Posts Tagged Martin Charter
Farnham Repair Café launches free Repair Café Carbon Calculator V2
Posted by Internet Business Press in Centre For Sustainable Design, Farnham Repair Cafe on April 13, 2022
April 13th, 2022, Farnham, Surrey. Farnham Repair Café (FRC) launches its latest version – V2 – of its Repair Café Carbon Calculator today, and confirms that the free online tool – https://frc.cfsd.org.uk/index.php/rc-carbon-calculator-standard – is available with immediate effect to repair cafés and similar organisations anywhere in the world.
The upgrade complements “Right to Repair” laws and emerging trends around “Right to Repair” in March 2021, the first-ever right to repair laws came into effect in the EU, with the UK following four months later. Manufacturers in Europe are now legally obligated to ensure that electric and electronic goods, such as televisions and fridges, can be repaired for up to 10 years after purchase. On March 30th 2022 the EC launched its Sustainable Product Initiative (SPI), to ensure that products in the EU market are designed to be repairable, recyclable, durable, energy-efficient and free of hazardous chemicals.
“Repair Café Carbon Calculator V2 displays information on users’ carbon savings in a more easily and clearly understood way,” says its developer Steve Privett, a former FRC trustee and repairer, and currently a consultant and researcher.
FRC’s founder and Chair of the Board of Trustees, Professor Martin Charter, comments, “The new version will help repair cafés and other organisations to further realise and promote the benefits of repairing a product – that extends its life – compared to replacement with something new.
“Repairing is a vital way of preventing waste, reducing CO2 emissions and combatting the ‘buy now, throwaway later’ culture.”
Privett says, “There are no changes to how the tool operates or the calculation methods used. But, inside, the software has been re-engineered to display results through graphic images – and give a more descriptive equivalence to carbon savings via an example range of ‘everyday’ activities such as driving, air travel and hot showering. For example, 35 kg of repaired electrical items at a repair café session would save 306 kg of carbon emissions, the equivalent emissions of taking 191 hot showers.”
Emphasising that the new version makes it easier for organisers and users of repair cafés to understand and communicate environmental benefits to the public, he adds, “For example, a repair café keeping a record of the calculator’s results could say, “Since opening, we have saved the equivalent carbon emissions of someone flying 235,000 miles or driving a new petrol car more than 160,000 miles.”
Also new is a graph showing a percentage breakdown of the carbon emission savings contribution from each product repair category. It helps users quickly see how different repair categories contribute to the overall carbon emission savings, and how or where savings might be improved.
Additionally, the calculator features a graph showing the carbon emission savings intensity of repairs. This helps users to see if their repair café results or sessions are above or below the UK average calculated from original research data. Says Privett, “When more products – that created high carbon emissions when they were originally manufactured – are repaired, the carbon intensity of repairs moves to a higher level, and vice versa for products that created low carbon emissions during manufacture and transportation.”
Quick carbon calculator option
Users not requiring a comprehensive view of results via the standard calculator model can use the “quick” option. It allows users to rapidly estimate their carbon emission savings of a repair by entering either the total weight of successful repairs or the total number of items repaired successfully.
The option takes into account other factors that impact carbon emission emissions savings, including how many products are taken by the average visitor for repair and how many miles they will have driven to and from the repair café or other repair organisation.
Collaboration
The original version of the Repair Café Carbon Calculator was launched in 2020 and was the result of three months-long collaboration between Steve Privett and Professor Charter. Funding came from University for the Creative Arts UCA, following an award from the Strategic Priorities Fund from Research England. The calculator was ground-breaking internationally and replaced guesswork and paper-based methods. The calculator is still believed to be the only repair café carbon calculator of its kind.
User comments about the original version
“It’s very user friendly; very easy to enter items by weight and category; and the results summary is very useful” – Emilia Barnett, Alton Repair Café.
“We have used the calculator to work out the amount of carbon equivalent saved for items repaired. Consequently, it has been, and will be used, for a variety of items – electrical, other household, material, tools, bicycles etc. The strengths of the calculator are that it is easy to understand and gives a consistent approach to working out carbon saved” – Laura Harley, Overton Repair Café.
