Sustainable(ish)

In this week's episode I'm chatting to William Eccles from The Commitment. The Commitment is a campaign asking us to commit to voting for a healthy planet. You do this by heading to their website, hitting the "make the commitment" button, and ticking the box that says “ I commit to vote only for politicians who work for urgent action on the climate and nature.”. We discuss in the episode just why that is so important, and the really clever ways that they’re using your commitment to engage with MPs and give them a mandate to be braver in their calls and support for action on climate and nature. As you’ll hear in the episode, when I came across the Commitment earlier this year, I stopped what I was doing and did just that. And then I shared it on social media asking other people to do the same. And the team at the Commitment were able to track the fact that me sharing meant other people stopped what they were doing and made their own commitment. But they know that lots of people get distracted in between hearing about something and actually doing it, so that number could have been so much higher. I would LOVE it if this episode resulted in another 'mini surge' of commitments. There’s a point in the podcast where William invites you to pause the podcast and go and do it. Last time I shared they had 27 people sign up – let’s see if we can smash that!Enjoy!William Eccles GOOD NEWS!In the new Good News section after the main interview, I share some of the good climate news happening (because there is some, I promise!). Here's this weeks pick:EVs have outsold diesel cars in the EU for the first time (Positive News on Instagram) More UK universities cutting ties with fossil fuel industry (The Guardian)  And much closer to home... Libby in The Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse shared what she described as ‘not a big win', but I would beg to differ! Libby says: "Yesterday a local business offered out 3 bike racks on my Freecycle site and I quickly bagsied them (I assume they were replacing them with something better). A few messages and emails later and 2 local businesses will have these new (old) bike racks allowing their staff and customers cycle to them instead of driving." Absolutely loving this Libby! LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:The Commitment- Website- Make your Commitment- Facebook- Instagram- Twitter/X- Linked In- TikTokWilliam Eccles- Linked InAn Inconvenient Truth - Al GoreThe Uninhabitable Earth - David Wallace-WellsUN Biodiversity COPsHope for the FutureGreen AllianceClimate Change - a very short introduction - Mark MaslinOutrage + Optimism - Moments of truthEnvironmental Voter ProjectVote ClimateGreenpeace's Project Climate Vote[086] - All things politics with Sian BerryOutrage + Optimism - COP28: The outcome is a signalJon Richardson and the Futurenauts podcast Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) ClubhouseCrap-free Christmas courseThe Commitment  Have you done it, have you done it, have you done it?!!Do let me know in the comments! […]

Advertising.It's all around us. Persuading us to buy stuff we didn't know we wanted, telling us how much happier/more popular/better our lives will be with the latest/newest whatever it is.Most of think that we're immune to it, but studies show just how insidious and manipulative it is, and how it influences our brains at a deep level. Which perhaps wouldn't really matter if we weren't in the grips of climate and ecological emergencies driven by our consumption of the very stuff being advertised to us. Leo Murray is the co-founder and director of innovation at climate charity Possible, and the co-author of Badvertising - a book that is "raising the alarm on an industry that is making us both unhealthy and unhappy, and that is driving the planet to the precipice of environmental collapse in the process."I've only read the first chapter of the book but already it's eye opening and shocking - Jeremy Vine's review of the book says "..if you thought your brain was being gently warmed by the advertising industry, read this book and you'll realise it's being fried'.Leo is amazing and there is so much I wanted to chat to him about, as you can probably tell from the interview! We veered from chatting about some of the work that Possible is doing, to Badvertising and back again, so apologies in advance for my inability to keep on track - I hope you'll find it all interesting stuff! Leo Murray GOOD NEWS!In the new Good News section after the main interview, I share some of the good climate news happening (because there is some, I promise!). Here's this weeks pick:The USA (finally) agreed to quit coal (Positive News) Wales puts bugs on the map (Positive News)  And much closer to home...I spent Monday in Weston-Super-Mare with 200 other people at the biggest ever in-person Carbon Literacy training. The day was organised by North Somerset Council, and I was blown away not only by their ambition to do it, AND their ability to pull it off! I was asked to do a guest speaker slot and it was an amazing experience, seeing so many people in one place, from all kinds of different businesses and organisations of all sizes, gathered together to learn and to take action. And this training was part of a wider 'Carbon Literacy Action Day' which saw over 1000 people taking part in Carbon Literacy training all around the world. It was incredible to be a part of, and a reminder that there are so many people and businesses out there taking really positive steps to reduce their emissions and be part of the solution!