on the Salesforce.com platform8 July 2015Introduced by Darren Hall, Executive Director of Big Green Week & Editor of Good Bristol.

Forcewest www.forcewest.com

Stories ofSustainability

A Salesforce User Group by Desynit

Technology tosave the planet

IRT Surveyswww.irtsurveys.co.uk

Nobody knows what a kWh means, or what a ton of carbon looks like, but people do understand pounds and pence

In the winter of 2006, the team at IRT (Infrared Thermal) Surveys were having little luck in convincing the social housing residents of Aberdeen that home insulation was a good thing.

After knocking on 10,000 doors to show each homeowner a picture of exactly where the heat in their homes were leaking from, and offering free insulation, they were met with a firm “No thank you, I don’t want any holes drilling in my house.” The next winter, the team went back again, this time with clearer images of the heat loss, mapped by an urgent red blob onto the individual’s home. They managed a conversion rate of 1 in 10.

Not to be deterred, the team were back for

a third time in 2008. This time, rather than just showing a thermal image, this heat loss was translated into pounds and pence. Around £350 was what it took to galvanise the residents into action, and this time around 70% of residents took the offer to insulate their homes. To date, IRT have initiated the insulation of 25,000 houses in Aberdeen.

IRT have worked with authorities and companies around the UK to communicate the need for greater energy efficiency in over 250,000 homes to date. Their roadmap for innovative technology, powered by the Salesforce platform, is set to drive greater energy efficiency throughout our homes and our cities.

Big Belly Solar Binswww.bigbellysolar.co.uk Have you been to Bath recently and

checked out their street bins? Maybe that wouldn’t be your prime reason for visiting this UNESCO world heritage site. However, it may surprise you to find out that there is a quiet revolution going on with the council rubbish collection, and it comes down to solar powered bins.

Bath’s ‘brainy’ bins are able to determine when they are reaching capacity, and then compact the waste. In this way the bins can hold more than 6 to 8 times waste than a conventional bin. 100% of the energy needs for the unit are supplied by solar power. What’s more,

this increased capacity means a dramatically reduced number of collection trips, which in turns reduces the associated costs and carbon emissions. Bath is one of 162 UK councils who have trialled Big Belly Solar bins. With over 15,000 units installed internationally, this company is changing street waste collection around the world.

Managing Director, Matt Crisp believes the Internet of Things will increasingly play a role in creating a more sustainable future, through utilisation of green tech solutions in our own organisations.

Brainy bins that run on solar power

Sustainability Cloudfrom CloudAppswww.sustainability.cloudapps.com

Small nudges to create big change

CloudApps co-founder Simon Wheeldon is no stranger to the importance of mastering motivational techniques, after all, his wife’s a teacher. And as any great teacher can tell you, getting the most from people has little to do with carrot or stick, and a lot to do with keeping them engaged.

Sustainability Cloud has been devised as a way of keeping individuals aware of how their actions in the workplace can work to promote greener practice. Through carefully targeted messaging, this app successfully encourages

people to redouble their sustainability efforts as individuals. Office lighting, heating, printing, overseas travel, methods of commuting … these are just a few examples of areas where resources can be conserved with some really simple changes in behaviour.

CloudApps’ Sustainability Cloud showcases how sophisticated communication technology plays a role in tackling climate change, by motivating some real change in the way we work.

Vin2owww.vin2o.co.uk

Hart’s Bakerywww.hartsbakery.co.uk

“I want my wine to be interesting, a great drink, and doing good”

This was the clear mission Chris Coles had for his wine-supply business, Vin2o, when he arrived in the West Country in 2008. An ex-Army officer, with a long and varied post military career in the corporate world, his view was that great wine should not cost the earth.

Wine-making is a water intensive process, and therefore Vin2o donates 25p from each bottle sold to Pump Aid, a charity delivering sustainable water solutions in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Chris’ commitment to sustainability also extends to only working with small producers, operating responsibly in terms of their treatment of the environment, and of course their workforce.

Laura Hart has been baking bread for 15 years. Initially selling her wares from a basket on the front of her bike, Hart’s now has a permanent home under the railway arches of Temple Meads.

Her approach to sustainability is to source from local, and ethical suppliers. The bakery take a responsible attitude to recycling, and when it comes to deliveries, wherever possible they rely on cycle couriers. Finally, while Hart’s have very low food wastage, the surplus baked items they do have, go to charity Fare Share.

Finally thanks to Darren Hall for his commitment to creating a more sustainable city, and to Smith & Williamson for hosting this event.

Details coming soon for our next event on www.forcewest.com

www.desynit.com

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