Like charity and family values, energy efficiency begins at home. So with your washing on at 30 and the kettle half full you might be looking at your rickety old boiler as the biggest energy thief in the kitchen, but before you rush out and buy the combi-boiler they’ve got next door, take a minute to check out Greenheart Installations and their renewable plumbing services.

They offer a variety of systems designed to reduce energy costs and carbon consumption, as well as prolonging the life of your boiler by cutting its workload. Their systems include Solar Thermal Heating, Air Source Heat Pumps, Biomass Boilers and Under Floor Heating.

Solar Thermal Heating involves hooking up a specialist boiler to a solar panel on the roof; this collects solar energy which is then used to heat water for your system. Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) uses energy from the condensation of gas to liquid within a closed system to heat water, and with 1Kw of electrical energy producing 2.5Kw of heat energy it is a very efficient method of doing so. As you might expect biomass boilers are just like normal boilers except they run on wood and biomass rather than gas or electricity. Under Floor Heating (USH) is exactly as it sounds, it constantly pumps water through small pipes under the floor, but at a lower temperature than normal central heating meaning it has a less work to do and thus saves energy.

We spoke to Rob Holmes at Greenheart to find out more:

“Each system we install is tailor made to the customers needs. For example a big family will have a higher water consumption so will need a bigger tank and more solar panels than a couple living alone.”

“To help customers make the right choice for them we conduct a site survey and discuss what they want. Some ring up and say they just want some renewable technology and we go over the options and recommend certain products, others have particular ideas and we’ll do the research on the products they want. We’re flexible and work with the customer to get what they want out of it.”

As you might expect installation costs for these systems are not cheap, but with the savings made on your energy bills they’re still a worthwhile investment if you own your home. There are also grants available as part of the governments Low Carbon Buildings Program (LCBP) and, if you live in the Chichester area, from the Chichester District Council (go to www.lowcarbonbuildings.org or www.greenheartinstallations.co.uk/government-grants for more info).

“With a typical Solar Heating system you can go six months to a year without using gas and customers generally save at least 50% on their bill, with some even saving as much as 70%. If you have an Air Source Heat Pump you don’t use gas at all for heating water. The average time to recoup installation costs is roughly 5-7 years, but it can be as little as 3.”

“You can apply for the government grant online, we give them the information they need and it’s fairly simple. With the council grant we give them the names and numbers and talk them through it, it’s fairly straightforward and the grants come through pretty quickly.”

These new technologies are not only renewable but reliable as well:

“The only maintenance required is an annual check up. This is a simple inspection that only takes about half an hour and it’s another service we provide. We always endeavour to give customer satisfaction and we even service systems that have been installed by other companies.”

If you want to make a carbon difference in your own home then Greenheart could help you take a significant chunk out of your footprint. They offer renewable energy alternatives to cut down on harm to the environment and the cost of your bill, so if you’re interested in killing two birds with one green stone then check out www.greenheartinstallations.co.uk

Take cotton, for example.  A simple, natural material, you might think, but Natalie Southgate, founder of The Organic Toy Company knows otherwise.

“Conventional, non-organic cotton is one of the most environmentally devastating and toxic forms of agriculture in the world,” she says, explaining that the chemicals involved in cotton production are responsible for polluting the environment and poisoning the farmers who work with them.  Every year there are over 20,000 deaths among cotton farmers and their workers in developing countries.

This is unacceptable.

Southgate’s investigations into organic cotton began with her own children in mind.  She found that conventional toys aggravated the symptoms of eczema and allergies: little wonder when you consider the chemical cocktail that has gone into making them.  Organically produced materials, without added harmful chemicals, are far kinder to allergy sufferers.  They’re kinder to the environment too.

At The Organic Toy Company, you will find an ever-growing selection of organic toys and baby gifts, all ethically sourced.

When it comes to online toy shopping, I have yet to find a more comprehensive website.  Product descriptions detail the precise origins of each item, including information about the source of materials used and the ethical working conditions of manufacture.  At last, parents have a real chance to consider the environmental and ethical impact of the toys they buy.

Have a look at The Organic Toy Company’s new website, which went live recently.  Gorgeous toys, quality information and unshakable ethics: we could all learn a lot.

Rachel Pattisson is a freelance copy writer. She writes a blog called Really Rachel and you can hire her here: ThoughtTrains.co.uk.

Established in 1990 by Prince Charles, Duchy Originals is a pioneer of the organic food movement. Beginning with a humble oaten biscuit in 1992, a recent partnership with Waitrose means the Duchy range will include over 500 organic products (see video below). Despite their success Duchy have remained true to the laudable values laid out in their good food charter.

Duchy are good for the environment as they are 100% organic, so no nasties, and their small producer base ensures, they remain accountable.

Duchy do good as 100% of their profits go to the Prince’s Charities Foundation, with over £6m donated so far. So as you reach for their chocolate covered toffee biscuits on the supermarket shelf you are helping to fund arts projects in Kabul and getting young people into employment in Glasgow.

