Zero Carbon Luton - Issue 4, 2024
Elections, festivals and your low carbon Poundland
Welcome to another edition of the Zero Carbon Luton newsletter, on this election week. Please do send in any rumours of climate action you’ve heard about around the town, as we continue to tell the story of how Luton responds to the climate crisis. Three questions we’re asking in this newsletter:
Which parties have the best environmental policies?
How did the Big Weekend and the Luton Carnival reduce their impact?
What’s Poundland doing about climate change?
Voting for climate and nature in 2024
Candidates for the parliamentary seat of Luton South faced resident questions at a green themed hustings last week. Organised by Luton Friends of the Earth, all party candidates were invited to discuss voters’ climate and environmental concerns. The Liberal Democrats, Green Party, Conservatives and SDP accepted the invitation.
“I found it very interesting to see candidates in the flesh, where they have to think on their feet instead of spending hours making a short video, or writing a post” said Mike Oliver, Friends of the Earth supporter.
If you weren’t there on the night and you’re wondering who has the strongest environmental policies, have a look at Carbon Brief’s analysis of the manifestos, or these rankings from Greenpeace.
Most importantly, remember to vote this Thursday, whichever way you lean politically. Here are your candidates for Luton’s two constituencies:
All the colours of the Big Weekend
Look, I know it was weeks ago now and everyone’s watching the Glastonbury sets on iPlayer instead of Luton’s Big Weekend. But there were some interesting environmental aspects to Luton’s music festival that not everyone has heard about - cup deposits to reduce plastic waste, carbon footprinting for meals, and an ambitious public transport strategy. Read all about it on the Zero Carbon Luton website.
Luton’s greener carnival
Hot on the heels of the Big Weekend came Luton Carnival, which continues to experiment with green approaches. They have already focused on reducing materials and reusing costumes, cutting the amount of waste the event creates.
New for this year was a low carbon twist on the parade. Instead of using trucks, battery operated sound systems were mounted on electric cargo bikes and pedalled the route of the parade. Others used upcycled shopping trollies, with only one truck bringing up the rear. The result is a cut in emissions and air pollution, and a safer environment for spectators.
Behind the scenes, UKCCA have been running their Sustainable Carnival Champions programme, which trains art and design students in sustainable materials and practical reuse and recycling skills.
Poundland to halve climate impact
When you think of environmentally friendly shopping, what comes to mind? Farmers’ markets, refill shops and organic delis perhaps? All very nice, but Luton doesn’t have those. We do have three Poundland outlets though - so what are Poundland doing about the climate crisis?
Poundland weren’t known for their environmental policies until 2019, when the wave of protests around the world sharpened their attention. Driven in part by staff interest, the company set some five year targets and developed a plan to halve their carbon footprint by the end of 2024.
Branches have shifted to renewable electricity. Glass doors have been fitted on fridges and freezers to save energy. No air freight is used. The target to send no waste to landfill was achieved in 2022, and the focus now is on reducing the amount of waste generated in-store. There’s more, and you can read about it here.
While it’s lovely to pop over to Harpenden or Hitchin and wander around Waitrose like a tourist, greener choices should be for everyone and Poundland get that. “Everything is driven by our passion of ‘affordable sustainability’,” they say, “meaning that you don’t need to be rich to lead a greener life”.
In other news…
The Climate Action Teacher Champion programme is running again in the new school term. Sign up your school for the September cohort and give your eco ambitions a boost.
Nine years on from the consultation where plans were revealed, work is finally due to start on the new playground and skate park at Wigmore Park.
Remember how we highlighted the Luton upcycling business Green Doors in the last newsletter? They have since been named Small Business of the Year at the Small Awards, and took home the Net Hero award too.
Bedfordshire University has announced a new initiative to support local businesses with their net zero plans.
The next meeting of the Luton Green Hub will be Thursday 11th of July, Methodist Hall, 48 High Town Rd, 7-9pm.