design to take it's creative lead with sustainability to help solve climate change and how we do it with Leap.

A big thanks to Claire Wilcox who heads up our operations for taking the time to put a well written entry in.

Just one choice

2007-12-08T22:00:00.000Z

Just one choice

In eight days Al Gore is going to address the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia. At his urging, I've signed an important petition showing I support his important call for a visionary treaty to address the climate crisis. I hope you will too.

http://climateprotect.org/standwithal

The world's elected leaders must take the steps necessary to solve global warming. It's not too late. We have the opportunity now to improve the Earth's future for our children, and their children. If we don't act, we will only have ourselves to blame.

Please sign the petition today. Click here

today

2007-12-07T07:25:00.000Z

Well it's been a while, and we have as usual lots to tell you but just not today.

Today the team will be attending the Cornwall Sustainability Awards where Leap has been shortlisted for the small business category. It will be a good time for us all to get together and have a breather from our fast paced and currently transient studio. Take some time out, see friends, clients and other business that are pushing their environmental boundaries.

I'll let you know the outcome and I'll also give you an update on Cornwall Design Week, student portfolio clinics, meeting TV presenter of Dumped, Rob Holdway and our plans for the future.

matt

Climate change lottery ticket

2007-11-04T17:18:00.001Z

Check this out, it takesa few minutes of your time but its the pure and simple gist of our future and what part we have to play in it.

http://www.slide.com/r/3bwR_kuB4D8I6Nqm56jRxVsdOpE8TM9L

Contains

2007-10-19T21:23:00.000Z

Ever thought about the ‘ingredients’ that go into making the stuff you invite into your home?

CONTAINS explores the stories behind the products we use every day – how they’re made, the materials used,
the energy consumed, the miles travelled – in an innovative, inspiring and accessible exhibition that shows
how design can make a difference.

Finding products that are better for you, for others and for the environment can be tricky.
[re]design’s six ‘er’ words are a handy guide to the ways a product can be better… for everybody.

Cleaner...? Products that avoid polluting our air and water.
Closer...? Products that are made locally or made to be loved.
Greener...? Products that use natural, biodegradable materials from well-managed sources.
Lighter...? Products that are more efficient.
Longer...? Products that are built to last.
Recycler...? Products that use materials that are reclaimed or easy to recycle.

CONTAINS houses 100 thought-provoking, sustainable designs from cutting-edge UK designers.
You can find the exhibition in shipping containers at Newcastle’s Monument – you can’t miss it!

CONTAINS
Monument, Grainger Street, Newcastle NE1 5AF
19-28 October 2007

Visit WWW.REDESIGNDESIGN.ORG for more...

Sunderland creative sustainablility

2007-10-13T12:40:00.000Z

Leap has been lucky enough to be part of Sunderland Universities A Question of Design which explores the relationship between design and the environment. The event runs from the 8th to 26th of October, Design Centre University of Sunderland and we were very nicely asked to contribute some comments and graphics.

THE EXHIBITION EXPLORES THE ISSUES RELATED TO SUSTAINABILITY IN GRAPHIC DESIGN.

Thank you Donna Barkess of Sunderland University.

Climate recognition with Nobel Peace Prize

2007-10-13T10:54:00.000Z

Gore and UN panel win Nobel prize

Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth was an unlikely box office hit
Climate change campaigner Al Gore and the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have been jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The committee cited "their efforts to build up and disseminate knowledge about man-made climate change".

Mr Gore, US vice-president under Bill Clinton, said he was "deeply honoured".

Mr Gore, 59, won an Oscar for his climate change film An Inconvenient Truth while the IPCC is the top authority on global warming.

IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri said he was "overwhelmed" by the award.

He told a cheering crowd of colleagues and journalists outside his office in Delhi that he hoped the award would bring a "greater awareness and a sense of urgency" to the fight against global warming.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it wanted to bring into sharper focus the "increased danger of violent conflicts and wars, within and between states" posed by climate change.

It highlighted a series of scientific reports issued over the last two decades by the IPCC, which comprises more than 2,000 leading climate change scientists and experts.

The reports had "created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming", the committee said.

Mr Gore was praised as "probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted", through his lectures, films and books.

The choice of recipients continues a trend of the Nobel Peace Prize redefining the potential sources of conflict and threats to peace, says the BBC's world affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge.

'Planetary emergency'

Speaking in Washington, Mr Gore praised the IPCC, "whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years".

The IPCC chairman said he was overwhelmed and stunned
"We face a true planetary emergency," Mr Gore warned. "It is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity."