(If you're interested in Carbon Literacy training for 2024 - there are dates on the website here) LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Leo Murray- On Twitter- On Linked InPossible- Website- Facebook- Instagram- Twitter- Frequent flyer levy campaignBadvertising- Website- Book (shown on Wob as a more ethical alternative to Amazon!)- Write to your local councilFirst transatlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuelNearly half the flights we take are unnecessaryClimate equality: A planet for the 99%Advertising Standards Authority Green Claims CodeSUV ad bannedBite Back Ad Free Cities Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) ClubhouseCrap-free Christmas course I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one.Has this made you more aware of the advertising around you and how it might be affecting you, your family and community, and the wider world?Will you be signing the Frequent Flyer Levy petition, or e-mailing your council?Do let me know in the comments! […]

Climate and play might not be two things that we naturally put together. And even less so, climate and 'playfulness'. Climate change is a huge, overwhelming, complext issue and i couldn't be more important. So we need to take this seriously and absolutely need to be bringing our best game, there's no room for messing around, right?Maybe not!I loved this chat with the brilliant Lucy Hawthorne, founder of Climate Play who is "making it safe, light and fun to face climate change". Lucy runs a range of workshops and programmes that help people work through emotions, information and actions associated with climate change. In this episode we discuss playfulness as a mindset and why that's so important when it comes to tackling big, serious issues like climate change. You might think that Climate Play workshops, especially ones involving Lego are aimed at children, but that's very much not the case here - Lucy's workshops are for grown ups, and often grown ups working in proper grown up jobs in proper grown up companies. We talk about the importance of play, especially for adults - how it expands our minds, and puts us into a great, positive frame of mind, meaning we're at our best when attempting to tackle such big and complex issues as climate change. There was a phrase that Lucy used at one point during the conversation - something like using play to 'put a softer edges on things to be able to have the harder conversations' that really struck me. I know that I can get very caught up in the importance of this work and the pressure I put on myself to get it right, because so much is at stake. That can mean that I'm potentially pretty intense when I attempt any conversations around climate change and climate action! Allowing ourselves (myself) to experiment and be more playful with what works and what doesn't, letting go of a fear of failure, because we can't fail as we're just experimenting and trying some stuff out, is such an important mindset shift, and one that I'm going to try and embrace. Along with the idea of embracing and doing more of the things that bring us joy, and thinking about how we can do more of what we do with a (genuine!) smile on our faces. And speaking of big mindset shifts, look out for the brilliant one right at the end, where Lucy shares the power of simply swapping one simple word in our vocabulary, and how that can make us "more motivated, more likely to carry on doing it (climate action), and more likely to be smiling while I'm doing it."Lucy Hawthorne GOOD NEWS!In the new Good News section after the main interview, I share some of the good climate news happening (because there is some, I promise!). Here's this weeks pick:Environment secretary to reconsider mandatory food waste reporting for businesses (Ends Report) Second UK company appoints nature to the board (Positive News)  And much closer to home - some lovely feedback on Linked In on my Carbon Literacy course. Nicola says "Proud of this one. Thank you to Jen at Sustainable(ish) for taking what I find to be a minefield and distilling it down to the individual level and how we can actually make a difference, with some small (or big) adjustments to our thinking and lifestyles. One of my pledges was to commit to one meat free meal a week, I initially thought I would struggle with this, but a few months down the line it has not been as bad as I was expecting. With this one act I'm helping to save nearly 100kgs of CO2 across the year. If, like me you find the climate situation we are facing a challenge to get your head around and you have the opportunity to undertake carbon literacy training, I highly recommend that you take it."  LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Climate Play- Website- Linked In- Climate Play meet-upLucy Hawthorne on Linked InLego Serious PlayTalking about climate change videoClimate equality: a planet for the 99%Bananas Game - Dr Emma FieldhousePlay by Stuart BrownClimate Change Coaching by Charly Cox and Sarah Flynn Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) ClubhouseCrap-free Christmas course What do you think?What does play mean to you? How can you use this in the climate space to bring more curiosity and joy, and to help you to let go of any fear of failure?How can you be more playful and curious in your approach to climate action whether that's at home, work, or in your community?Do let me know in the comments! […]

This week we're talking schools and climate action!I'm chatting to Jo Pettifer who part of a growing team of Climate Action Advisors from climate charity Let's Go Zero, which is working to help schools in the UK to take climate action, with the ambitious goal of becoming carbon zero by 2030.Jo shares in our chat that apparently around 45% of UK household's have a school aged person within them, meaning that there's huge scope for schools to not only educate our young people about how the world around them is changing around them and why, along with inspiring them about the roles they play in transitioning to a greener, cleaner, fairer future, schools are also able to have a much wider influence on parents and carers and on their local communities. There are a LOT of resources out there for schools wanting to start to take climate action - I've linked in the shownotes to episodes of the podcast with Eco-Schools, the Ministry of Eco Education and Energy Sparks, and that really is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to brilliant resources and initiatives providing schools with the information that they need. What I love about this new project from Let's Go Zero with the Climate Action Advisors, is that they've recognised that schools don't need more info, they need help putting that information into action in their particular setting. The Climate Action Advisors are being rolled out across the country with the aim of being able to provide much needed 1:1 support for school leaders and sustainability leads, to start to take action, from helping them to figure out where they should start through to identifying funding sources, they're hopefully going to be able to help schools move from good intentions to a clear, well-structured plan and the all important actions that then follow on!Jo Pettifer- Climate Action Advisor at Let's Go Zero GOOD NEWS!In the new Good News section after the main interview, I share some of the good climate news happening (because there is some, I promise!). Here's this weeks pick:EU criminalises environmental damages 'comparable to ecocide' (The Guardian) Tax on period pants abolished in Autumn Statement  (BBC)  And even closer to home, from my e-mail inbox just this morning. In response to my NOT another Black Friday e-mail, Elspeth got in touch to say : The Eco Church group I lead here, in Hampshire, runs a Toy Bonanza three times a year & at this time of year, it is aimed at Christmas gifting. We ask for donations of toys, books, puzzles and games suitable for giving and they are taken away for free at an event tomorrow. We have been inundated with donations which is wonderful! Anything not taken is given to charity shops and books go to school libraries etc. The aim is to save stuff going to landfill and to help when people are still faced with the cost of living crisis". I absolutely love this Elspeth! And I hope that by sharing it here it might spark some ideas for other people too! LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Let's Go Zero- Website- Instagram- Twitter- Linked In- Climate action advisors - the form to express your interest is here- Sign your school up to Let's Go Zero- Join the Team -vacancies at Let's Go Zero- Let's Go Zero Schools Webinars- School case studies- Schools toolbox- Ovo Foundation Nature Prize **Closing date Monday 27th Nov!!**Jo Pettifer on Linked InAshdenMinistry of Eco EducationEnergy SparksEco SchoolsSolar for SchoolsGlobal Action PlanDepartment for Education - Sustainability and climate change strategyNational Education Nature ParkThe Pod - Switch off FortnightYoung People's Trust for the EnvironmentInnovative Finance ProjectSustainable(ish) at School - with Edd Moore[098] - Eco Schools[117] - Transforming Education with the Ministry of Eco Education [130] - More Climate Education Good Stuff with Paula Malone[133] - Youth Climate Action with the UK Schools Sustainability Network Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) ClubhouseCrap-free Christmas courseImage credit: Joel Pett What do you think?Let me know if you’re going to get in touch with your local school to flag this to them, or indeed if you’re thinking about applying for one the roles!Do let me know in the comments! […]

