The environment
Practise the language of green issues
PLAYgreen is a global manufacturer of toys that are safe and do not harm the environment. It presents itself as a green company. But can PLAYgreen do even more to improve the way it runs its business? John, the owner, believes it can.
1. Decarbonize now! (8 points)
John has a meeting with his top managers to look at what PLAYgreen can do to reduce the amount of carbon released in their manufacturing processes. In one word: decarbonize. Unscramble the words to create useful related expressions.
John: This year, we want to become a toy manufacturer that, as a whole, removes more carbon (A) oddexii from the air than we produce. This is about reaching carbon (B) tralnetyui
. I want to see (C) erzo - carbon products as the result. Ann: It’s a fantastic goal, but I don’t think it’s possible overnight. I’ve tried to calculate the total carbon (D) prooftint
of each of our products and offices. My report looks at energy, materials and transport. I honestly can’t see how we can achieve this easily.
John: I never said it would be easy. Tell me about one of the problems.
Ann: Well, a small one would be the 100 farms from which we buy the wool for our toys. They all also have cows that produce huge amounts of methane. We may have to change farms in the long term, but we can’t do that this year.
Mark: We could introduce an initiative to reduce the climate impact of each product by buying carbon (E) etsoffs . You know, we say we will plant a tree — right next to those smelly cows — every time we sell 100 toys.
John: That’s one option. And we could use that in marketing. What about the bigger problems? I want to know how we can reduce the carbon( F)mis io esns in the first place. What’s happening with the older factories?
Ann: We’ve been looking into carbon (G) reapctu and sequestration technology. It traps CO at the factory
2 and then transports it to a location below ground — where it stays. Shall I tell you how it works?
John: No, just tell me how much it could cost us. It’s possible that the government will increase the carbon (H) xat next year and I’d rather invest the money in a climate-friendly production facility than give it to the government.
Mark: As the price of carbon increases, so does
the incentive for low- carbon solutions!
2. The warning signs (6 points)
During the meeting, John talks about climate change. Match its effects to the correct terms.
A. coastal erosion B. global deforestation C. intense heatwaves D. mass extinction E. severe droughts F. widespread flooding
1. Many European and US cities have experienced record-breaking high temperatures. 2. Ships can no longer travel on some rivers, as
the water levels have reached a record low. 3. The infrastructure of many cities and regions
cannot cope with heavy rainfall.
4. Too many trees have been cut down to create
palm oil for our cosmetics and food.
5. Land next to the sea has been worn away. 6. The number of tigers in the wild has dropped
to almost 3,000 worldwide.
3. The energy options (8 points)
Could the most efficient solution involve the transition to sustainable energy? Ann has prepared a short report on the topic. Complete the sentences from the report with the words from the box.
⋅
combined ⋅⋅ fossil ⋅ geothermal hydrocarbons
⋅
photovoltaic ⋅⋅ renewable ⋅ tidal wind
We are pioneers in using modern technologies in our manufacturing processes. It’s our belief that (A) should stay in the ground. None of our factories is coal-fired, so the only (B) fuel we burn is gas.
As our factories are not close to the sea, we clearly can’t use (C) energy. For the same reason, we also don’t benefit from offshore (D) farms, but we can use energy from highly efficient turbines on top of hills.
Where possible, we have put (E) panels on top of all the buildings. The resulting solar energy generates enough (F) energy to power sections of the factories.
In some areas where hot dry steam is available underground, we have started to make use of (G) energy.
In Finland, we have one of the most modern (H) cooling and heating plants in the world. This system takes any extra heat from the production process and turns it into energy to use in the factory.
4. Materials matter (10 points)
Consumers know what they want — and many are looking for products that are green. The words and prefixes in bold are not where they should be. Put them where they belong.
Generally, we are targeting (A) non- conscious consumers. They know what they want to buy. Not just the millennials. This means we have to go further than just symbolic measures.
People are looking for (B) eco- based products, especially when they are buying children’s toys.
We need to highlight the fact that we use (C) food- toxic and (D) battery- free paints in all our toys.
And that we mainly use ( E) plant- hand
materials.
We’re one of the few toy manufacturers to offer (F) solvent- grade toys. If children do put them in their mouths, they won’t make them sick.
Of course, it goes without saying that you won’t find any (G) single- friendly plastic anywhere near our toys. Even our packaging is green.
We should also highlight that we don’t sell any (H) socially- powered products. That means that there are no heavy metals in any of our toys.
We need to look into (I) third- use certification labels. If an independent organization says that we use the best materials, that would show we are serious about this. All our wooden toys already have the PEFC (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) label, which means that they are made with wood from sustainable forests. But are there other labels we should have?
Of course, the best solution for our planet would be to tell people to buy (J) second- party
toys — but that wouldn’t be good
for business.
5. Greener transport and more (6 points)
Decarbonization doesn’t end at the production line. There are other options to make the company greener, as well. Complete the sentences. We’ve given you three letters of the missing words.
Subject:
How can we all go greener?
Dear team
As you know, we recently looked into ways we can make our company and products greener. We will not only look at how we can make significant changes to our production sites, but also to the way we all work. I list here a few ideas that I have received from the group. We should discuss them at the next monthly meeting in March.
6. Reduce, reuse, recycle (7 points)
It’s important that the employees at PLAYgreen are honest about their own behaviour. Choose the correct option to complete each sentence.
A. I use rechargeable / refillable batteries wherever possible.
B. I never turn on the air conditioning / climate.
C. I unplug / deplug all my electrical equipment
when I leave the office.
D. I use recycled / recycling paper.
E. I work remotely / removed two days a week.
F. I never use dispensable / disposable coffee
cups.
G. I no longer take short-haul / short- distance
flights. I go by train.