Greens Mean Business

Meet my new psychedlic snake draught excluder, which is now blocking the draught from my cellar door. I bought it from REFAB, who run a stall in Greenwich Market and are one of a number of local businesses which feature in a new online Green Business Directory. Other local businesses in the directory include Chunk Originals, UK5 Organics, Shop on the Hill and DAGE Furniture Shop.

The Greens Mean Business website has also been set up to highlight the Green Party's policies for small businesses in London. In brief, these include:

• Requiring all new commercial developments to make 50% of their office, workshop or retail space available to small businesses at affordable rents.
• Increasing the advertising space on the Underground, and giving priority to local business and free space to community groups.
• Closing London City Airport and using the land as a new Green Industries Park to encourage new enterprise in the growing environmental sector, especially manufacturing.
• Free insulation for every home that needs it, massively expanding the market for manufacturing and fitting energy-saving materials and products.
• Investing more London Development Agency funds in developing the skills we will need for a green economy.
• Introducing new procurement policies in the GLA so the administration buys more goods and services from within London.
• Expanding the Green Homes Service, including the low-cost ‘concierge’ scheme, which offers a comprehensive consultancy and planning service for people wanting to make their homes greener and more energy-efficient.
• Have solar panels up and running on 100,000 roofs by 2015. Interest-free loans will be available to householders, community groups and businesses to make use of new, clean energy technology.

See here for further details.