About FRC
FRC is open on every second Saturday of the month between 10am – 12.30pm and offers advice and repairs on all kinds of products, from vacuum cleaners, headphones and lights, to hats, jackets, pushchairs and bicycles. Address: FRC, The Spire Church, South Street, Farnham, GU9 7QU.
Founded in 2015, FRC became a UK-registered repair café charity in 2017, working in collaboration between The Centre for Sustainable Design ® at University of the Creative Arts, Farnham Town Council and The Spire Church in Farnham UK. FRC is part of the global Repair Café movement of 2283 (as of March 2022), led by The Repair Café International Foundation – founded in the Netherlands in 2011.
More about FRC https://frc.cfsd.org.uk
Below: a screenshot of the Quick Carbon Calculator option.
Farnham Repair Café’s “Repair Café Carbon Calculator” is previewed at the UK’s first Repair Café Conference today
Posted by Internet Business Press in Centre For Sustainable Design, Farnham Repair Cafe on March 12, 2020
March 12. 2020. Farnham, Surrey, UK. The UK’s first Repair Café Conference – held today and organised by The Centre for Sustainable Design [CfSD] at University for the Creative Arts (UCA) – sees a preview of a first, an online “Repair Café Carbon Calculator”, and a demonstration of 3D printing for spare parts as used by Farnham Repair Café (FRC).
This is the first time the calculator https://repaircafes.carboncalculator.sp-consulting.online/index.php/es-calc/ has been previewed in public ahead of its official launch on 31st March. Also on 31st March, a new FRC website will be launched at https://frc.cfsd.org.uk/
The conference – https://cfsd.org.uk/events/repair-cafes-conference – at UCA, Falkner Road, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7DS – discusses new research on global repair café and visitors’ behaviour, new innovations, and sharing best practice on issues related to running repair cafes and the repair of electronics, textiles, mechanicals, furniture and bicycles.
Delegates include representatives from repair cafés, local authorities, green organisations and academia.
The calculator rapidly calculates, via any given weight or number of repaired products, how much CO2 is potentially saved. It takes into account variables including average transport emissions to and from the repair café, spare parts use, rebound consumption and the savings made by reducing the total sum of greenhouse gases that would have been released by manufacturing new products, had these products not been successfully repaired by repair cafés in the UK.
It will be available from 31st March for use by repair cafés and any other organisations and individuals anywhere in the world, free of charge.
The calculator is the result of collaboration between FRC trustee and volunteer Steve Privett and UCA’s Professor Martin Charter, Director, CfSD and Chair of the Board of Trustees of FRC. The project has been funded by UCA as a result of an award from Research England.
Professor Martin Charter
In the beginning…
“There wasn’t a specific ‘eureka, who was keen to make it accessible by anyone with an internet connection. The idea evolved from there into the calculator we see today. At its core is a sound methodology based on information and data from Farnham Repair Café and other repair cafés in the UK.”
The information and data were used by Privett in his dissertation on “Potential impact of UK Repair Cafés on the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions” for his masters degree in sustainable development at the University of Surrey, where he gained a distinction in his masters degree thesis.
Says Professor Charter, “Research on the social impacts of repair café has been highlighted in the media and on social media, but very little about their potential ability to mitigate CO2 emissions has been published. The calculator should help change that and give more accurate estimations of CO2 saved.
“It’s also an excellent example of how the circular economy – repairing products, example – can reduce the impact of climate change by helping to reduce CO2 emissions.”
Privett comments, “Prior to the preview on 12th March, the methodology that the calculator is based on has seen international interest from repair cafés, academics, research students and repair organisations.”
3D printing
About the 3D printing demonstration at the conference, Privett says, “3D printing has the ability to revolutionise how repair cafés can further lower CO2 emissions and landfill by being able to repair a wider range of goods, thereby reducing the need to ‘buy new’. Products repaired at FRC using 3D printing have included an antique style lamp, mechanical toys, torches and custom appliance fittings, and promotional keyrings have been produced for FRC.”
