They don't want you to know. They don't want us to tell you. Who? What? Well, the popular chain of bars under the "Kro" logo is going to be launching a “partnership” with Foundation (see box below) to promote climate awareness and action among Manchester's drinking classes.
But since these sorts of partnerships always run the risk of “greenwash”, MCFly wanted to get a comment, any comment, out of both Kro and Foundation about what the deal actually entails. As we wrote in the last MCFly-
“at time of going to press, we are unable to say whether there are ANY firm commitments from Kro to do anything to prove they are walking the talk. If they don't voluntarily and rapidly get shot of their wretched patio heaters [see bottom of this blog post] that are directly heating the planet, they will be a laughing stock, they will make Foundation a laughing stock and they will create cynicism and contempt for the very "eco-branding" that they want to promote.”
Since then MCFly has been trying in vain to get answers. We've emailed and phoned repeatedly. At time of going to press, we have had no reply from either organisation. A search of both their websites, on October 31st, gives no mention of the proposed partnership, so it may have been put on hold while the two organisations decide what to do.
Background
On October 13 Foundation announced on their twitter account “We're looking forward to the launch of the Kro Bar and Foundation partnership, starting the 1st November. More details to follow.”
MCFly was told that there would be an opportunity for Kro patrons to support Foundation's work (perhaps by voluntarily donating money during transactions) and that Foundation's profile would also be raised. Given that the Copenhagen Climate talks loom large, and Kro is a Danish-themed 
chain, it must have seemed like a no-brainer.
Foundation
Foundation is the newly-created Climate Fund for the North West, and“gathers up donations from people and businesses and uses them to support individual carbon reduction projects across the Northwest.”
Hved er Kro?
Kro is a (deservedly) popular chain of cafe bars around Manchester (see www.kro.co.uk). The first one was set up opposite the Manchester University Student's Union in 1999, and the business has won a string of awards, and expanded rapidly. It is run by Mark Ruby, whose family is Danish.
Here's where YOU come in, gentle readers. We hope you'll have more luck than we have had.
Write to email/phone Kro and Foundation and tell them you want answers All the usual things- be polite but persistent etc. Think about taking your custom elsewhere until you get a sensible reply.
Kro HQ
Manchester Science Park,
61 Pencroft Way, Manchester
M15 6AY
Tel:0161 232 9796
Fax: 0161 273 7550
Email: oldabbey@kro.co.uk
Foundation
c/o Groundwork
First Floor, Fourways House
57 Hilton Street
Manchester
M1 2EJ
0161 237 3200
Foundation Chief Officer
mark.turner@climatefund.org.uk
Patio Heaters
Wyevale, Britain's biggest garden centre chain, stopped selling patio heaters two and a half years ago, due to climate change concerns.
Fiona Hall - a Liberal Democrat MEP – wrote a report that called for a ban on outdoor heaters. This call was has been backed by the European Parliament.
But Fiona Hall told the BBC that figures she had seen showed that if a car was run for a year it would emit three tonnes of carbon dioxide, while the figure for an outdoor heater would be four tonnes.
From Euro MPs back patio heaters ban BBC website 31 Jan 2008
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