Sustainability & Me
This week we are exhibiting at the BNC Show in London. The focus for their July event is on sustainability and how event organisers can be more sustainable. Ahead of this we have spoken to our very own Gwyn Parry to see what sustainability means to her.
Sustainability is a word that in 2019 carries more meaning than ever before. To me, sustainability is something I want to be more mindful of. It’s scary to watch the news and listen to Sir David Attenborough tell us that if we don’t make a significant change to the way we live the harm to our planet will be irreversible.
I personally have become a lot more conscious of my impact on the planet; purchasing a Keepcup and only allowing myself to have a takeaway coffee if I had it with me, donning a recycled cotton tote bag for my trip to the supermarket and if I forgot it, hoping that I could carry my £15 shop back home in two handfuls! I am definitely conscious of being judged for adding more unnecessary plastic to our oceans. Besides, isn’t it cool to want to save the world one less ‘single use coffee cup’ at a time?
Despite this, I understand that sustainability is so much bigger than my few eco-friendly items. In 2016 I made the deliberate decision to start eating a plant-based diet to reduce my carbon footprint as well as improve my general health. Sustainability has even started to creep in to my fashion habits. Earlier this week I was online shopping, adding item after item to my wish list unaware of the impact of fast fashion, until I came across an article explaining that Stockholm has made the conscious decision to cancel their annual fashion week to ‘explore more sustainable options’. I also draw inspiration from young influencers on Instagram including Zanna Van Dijk, Venetia Falconer and Max La Manna, encouraging me in my quest to live more sustainably.
As the events industry starts to put sustainability centre stage, it was fantastic to see Glastonbury and Wimbledon leading the way by vowing to reduce the amount of plastic waste this year. Glastonbury banned all single use plastic, whilst Wimbledon have ditched plastic racket covers, and their main sponsor Evian has launched its first 100% recyclable water bottle for the tournament. Whilst these events can really make a huge impact through sustainability it is still important to keep focussed on the small impact we can have as individuals. If everyone made a small conscious change to improve their sustainability it would be hugely influential to securing a better future for us all.
Here at Scamp Speakers we are proud to work with a number of advocates of sustainability including, Ben Keene, co-founder of Tribewanted, an eco-friendly sustainable community, Founder of the Eden Project Tim Smit, and Wayne Hemingway who has been working towards more sustainable housing.
The BNC Show is on the 10th July 2019 at Westminster Central Hall. For more information on our sustainability speakers please do email enquiries@scampspeakers.co.uk