This week we’re diving into all things digital with Matt and Will from an organisation called Carbon Fingerprint.For many of us, the planetary impact of our online lives maybe isn’t something that we give much thought to – the cloud is this ethereal thing that none of us quite understand, and I personally can’t even begin to get my head around how the internet works, so have to assume it’s some kind of magic. And surely magic can’t be bad for the planet right?Wrong. Sadly. Again.‘The internet’ – all of our devices and computers; the infrastructure, so the cables, the data centres etc; and the combined energy usage of all of that already has a carbon footprint greater than that of the aviation industry (which for reference is around 2-5% of global emissions) and that is set to at least double in the next 10 years!If pushed, most of us might think about the electricity that’s used when we charge our phones and laptops, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg – did you know it takes 800kg of resources to make a 2kg laptop. I learned that on a Digital Collage workshop a couple of weeks ago and it absolutely blew my mind! And it’s not just the planetary impacts of our internet usage that we need to be aware of , there are other impacts on our mental health, our physical health, and our connectedness with people and nature. Many of us use our phones more than we actually want to, and are aware that we can spend hours of our days doom scrolling, ending up feeling worse. Social media is deliberately designed to be addictive and has done a very good job of keeping us hooked, and indeed polarising society. That all sounds very doom and gloom, and as someone who runs an online business and uses the internet to hopefully try and spread some good around the world, I’m aware that there are also huge benefits to it, so as with everything, I guess it’s around making sure that we use it more thoughtfully and consciously, being mindful of it’s impact both on the planet and on our own well-being.Matt, Will and two other friends have set up Carbon fingerprint with this exact dual purpose – they want to raise awareness of the impact of our internet usage, provide tips, ideas and resources for us all to help us to use it more mindfully, and provide a way for anyone who wants to, to meaningfully remove the carbon emissions produced by our internet usage from the atmosphere.If you’re anything like me, this might be an area of your life you haven’t given much thought to before, but once you start digging, it’s fascinating and terrifying! We’ve been doing a ‘digital detox’ in The Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse, with people committing to simple but impactful things like swapping the 10 mins (and it’s never just 10mins is it?!) doom scroll before bed for reading, or going for a walk without their phone!I’d love to know your thoughts on this one, and on your own relationship to your phone – do you often find yourself doom scrolling? Are you concerned about how much time your or your kids spend online? Is this additional knowledge about the planetary impact of that time spent an added incentive to try and take back control?!Let me know!Matt Bird - Carbon fingerprint co-founderWill Owen - Carbon fingerprint co-founder GOOD NEWS!In the new Good News section after the main interview, I share some of the good climate news happening (because there is some, I promise!). Here's this weeks pick:The world's biggest polluter neared peak emissions (Positive News)  The circular economy is coming to Europe (Positive News)  And much closer to home, I wanted to share this from Rachel who is signed up to the Crap-free Christmas course – she shared this in the course FB group:"First result! I started a WhatsApp conversation with my brothers on Monday about streamlining the presents this year (I have three brothers and we all have children). We have done secret Santa amongst the adults a few times and I was up for that again, but we have actually gone further and are now saying no presents for the adults this year! The exceptions are you are allowed to give someone something if you’ve seen something specific you really want to get them, or passing on a book you’ve read and enjoyed.I’ve also started some good conversations with people about which bits of Christmas we actually like and which we can do without. And I’ve done a lot of soul searching within myself, with the result I think I’m going to actually enjoy Christmas a lot more this year.All prompted by signing up to this group so thanks Jen!" LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Carbon Fingerprint- Website- Instagram- Screentime carbon fingerprint calculator- Carbon fingerprint calculator for creatorsAddvertB-corpThe Digital CollageClimate FreskGoogle reinforces undersea cables after shark bitesHow Bad are Bananas? The carbon footprint of everythingThe Social DilemmaStolen Focus - Johann HariBack MarketFairphoneVerra off-setting scandal (The Guardian)One Tree PlantedClimeworksUnpluggedClimate shadow Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) ClubhouseCrap-free Christmas course What do you think?Had you thought about your carbon fingerprint before?What are you going to do after listening?Delete duplicate photos? Turn down the brightness on your screen or switch to dark mode?Are you going to swap your bedtime doom scroll for a nice book?! Could you manage a screen-free day?! Or simply just do something without your phone…!And super importantly, how long could you keep your current phone in use for?!Do let me know in the comments! […]

