Tag: sustainability

The Only Way is Ethics.

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How we start conversations is important. I NEVER comment on other people’s choices when it comes to travel, food, clothing or packaging. If people’s first reaction is defensiveness that’s because they feel attacked. This is also about punching up not punching down, we’re not in the situation we’re in because Susan likes bacon or Nicky wanted a new dress. It’s a market failure not a moral failure. I’m not preaching or doing this because it’s ‘worthy’ or gives me the moral high ground, I’m just as messy and complicated as any other human being, I don’t have all the answers. So I’m not here to judge anyone’s individual choices influenced by their economic position, their faith, their disabilities, their culture, their gender or anything else. I’m not the eco/social police, I don’t care if you drive a diesel, forget to recycle or bought something to make yourself feel better. In the words of the inimitable Mary Heglar ‘stop obsessing over your environmental sins…all I need you to do is want a livable future’. And that is really what it boils down to. No shame here, just support and acknowledgement. However if you’re a business or organisation and you aren’t taking your environmental and social impact into account, prepare for the full wrath of my ‘insultancy’, which consists of a careful audit, helpful recommendations and accountability and support. Image is from the latest edition @thewindow_magazine

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Over the threshold and into regenerative thinking

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Limen means ‘threshold’ in Latin. Anything labelled liminal is describing a state of transition, an in between space where the old isn’t quite forgotten and the new isn’t fully formed. In anthropology liminality describes a rite of passage, in psychology the liminal is the space between what was and what’s next. The Liminality describes the need to move away from practices that harm planet and people and step into systems that are people and planet positive. We’re on threshold of huge environmental and social upheaval, the consequences of stepping through the doorway without a complete understanding of sustainable and regenerative systems will be grave. Imagine a better future and then work towards it, The Liminality can get you in the door. 'Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.' Arundhati Roy.

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The environment is inextricable from the social

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Pollution and climate change overwhelmingly affect women and people of colour globally. Those who have contributed least to the problems are the most affected. Indigenous people are the most likely environmental defenders to be killed. Impoverished communities most likely to include people of colour because of structural inequality are most likely to be affected by toxic air pollution in cities. Women are most likely to die in environmental disasters made worse by climate change because they are at home in caring roles and are unable to receive warnings or leave if they do receive them. Environmental damage amplifies existing systemic issues like racism, sexism and human rights abuse, and tackling one means tackling them all. The sustainability movement is overwhelmingly white and middle class in the UK, it is vital that anyone working in the space is cognisant of this and examines why diversity is lacking. Unconscious bias training is essential but it should also be questioned at every level why people have to fight for their lives before they can fight for the planet. Your business may have started to address environmental issues but the next step is often realising that these are inextricable from social impacts too.

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Recycling is not enough

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RECYCLING IS NOT ENOUGH. It’s sunk in that we can’t landfill or incinerate our way out of the waste crisis. There is no ‘away’ where we can throw things. Unfortunately lots of businesses seem to think that recycling alone is the answer. Recycling is great for glass, metal, paper (when powered by renewable energy) as part of a closed loop, regenerative system. Plastics are a different kettle of fish (and those fish are full of micro plastics). Only certain plastics can be recycled and only once or twice at best, meaning the material is downgraded each time. It requires fossil fuels to make and energy to recycle and there’s no regenerative opportunity. Everything we make must go back to the earth as poison or food. There are huge technological advances being made in breaking down plastics with bacteria, creating bio-plastics and recovering plastic from the environment. However there’s a reason that REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE is in that order and the best technological solutions won’t be able to deal with the amount of useless plastic currently being pumped into the system. Plastic isn’t bad, it’s the pinnacle of human ingenuity, giving us fridges, phones and incubators. But the way we use it for pointless throwaway items is the pinnacle of human stupidity. What’s your business doing to disrupt the system? Relying on recycling alone is just business as usual.

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The Value of Values