Lucy Siegle demonstrating how much CO2 we produce

I have to admit I am not very well informed on ‘green issues’ but an invite to lunch at ‘Walnut’, West Hampstead in the wake of the Sainsbury’s Energy and British Gas collaboration, and a talk by Lucy Siegle who writes about environmental issues and has a weekly column in The Observer was too tempting to pass by.

Lucy gave us a very entertaining and educational talk on the history of green issues which didn’t really get the media exposure it does now until surprisingly as late as 2006/07. A lot of this change has been spurred on by people that don’t want their world destroyed by consumerism. All too often we are told what we should buy and pay without truly thinking about it. Lucy prefers to call this ethical living although it is known as sustainable living too. Apparently every household produces enough Carbon dioxide to sustain several hot air balloons and we are using up our footprints earlier each year, and not turning off our appliances adds a huge percentage onto our energy costs.

There are practical solutions that we can make to scale back the energy we use though, these include using less packaging, composting, walking more, insulation,turning off appliances (energy monitors are becoming popular to keep track of energy use in the home). Obviously we can’t all build eco friendly houses from scratch but solar panels are becoming more popular and what I didn’t know was that you can earn money by generating your own electricity and exporting back to the National Grid.

Sainsbury’s and British Gas have formed a partnership to become a one stop shop for energy saving tips, advice and practical solutions including the installation of solar panels. There are at the moment six energy centres throughout the country although the website has a lot of advice and information on it. For £45 you can have an energy assessment where an energy expert comes to your home and complete a personalised energy savings report to help you become more energy efficient in the home. Apparently the energy expert will make recommendations that could save you on average around £200 a year. I am going to be having a report done and I will let you know what recommendations are made and whether they are practical or not for the average family. Any purchases made at the energy centres also earns you nectar points which is always a bonus if you shop in Sainsburys normally.

So, after this lovely lunch and a catch up with some new and old friends, I came away not only with a fab goody bag full of organic products but a mind full of information that I hope I can put to good use and help do a little bit more than just recycling to help our planet.