"If you own a tent you can be a member of Tentshare. If you don't own a tent, you can be a member of Tentshare."Love this quote from Rebecca Heaps, founder of Tentshare -'the Air BnB for tents'!On the surface, camping feels like a pretty eco-friendly option for a cheaper holiday. And it is. However it does involved quite a lot of 'stuff' - the tent, the sleeping mats, the sleeping bags, the camping stove, and on the list goes. All of this stuff might only be used once a year and the rest of the time it sits in our sheds or garages gathering dust. And for anyone who wants to have a go at camping, all of that stuff is a big outlay when you're not even sure if you're going to like it and want to do it again.Which is where Tentshare comes in! Tentshare matches up people with tents, with people who want them. Not only is this such a brilliantly simple idea for camping, but also for festivals. Figures from 2018 estimate that 250,000 tents go into landfill each year in the UK, which is a LOT of resources and energy going to waste. Rebecca shares the story of how she got started, and some of positive benefits of sharing camping equipment above and beyond the environmental ones - the connection, the joy, getting people outdoors appreciating nature, to name a few!I hope you enjoy this episode! Do go and check out the Tentshare website - if you own a tent, popping it on Tentshare is a great way to support the sharing economy and contribute a mini nudge towards a less capitalist society! And if you're thinking of having a go at camping for the first time, save yourself a heap of money, and get yourself some great camping advice by using Tentshare!Rebecca Heaps - Tentshare founder GOOD NEWS!In the new Good News section after the main interview, I share some of the good climate news happening (because there is some, I promise!). Here's this weeks pick:Solar will soon eclipse all forms of energy  (Positive News)  UK musuems agree to collective action to tackle the climate crisis  (The Guardian)  Much closer to home, I had a couple of e-mails that really made me smile this week, both from participants on recent Carbon Literacy course. Sullie got in touch to say that Being carbon literate has helped his secure a dream job working with a climate organisation! And Inga e-mailed to let me know that she had fulfilled her pledge of signing up with a climate education programme that provides training to schools in London, and they have already matched her with a nearby school where she'll be delivering a programme of 5 workshops in the Spring term. There's more info and dates for Carbon Literacy training here if this is something you're interested in! LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Tentshare- Website- Facebook- Twitter/X- Instagram- Linked In- You Tube - some great videos from Tentshare for repairing and cleaning your tentsRebecca on Linked InParty Kit Network[037] - How and why to set up a reusable party package for kids parties with Frome Eco Party Kit The Lean MarketplaceShare TribeOLPRO tentsKnow CarbonCamp Light - pre-pitched tents at festivals Medicine Festival Shambala Festival Little RecreationsEco BuntingDoodles.one[039] - Recycle your paddling pool with Wyatt and Jack[047] - Fighting food waste with OlioBlue Earth SummitMy Green Pod[168] - Keeping outdoor gear in action for longer with Re-actionGiki Zero Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) ClubhouseCrap-free Christmas courseFREE! Crap-free Christmas webinarAwful screengrab of me showing my mended gloves! What do you think?Would you rent out your tent? Would you borrow a tent?Are you going to put your tent on Tentshare?Do let me know- I would be SO happy to hear of tents popping up on Tentshare as a direct result of this episode! […]