He said he would donate his half of the $1.5m prize money to the Alliance for Climate Protection.

Mr Gore's selection has prompted supporters to renew calls for him to stand in next year's US presidential race. Until now, Mr Gore has said he will not run.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE (IPCC)
Established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep)
Made up of more than 2,000 leading climate experts
Tasked with assessing scientific data on the risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for mitigation
Does not carry out any research of its own
First Assessment Report published in 1990; its Fourth Assessment Report called Climate Change 2007 to be published mid-November

Nobel Peace Prize quiz
Indian's surprise at award

President George W Bush, who defeated Mr Gore in a bitter fight for the presidency in 2000, was "happy" at the "important recognition" for his rival and the IPCC, a White House spokesman said.

However, the president was not about to change his more sceptical stance on global warming to a more "Gore-style" approach, the spokesman said.

The former vice-president has emerged as a leading climate campaigner. His 2006 documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth, was an unlikely box-office hit and won two Oscars - though it was also criticised by a British judge this week for containing nine errors, and for being alarmist.

The IPCC, established in 1988, is tasked with providing policymakers with neutral summaries of the latest expertise on climate change.

The organisation involves hundreds of scientists working to collate and evaluate the work of thousands more.

Groundswell come out at airport

2007-10-03T17:11:00.000Z

press release

Major flaws exposed in County Council case for Newquay Airport

The first independent report into the future of Newquay Airport has exposed major flaws in Cornwall County Council’s plans for expansion. It will be personally delivered to the chief executive and leader of Cornwall County Council on Wednesday 3 October 2007.

Groundswell Cornwall, the climate change action group, commissioned the report to test the County Council’s claims that Cornwall’s future development can only be secured by turning the regional airport into an international gateway. The report highlights basic flaws in the County Council’s case.

Spokesperson Oliver Baines OBE says: “This is the first time the County Council’s claims have been challenged. They don’t stand up to scrutiny. Many are hopelessly flimsy. We are calling on the County Council for an immediate public debate on their plans.”

The County Council claims: cheap air travel is here to stay.
Groundswell says: the chance for cheap fuel in the future is nil.

The County Council claims: the wider debate around air travel does not apply to Cornwall.
Groundswell says: it’s cloud cuckoo land to think that Cornwall can insulate itself from global issues.

The County Council claims: flying leaves no more of a carbon footprint than driving a car.
Groundswell says: evidence strongly suggests that air travel is more polluting than any other form of travel.

The County Council claims: the environmental impact of the expansion will be negligible.
Groundswell says: the Council claims a threefold increase in passengers. The environmental impact of this will be huge.

The County Council claims: the airport will break even in 2030
Groundswell says: even if true this prediction would mean that for the next 23 years the continuing losses at the airport would have to be recovered from rate payers, or by cuts in services elsewhere.

The County Council claims: the future prosperity of Cornwall is dependent on the airport.
Groundswell says: The County Council’s case is invariably overstated and the airport makes only a minor contribution to the Cornish economy.

The report has been compiled by Elizabeth Baines, a postgraduate student at Kings College, London, and will be available from www.groundswellcornwall.org

Calling for the public debate are: Oliver Baines, Manda Brookman, Mike Haywood, Matt Hocking, Ian Jones, Lorely Lloyd, Peter MacGregor, Mandy Milano, Lindley Owen, Lindsay Southcombe, Verena Stubbs, Mark Summers, Matthew Trevaskis, Tony Wainwright

www.groundswellcornwall.org

Ends

For further details please contact
Oliver Baines
Tel 01726 882501 mobile 07967 604517 email: oliverbaines@virgin.net
Lindley Owen
Mobile 07855 015050 Email: lindleyowen@hotmail.com
Lorely Lloyd
Email: lorely@transitionfalmouth.org.uk
Elizabeth Baines
Mobile 07828 257670 email: wizbaines@hotmail.com

UK Top Green Hotels Identified! And 2 are our clients

2007-09-26T09:43:00.000Z

Read below folks, this is great news and 4 of the hotels are in Cornwall and it shows the qulaity and then environment can meet to create great destinations and experiences.

Also good for Leap is that two of the hotels are our clients. Primrose Valley Hotela nd Bedruthan Steps Hotel where we have been designing a plethora of fun, practical and experimental items. From Shssh - do not disturb signs made form recycled boards to brochures and websites. And even better, we won the GTBS (Green Tourism Business Scheme) account in April which is based in Perth, Scotland. We have been doing a brand tweak, all supporting print based literature signage and web consultation for them.

Keep up the good stuff everyone and well done.

matt

UK hotels deemed to be at the forefront of sustainable tourism have been identified.

