SIB's or Social Impact Bonds, the new buzz word in the Third Sector/Civil Society/Big Society/whatever you want to call it....
Definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_impact_bond
How they work in practice:
Social investor puts in £x million to pay for prevention work, delivered by a third sector organisation, that reduces hospital alcohol admissions by 5%, resulting in a saving to the local Primary Care Trust of £x million over x years. Future savings are channeled to social investor to pay them back, provider gets funding up front to deliver outcomes, Primary Care Trust underwrites social investor risk. I've probably over simplified that but it's the basic premise.
All sounds great doesn't it? As long as the targets are achieved and can be evidenced, everyone's a winner.
Except I've got one big concern, if this is to be the shape of funding for social/environmental action in the future, will this be detrimental for areas of social/environmental action that have much lower benefits in £ per output. For example, if we reduce waste to landfill, the saving to the Local Authority might be £150 per tonne and I suspect the financial return that generates for an investor will be too low to be of interest.
And what about areas where its difficult to prove the saving....carbon savings perhaps? So will environmental projects suffer at this shift in funding approach?
The danger is that we all get whipped up in this frenzy of SIB's and focus our efforts on trying to put together innovative proposals when the investors just aren't out there or are not interested...so I think we need some focus from government and social investment organisations on providing guidelines very quickly for the sorts of projects that are likely to be of interest...or some clear direction on what investors will be looking for in terms of payback...maybe that's out there?? and there needs to be a clear debate about how the Government's strategy for financing the Big Society won't affect the smaller organisations who do not have the capacity to engage in this debate.
On a positive note, SIB's potentially lever in investment that would not have been there before and it is encouraging to see our own Local Authority starting to embrace this area.
Friday, 25 November 2011
Monday, 26 September 2011
The Bike Hub is coming together!
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Jon Rolls on BBC Radio Cornwall!
Listen to ReZolve CEO Jon Rolls being interviewed on BBC Radio Cornwall morning, he’s talking about our great new project The Bike Hub!
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Reuse around the country....
In a bid to do things better, we took the unprecedented decision to leave the safety of Cornwall and head further afield to learn how other reuse projects across the country do it.
Trying to get 4 members of the team together at any one time for a 3 day trip was difficult enough....but so far its been hugely worthwhile and a great opportunity to see who does what.
We know that sometimes we could do things a whole lot better and so we decided to put that to the test with a visit yesterday to the Shropshire Furniture Scheme. Lead by Jean Jarvis MBE and reigning Furniture Reuse Project of the Year, we thought this would be a good place to start. Shropshire have certainly got some great ideas and the pick of the bunch was their innovative little cafe/book shop/furniture shop.
On to today and the team have been to see Bristol SOFA, a very established project who have been leading the way for years, whilst I attended an important FRN (Furniture Reuse Network) board meeting. SOFA do some great work with local prisons and have established an excellent reworking facility that were keen to see. We weren't disappointed and will be coming back with plenty of ideas for how we can improve our repair operations and maximise our reuse rates.
With a pint in hand, we can now reflect on what we've seen and the work we need to do....there's a lot to get on with and no doubt more ideas will come from our visit tomorrow to CFP Newbury!
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Waste Review....it's out...read it here.
78 pages and not one mention of Real Nappies or 'disposable'....FRN gets a brief mention....and I even saw the words Big Society...but don't hold your breath!
Better get a coffee and settle down to read this weighty tome!
Better get a coffee and settle down to read this weighty tome!
Waste Review....comment and analysis...of a sort!
Early themes from the CIWM Conference where the Waste Review will be announced seem to fixate on weekly/fortnightly collections, SME's getting more involved in recycling and the new WRAP Business Plan.
All very important issues for UK Waste Industry but I can't help feeling that the enormity of the waste/low carbon challenge just isn't going to be fully addressed.
