You can take still part in Climate Week Cuisine just by eating a low carbon meal by Sunday 18 March. It could be a Friday night dinner, a Saturday breakfast, or a Sunday lunch. Make your meal low carbon by following one or more of the following easy guidelines:

• Eating less meat or dairy
• Selecting local, seasonal ingredients
• Using up leftovers

If you want to find out more about the carbon embodied in your food you can check out the Carbon Trust’s latest article put up especially in support of Climate Week Cuisine:

http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/news/news/viewpoint/2012/Pages/food-carbon-story.aspx

You can find loads of recipes from celebrity chefs on the Climate Week Cuisine and Tesco Real Food pages.

Whatever you eat, please tell people you are participating and help to create a movement for change, by taking one minute to register your meal.

http://www.climateweek.com/eat-low-carbon/register-your-low-carbon-meal/

Best Educational Initiative

Turners Hill C of E School, which has solar panels, wind turbines and children growing their own food.

Best Artistic Response

Steven Lake and White Lantern Film with Drying for Freedom, a documentary pitting washing lines against tumble dryers across the globe.

Best Technological Breakthrough (joint winners):

Nexeon for the Silicon Anode, whose microscopic spines can store ten times the energy of a normal battery.

The Department for International Development for Drought-Resistant Maize, already benefitting two million African farmers.

Best Product

Seawater Greenhouse for the Sahara Forest Project, using solar power to turn salt water into fresh and make the desert bloom.

Best Initiative by a Governmental or Statutory Body

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs plus HR Wallingford for the UK Climate Change Risk Asessment, covering over 700 aspects of British life.

Best Initiative by a Public or Uniformed Service

University College London Hospitals for activities such as an online system for hospitals to exchange and reuse equipment.

Best Local Initiative

North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for protecting peatland that locks up half a billion tonnes of carbon.

Sheffield City Council for Free Insulation, benefiting 35,000 of their most deprived households.

Best event

London Green Fair, with music, debates and activities for 20,000 people.

Best Community Inititaive

Ecoisland Partnership, for its work aiming to turn the Isle of Wight into the first totally sustainable part of the UK.

Best Campaign (joint winners):

The Sustainable Restaurant Association for Too Good to Waste, giving diners doggy boxes to take uneaten food home.

Close the Door for their campaign to persuade retailers to stop heat escaping by closing shop doors.

Best Initiative for a Small or Medium-Sized Business

Eight19 for IndiGo, its pay-as-you-go solar power for Africa that is cheaper and greener than traditional kerosene.

Best Initiative by a Large Business

Northumbrian Water Group for Advanced Anaerobic Digestion that is converting sewage from 2 million people into energy.

Most Inspirational Young Person

Leah Parsons, who represented the World Association of Girl Guides at the UN climate change talks at the age of 19.

Most Inspirational Leader

Sue Riddlestone and Pooran Desai, who built the Bedzed eco-village and inspired similar projects in 50 countries.

You can see some of the photos from the launch below:

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

WIN a trip to the rainforest! Click here.

Massimo has put on a special menu for Climate Week highlighting sustainable Cornish monkfish, using four different parts of the fish for four separate dishes. You can see the menu by clicking here.

Sustainable fish is also on the menu at The Bay Fish & Chip Shop, in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, which has been shortlisted for the Climate Week Awards.They make sure that every fish can be sourced from sea to plate, only use produce from within a 50 mile radius, turn old oil into biodiesel, and send no waste to landfill.

Another fish & chip shop, Poppies of Spitalfields, are getting involved in Climate Week by making sure that all customers have the option to take uneaten food home with them in doggy bags.Eating your leftovers is a great way to save money, reduce waste, and help combat climate change.


You can find out more about Climate Week Cuisine by clicking here.

To register your low carbon meal then click here.

Join in now by registering here.

For more information contact Barney Jenkins on 07966 077954 or email Barney.jenkins@oxtreegen.com.

Some of the inspirational and innovative entries on the shortlist include:

• A greenhouse that uses seawater to grow crops in the desert
• A whisky distillery powered by its own waste
• An aerial acrobatic troupe performing a spectacle about climate change
• A breakthrough in battery technology
• A local council that provided free insulation to over 35,000 households
• A fire station with the largest solar array in the East Midlands

Click here to download a pack with details of all the entries.

Winners will be announced at the launch of Climate Week on 12 March 2012.

What’s in your wardrobe?

Fashion can be both stylish and sustainable. Eco fashion is all about clothes, shoes and accessories that have been produced in such a way as to reduce their impact on the environment. Climate Week will be celebrating sustainable fashion, with tips, competitions and interviews to get you thinking about your wardrobe.

Dress your best for Climate Week

Tweet us a photo of you in your favourite sustainable outfit to @Climate_Week or post it on our Facebook page, telling us the story behind that outfit. How did you come across it? On what occasion did you wear it? The most interesting story and photo entries will win H&M vouchers! We have five vouchers worth £20 and one voucher worth £50 to give away. Your outfit could be bought from a sustainable collection, an unusual charity shop bargain, something you got from a “swishing” clothes-swap party or even a hand me down. Whatever it is, send us your trendy eco tale for a chance to win.

