The Environment

Thinking about your Personal and Business Impact on the environment. Apart from Brexit (how could I not mention this thorn in our side), climate change is possibly the hottest topic of our era. There are the likes of Trump who would dismiss this as fake news and fabricated data but most of the civilised world understand the real and fast approaching dangers that is threatening our very existence. Our relentless abuse of the planet is taking its toll and we must at all costs take action now. Whilst we can lobby, march and raise awareness, the big decisions lie with our governments, and yes, we can influence to a certain extent, but we do have to rely on our politicians to take some bold actions, it can’t be just talk! But what can we do on a more personal level? We recycle at home. I try to make sure that most of what we throw away is recyclable and if my general waste bin is nearly empty after two weeks, I consider this a small victory. We try to minimise the food waste, making sure we cook only what we need, use leftovers effectively and this brings the added benefit of thinking about what you eat leading to healthier diets. We try to buy less packaged food. Try to source food locally and reduce your carbon footprint, buying eggs from local farmers, vegetables and fruit from local farm shops (and trying to plan meals with vegetables and fruit that are in season). Supermarkets must also play their part by sourcing locally where possible, supplying less packaging. In business we can recycle print cartridges, only print paper when necessary and if we use paper, make sure we use both sides, reduce your heating (very often offices are stuffy and we open windows rather than looking at lowering our heating – also good on the pocket!), look at cycling, walking or taking the bus to work rather than driving, if driving is a must look at car shares. Think about working from home, also more pleasurable as you don’t have to wear a suit at home and this also means you are not wasting hours on a train or in a car, this can lead to increased productivity. There are many things we can do to help and whilst they are infinitely small, collectively they amount to great steps. By thinking about what we do with our footprint, there are added benefits that can have very positive impacts on our daily lives, whether it be our health or our pockets! Please think how and what you could change in order to make an impact.