A selection of sustainability stories to make you smile

December

June/July

  • Seven tonnes of food leftover from the G7 summit were donated to a Cornish Food Bank.

  • Basel’s city planning authority is the first in the world to make green roofs compulsory for all new buildings

  • Iceland has been trialling a 4-day working week, with surprising results!

  • Eagles have returned to Loch Lomand after a 100-year absence. Following a successful reintroduction, there are now thought to be around 150 breeding pairs of white-tailed eagles.

  • Ever wondered what would happen if a CEO decided to pay ALL of their staff a $70,000 minimum wage?

  • Florence Rigney, thought to be America’s oldest working nurse is hinging up her scrubs at the age of 96, after 70 years of caring for patients.

May

April

  • Looking for your next face mask? Try one that when discarded, degrades and dispurses wildflower seeds. #bloomtheworld

  • Following Texas’ cold snap in February, almost 5,000 “cold-stunned” sea turtles were rescued by locals. The freezing temperatures caused the cold-blooded reptiles hearts to slow to the point that they were paralysed, but remained conscious and vulnerable to predators and drowning.

  • Japan has appointed a “Minister of Loneliness”, in an effort to address mental health issues caused by isolation and loneliness - the second country in the world (after the UK) to dedicate a ministerial position to the issue.

  • In a bid to hit their 100% renewable energy by 2025 target, Carlton and United Breweries, one of Australia’s largest brewers is offering to buy excess domestically generated solar energy in exchange for free beer!

March

  • Meet Yasmin Abdullahi. The founder of Sisterhood FC, the UK’s first all Muslim women’s football team.

  • The city of Atlanta has grown the largest free food forest in the US, where residents of the underserved Browns Mill area can help themselves to fresh fruit, vegetables and mushrooms.

  • Nine girls aged between 7 and 14 have successfully sued the Ecuadorian oil industry and ended the toxic practise of gas flaring.

  • Native trees and shrubs are being planted in Northern Spain for the endangered Brown Bears to feed on as they have been emerging from hibernation increasingly early due to climate change.

February

  • The Empire State Building is now 100% powered by the wind

  • Lance Birchall, from Stoke-on-Trent, has been repairing old trainers and donating them to the city’s homeless

  • The Black-browed Babbler, a songbird presumed extinct, was spotted in Borneo for the first time in 170 years!

  • The CIFAM Center in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, give orphaned and disadvantaged girls the opportunity to break free of gender stereotypes and live economically independent lives by offering them training in car mechanics, automotive electricity, electronics and bodywork. Discover their story here.

  • One of nature’s most puzzling mysteries - why do wombats have cube-shaped poo? - has finally been solved!
    (Not exactly a sustainability story, but it did make me smile 😊 )

January

  • A glimmer of hope has been found for the world’s rarest turtle, the giant Swinhoe’s softshell turtle. The discovery of an 86kg female in a Dong Mo lake, in Hanoi means that she and the only known male (currently in a Chinese zoo) have a chance of perpetuating the species.

  • Fast-food chain Leon is launching a carbon-neutral burger and fries

  • Imagine being pregnant and not being the first person to find out. This innovative new pregnancy test has been specifically designed for women with sight loss.

  • The UK will soon have a dedicated database of tradeswomen.

  • A thriving coral reef ecosystem has been discovered off the East African coast, though to be protected from the devastating effects of a warming ocean by glacial runoff from Kilimanjaro.

November & December

  • Scotland has become the first nation in the world to provide free sanitary products to all that want them.

  • Staying North of the border, the world’s first fleet of Hydrogen powered double decker buses are hitting the streets of Aberdeen.

  • A Filipino engineer has created a new material using rotten fruit and veg that absorbs UV light from the sun and converts it into usable energy.

  • What would you do if you were a New Yorker who finds an injured swan? Take it on the subway to a wildlife shelter of course.

  • After 45 years, the grey wolf has successfully been taken off the US endangered species list

  • A young former homeless man in Somerset is helping rough sleepers by ironing together old crisp packets to create make-shift survival blankets.

  • Try donating your excess lockdown locks to charities who make free wigs for cancer patients.

 

October

  • Chris Nikic has shattered preconceptions and World Records by being the first person with Downs Syndrome to complete an Ironman triathlon.

  • Leicester are installing bee-friendly bus stops, made from recycled materials and featuring green living roofs.

