Julia Hailes MBE

Sustainability Pioneer

Shipping needs to be greener…(Aug16)

When I was in Hong Kong, I was horrified by the smog shrouding the city.  It could be a sunny day but the sky was barely visible.  Some of this, at least, came from the diesel powered ships criss crossing the harbour. I read a very illuminating article from the Guardian which illustrates hows slow […]

Challenging Sainsbury’s on environmental standards (Feb13)

 Justin King, CEO of Sainsburys I wrote the blog below for the Food Ethics Council before the horse meat scandal blew up.  I think it’s even more relevant now.  When I challenged Justin King, CEO of Sainsbury’s about not applying the same environmental standards across all the products sold through his stores, he replied that […]

Speaking in Istanbul (Oct12)

My second speaking engagement in Istanbul.  I was invited to speak at Green Business Turkey 2012.  The brilliant thing about this is that the event showed that many Turkish businesses are showing a real interest in sustainability issues.  With over 500 delegates it was an ambitious event, aiming to help the audience understand what environmental […]

Second Nature Advisory Board (Oct12)

I sit on the Advisory board of Second Nature – their mission is making sustainability ‘second nature’ for the organisations they work with.  Charles Perry and Mark Griffiths are the company’s founders – and they have a lot of experience between them, with particular emphasis on business strategy  and expertise in energy, built-environment, clean tech […]

Speaking at Ashridge (jun12)

Ashridge Business School –  booked me to come and talk to their MsC students, who are taking a 2 year masters in ‘sustainability’ and ‘responsibility’.   The programme was aimed at people already working in business and corporations, including consultants, activists, public sector managers and NGO professionals, which means there was a pretty mixed bunch.  My […]

Washing up tips with Fairy (May12)

Procter & Gamble (P&G), manufacturers of Fairy liquid, asked me to write some consumer advice about the greenest way to wash dishes.  

Setting up E For Good (Apr12)

Along with Melinda Watson from the Raw Foundation, I’ve set up E For Good. We’re the first consumer-facing organisation targeting e-waste from an environmental life-cycle perspective. Our aims are to reduce the amount of e-waste, promote repair and reuse and recycle the rest, as efficiently as possible. We’re working with Environcom, an e-waste company, who […]

Clear Out electricals week in Grantham and Stamford (Mar12)

The aim of Clear Out Electricals Week, which took place in Grantham and Stamford from 12th – 18th March, 2012 was to try out E for Good’s ideas for collecting e-waste and raising awareness about it’s impacts.   We chose to work in two Lincolnshire towns because of their proximity to Environcom, the e-waste company we […]

Nappy recycling makes sense! (Oct11)Babycare

Bronwen Jameson and Paul Richardson from Knowaste   The smell wasn’t very noticeable until I went into the building.  Then it hit me like a wall.  I remember from visiting a sewage farm that the trick is not to breathe through your nose.   And after a few minutes it wasn’t quite so bad.   My Knowaste […]

Baby care products (Jun11)

I first got involved in the debate about disposable nappies vs re-usables in the early 1990s. The comparisons were being made in eco-labelling research and I was sitting on the UK Eco-Labelling Board.  The over-whelming concern about disposables was the amount of waste they produce.  Local authorities have teamed up with campaigning organisations to encourage […]