Meet the experts
- James Bruges - Author of the Big Earth Book.
- Matthew Slack - Consultant, Centre for Alternative Technology.
- Alastair Sawday - Publisher.
- Robin Maynard - Director of Communications, the Soil Association.
- Steven Webb - Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Waste Watch.
- William Ferguson - Communications Officer, Triodos Bank.
- Mick Bremans - Managing Director, Ecover.
James Bruges
I have been following climate issues through four editions of The Little Earth Book, starting in 2000, followed by The Big Earth Book in 2007, and during this time I worked with the Irish think-tank Feasta, an organisation that relates climate science to economic issues. It is particularly worrying to notice that reports from scientists have become progressively more extreme each year. Whereas previously they were just talking about the need to reduce emissions, they are now saying that we have already gone too far and must find ways to extract greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. I have never been able to understand why politicians ignore science and drive us recklessly - with economic growth, roads and airport runways - towards the cliff-edge. Change will not come from them. It must come from us.
Matthew Slack
The Centre for Alternative Technology has been promoting energy conservation and the take-up of renewable energy technologies for over 30 years. Though messages about the profligate use of fossil fuels and other finite natural resources are now hitting home at local, national and international government levels, a lot of people still have questions about why we need to cut down on our energy use. It’s time to stop and think about what we use and how we use it and we hope that what follows will help you to make the right choices.
Alastair Sawday
A pioneer in the environmental world, Alastair Sawday is the founder of the first carbon-neutral publishing company, planting trees to compensate for air travel, promoting environmental awareness and sustainable living. Alastair has had a remarkably miscellaneous and varied career: he headed up a VSO programme in Papua New Guinea, worked in St Lucia, ran a disaster relief team for Oxfam in Turkey, taught French and ran a small travel company, conducting walking tours throughout Europe. It was this that inspired him to publish his first travel guide, after discovering various ’special’ B&Bs far removed from the impersonal, robotic nature of large hotel corporations. The books were a success and Alastair Sawday Publishing was born. To date, Sawday’s has published over 20 titles in the Special Places to Stay series, launched a new Fragile Earth series, and sold over 1 million books. The company work from a converted eco-barn in Long Ashton, just outside Bristol.
Alastair ran as parliamentary candidate for the Green Party in 1992, and was vice-chair of the Soil Association. He was the founder Chairman and Director of Avon Friends of the Earth. He has contributed to The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Observer, The Times, Daily Mail, Observer Food Monthly and many magazines. He has appeared on both Open Country and the Today programme on Radio 4.
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Robin Maynard
The Soil Association is the UK’s leading environmental charity campaigning for people and planet friendly, sustainable organic food and farming. Concerned about the impact of intensive farming practices on the environment, food quality and health, the Soil Association challenges the dominance of industrial agriculture, connected as it is with degradation of the countryside, increases in diet-related illness, mistreatment of animals and the betrayal of public trust in food. We offer practical solutions to everyone involved in the food chain - farmers, food processors, retailers and consumers. We certify over 70 per cent of the organic food, drink, textiles, health and beauty products sold in the UK, guaranteeing these have been produced to the highest standards. The Soil Association is a membership organisation. For more information visit www.soilassociation.org
Steven Webb
Waste Watch is a leading environmental organisation working to change the way people use the world’s natural resources. Our vision is a less wasteful society, and we believe everyone has a part to play in reducing waste and living more sustainably.We are a national, independent, not-for-profit organisation and a registered charity. We advise, educate and inform people on ways to reduce all forms of waste - from the rubbish we throw away and the energy we needlessly use, to the water we pour down the drain. By making changes to our daily lives and by changing the world around us - at home, in school, and in the workplace - we can all make a big difference.
William Ferguson
Triodos is a bank with a unique approach to money, connecting savers and investors who believe in a more sustainable society with the organisations making it happen. It works like any other bank, but with one crucial difference: Triodos only finances organisations working to benefit people and the planet. What an enterprise sets out to do, and what motivates the people behind it, are the Bank’s first consideration, examined before a loan’s financial viability is even considered. The projects that do make the grade are in areas ranging from renewable energy and recycling to Fairtrade and organic farming. Some are national names, including Cafédirect and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage, while the impact of others is felt more locally, like community groups and village shops. In ‘What About China?’ Triodos team answer a few common questions about money, banks and the ethical alternatives available.
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Mick Bremans
For over 27 years, Ecover has been devoted to developing and producing effective and ecological washing and cleaning products made from plant and mineral based ingredients. Ecover’s aim is to provide effective sustainable alternatives for washing and cleaning that can be used daily by people all around the world.
Ecover’s ecological principles extend far beyond the products they create. Ecover’s vision of sustainability takes ecological, economic and social aspects into account from the origins of the raw materials, to the complete biodegradation of the final products. Strict criteria are employed along the way as guidelines for all business operations. The products themselves are manufactured in Ecover’s unique, world-famous ecological factory. Ecover is a company that operates with sustainability at its very core. We are constantly innovating and pushing boundaries to create new and more effective products that have minimum negative impact on the environment.
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