A user of FRC, local resident Desi Lyon, says, “Waste of resources is a huge global problem and we no longer bring our children up in a culture of looking after things and repairing them. Not only does Farnham Repair Café offer knowledgeable and helpful engineers and other experts to fix broken items, but its very existence makes me hopeful that communities and individuals can have the power to change national policies and effect change.”
FRC is open on every second Saturday of the month between 10am – 1pm, when it provides advice on, and repair of, many kinds of products, from vacuum cleaners, headphones and lights, to hats, jackets, pushchairs and bicycles. Address: FRC, The Spire Church, South Street, Farnham, GU9 7QU.
Founded in 2015, FRC, a UK-registered repair café charity, is a collaborative project between UCA, CfSD at UCA, Farnham Town Council and The Spire Church in Farnham UK. It is part of the global Repair Café movement of over 2000, led by The Repair Café International Foundation – founded in the Netherlands in 2011; the number of repair cafés in the UK has doubled over the last year to more than 125.
Says Professor Charter, “Our repairers are highly skilled and do a brilliant job. To date we have organised 58 sessions and had 3,000 visitors to Farnham Repair Café since launch. There have been almost 1300 repairs at a 65 percent repair rate with over 3.7 tonnes being diverted from landfill, and we have reduced CO2 by 32.4 tonnes, and seen over £91,000 saved by repairing instead of buying new.”
More about FRC: https://cfsd.org.uk/events/farnham_repair_cafe/ and CfSD: https://cfsd.org.uk
For more information contact Martin Charter mcharter@uca.ac.uk
…ends…
University to host global sustainability conference
Posted by Internet Business Press in Centre For Sustainable Design on March 19, 2013
March 19th, 2013. Business leaders from around the world will gather at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) Epsom, UK, November 2013, to explore solutions to current environmental threats and challenges.
Sustainable Innovation 2013, a conference hosted by the university’s Centre for Sustainable Design, will provide a forum for new thinking, ideas and concepts.
Conference organiser and Director of The Centre for Sustainable Design, Martin Charter said, “Companies are being forced to rethink business models to adapt to the economic imperative, changing weather patterns, natural disasters and resource scarcity. In times of crisis there are often opportunities and there is a growing interest in creating new
business models that deliver economic value whilst reducing negative environmental and social impacts.
“Sustainable Innovation provides an ideal opportunity to take a strategic look at these challenges and to bring leaders from all sectors together to create solutions.”
Now in its 18th year, Sustainable Innovation has brought together 2,000 delegates from over 50 countries, representing a wide range of industry sectors and areas.
The 2013 conference has attracted a diverse range of speakers, including Tanya Bisgaard, founder of Novartis Innovation (Denmark); Lars Mortenson of the European Environment Agency (Denmark); Taru Aalto, Chief Operating Officer of Globe Hope (Finland); Mark Barthel, WRAP (UK); Tracey Rawling Church, Kyocera Document Solutions (UK); and Andy Baynes, Nest Labs (US).
The Centre for Sustainable Design is a research unit based at UCA, which has a leading-edge track record in knowledge transfer related to sustainable innovation and product sustainability. The Centre has a global reach, working with policy-makers, companies and academia worldwide.
For further information about Sustainable Innovation and the wider work of The Centre for Sustainable Design, visit: www.cfsd.org.uk or email Martin Charter mcharter@ucreative.ac.uk
…ends…
Note to the press; for further information please contact Martin
Charter, The Centre for Sustainable Design, mcharter@ucreative.ac.uk
00 44 1252 892772
or Paul Whitehead, Western Associates PR, paul@western-pr.com
00 44 1403 711177
The Centre for Sustainable Design announces fully revamped website – second major redesign since launch in 1995
Posted by Internet Business Press in Centre For Sustainable Design on August 9, 2011
T: 01403 711177 E: paul@western-pr.com
The Centre for Sustainable Design – CfSD – to provide training for the new ISO 14006 eco design standard
Posted by Internet Business Press in Centre For Sustainable Design on July 22, 2011
July 22nd 2011 The Centre for Sustainable Design [CfSD] in Farnham, Surrey [UK] has announced it is to provide training for ISO 14006, a new guidance standard designed to facilitate eco design. ISO 14006 was published on July 8th 2011, some two months ahead of schedule, and is expected by CfSD to be used by corporates and SMEs alike.
