GOING GREEN
By Fiona Scott
GOING GREEN IN BUSINESS IS NOW ESSENTIAL
There are many things lockdown and Covid-19 have taught us . One is the importance of our environment and how by changing our habits for just a few weeks , nature has started to recover and show its true value , a value many of us appear to have forgotten .
With the pandemic affecting more than 200 countries worldwide and restrictions placed on travel , globally there was less air and noise pollution , clearer rivers , less consumption and more wildlife in evidence . Given time , space and less human impact , nature regained some balance .
The urgent need to grasp this and move forward as individuals and as businesses has now been revealed with the publication of the absolutely damning Living Planet
Report 2020 by the World Wildlife Fund in September .
The message is stark , we must act now to stop the loss of many , many species or we are in serious trouble ourselves . The loss of species will lead to less food security , far more risk around erosion and environment change , and a greater threat in regards to bio-security . The report says we have caused a ‘ natural systems failure ’ with a 68 per cent loss in all wildlife ( from insects to whales )
Tom Lawton & the Uplift 2.0
Inventor Tom Lawton lives in Malmesbury with his family and was brought up in Castle Combe . He is a passionate advocate of being sustainable and ethical and his latest invention , Uplift 2.0 , is a evocative spiral sculpture ‘ to soothe the soul ’ which he created after being inspired by his Granny who had dementia and sometimes found it hard to be calm . between 1970 and 2016 . In the tropical subregions of the Americas that figure stands at 94 per cent . The biggest causes of loss come from :
• Changes to land and sea use .
• Species overexploitation .
• Invasive species and disease .
• Pollution .
• Climate change .
The good news is that this can be rectified . This is just one reason why in this edition of the magazine we ’ re celebrating businesses in Swindon & Wiltshire which put ‘ green ’ and ‘ sustainability ’ at the heart of what they do and how they operate . Perhaps they will inspire us all to make even small incremental changes to help our planet .
For more info : www . wwf . org . uk
The sculpture is powered by the sun via a solar panel , is handmade and has a blue spiral created from fishing nets sourced from The Hake Fisheries in Cornwall . The spiral is created by a company in Shropshire and the whole object is assembled by hand in Malmesbury . This is the second version of Uplift and it was crowdfunded on Kickstarter before lockdown when Tom raised £ 76,000 towards its development and manufacture . Its aim is to be an object of joy , inspired by the movement of the ocean and created with the smallest environmental footprint possible . A percentage of every sale goes to The Sea Sanctuary which helps people with mental health issues through activities related to ‘ blue health ’; being around and in water or the sea .
Tom said , “ For me this has been a work of utter joy . During lockdown I ’ ve been able to work on assembling each Uplift by hand , diligently and with care . To see them already being sent out to customers has been wonderful .
“ The sustainable nature of this invention speaks to all I hold dear . All of my inventions are built to last , not a few weeks or months but many years . That ’ s very important to me . We must move from being such a ‘ throwaway ’ society and take far more care of our planet at a local , national and global level . I believe , it ’ s our personal responsibility to do so .
“ I am inspired by the integrity and ingenuity of British business , particularly in manufacturing , and I do believe we can all rise to this challenge .”
@ tomlawton
For more info : www . beuplifted . co . uk
12 www . tbeswindonandwilts . co . uk