Duchy taste pretty good as well! Don’t take my word for it (although their damson jam is good on toast) but that of the experts at the Great Taste Awards 2009, where Duchy was awarded 7 Gold merits for faultless flavours!

Duchy promotes a “virtuous circle” of sustainable farming, traditional skills and natural production to create a product base which will ensure your tummy AND your conscience are satisfied!

Susan Dixon is a freelance writer.

Remember Green Thing? We introduced you to him last year and while he may appear to be a hideous monster he is, in fact, not hideous at all.

The Green Thing is a not-for-profit organisation designed to promote sustainable living.  The Green Thing website is full of inspiring videos and stories from creative people around the world with excellent ideas for leading a greener life.

And Green Thing is two years old this week.  Happy Birthday Green Thing!

One of Green Thing’s recent brilliant ideas is Glove Love: a project designed to reduce waste and encourage re-use.  Green Thing describes Glove Love as “the stylish and sustainable union of the country’s single gloves.”

Green Thing are collecting lost and lonely gloves, washing them, finding them a new partner and then selling them.  When you buy a pair of Glove Love gloves, you can specify your size but the pair you receive will be a surprise.

Warm your hands and warm your heart, knowing that you have done a little bit to help the environment.  And made two lonely gloves very happy.

Rachel Pattisson is a freelance copy writer. She writes a blog called Really Rachel and you can hire her here: ThoughtTrains.co.uk.

How would you like your employer to hold you accountable for your carbon footprint?

WSP Group is doing just that.  The global management and consultancy service is pioneering a novel way to reduce the carbon footprint of its employees.

The scheme is the first of its kind and has been running in the UK for two years.  So far, 80 members of staff have volunteered to take part.

The Personal Carbon Tracking Scheme (PACT) helps to track the carbon footprint of employees who are each ‘allowed’ an annual carbon budget of 5.5 tonnes of emissions.

The company provides tools for employees to measure their carbon emissions every quarter.  Measures such as cycling to work, staying in the UK for holidays and using environmentally-friendly electricity providers all help employees to meet their targets.

There is a reward of £100 for staff whose carbon emissions are within their annual carbon budget and a £100 fine for staff whose carbon emissions are too high.  Most staff choose to donate their reward money (or pay their fine) to charity.  In 2008, the company was able to donate £1300 to the Woodland Trust.

WSP are now looking to expand the scheme worldwide.

More information on PACT can be found on the WSP site.

Rachel Pattisson is a freelance copy writer. She writes a blog called Really Rachel and you can hire her here: ThoughtTrains.co.uk.

I’ve been meaning to write about Graze for some time now and today there are some discount codes floating about on Twitter so, if you’re quick, you can read about the product and try it for free!

The idea behind Graze is simple. Delicious, healthy food, delivered straight to your desk at work. You can choose from a variety of different fruits, nuts and seeds and they deliver nationwide in the UK from just £2.99.

The service has been started by some of the the people who started LoveFilm so they already have experience in subscription services that come in the post. They also seem to be very switched on about packaging and food miles.

To see the product in more detail check out Dan Light’s unboxing video which is embedded below.

Now for some discount codes! The code QBH7WQWA will get you one free box and another half price (expires 22 March, thanks Utku) or try 8HR63CXA which should get you a free box (expires 19 March, thanks Tom)!

If you do try a Graze box then we’d love to hear what you think of it!

You can also follow Graze on Twitter – they’re @grazedotcom.

GoodGuide.com provides the world’s largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home.

It can help you answer such questions as “Is my shampoo safe?” and “What are the safest toys for my children?”

GoodGuide was started by Dara O’Rourke as “a ‘For Benefit’ startup at the forefront of integrating science and technology, working to fill a huge information gap in the marketplace.” They are well funded and have developed a series of valuable partnerships with non-profits, universities and tech companies. They were recently voted the Startup “Most Likely to Make the World a Better Place” at The Crunchies (Silicon Valley’s version of the Oscars) in the face of stiff competition from the likes of Kiva.org.

The company seems to have caught the imagination of Silicon Valley and we reckon they’re definitely one to watch! To find out more, check out the GoodGuide blog, their free iPhone application or get involved in developing the idea – they’re open to suggestions!

Here’s a little tip from the lovely folk at Method that we spotted a while ago on their blog People Against Dirty…

When you’ve finished filling up your car with fuel make sure you do up the petrol cap nice and tight – it should click three times – otherwise some of your fuel will evaporate. It’s estimated that millions of gallons of petrol are lost this way every year!

An OWL arrived at LovelyCompanies.com HQ over Christmas and I thought it was worthy of a quick review…

The OWL is a nifty little mobile device that you can put anywhere in your house and it displays your current electricity usage in a couple of different units including pence/hour and kg of greenhouse gas/hour.  A little sender unit clips onto the wires going into your fusebox and transmits the necessary info straight to your kitchen table!

It’s fascinating to watch the impact that various devices have on our electricity usage – the kettle, iron and electric heater seem to be the worst culprits! It also makes us think twice about leaving things plugged in overnight.

It’s only £29.95 with free delivery. Check it out:
http://www.theowl.com/