CfSD director Martin Charter, who was global convener of the ISO working group responsible for the standard and intimately involved with forming its content, says it will “provide practical guidance on how to manage eco design within existing management systems, speeding up opportunities to design, develop and produce profitable products with lower environmental impact.”
He adds, “With ISO 14006, manufacturers carrying out eco design can realise benefits in cost reduction, improved stakeholder and supply chain relationships, and improve image, employee motivation and innovation while maintaining the integrity of their EMS.
“But these benefits arise from changes in critical strategic planning and operational activities and can only be realised if they are anticipated, recognised and recorded as part of the overall corporate goals, objectives and targets.”
It is in these areas that CfSD will provide training, effective immediately.
Says Charter, “The standard is intimately linked to ISO 14001 and will help organisations establish a systematic and structured approach to the incorporation and implementation of eco design activities within an environmental management system such as ISO 14001:2004.
“ISO 14006 is a guidance standard, not a certification standard. It is intended to be applicable to all organisations, regardless of type, size and product provided, but is aimed primarily at those that have an environmental management system, such as ISO 14001:2004, in place.
“It will also be useful if combined with a quality management system in line with ISO 9001, and may be useful for those organisations that have no formalised environmental or quality management system but which are interested in reducing the adverse environmental impacts of their products.”
Charter adds that a guidance standard was needed “because no existing standard specifically covers and relates to the differing areas of knowledge and competencies required for the management of eco design within organisations.”
Enquiries about ISO 14006 training at CfSD should be directed to mcharter@ucreative.ac.uk More information at: http://www.cfsd.org.uk/training
About CfSD
The Centre for Sustainable Design (CfSD) was established in 1995 at University for the Creative Arts http://www.ucreative.ac.uk The centre provides a range of services focused on “product sustainability” and “sustainable innovation” issues: research, training, consultancy and events. CfSD organises the “Sustainable Innovation” series of international conferences, now in its 16th year – see:
http://www.cfsd.org.uk/events/tspd16
More information about The Centre for Sustainable Design:
CfSD
…ends…
Note to the press: for further information please contact:
Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design, University for the Creative Arts T: +44 (0)1252-892772 E: mcharter@ucreative.ac.uk
Or Paul Whitehead, Western Associates PR, T: +44 (0)1403 711177
http://www.western-pr.com E: paul@western-pr.com
CfSD announces programme for its annual Conference on Sustainable Innovation & Design – October 24-25th 2011 and now in its 16th year
Posted by Internet Business Press in Centre For Sustainable Design on June 13, 2011
June 13th 2011, Farnham, Surrey, UK. The Centre for Sustainable Design [CfSD], founded in 1995 under the stewardship of internationally renowned “green” innovationconsultant, author and speaker Martin Charter, has announced its 16th annual conference in the Sustainable Innovation series – “Sustainable Innovation & Design” – and the chair for day one is the BBC World News presenter David Eades. 
The conference runs from October 24-25 2011, at Farnham Castle, Farnham, Surrey, UK, and also lined up is Oliver Heath, the “green” specialist on BBC TV’s Changing Rooms. Oliver, who is also the Founder of EcoCentric and Director of Heath Design Ltd, opens the first day’s proceedings and will be a keynote speaker.
Other keynote speakers on day one are Dr Richard Miller, Head of Sustainability, Technology Strategy Board (TSB), Professor Fred Steward, Policy Studies Institute.
In addition Tomoo Machiba, Senior Consultant, Organisation of Economic, Cooperation & Development (OECD), France Michal Miedzinski, Senior Consultant, Technopolis, Belgium, will separately discuss eco-innovation. Jacquie Ottman, Founder and CEO, J. Ottman Consulting, US, will look at “Marketing and Sustainable Innovation” and will also be signing copies of her new book – “The New Rules of Green Marketing” – at the conference. Michael Kuhndt, Head of Centre, UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP), Germany, will focus on “Niche to Mass Market: Strategies for Sustainable Consumption”.