Let's face it...mass consumption is the issue here. We can play around with end of pipe solutions but if we want to make a real impact on waste and the carbon impact of waste, then we need to address sustainable consumption....and really tackle the major retailers and manufacturers....let's hope the Waste Review won't shy away from that....if it comes out at all today...laes tweet shows Radio 4 Press Announcement for 9.30am was canned at the last minute!"
All very important issues for UK Waste Industry but I can't help feeling that the enormity of the waste/low carbon challenge just isn't going to be fully addressed.
Let's face it...mass consumption is the issue here. We can play around with end of pipe solutions but if we want to make a real impact on waste and the carbon impact of waste, then we need to address sustainable consumption....and really tackle the major retailers and manufacturers....let's hope the Waste Review won't shy away from that....if it comes out at all today...laes tweet shows Radio 4 Press Announcement for 9.30am was canned at the last minute!"
Friday, 25 March 2011
Recycle for Cornwall....sounds familiar!
If you are not aware, there is a critical public vote currently doing the rounds.
Essentially it's a simple either or and it relates to the way that Cornwall handles the waste coming out of your home. The challenge for us as householders is how much do we think about the bigger picture, and how much do we retrench in to our own little world and choose what seems best for us...or what's least hassle.
Option A: You can have your black bag waste picked up weekly...just like you do now....and in addition, your kitchen waste will be separately collected...and every fortnight the council will also pick up your recycling...so not much change on the black bag front, a new kitchen waste collection is added weekly but for many of us who recycle regularly, this will be a backward step as we go to fortnightlies and need to find the space to store more material...for those who compost already, this will make little difference...recycling will go down and there is no incentive for householders to recycle more!
Option B: Kitchen waste and recycling picked up weekly and black bag waste picked up fortnightly...for the keen recyclers and composters out there, not a problem, in fact, great! but for those who 'can't be bothered' then it could be a nuisance...for those that have legitimate reasons for not recycling (I can't think of many when it's weekly), it too could be challenging, but in the grand scheme of things, not a major issue...I can think of worse things to have to worry about.
So what is the bigger picture...well, firstly, the Council are trying to harmonize all the waste collection services in Cornwall...this has got to be a good thing, and could save considerable money in tough times....whilst at the same time bringing on new and innovative services like kitchen waste composting. Of course, the best thing for householders is to compost at home and use the wonderful compost for your garden...the Council also offers a Green Joanna digester which can handle pretty much anything thrown at it, including meat and fish!
Secondly, dwindling landfill space, fines for missing landfill targets and the impending decision on the incinerator, all mean there is a real need to maximize recycling and reuse rates and minimise what we consume. If we don't, costs will go up to the Council as we miss targets, that's bad for you and I, and the argument for the incinerator only gets more justified as a way to deal with the vast quantities of waste that we produce....oh, and by the way, if we reduce what we purchase and consume (that doesn't meant eating less) then we can save money as well. Do you really need that electric toothbrush? or the pink fluffy dice for the car?
Thirdly, it makes sense. If you look at the bin below, over 75% of its contents are recyclable, and that's a standard figure. So if you take all those things out, then there should be no need to have black bag waste collected weekly....what's left is cellophane, those ghastly tetrapaks (see movie below), nappies and odds and sods.
Nappies! now there's an issue...what's fluffy, comes in different shapes and sizes, is better for the environment and can save you up to £500 per child? Real nappies, or washable nappies...or Terry Squares...now fun, funky and a real practical option to save waste and money....see www.goreal.org.uk for more info.
What about rats? If there's nothing worth eating in your bag, because it's all been recycled or composted, then they won't visit...and anyway, you're never more than a 20ft from a rat, or so they say!
What about smell? Smell from rotting food and nappies assumes one thing...that you're not using the kitchen waste service or real nappies. OK, real nappies might not be for everyone, but if nappy smell is the issue, then you have a choice, one that saves you money and the environment.
What about health effects? WRAP (QUANGO for waste) conducted research on this issue and reviewed over 150 research papers on this subject and found no evidence to suggest that going to fortnightly collections of black bag waste had any health impacts.