A range of independently owned and corporate properties share the honours in the first register of its kind.

The Green Tourism Business Scheme has handed out gold awards to those companies which have demonstrated a firm commitment to safeguarding the environment and promoting sustainable tourism.

The list was compiled by a team of independent assessors who individually verified each establishment's green credentials before granting them the highest possible grading, according to the organisation.

They had to achieve a minimum standard from more than 120 separate measures ranging from best management practice and energy saving to buying local produce and caring for wildlife and the landscape.

Green Tourism Business Scheme director Andrea Nicholas said: "This is more than just a list it is a sign of the future as more people are demanding that hotels have to be environmentally aware.

"Our assessors visited every hotel on the list and verified their claims to be green.

"We are delighted that so many places want to win the highest accolade - a Gold Award, many others have achieved Bronze or Silver. These hotels are pioneering the way."

The Green Tourism Business Scheme was founded in partnership with VisitScotland ten years ago and has more than 1,400 members across the UK.

design tips

2007-09-23T07:55:00.000Z

Listed from the Chris Hacker interview...

1) Do we really need it?
2) Is it designed to minimize waste?
3) Can it be smaller or lighter or made of fewer materials?
4) Is it designed to be durable or multifunctional?
5) Does it use renewable resources?
6) Is reuse practical and encouraged?
7) Are the product and packaging refillable, recyclable or repairable?
8) Is it made with post-consumer recycled or reclaimed materials? If so, how much?
9) Are the materials available in a less toxic form?
10) Does it come from a socially and environmentally responsible company?
11) Is it made locally?

funny thanks

2007-09-18T21:18:00.000Z

Heh.. I just got sent this from one of our ace clients. It's true Matt's are good for the planet.... please send me any info on bad matt's if there are any!!!

http://www.cstn.org.uk/Page3.asp?id=180

Office space need

2007-09-17T21:36:00.000Z

Hello!

Leap needs to relocate to somewhere in or around St Austell with enough space to hold our 6 staff (when they aren't home working). So if any one knows of anywhere please let us know we have up to 6 weeks from now to be re-officed.

thanks
matt

Go go go

2007-09-16T18:52:00.000Z

EcoLabs, with the support of London College of Communication,
presents a panel discussion at the London Design Festival 2007:

The Greening of Illustration & Design
6:30pm, 20 September 2007
London College of Communication

How illustrators and designers rise to the challenge of communicating the
most essential messages in an era of environmental crisis is on the agenda
of this cross-disciplinary panel discussion. Moderated by author and event
producer John Thackara.

Confirmed panellists include:
Lloyd Anderson - Science Director, British Council
Sophie Matthews - Designer, Thomas.Matthews
Jody Barton - Illustrator

As creative communicators we are in a position to help to change attitudes
- working towards ultimately changing behaviour patterns, policies and
systems. Here is a challenge for designers and illustrators: visualize a
better low energy future. We used to see visions of the future with jet
packs and monorails. Now we need to mainstream a picture of a more human
sized, earth connected and energy realistic future.

This event marks the launch of EcoLabs, a non-profit ecological literacy
initiative. EcoLabs intends to create a platform for collaborate projects
that use the skills in design to address environmental issues directly.
Founded by graphic designer and design writer Jody Boehnert, EcoLabs is
actively looking for collaborators, members, advisors and trustees.

For tickets please register at: www.eco-labs.org

Tickets cost:
£7 / Students
£10 / NGOs
£15 / Others

It is essential to book your ticket online in advance of the event.

--
Jenny Clarke
--
Marketing Officer
School of Graphic Design
London College of Communication

virtual tree

2007-09-09T22:15:00.000Z

can you grow one?

http://www.raiseatree.co.uk/

It's all gone quiet

2007-09-03T15:43:00.000Z

Hi,

We have no email or websites at present since 6pm 020907.. it's a bit strange, a bit scarey considering I alone get 100+ emails a day and have now received nothing or been able to send .. ouch. And The guys at Yadabyte have no idea when things will be working again.
Until then if you need me and you've thought to look on our blog then email leapmedia@mac.com

sorry for this hassle.
matt

Message for Mat Ripley Director of Yadabyte below.
Monday, 3 September 2007
Yadabyte Server Issues
Its been a hell of a day. Our server went down this morning and hasn't been up since.

These things happen - although this happened to us in many years of serving; when it did go bad it went it in spades.

But whats been really terrible is the appalling support that www.1and1.co.uk internet have been providing us. We have been lied to, passed all around the globe between the Philippines and basically treated as worthless - which considering the large amount of money we pay them is even more frustrating.

