Babycare
I’ve done a lot of work with P&G on baby care and nappies in particular. This included writing leaflet on disposables vs reusables. And, visiting a nappy recycling plant. We need more of them!
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CITIES & TOWNS
I’ve lived in London, Paris and New York. Although I much prefer living in the country, I’m interested in how to make our cities more sustainable.
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COMMUNITIES
Isn’t it strange that people are criticised for being NIMBYs (Not in my back yard)? If you’re not concerned about where you live – you probably won’t care about much else either.
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CONSERVATION & WILDLIFE
The issue that got me started on the environmental road was the destruction of rainforests. Over 30 years on and they’re still be cleared at speed – aargh.
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DESIGN & Technology
I have two sons who’ve studied design and one in technology. My eldest son has set up a sustainable design business – Loop Innovations.
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DETERGENTS & CLEANING
The main focus of eco detergents was about the use of phosphates and contaminating waterways. Actually, the temperature of your wash should be the top priority.
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Developing world
Co-founded Haller Foundation promoting sustainable living in Kenya. Now sit on board of CHASE Africa, focusing on family planning in rural and impoverished communities.
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EDUCATION
I’ve given quite a few speeches to schools and universities on green issues. The Eco Summit in 2010 were attended by schools in Dorset and I collaborated with Dick Strawbridge (Scrapheap Challenge).
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ENERGY & CLIMATE
Whatever the source of energy it will have an environmental impact – even renewables. We need to focus on using less and embrace climate-friendly solutions.
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e WASTE / WEEE
In 2011 I co-founded E For Good, with Melinda Watson. We wanted to raise awareness about e-waste and help people dispose of their electrical equipment more responsibly.
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FAMILY PLANNING
Tackling family planning in developing countries has a multitude of benefits for individuals, communities and the environment. I’ve decided to become a Trustee of CHASE Africa, which is enabling women to choose the number and spacing of their children.
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FARMING & AGRICULTURE
One of my bugbears is huge tractors. To me they symbolise so many things that are wrong with modern, intensive agriculture. I sat on the Food Ethics Council for several years and have written about food and farming in many of my books.
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FASHION & TEXTILES
Fast disposable fashion is incredibly wasteful – huge quantities of clothes end up being incinerated or sent to landfill, every year. And, choosing which material is best is not so easy either – cotton, wool, synthetics all have significant impacts.
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FOOD & DrINK
‘Eat the fridge’ suppers are quite common in our house – it’s one of my ways of minimising food waste. Another challenge is knowing too much about the sustainability impacts of food – it makes food shopping a minefield.
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GOVERNMENT & REGULATION
My campaigning life has primarily been focused on business, using market forces to push for change. It’s much more difficult to get governments to be bold and proactive. This view was reinforced by a couple of terms as a District Councillor in Somerset.
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GREEN BUILDING
Saving water, energy and waste should be part of main stream building. I’ve spent eight years working on green building projects and have learnt a lot along the way.
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HOME & HOUSEHOLD
From washing dishes and storing food to cooking, cleaning and waste management. I sometimes struggle to get other members of our household to make the best eco-choices – old habits die hard.
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LIGHTING
Our household is now fully fitted with LED lamps, but it hasn’t been an easy process. One of the worst lighting trends is the introduction of integrated lamps designed to be discarded when the bulb blows.
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MEAT & FISH
I’m sure that the growing appetite for eating less meat is positive for the planet, but I’m not a vegetarian. I make sure that the meat I eat is good quality and local. And, I try to support sustainable fishing practices, even if it means avoiding fish that I really enjoy eating.
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PACKAGING
“Green Princess risks arrest in M&S” – centre page spread of the Today newspaper in 1989. It was reporting on the saga of me refusing a plastic bag at an M&S store. Many years later I advised M&S on their packaging policy – and have been writing, campaigning and consulting on packaging issues ever since.
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PLASTICS
Everyone has gone bonkers about plastic suggesting the most crazy solutions to the problem. We are an incredibly wasteful society and huge quantities of plastic are getting into the ocean – so we need to come up with intelligent and creative solutions that don’t simply solve one problem and create another.
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PR & ADVERTISING
My first proper job was in advertising – it’s where I learnt the value of research and information. The experience also made me recognise the importance of communication, which has been key to my writing and campaigning.
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REFRIGERATION & Air conditioning
I hate air conditioning – it’s noisy, energy guzzling and often set at far too low a temperature. I helped the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) set up their Chilling Facts campaign, focusing on encouraging supermarkets to move to more climate-friendly cooling.
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SUPERMARKETS & Retailers
The supermarkets were quick to respond to our challenges on their environmental performance, in 1988. Following publication of our Green Consumer Guide we found they’d all recruited environmental advisors. It’s been a key issue for them ever since.
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TRANSPORT
When people see me driving a Tesla, they often ask when I have ‘range anxiety’. The answer is that this is very rarely an issue, as it’s almost aways charged at home. But, I’m very frustrated by having lots of different charging systems – and I’m not a fan of hybrids.
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TRAVEL TOURISM & HOLIDAYS
On a recent trip to the desert in Oman, I asked our travel agent to stipulate ‘no disposable crockery and cutlery and refillable water bottles’. I realised on arrival that this had caused a big upheaval, but it was done. Holidays are a time for campaigning – I often challenge hotels or support good practice.
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WASTE & RECYCLING
Technology and innovation have made humans the most wasteful species on the planet. In the 21st century, we must use our ingenuity to turn this around and make progress without waste. This is going to be the primary issue I’ll be working on over next few years.
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