Podcast episode wise it was only 7 episodes ago, but time wise, almost a year has passed since I chatted to Annie Pickering from Climate Emergency UK about their Council Climate Scorecards.In that chat we talked about why climate action from Local Authorities are important,. The operational carbon footprint of most local authroties might not be huge, but their sphere of influence over their local area is pretty big, and in fact of up to around a third of the UK’s emissions are under the influence of local authorities.For most of us, we probably only interact with our local authority when we pay our council tax or we want to complain about bins or potholes, but there’s a whole lot more we can do to encourage and support our councils taking climate action. When I spoke to Annie last year, we discussed the Plan scorecards, which were published in 2022 and looked at Local Authorities Climate Action Plans. We also started to talk about the plans that Climate Emergency UK had to produce a whole new set of scorecards for Actions. And this is what we’re talking about today! We dive into how the new scorecards were produced, how the results differ for councils from their plans to their actions, and the role of the scorecards in driving further action from local authorities and how we can use them to help us engage with our local councils.There’s also a shout out for the Climate Emergency crowdfunder which is live at the moment, which is raising funds to help them get the scorecards out there being used in the most effective way possible, supporting the team at Climate Emergency to work with campaigners, councils and other organisations to use the Scorecards as an effective campaign tool to push for change, and to track this progress over time by publishing future editions of the Action Scorecards. Aviva Community Fun are providing match funding for the campaign until the 22nd November, which means that any donation you make until then will be matched by Aviva. I know that times are tough right now, and that the expense of Christmas is looming, but if you do have any spare pennies, this is a great climate cause to donate to!I thought this episode was fascinating. Let’s face it, Local Authorities are never going to be the sexy and exciting end of climate action, but they have huge scope for really positive impact, not just in terms of emissions reductions, but also in terms of engagement from local communities. I really hope you enjoy it – do let me know if you go and check out the scorecards, if they prompt you to get in touch with your local authority or to think about what’s happening and what could be happening in your local area!Annie Pickering - Co-Director Climate Emergency UK GOOD NEWS!In the new Good News section after the main interview, I share some of the good climate news happening (because there is some, I promise!). Here's this weeks pick:Uruguay's National Grid is powered by 98% green energy (NPR)  Europe's disused coal mines are successfully heating our homes (Euronews.com)  Much closer to home, I’ve just sent out 24 shiny Carbon Literacy certificates to successful participants of September’s Carbon Literacy courses – I ran one open course, one for the brilliant team at Everyday Plastic and one Carbon Literacy course for Veterinary Professionals which I run with Vet Sustain.To get their certificate, participants have to make two carbon saving pledges and there were some fabulous ones! Here are a few examples:- "I will commit to changing my investments and pension to sustainable choices" (if you're intrigued by this, do check out Episode 169 with Dan from Mother Tree!)- "I am going to design a Carbon Literacy training session to provide for my team. I will also put together a sustainability group with members from each department."- "I am going to commit to buying nothing new (as an individual) for the next three months. As someone with a bit of an Amazon habit, this will be a challenge."All of the pledges are great individually, but you really start to see the power of collective action when you add them up! So when I send out the certificates, I attach an infographic showing a conservative estimate for the emissions savings of their cohort's pledges. The total across all three groups for September comes in at a whopping 23,430kg CO2e - the equivalent of 6.7 return flights from London to Hong Kong!  A huge thank you to all of the September learners for stepping up for the planet and coming on the course. There's more info and dates for Carbon Literacy training here if this is something you're interested in! LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Climate Emergency UK- Website- Facebook- Twitter/X- Instagram- Linked In- Council Climate Scorecards - Crowdfunder- Methodology- How to use the scorecards- How to use the scorecards training sessions:Weds 15th Nov 12pm (GMT)Thurs 7th Dec 5.30pm (GMT)- Campaigners guide to the Climate Action scorecards- 15 ways to improve your council's climate action AshdenPesticide Action NetworkCoMo UK - bike lanes, active travel [164] - Your council and climate action - my chat from last year with Annie Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) ClubhouseCrap-free Christmas courseFREE! Crap-free Christmas webinar What were your takeaways from this episode? Any lightbulb moments? What are you going to go out and DO as a result of this episode?Have you checked out the scorecards? How are your local authority doing?Will you get in touch with your local authority? Do share in a comment below! […]