1and1 are supposed to be the biggest ISP in Europe, and they are pretty big in the states too. They guarantee great uptime and speed but I guess when it comes to it, as a company you need to get judged by how you deal with the bad times too.

Clients have been understandably calling us all day to get the low down and I have been unable to give them any real information, its been stressful to say the least.

One of the real issues I have with them today is the fact that their entire support infrastructure has no connection with the hardware, as in the servers. So the guys and gals in the Philipines cant do anything about the hardware issues, like we are having.

At 8 am we were told to call back in 30 mins.
We call back they have no idea about it, but then escalate it.
We call back again, another escalation ; by 10am uk were were supposedly at the highest level.
Then we get told its a problem with UDP flooding (we didn't think that made sense)
Then we get told its a BILLING ISSUE - I cant believe this so chase it up with their accounts department. No billing problem - what ind of internet system allows such misinformation?
We can see now that they are doing something on the server. not sure what but now, over 12 hours after the initial report maybe we will have our sites, and most importantly our client sites, back up.
Stay tunes... and if this has affected you... sorry

Mat
Posted by Mat Ripley

Gracie 1 Bo 2

2007-08-14T20:56:00.000Z

reasons to be cheerful Part 1

we're sorted

2007-08-06T21:48:00.000Z

Thank you to everyone who sent in proposals, cv's and ice cream. It was a great and unexpected response from lots of talented and passionate, for the environment individuals. And we've got someone and they start on our study next week with support from Martyn and Justin of Envision.

We're really excited to see just what all our clients and Leap have done over the last 'nearly' 3 years and to quantify it into a visual presentation.. whether good or bad...watch this space.

Next for us we want to hear from some of Cornwalls nice and talented designers to assist on some of our projects.

matt

a very special project

2007-07-19T19:20:00.000Z

Hello everyone

We are looking for someone to take on a short-term research project. We estimate it might take 4-8 weeks (this is flexible), and it would need to be completed by the end of September latest.

The aim will be to map/quantify the environmental benefits (and any adverse impacts) to date of our operations and approach to work for our clients. ie Carbon footprint, hourly design versus carbon usage/equivalent, equating the amount of recycled material we've used for us and our clients to trees, landfill, energy, water etc. How much benefit does it make that leap has investments in various windfarms, gets its electricity from Good Energy, offsets using bio-gas/lighting projects in Kenya and many other aspects.

This might suit an undergraduate with environmental audit knowledge/skills. Some of the work would need to be undertaken from our studio, but much could probably be done remotely. Or a live project as part of a degree.

This is a new adventure for us and we would like a passionate, meticulous individual with the appropriate skills to work through this new and exciting stage of Leap. The end results will be illustrated for an event in October showing why Leap is very different to any other design agency.

You can find out more about Leap by visiting the website ( www.leapmedia.co.uk ) and more about this opening by phoning me on 01726 68672 or emailing cwillcocks@leapmedia.co.uk. Please forward this message to anyone you think might be interested!

RE:SOURCEFUL LEAP

2007-07-01T19:15:00.000Z

we've been on this all year, it's been our biggest single project to date and it's been great. We've named it, branded it, designed every aspect of it. Had our team helping out at Royal Cornwall Show with the RE:SOURCE team, vaccumming before the pre-launch on Friday 29/6/07 and generally having our usual design fun.

It's an incredible project and we were really pleased to win the tender and to be involved at such an all inclusive level. We tried to do as much as possible sustainably even though we were slightly out of our safe zone... till points made from recycled material and completely designed by Leap, everything on wheels so the interior can be changed to fit demand. A welcome area that allows star products to be slotted in an out and doubles up as a sales point. Car park signs made from recycled substrates and car tyres, banners using recycled foamex, jute bags, huge illustrated wall vinyls and even toilet signs made from shape cut recycled yogurt pots.

thanks to the RE:SOURCE team for letting us play and we wish you the greatest of journeys with your brilliant project.

quick change wow

2007-06-30T07:42:00.000Z

you've got to watch this link, just shows we don't need fancy special effects, lots of lights etc.... fast, simple and brilliant....but how? Title is the link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB-wUgnyGv0&eurl=

Don't let me do live action

2007-06-27T21:47:00.000Z

It was nice to be asked but I think I should avoid cameras for the near future. An experience nonetheless. Takes a little while to load but check me out and feel free to draw fake beard etc. on me.

http://www.cornwallbusinessweek.co.uk/podcasts.html

Right time to listen to some Jamie T, far too many blogs for one week.