Surrey's Greener Future Archives - The MrT Podcast Studio MrT

Episode 12 - The Carbon Footprint of my glass of wine

The Carbon Footprint of my glass of wine is a podcast made as part of the Surrey's Greener Future initiative.



Surrey County Council asked people to submit ideas to help combat the climate crisis in September 2019 . They selected ten ideas from the submissions and these podcasts are one of them.



In this podcast I talk to Luke Landers, the Sustainability Lead, and James Crawford, the Skipper, at the Naked Wines UK business.

Who are Naked Wines?

Naked Wines are an Internet based mail order wine business operating in Australia, the UK and the US. Their wine makers tend to be small independent producers.



Customers comment on the wines they buy and the winemaker responds direct to the customer. Both customers and winemakers like this direct contact. Across the three businesses there are a total of around 950,000 active customers.



Making my wine:



Our discussion starts with a look at the production of wine. The public perception of Climate Change is currently high because of the media coverage.



Winemakers have lived with the realities of these changes for some time. We see floods in Germany, wild fires in Australia and California and severe frosts in France. All have a major effect on the wine that we drink.



We consider the impact on the climate and how the viability of wine making is changing.



Transport from winery to my local warehouse:



Transport is a key element in the industry. I learn about how the carbon footprint differs between 'domaine or chateau bottled' wine and wine that is bottled locally. When wine is transported in bulk and locally bottled the carbon footprint is significantly lower than transporting bottled wine.



The bottle also makes a significant difference. Many people believe that a heavy bottle means a better wine. A heavier bottle certainly means a bigger carbon footprint! Both for manufacture and also transport. Naked are actively looking at ways of reducing the weight of bottles.



We discuss the merits of boxed wines. The container is significantly lighter, often around 90% lighter, than a bottle. Naked are currently offering a limited range. The wine lasts for some weeks after opening and the customer reviews have been favourable.

Warehousing and Delivery

We discuss the work that is done to make the warehouse processes environmentally friendly and also the activities of the delivery provide. We also talk about delivery to my home is compared to collect from a local centre.

Ultimately it will be customer pressure that drives change:

Customers will pressure businesses to be greener. Naked has a responsibility to inform customers. They provide information, such as country, alcohol content, vegan etc. for each wine. James tells us that this will expand. You can find an example in the gallery (see the thumbnails below).

Naked Wines Charitable Trust:

The charity uses the strength of the customer base to provide funds. There has been help for wine making communities after the recent natural disasters, support for 'Carmen's Kids' where, over the past 6 years, Angels have contributed  over £825,000 to provide meals for hungry schoolchildren in South Africa, and, nearer home, causes in the UK.



Follow this link to find out more.

Listen to the podcast to find out more!

If you'd like to see larger pictures, please open the gallery by clicking on a thumbnail:





























You can find the posts on the Naked Wines 'Green Wings' message board here. Please note: you need to be a Naked Wines Angel to post comments.



Go to the Naked Wines UK site please click here.

Farnham Repair Café update - episode 11

Farnham Repair Café update is a podcast made as part of the Surrey's Greener Future initiative.



Surrey County Council asked people to submit ideas to help combat the climate crisis in September 2019 . They selected ten ideas from the submissions and Environmental podcasts is one of them.

The Repair Café Conference:

I last met Martin Charter in early March 2020 at the Repair Café Conference just before the first Covid 19 lockdown in the UK. You can listen to the podcast about the conference by clicking here. Martin tells me about the activities that have taken place in support of the conference because over 80 people attended.



Many might think that a pandemic would stop the enthusiasm. Not so!



Farnham Repair Café over the past year:



Martin tells us that there have been repairs. They considered a number of ways in keeping in touch with their customers. The have been using a 'drop off' model. This model has achieved a better success ratio than the traditional Repair Café concept. This is because, with the traditional 'drop in' concept the team has no idea what will arrive, whereas the items for 'drop off' are 'triaged' before being accepted.



The target for September:



Planning progresses for a return to 'drop in' from mid-September. The Repair Café is moving to a larger hall within the Spire Church in the centre of Farnham. This will enable the team to expand.



They've been recruiting new repairers and are willing to repair many things. There are restriction - no petrol or gas items - and there are restrictions around some electrical goods. Oh... another thing - you must be able to bring it in to the venue, by hand!