Tash Acres is the founder of Earth Runs, an organistaion that rewards activity by planting trees! As you will hear, Tash’s approach to running and physical activity is so similar to my approach to sustainability – anything is better than nothing, it all counts, celebrating the successes no matter how small, and so much more! Now if you're sat there thinking "I’m not into running, this episode isn’t for me", don’t switch off! This episode is for everyone! Tash shared a couple of really startling stats during the episode – apparently inactivity is the 4th biggest killer of people in the UK, and being active for just 10 minutes a day can reduce your risk of premature death by 10%. Tash’s definition of ‘activity’ is super broad – anything that gets you moving, just for a bit. Anything that gets you up from the sofa, or your office chair, ideally outdoors, because of all the additional mental health benefits that that brings, but she’s not fussy – she talks about doing just 10 squats last week and how that was better than nothing. Somewhat unsurprisingly I love Tash’s approach, and I love what she’s doing – there are virtual races and challenges you can get involved in, you can join me in the 1% Club, which plants a tree for every day you’re active (and active can be anything, you absolutely don’t need to be running if you don’t want to!), or you can find plantable medals for your school or community fun run. Enjoy! Tash Acres - founder of Earth Runs GOOD NEWS!In the new Good News section after the main interview, I share some of the good climate news happening (because there is some, I promise!). Here's this weeks pick:Deforestation rates in Brazil's Amazon have plummeted (The Progress Network)  Community solar is set to surge in the UK   (Positive News)  Much closer to home, in The Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse  we’ve had a fashion focus for this half-term, which is now coming to a close. As part of the theme, we’ve had a mending thread in the Facebook community where people have come and added to the tally with items that they’ve mended – we’re up to 151 items at the last count! Obviously this has saved all of these items from landfill, and saved the expense of having to buy new items to replace them, but I wanted to try and get a rough idea of the carbon savings, so I headed over to a new set of comparison calculators from Giki and used the ‘new clothes’ calculator – very roughly, mending these 150+ items have saved  over 1 tonne of greenhouse gas emissions and 359,992 litres of water. That's the equivalent of driving nearly 4000 miles in a Ford Focus and enough water for 143 months of showers! LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Earth Runs- Website- Facebook- Twitter/X- Instagram- Newsletter- The 1% Club- Virtual Challenges- Earth Runs Medals- The TreesTash Acres on Linked In[104] - How Just One Tree Can Make a Difference - podcast  Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse What were your takeaways from this episode? Any lightbulb moments? What are you going to go out and DO as a result of this episode? What's the thing that YOU can do, no matter how small or imperfectly? And can you get up and out of the house for just 10 minutes..?!Do share in a comment below! […]

In this episode we’re talking money, and how we can make our money a bit greener.I’m chatting to Dan Sherrard-Smith, who is the founder and CEO of MotherTree – a platform that helps us all to get better informed about the impact of our money when it’s in our current accounts, savings, and pensions, and even when it comes to things like mortgages, insurance and broadband too.We’ve got a few episodes in the archive diving into money, and I’ve linked to them below if you want to go back and have a listen, so I felt like I was pretty on top of all things green money, but I hadn’t even considered things like insurance, and had firmly put ‘mortgage’ into the 'too hard' box! It was a real eye opener to chat to Dan about what they’re doing at MotherTree to help individuals, but also the work that they’re doing with businesses to not only help them to make their business accounts and investments greener, but to help them help their employees too.Do go and check out the website , there’s so much on there, including a money carbon calculator where you can fill in a few details and get an idea of the carbon impact of your financial choices!Also, I was listening back to this episode to edit it, and realised that we spent at least the first fifteen minutes talking about talking about climate change, rather than money stuff. I hope you find it as interesting as I did, hearing about how Dan went about setting up MotherTree and the hugely important role that having climacte conversations played in that. As well as all of the juicy money stuff, I would love one of the takeaways from this episode to be us all trying to be a bit braver and have a few more climate conversations – there's a super helpful video here that I use during Carbon Literacy training – let me know if it’s helpful!Dan Sherrard-Smith - CEO and founder of MotherTree GOOD NEWS!In the new Good News section after the main interview, I share some of the good climate news happening (because there is some, I promise!). Here's this weeks pick:Stockholm to ban petrol and diesel cars from centre from 2025 (The