I'm not trying to trivialize individual issues and challenges...some people may well have personal circumstances that would make fortnightly black bag collections a problem, but for the overwhelming majority, in an age of environmental uncertainty and dwindling resources, our actions now can have big implications for our future and our children's future. Especially when we will be signing up to a long term contract that could be up to 15 years.
So I would urge as many people as possible to choose option B, and choose to increase recycling and reuse!
Essentially it's a simple either or and it relates to the way that Cornwall handles the waste coming out of your home. The challenge for us as householders is how much do we think about the bigger picture, and how much do we retrench in to our own little world and choose what seems best for us...or what's least hassle.
Option A: You can have your black bag waste picked up weekly...just like you do now....and in addition, your kitchen waste will be separately collected...and every fortnight the council will also pick up your recycling...so not much change on the black bag front, a new kitchen waste collection is added weekly but for many of us who recycle regularly, this will be a backward step as we go to fortnightlies and need to find the space to store more material...for those who compost already, this will make little difference...recycling will go down and there is no incentive for householders to recycle more!
Option B: Kitchen waste and recycling picked up weekly and black bag waste picked up fortnightly...for the keen recyclers and composters out there, not a problem, in fact, great! but for those who 'can't be bothered' then it could be a nuisance...for those that have legitimate reasons for not recycling (I can't think of many when it's weekly), it too could be challenging, but in the grand scheme of things, not a major issue...I can think of worse things to have to worry about.
So what is the bigger picture...well, firstly, the Council are trying to harmonize all the waste collection services in Cornwall...this has got to be a good thing, and could save considerable money in tough times....whilst at the same time bringing on new and innovative services like kitchen waste composting. Of course, the best thing for householders is to compost at home and use the wonderful compost for your garden...the Council also offers a Green Joanna digester which can handle pretty much anything thrown at it, including meat and fish!
Secondly, dwindling landfill space, fines for missing landfill targets and the impending decision on the incinerator, all mean there is a real need to maximize recycling and reuse rates and minimise what we consume. If we don't, costs will go up to the Council as we miss targets, that's bad for you and I, and the argument for the incinerator only gets more justified as a way to deal with the vast quantities of waste that we produce....oh, and by the way, if we reduce what we purchase and consume (that doesn't meant eating less) then we can save money as well. Do you really need that electric toothbrush? or the pink fluffy dice for the car?
Thirdly, it makes sense. If you look at the bin below, over 75% of its contents are recyclable, and that's a standard figure. So if you take all those things out, then there should be no need to have black bag waste collected weekly....what's left is cellophane, those ghastly tetrapaks (see movie below), nappies and odds and sods.
Nappies! now there's an issue...what's fluffy, comes in different shapes and sizes, is better for the environment and can save you up to £500 per child? Real nappies, or washable nappies...or Terry Squares...now fun, funky and a real practical option to save waste and money....see www.goreal.org.uk for more info.
What about rats? If there's nothing worth eating in your bag, because it's all been recycled or composted, then they won't visit...and anyway, you're never more than a 20ft from a rat, or so they say!
What about smell? Smell from rotting food and nappies assumes one thing...that you're not using the kitchen waste service or real nappies. OK, real nappies might not be for everyone, but if nappy smell is the issue, then you have a choice, one that saves you money and the environment.
What about health effects? WRAP (QUANGO for waste) conducted research on this issue and reviewed over 150 research papers on this subject and found no evidence to suggest that going to fortnightly collections of black bag waste had any health impacts.
I'm not trying to trivialize individual issues and challenges...some people may well have personal circumstances that would make fortnightly black bag collections a problem, but for the overwhelming majority, in an age of environmental uncertainty and dwindling resources, our actions now can have big implications for our future and our children's future. Especially when we will be signing up to a long term contract that could be up to 15 years.
So I would urge as many people as possible to choose option B, and choose to increase recycling and reuse!
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