Take the opportunity to contribute to our greener future:

Bring your items for repair, extend their life! The Government has passed 'right to repair' legislation so repair is going to become more usual!

Listen to the podcast to find out more!

You can find out more about the Farnham Repair Café here. Their Facebook page is here.

The 'Surrey's Greener Future' podcasts:

Please use any of the material in order to support your own initiatives to Combat Climate Change because each of us really can make a difference!



In addition to this web-page this podcast is available on Amazon Music, iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify and Stitcher and others.





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Episode 10 - Surrey's Wildflowering Project

Welcome to Surrey's Wildflowering Project, a podcast made as part of the Surrey's Greener Future initiative.



Surrey County Council asked people to submit ideas to help combat the climate crisis in September 2019 . They selected ten ideas from the submissions.

Surrey's Widflowering project

I last met Nigel Collin in January 2020 before the Covid pandemic really took off. Nigel is the driving force behind the Wildflowering Project. Surrey County Council selected this as part of the Surrey's Greener Future Programme.



Nigel tells us about the progress that the project has made during 2020. Many might think that the pandemic would stop the project. Not so!



Slowed but not stopped



Nigel tells us that progress has been made. They managed to seed some verges. A team has been set up to move the project forward. There are a wide range of skills on the team. The team includes people from the county highways department, local councillors and experts on natural environments.



Progress in spite of issues



In a Episode 5 Nigel told me that there were a number of issues with his original concept. He has worked with Surrey County Council to come up with acceptable workarounds.



He may not have achieved everything he hoped to do but there has been significant progress!

View the pictures that accompany this podcast:

The pictures are taken from two .PDF files that are available below. Please click on a thumbnail to open the gallery:






















If you'd like to open the original .PDF files:

For an introduction to the project please click here.



And for a leaflet about the project please click here..

The 'Surrey's Greener Future' podcasts:

Please use any of the material in order to support your own initiatives to Combat Climate Change because each of us really can make a difference!



In addition to this web-page this podcast is available on Amazon Music, iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify and Stitcher.





Like to comment on this podcast?





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Episode 9 - Bare and Fair

Welcome to Bare and Fair, a podcast made as part of the Surrey's Greener Future initiative.

February 2020

I meet Mel, a driving force behind Bare & Fair, on a cold, wet, February day in Woking, because of this we retreat to the Café at Christ Church in the town centre for a coffee and interview.



Mel explains how she and her family started trying to be more environmentally friendly. Their first action was to reduce waste and, because of their efforts. they reduced the amount in their bin by 50% in 6 months.



Next - Bare and Fair. A market stall in Woking market every Saturday selling environmentally friendly products. Much of what they sell are environmentally friendly cleansing products. They couple this with a policy of refilling cleaned, used, containers because this further reduces the environmental impact.



We finish the interview by looking into the future, a future then severely impacted by 2020!



Post lockdown, now reopened







I 'phone Mel once they've been open for a few weeks post lockdown.



We talk about how the pandemic has changed the business.



During lockdown the market stall was closed and so they started deliveries to customers.



Mel tells me how things are going now and, because of the growth in home deliveries, they've appointed a delivery company. The products are delivered by pedal bicycle - good exercise as the orders can be heavy.



We talk about the extra cleaning requirements required today, Mel says they have now become second nature.



I ask whether there are are any issues with reused containers being refilled. Mel tells me that there has been some research into this. Properly cleaned there isn't an issue.



SESI - supplier to Bare and Fair



The final part of the podcast I talk to Rina and Paul at SESI, a supplier to Bare and Fair. They tell me about the products that they supply and how they supply them to stockists. We discuss their environmental credentials. I find that some of the products that they sell are both natural and very traditional.



Please note: in some places there are issues with the sound quality from the mobile 'phone and you will need to listen carefully!

Contact information:

Bare and Fair:



Bare and Fair's website is here.

Their online shop for deliveries in the Woking area is here.

The contact form for Bare and Fair is  here.



SESI:



Their website is here.



To contact the SESI team please email inbox@sesi.org.uk - you'll need to copy this into your email client.

Find out more about Surrey's Greener Future:

To find out more follow this link.

The 'Surrey's Greener Future' podcasts:

Join us for the next podcast in this series which will be published soon.



Please use any of the material in order to support your own initiatives to Combat Climate Change because each of us really can make a difference!



In addition to this web-page this podcast is available on Amazon Music, iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify and Stitcher.







