On coffee cups, sandwich fillings...and a green diet in six words
When the Green Pledge team conducted its analysis of a standard arbitration from an environmental perspective, it looked at printing, couriers, flights, hotels….and disposable coffee cups. It calculated that every arbitration uses around 3400 disposable coffee cups, equating to 1156 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. To put this in context this is around a quarter of one person’s average annual CO2 emissions. Extrapolating their findings to an approximation of the total number of international arbitrations conducted each year, the Green Pledge team concluded that simply moving from single use coffe cups to reusable cups in every arbitration could save the equivalent of 328 thousand trees over one year.
This got me thinking about what other hidden elements of international arbitrations have a significant carbon footprint. It goes without saying that we should be avoiding single use plastic for cutlery and crockery, but what about the food that we consume with those utensils?
According to a recent article in the New Yorker “[every] 4lbs of beef you eat contributes to as much global warming as flying from New York to London – and the average American eats that much each month”. I learned yesterday that deforestation to make way for livestock, along with methane emissions from cows and fertilizer use has a carbon footprint as big as the transport industry. In international arbitration, it is unarguable that we must reduce the amount we fly, but should we also be looking at what we are fueling ourselves with? According to an Oxford University study, following a vegan diet may be the “single biggest way” of reducing one’s environmental impact. The researchers found that if an individual cuts meat and dairy products from their diet, this can reduce their carbon footprint from food by up to 73 per cent.
January is traditionally the time when we think about our diet. Years ago my brother told me that despite the pages and pages of diet books that were out there, he firmly believed that the right diet could be reduced to six words.
Eat Food. Not Much. Mainly Plants.
Taking this approach could result in leaner arbitrators and greener arbitrations.