Day one also sees the presentation of two case studies – “Belu water”, by Reed Paget, CEO, One Earth Innovation, and “Tesco – Re-use New Business Model”, by Mark Griffiths, Partner, SecondNature. In addition, there will be a panel on “Sustainable Innovation and Design I: Planning and Implementation”.
Day two will be chaired by Lawrence Bloom, Chairman, B.e Energy, UK/Canada and will look at (i) “Doing More With Less: Linking Design for Sustainability with Corporate Competitiveness in a Smaller World”, with Bruce Piasecki, President & Founder, AHG Group Inc, US (ii) “Sustainability, Innovation and Supply Chains”, with Shaun McCarthy, Director, Action Sustainability, UK (iii) “Social (sustainable) Innovation”, with Trudy Thompson, Founder, Bricks and Bread, UK.
There will also be a panel discussion on “Sustainable Innovation & Design II: Tools and Techniques”.
Full details of each days’ panel and itineraries are at http://www.cfsd.org.uk/events/tspd16/
“CfSD’s “Sustainable Innovation” series of annual conferences has run unbroken since the first in 1995,” says Charter, CfSD’s director. “It is still the only one of its kind and this year we again have a great line up of speakers, panel members and other participators and subject matter. Booking early for a place is advisable.”
About CfSD
The Centre for Sustainable Design (CfSD) was established in 1995 at University for the Creative Arts http://www.ucreative.ac.uk The Centre provides a range of services focused on “product sustainability” and “sustainable innovation” issues: research; training; consultancy; and events. CfSD organises the “Sustainable Innovation” series of international conferences, now in its 16th year – see http://www.cfsd.org.uk/events/tspd16
More information on The Centre for Sustainable Design
…ends…
Note to the press: for further information please contact:
Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design, University for the Creative Arts T: 01252-892772 E: mcharter@ucreative.ac.uk
Or Paul Whitehead, Western Associates PR,http://www.western-pr.com T: 01403 711177 E: paul@western-pr.com
SUSCIN announces free Meet The Buyer event – Bracknell, July 13th 2011 – to enable SMEs in the South East to meet regional and national buyers of sustainable products and services
Posted by Internet Business Press in Centre For Sustainable Design, SUSCIN on May 31, 2011
June 13th 2011. SUSCIN – Sustainable Supply Chains through Innovation – has announced a free Sustainable Supply Chains Meet the Buyer event in Bracknell, Berkshire, on July 13th, to enable SME suppliers of sustainable products and services in the South East to meet and sell to regional and national buyers.
Through pre-arranged private appointments on the day, the event will showcase the wide range of sustainable, eco-innovative products and services on offer in the region. Buyers will typically be looking to purchase a variety of items, from construction and building maintenance products and services to packaging, cleaning supplies and environmental consultancy.
A similar event in Crawley last year attracted some 20 buyers and 80 of the best sustainable suppliers from across the South East. Buyers included Balfour Beatty Workplace, the Ministry of Defence, Oxfam, Partners in Purchasing Ltd, Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Trust and West Sussex Council.
SUSCIN is currently seeking suppliers who wish to meet buyers. Suppliers will be able to conduct up to eight pre-arranged meetings with buyers of their choice, save time and money on research, marketing and cold calling, and benefit from networking with other suppliers on the day.
To reserve a free place and receive more information, suppliers should contact Kim Newton at Action Sustainability on kim@actionsustainability.com or 02476 236290.
There are three core partners in SUSCIN: The Centre for Sustainable Design [CfSD – University of the Creative Arts], Action Sustainability and Remade South East. Action Sustainability is an expert in sustainable procurement and is organising this, the third event in the SUSCIN “Meet the Buyer” series.
Martin Charter, SUSCIN Project Director, says “Meet The Buyer is ideal for suppliers who have lessened the environmental impact of their products or services or have produced new, low impact products or services, and are committed to sustainability in their operations. The event will deliver them face to face meetings with buyers and therefore save considerable research and marketing costs.”