AKM Music has licensed Perfect Circle for use as the theme and for use as incidental music in this episode.



The photographs used in this podcast are used with the permission of Mel Hemmings.



© The MrT Podcast Studio 2020

Episode 8 - The Repair Cafe Conference

Welcome to the Repair Cafe Conference podcast which is made as part of the Surrey's Greener Future initiative.



The University for the Creative Arts in Farnham hosted the Repair Cafe Conference on 12th March 2020. You can see the large number of delegates in the photographs.



The Repair Cafe concept started in the Netherlands, however there are now over 2,000 across the world.



Professor Martin Charter starts by welcoming the delegates and introducing the day's agenda. Then Councillor Pat Evans, the Mayor of Farnham,  addressed the delegates. I caught up with her recently for an interview to include in this podcast.

The morning - information for the delegates:

The morning agenda:



Professor Wouter Spekkink, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, covers the 3rd Global survey of Repair Cafes. Interested in the full report? If so click here.

Professor Martin Charter talks about the Farnham Repair Café Visitor survey.

John Pearce delivers an analysis of the Farnham Repair Café activities.

Steve Privett on the CO2 Calculator and also the use of 3D Printing for repairs.

A panel discussion about key issues for Repair Cafés.



The afternoon - delegate discussion and feedback:



Speed networking giving delegates the opportunity to meet others.

Group discussions on the Lessons related to Product Repair.

Group discussions about Policy making implications at Local and Central Government levels.



Please note: in some places there are issues with the sound quality somyou will need to listen carefully!

Photographs from the day:

Click on one of the photographs below in order to see the gallery:




















More information and webinar details:



Details of the Conference are here.

Managing Repair Cafes #sharerepair - the video of the webinar is at.

Repair Learning #sharerepair - the video of the webinar is here.

Repair Cafes in Lockdown #sharerepair - agenda for the webinar to be held on 14th July 2020 at 18.00 (BST).

Managing Repair Cafes #sharerepair - agenda for the webinar to be held on 25th July 2020 at 10.00 (BST).

A link to the Centre for Sustainable Design at the University for the Creative Arts Events page is here.



To contact the Repair Cafe Conference team please email rcarruthers@uca.ac.uk.



Click in order to find out more about the Farnham Repair Cafe.

Find out more about Surrey's Greener Future:

To find out more about the 'design challenge' follow this link.

The 'Surrey's Greener Future' podcasts:

The next episode will be in a few weeks.



Please use any of the material in order to support your own initiatives to Combat Climate Change because each of us really can make a difference!



In addition to this web-page this podcast is available on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify and Stitcher.







AKM Music has licensed Perfect Circle for use as the theme



Joseph McDade has licensed On the Verge so it can be used as incidental music in this episode.



You may use the photographs that accompany this podcast in line with the Creative Commons licence.



© The MrT Podcast Studio 2020

Episode 7 - Greener with the Surrey Library Service

Welcome to the Greener with the Surrey Library Service podcast. This is part of the Surrey's Greener Future initiative.



I met with Annalise and Jen at Woking Library before the onset of the Coronavirus Lockdown. This lockdown has closed Library buildings, however the Libraries at Home service continues.  The service offers e-books, e-magazines and e-audio books. The service is found at.

In what way is a Library Service Greener?

We discussed the fact that each book offered is read by many people. This means that there is a reduction in the use of natural resources.



These days many people access the library through the internet. This means that they can borrow e-books, e-journals and e-audiobooks without leaving home. Or from the far side of the world when travelling.



The 'e-' service doesn't require paper or fuel to deliver books to members! There is also an on-line reference service with access to various reference works and the Naxos Music collection.

The Library of Things

The Guildford Library hosts a Library of Things. You can borrow a host of useful items including DIY, decorating and gardening tools as well as, Jen and Annalise tell me, a tent!



We finish by talking about the actions that Annalise and Jen are doing to become greener.

Resources:

Surrey Libraries can be found at.



To find out more about Surrey's Greener Future:



To find out more about the 'design challenge' please follow this link.



About the 'Surrey's Greener Future' podcasts:

The next episode will be in a few weeks.



Please use any of the material to support your own initiatives to Combat Climate Change - each of us really can make a difference!



You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts / iTunes, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify and Stitcher.







AKM Music has licensed 'Perfect Circle' for use as the theme.



© The MrT Podcast Studio 2020