Guardian)  Hull approves a 'right to grow' scheme  (Positive News)  In The Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse we had a thread sharing the joy that comes with so many of the changes we make to our lives to live more sustainably. Ruth said “The more I live out my values, the better I feel about myself." And went on to talk about the buzz she gets from cycling, the warm glow from spending money at ethical businesses, and the 'free pass' she feels she has when buying secondhand clothes.And Julia said "I love hanging the washing out on a sunny day, finding a book I wanted to read in the library or second hand, having chats with the lovely ladies in the farm shop, knowing that I'm making things a little bit better just buy shopping in a small local shop" LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:MotherTree- Website- Facebook- Twitter/X- Linked In- Climate Challenge- Money Carbon Calculator- Bank League Table- Green Living Service- Business serviceDan Sherrard-Smith on Linked InLook After My BillsTalking About Climate Change - Video[015] - Money as a Force for Good with Triodos - podcast [013] - Be Good and Do Good with Your Money - podcast[091] - Make My Pension Matter with Make My Money Matter - podcast EcosiaUK government pension tracing serviceNaturesave Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse What were your takeaways from this episode? Any lightbulb moments? What are you going to go out and DO as a result of this episode? What are your moments of joy that living more sustainably brings?Do share in a comment below! […]

This week’s episode starts with a confession!This episode was recorded a whole year ago, it was edited, intros were put onto it, it was all ready to go, and I somehow failed miserably to hit publish! I genuinely even thought I had published it until I had an e-mail from Heather earlier on this year asking when I thought it might be published. And I'm so glad she did, otherwise this brilliant interview would never have seen the light of day!I'm chatting to Gavin Fernie-Jones and Heather Davies, founders of Re-Action, a social enterprise with the aim of keeping outdoor kit in action for longer.We hear about the inspiration behind the organisation, some of the brilliant stuff that they're doing, not only to keep kit in use for longer, but to gently challenge mindsets around consumption, re-use and repair, and to create alternative business models for retail that incorporate the circular economy.There's so much to take away from this episode, from big picture stuff like how our economy is set up to require us to consume more and more, through to the really practical stuff that we can do to reduce our own impact with regard to keeping our own stuff in use for longer. Let me know your thoughts!Are you going to be checking out the Re-Action website to see if there are any collective members near you? Are you an outdoor sports enthusiast who is now going to contact race organisers to ask them what they’re doing to reduce the impact of their event? Do let me know! Heather and Gavin surrounded by just some of the clothes they're helping to re-home! GOOD NEWS!In the new Good News section after the main interview, I share some of the good climate news happening (because there is some, I promise!). Here's this weeks pick:Sport England tells its sports: funding will depend on fighting the climate crisis (The Guardian)  Ocean 'superheroes' given a new home  (Positive News)  Fran in The Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse shared a brilliant sounding fundraiser that the school one her of children attends are trying out. It's a 'Pre-loved Christmas Decorations Pop-up' where people are invited to donate any Christmas decorations that they no longer want or need, to be sold at a pop up stall at the school's Christmas fair. I LOVE this idea and it seems very 'replicable', so definitely worth a mention to your kids school if you've got school aged kids, or maybe even as a workplace initiative.  LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Re-action - Website- Members- 10,000 repairs- Instagram- Linked InOne Tree at at TimeTrees for the FuturePatagonia Worn WearWhy giving clothes to charity is causing more harm than good - Re-action blog postHow fast fashion choices in the UK are causing an environmental catastrophe in Ghana - ITV NewsGavin on the Circular Economy PodcastRepair What your Wear [079] - Repair What you Wear (podcast)Sheffield Clothing Repair Earth RunsRe-action at Outside in the Peak DistrictTentshareRight to repair movement[028] - Buy Me Once with Tara ButtonFrance passes law that will apply 'carbon labels' to garments[158] - Engaging young people with slow fashionGreen Changemakers Challenge[156] - Harnessing the power of football with Rich HolmesKitsquadPreloved Sports Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse What were your takeaways from this episode? Any lightbulb moments? What are you going to go out and DO as a result of this episode? And what's your good climate news?Do share in a comment below! […]