More about SUSCIN at www.suscin.org.uk
SUSCIN’s Meet The Buyer events are funded by South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the South East ERDF Competitiveness Programme 2007–2013, via the SUSCIN (Sustainable Supply Chains Through Innovation) project http://www.suscin.org.uk
…ends…
Note to the press: for further information please contact:
Leanne Elliott, Project Manager, Action Sustainability T: 0191 2815777 E: leanne@actionsustainability.com
Or Martin Charter, SUSCIN Project Director, University for the Creative Arts T: 01252-892772 E: mcharter@ucreative.ac.uk
Or Paul Whitehead, Western Associates PR,
T: 01403 711177 E: paul@western-pr.com
SUSCIN announces free workshop [Reading, June 16th 2011] to help SMEs in the South East market and commercialise their eco-products
Posted by Internet Business Press in SUSCIN on May 30, 2011
May 30th 2011…A European funded project focused on innovation, supply chains and environmental issues – SUSCIN – will run a free workshop called “Marketing Your Eco-Product” at The First House – Shehnai, Reading, on June 16th to help SMEs market and commercialise their eco-products.
The workshop is a collaboration between SUSCIN and the Thames Valley and Hampshire-based Sustainable Business Partnership.
The workshop will be led by Martin Charter, Director of the Farnham, Surrey-based Centre for Sustainable Design, which is the lead partner in SUSCIN. Martin is a veteran green business consultant, with more than 20 years experience in “business sustainability” and the author of three publications on marketing and sustainability.
Martin Charter, Director, CfSD
Martin says, “SMEs in the Thames Valley are strong on R&D, manufacturing and distribution and include eco-innovative companies that have very interesting greener products and technologies – but suffer from a lack of experience in marketing, sales and communications. That is where the workshop comes in.
“It will be useful for MDs, CEOs, directors and marketing personnel and will cover a range of issues related to product development, pricing, promotion and distribution.”
Martin will introduce the 12!s, 11Ps, 5Is and 8Cs “green marketing” frameworks that focus on market intelligence gathering, marketing strategy development and communications issues “which many companies find useful because they typically lack resources and specialist knowledge,” he says, adding:
“Greener marketing has a greater emphasis than classical marketing approaches on strategic thinking, gathering good market intelligence and commercialising eco-innovative solutions.”
The workshop is targeted at (i) companies that produce and/or distribute environmental, low carbon and resource efficient technologies, products and services (ii) companies that wish to understand and promote the “green” features and benefits of their existing and new technologies, products and services.
The workshop is free to SMEs based in the South-East. To book a ticket contact Ros Carruthers on 01252-892772 or email rcarruthers.t1@ucreative.ac.uk Registration is at 08.00 for an 08.30 start and the workshop concludes at 12.30, followed by a free lunch.
More information on this and other events to be organised with the SUSCIN project can be found on http://www.cfsd.org.uk/sids/suscin-events and http://www.suscin.org.uk
The venue: The First House – Shehnai. Map and directions:
Click to access directions.pdf
What past delegates say about previous courses
“A must for any SME looking into Green products or services”
– Director, Solarpack (UK) Ltd
“Very well presented, very informative” – Managing Director, Lion Commercial Cleaning Ltd
“An expert on his home ground! Brilliant” – Managing Director, The Olive Consultancy
“The workshop has helped me evolve my perception and understanding of this segment of business” – Director, Sustainables4u
More information on SUSCIN http://www.suscin.org.uk
The Sustainable Supply Chains Through Innovation (SUSCIN) project provides a range of business support to SMEs in SE on ‘green innovation’ advise on sustainable procurement. SUSCIN is funded by South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the South East ERDF Competitiveness Programme 2007–2013.
More information on The Centre for Sustainable Design http://www.cfsd.org.uk
The Centre for Sustainable Design (CfSD) was established in 1995 at University for the Creative Arts http://www.ucreative.ac.uk . The Centre provides a range of services focused on ‘product sustainability’ and ‘sustainable innovation’ issues: research; training; consultancy; and events. CfSD organises the ‘Sustainable Innovation’ series of international conferences now in its 16th year – see http://www.cfsd.org.uk/events/tspd16 .
…ends…
For further information please contact:
Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design, University for the Creative Arts T: 01252-892772 E: mcharter@ucreative.ac.uk
Or Paul Whitehead, Western Associates PR,
T: 01403 711177 E: paul@western-pr.com
Internet Business Press 
Recent Comments