Carbon Neutral Restaurants: Myth or Reality?
It’s not easy being green, especially not for the restaurant industry, currently the retail sector’s largest consumer of energy. However, the recent emergence of carbon neutral restaurants have caught the eye of diners who want to keep eating green when dining out. The question is, in simple terms, “are they for real?” Curious, we did some research on a few of the new carbon-neutral restaurants, trying to determine a) whether their operations and menu lived up to its zero carbon promise, and b) whether the food and concept connected with diners.
Unfortunately, we found that some—though not all—of these establishments might not be as green or as palatable as they first seemed. Carbon-neutral restaurants are a possibility and they may exist in the future, but it is important to keep in mind that being carbon neutral is not as easy as it appears. Read more
Belgrave Trust Paints ArtHamptons Green
[Image Credit: ArtHamptons]
Not literally, of course! But yes, the East End’s most prestigious art fair is now environmentally friendly. I went to the inaugural ArtHamptons, back in 2008, and I remember, distinctly, three things:
- The quality, and quantity, of the art was fantastic, ranging from old school cubists (Picasso) and realists (Andrew Wyeth) to new school splatterers (Pollack), printmakers (Jasper Johns), and pop-artists (Lichtenstein, Warhol).
- The tents—I think at that time there were four—were enormous. We’re talking big-top level, possibly bigger. Also, they were freezing; the tennis ladies were rocking major goosebumps.
- Yellow heirloom tomato Bloody Marys are delightful, especially when they’re free.
Two years later, ArtHamptons is bigger than ever: 93 galleries are coming this year, up from 2008’s 60. Erasing the carbon footprint of an event this large ain’t no greenwashing, folks, and we were thrilled and impressed when the ArtHamptons team asked us to do it. Read more
“La dolce vita – with a splash of social responsibility”
In the new issue of Accent Magazine, writer Shira Levine profiles the Belgrave Trust in a story called ‘Sustainable High Style.’
Our story begins, with a rock:
“You’d have to be living under a rock to have avoided the controversial chatter about global warming. If you’re reading this, chances are you don’t live under that rock. In fact, you probably enjoy a nice life, indulging in occasional luxuries, whether it be driving a fabulous car, owning multiple homes or flying often for business or pleasure. It’s great to be a well-traveled person, but don’t forget to consider your sizeable carbon footprint.
Not to worry, say Jeff Stewart and Nick Baily, co-founders of The Belgrave Trust: they have one, too. But they’ve figured out a way to counteract it. The Belgrave Trust is a membership concierge service that promises “an intelligent way to solve global climate change.” The firm manages a mutual fund-like portfolio of offsets….”
Read More [PDF]Belgrave Trust On Public Radio’s Marketplace Money
“Next week marks 40 years since the first Earth Day. I’m guessing they didn’t talk nearly as much about the environment then as we do now. It’s not easy being green. But it’s a lot easier when you’ve got piles of greenbacks.
Spendy solar panels? Check. Hybrid car? Check. Large check to the Sierra Club? Check. And why not? A recent Princeton University study reported that the world’s wealthiest people cause half of the world’s carbon emissions.
Ashley Milne-Tyte looks at some of the ways the well-off are trying to make up for that.”
Listen to audio of The Belgrave Trust featured on Marketplace Money here.
Wine Spectator Highlights “Carbon-Offsetting Concierge”
Check out the latest issue of Wine Spectator for a profile on how wine enthusiast Lewis Gersh used Belgrave Trust to create “A Carbon Neutral Collection” when planning his cellar.
Says the magazine: “Gersh uses Belgrave Trust, a carbon-offsetting concierge,” that accounts for his passion for collecting, as well as everything else, “based on estimates of how much carbon his lifestyle — plane trips, multiple homes, the size of his wine collection — releases in the atmosphere.”
Click the link to read more about how Lewis created his own Carbon-Neutral Wine Collection with some help from Belgrave Trust.
American Express Says Pick Belgrave Trust, “Impress Clients and Bosses”
But only if you’re interested in something both “savvy and affordable” that is.. Here’s what OpenForum, the American Express news source for business owners has to say:
The right gift gives you the opportunity to show that you’re astute and detail-oriented, but also not over-the-top with your spending when most companies are cutting back. It’s the art of the subtle quid pro quo. Giving something actually useful shows your client that you’re a savvy and bankable person to do business.
And what better example but The Belgrave Trust, perhaps this year you should pick…
From Seven Savvy & Affordable Holiday Gifts to Impress Clients and Bosses By Shira LevineSome carbon offsetting. Show the other CEOs how globally conscious you are and purchase carbon offsets for them to balance a bit of that fuel inefficient jet setting they do. Belgrave Trust has a fancy algorithm that calculates a person’s carbon footprint and guides them on how to work toward a carbon neutral life through a portfolio of climate change-focused companies.
Belgrave Trust Scores Treehugger Interview
The fine folks at Treehugger saw fit to sit down with us for a conversation about taking a different approach to living carbon neutral.
Here’s a bit of what they had to say
The carbon offset market has primarily been focused on providing services to the average person, these services, according to Belgrave Trust, are not geared toward those that can make the biggest impact. So they launched a company to give the jet-set crowd a better way to go green.
Find out what we had to say in response by reading the whole article here.
Our Carbon Footprint Calculator
A few words about the centerpiece of our website, our carbon footprint calculator.
Those who’ve attempted to balance their carbon in the past notice the vastly different look and feel our calculator has compared to others. Customers often ask why we chose to take such a radical departure with the site’s central tool. More specifically, they wonder if something that calculates so quickly is at all accurate.
In the course of building Belgrave, we played with dozens of footprint calculators. One of the reasons we got into this business was the lack of quick, efficient calculation tools- the existing set tend to be very cumbersome. When I was inspired to offset my own carbon, I was shocked at how much work I’d have to put into what should otherwise be an easy decision. The services asked me to calculate how many KW I spent last month- something that requires some serious digging. It also asked for the model and year of my car, which is an unnecessary question since most cars have a similar carbon footprint, and tire pressure affects it as much as its make/model. I can only imagine how many millions of people have come to a carbon offsetting site with the intention of living carbon neutral, only to be turned off by hours of homework.
The decision to use an actuarial model was a no-brainer- it allows us to ask less questions and receive greater accuracy. It gives those of us without the luxury of time a chance to live carbon neutral. It also makes giving the gift of carbon neutrality possible, without digging through your friend or colleague’s trash for electric bills.
Madoffs of Global Warming
Al Gore tells Republican global warming deniers that they’re the victims of the “Madoffs of global warming”. The quote begins around the 1:50 mark.
The largest corporate carbon polluters in America, 14 years ago, asked their own people to conduct a review of all of this science. And their own people told them, “What the international scientific community is saying is correct, there is no legitimate basis for denying it.” Then, these large polluters committed a massive fraud far larger than Bernie Madoff’s fraud. They are the Bernie Madoffs of global warming. They ordered the censoring and removal of the scientific review that they themselves conducted, and like Bernie Madoff, they lied to the people who trusted them in order to make money.
From Think Progress