Climate Week’s eco fashion tips:

• Recycle: Donating your clothes to a charity shop and picking up a bargain in return is a great way to recycle perfectly good clothing
• Clothing collections: choosing sustainable fashion collections such as H&M’s ‘Conscious Collection’ means you can shop on the high street and be part of the movement for more sustainable fashion
• Launder at low temperatures: low-temperature washing can hugely reduce the total carbon footprint that results from your use of a piece of clothing
• Re-use: Clothing that is thoroughly worn-through can still make excellent cleaning equipment! There is nothing more effective than a holey shirt to polish the coffee table
• Re-fashion: Customise old clothes to give your wardrobe a new look – cut some jeans in to shorts, splash paint on an old shirt, or cut the sleeves off a cardigan to make ankle or arm-warmers
• Hand-down: Children grow fast, so get together with other parents and pass outgrown clothes on to younger children

We will be providing you with tips on how to shop and dress sustainably and we will be sharing links to sustainable fashion blogs, events and interesting stats and facts through twitter and our Facebook page. There will also be twitter interviews with eco experts in the fashion industry – this is a chance to find out more about sustainable fashion in the UK and learn some key secrets from those in the know. Be sustainable, be stylish!


To get involved, follow @Climate_Week, Like us on Facebook and join the conversation using the #CWfash hashtag.

Five teams will put their creativity, talent and stamina to the test by producing a performance against the clock. Each team contains award-winning writers and directors, celebrity actors, and fresh talent from the country’s top drama schools.

The play is taking place at 7.30pm on Friday 16 March 2012 in the Arcola Tent at the Arcola Theatre in London.

Tickets are available from the Arcola Theatre box office for £12. To book please call 020 7503 1646 or email boxoffice@arcolatheatre.com.

Starring: Special celebrity guests TBA
Writers: Bola Agbaje, Nick Drake, Ella Hickson, Nick Payne, and Sarah Solemani
Directors: Tom Attenborough, Cathal Cleary, Laura Farnworth, Lu Kemp, Ellen McDougall
Drama Schools: Bristol Old Vic, Central, Guildhall, LAMDA, and RADA

About Arcola

Arcola is proud of its mission to become the world’s first carbon neutral theatre though Arcola Energy, a programme of activity spanning everything from recycling bottles, to building facilities from old sets, to international green theatre partnerships.

Arcola Tent is an exciting pop-up, mixed arts venue, made almost entirely from reused or recycled materials. Soundproofing is provided by insulation materials from the Olympic site; the toilets and sinks are from a construction site near Cannon Street, and the space is heated by biodiesel made from waste oil from local takeaways.

It was fantastic to see such a diverse group of people together in one place, that are all acting to combat climate change. It was a chance for everyone to share their stories, inspire and be inspired, and start planning what they will be doing for Climate Week from 12-18 March 2012.

The highlight of the event was the panel discussion, which took place in the Faraday Theatre, chaired by Tom Clarke, the Science and Environment Correspondent for Channel 4 News. The panellists were discussing “The Need for Speed: How can we accelerate society’s response to climate change?”

Richard Betts, the Head of the Climate Impacts Programme at the Met Office, explained the current science underpinning the debate. He highlighted the need for adaptation to changes in the climate, particularly on flood plains and for new housing, taking account of likely risks.

Jo Hobbs, Head of Guiding Development at Girlguiding UK, discussed the attitudes of girls and young women to environmental issues. She talked about the importance of educating young people on practical solutions, which are empowering, instead of a focus on problems. Pointing to inspirational examples of what Brownies have been doing in Thurnby, Leicestershire, and County Antrim, Northern Ireland, she encouraged people to harness the power of youth to change the world.

The Rt Hon John Gummer, Lord Deben, former Secretary of State for the Environment, spoke next, talking about how businesses have been taking a lead on climate change recently. He said they should be praised for the action they are taking, motivating them to do more, which provides a stronger platform to hold underachievers to account. He also discussed how to keep climate change at the top of the agenda: providing politicians with at least five personal letters a week; and using existing passions, and the internet, as channels to discuss the issues – as he does on Catholic blogs.

Tony Juniper, former Executive Director of Friends of the Earth, current Chair of 10:10, and Special Adviser to the Prince of Wales Charities’ International Sustainability Unit, put an emphasis on using human psychology and culture, rather than technocratic arguments, to make change happen. He stressed the importance of reaching out beyond the usual suspects, to connect with people, and the power of example in altering behaviour. He used the analogy of a fire alarm – asking how you would respond if everyone sat calmly, compared to how you would respond if everyone ran for the exits in a panic.

Paul Noon, General Secretary of Prospect, and the TUC General Council lead on energy and the environment, looked at the tremendous opportunities for Britain in emerging low-carbon industries. He also discussed the importance of government implementing stringent regulation where necessary, pointing to the example of the Clean Air Act of 1956, which got rid of London’s smog without putting a tax on soot. He finished with a focus on the role of employers, and of the expectations that employees should have from their unions and employers.

This was followed by a lively debate amongst the panellists as questions were put to them. Even Tom Clarke, as Chair, contributed by providing comments on the role of the media play in providing coverage of climate issues.

Time was too short to get the chance to talk about all the points that were raised, and so as guests filed out of the theatre the Royal Institution was buzzing with debate and discussion.

If you would like to contribute to the discussion then join the conversation on Twitter by tweeting @climate_weekor using the #ClimateWeek hashtag.

Pictures of the event:

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.