I envy people who are able to stick to a gym schedule. But it’s not for me – I don’t quite manage it. Instead, I go to the everyday gym.
I’m the fella jogging up the stairs coming out of the Bakerloo Line at Paddington, running for the bus, pushing a rotary mower around the garden, making life that little bit more difficult for myself.
And I’m not the only one. There’s a growing band of people out there who recognise the benefits of a bit of extra manual effort in our daily activities. And we know it’s not just beneficial for our own wellbeing, but also for the planet’s.
I was at a community festival last year and a stall had the most fantastic inventions converting energy to different uses. One, an exercise bike linked to a TV, meant you can say to your kids “You can watch as much telly as you want – as long as you generate the electricity to power it!” What a great, sustainable innovation!
Why aren’t more companies catching on to the idea of uncovering previously hidden sustainability value? We need to see hidden value in things that we consume and do everyday. This could include products and services that help us evolve into a more manual, sustainable society, cutting energy consumption and keeping people fitter at the same time. Products should reflect this, though companies may need to nudge consumers into understanding some hidden value – ease of use may not always be a good thing. Sure, this won’t be appropriate for all products, and people have varying needs, but there is a lot of potential.
More broadly, where might this kind of hidden sustainability value lie? The ICT sector realises it is an enabler for many aspects of sustainability such as smart energy-efficient metering and controls. The auto industry is a bit slower to consider that electric cars may offer an energy-storage option from distributed generation at people’s homes. The food and drinks sector is shuffling towards healthy products, with some notable exceptions. While I struggle to see where the hidden value lies in industries like tobacco, most sectors have an open playing field to respond to the opportunities a more sustainable society offers.
This weekend, pump up your car tyres with a foot pump, hand-whisk the eggs, wind up your radio and have a dance around the kitchen!
Tags: carbon, climate change, dave knight
Thanks for your comments. You are right, little changes can make a large difference. Our work focus is with predominantly large companies where small changes can produce large outcomes. One of the sectors we work with is clothes retailing where increasing use of renewable energies in the manufacture of clothes throughout the supply chain is key to future business success. This holds true for all sectors where the pressure is on to reduce energy costs and increase clean energy supply.
To answer your question, at a smaller scale, treadles have had a long history of use for sewing machines (not always to the benefit of people – think treadmills!). Creating a sound, updated version of this sounds like a great challenge. The Centre for Alternative Technology is a great place to start and has links and factsheets, which should provide plenty of food for thought. Good luck!
Just a quick note to say I really like your writing and the contentyou write about.
I am a designer / maker and teach sewing & craft. Deciding to make this the year I start taking an active role with making people more aware of environmental issues – how little changes can make a huge difference. I had a dream last night of using wind turbines to generate power for sewing machines (people were peddling to generate enough electricity to run the machines) and then I came across this article today.
While I understand it would not be effecient work practice to use ‘pedal power’ in sewing, it would be a quirky and fun way to do workshops on gaining awareness of alternative technology.
The reason I am writing this idea to you is to see if you have any contacts on ‘home made wind turbines’ or anyone that I could get in touch with that would be interested in quirky and crazy little ideas such as this.
Many thanks, and I do look forward to hearing from you.
Miss Libby Rose