  • 10 women in rural Yemen have installed a solar-powered community microgrid. Providing reliable power for their community and giving them a steady income allowing them to develop further professional skills.

  • Swedish grocer Felix prices their produce according to its carbon footprint.

  • Villagers in Sri Lanka broke their COVID curfew to rescue 120 beached pilot whales.

  • TreeCard is the worlds first debit card which plants trees every time you spend.

 

September

  • Brazil now pays its men’s and women’s football teams equally.

  • Bhutan is the world’s first and only carbon negative country.

  • This year’s Comic Relief’s red noses will be plastic-free.

  • It’s not exactly flip-flop weather, but if you are looking for a biodegradable fair trade pair, that prevents plastics going into the ocean, check out Sea Sense.

  • Sellotape have launched a plant-based plastic-free tape! (lots of other eco-tapes are available).

  • According to a study by Newcastle University, since 1993, conservation efforts have prevented the extinction of between 28 and 48 species of mammals and birds.

  • A vessel from Hawaii’s Ocean Voyages Institute removed a record breaking 103 tonnes of plastic waste from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 48 days.

  • Doctors in Shetland, Scotland, are authorised to prescribe nature to their patients. The programme seeks to reduce blood pressure, anxiety, and increase happiness for those with diabetes, a mental illness, stress and heart disease.


    Glass Half Empty :(

  • This news from Australia makes me die a little inside…

 

August

 

July

  • Greta Thunberg has been awarded the inaugural Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. She will be donating the one million Euro prize to climate change and conservation charities.

  • Spain has banned all new fossil fuel extraction projects in a push for 100% renewable energy. A feat the city of Sydney has already achieved.

  • On 29th July, World Tiger Day, the WWF revealed that wild populations were increasing in five of their range countries.

  • One million smokers in the UK have kicked the habit since the start of the pandemic.

  • Thailand has become the first South East Asian country to legalise same sex civil partnerships.

  • Ecuador, Colombia, New Zealand and Bangladesh have all given parts of nature the same legal rights as people.

  • Nest, the UK’s largest pension fund has announced it is beginning to divest from fossil fuels and will be shifting £5.5bn into “climate aware” investments.

  • At last, statistical evidence that women leaders are dealing with the pandemic better than men.

  • An apartment block in Switzerland has put a micro data centre in its basement. It generates 33 megawatt hours per year of energy, heating water and saving around 75% of gas consumption.

  • Germany are banning single use plastics from next year.

 

June

 

May

  • David Attenborough celebrated his 94th birthday earlier this month

  • Following the lead of the Llandudno goats and Harold Hill Deer, other UK wildlife has been thriving in lockdown including orcas, cuckoos, peregrines, goldfinches and otters.

  • Sudan, a country where 90% of women are thought to have subjected to FGM, has made the practice illegal

  • Portugal have given citizenship rights to migrants so that they can access healthcare during the pandemic

  • The terms of Air France's government bailout state that they must drop routes that compete with the countries TGV high-speed rail network (which is run on emissions-free nuclear electricity).

 

April

  • Monday (4th May) was not only Star Wars day, it was also announced that over $8bn has been pledged by 40 countries, the UN, the EU, philanthropic bodies and research institutions to fund the search for a vaccine and for treatments as well to produce testing kits. Even the Queen of pop Madonna pledged $1m. The UK commitment was $388m, the US and Russia did not participate.

  • The 50th Earth Day took place in April. The largest civil observance event in the world was celebrated in 190 countries, by nearly 100,000 organisations and more than 1 billion people.

  • Current estimates are that the industrial and economic downturn caused by COVID will see a reduction of 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions, a fall of roughly 5%, to their lowest levels in a decade.

  • SodaStream (acquired by PepsiCo in 2018) have committed to the removal (well avoidance) of 67 billion plastic bottles by 2050.

  • Staying with plastic bottles, a novel enzyme-based plastic recycling solution has seen huge efficiency gains and is nearing commercial viability. PepsiCo (and others) are supporting this too.

  • IHG have announced a number of global partnerships covering 70 countries to support foodbanks and other food provision charities. They have also implemented Winnow’s AI technology in their kitchens to reduce food waste (just like in the UBS staff canteen).

  • Renault will cease production of internal combustion engine vehicles in China and will only be supplying the Chinese with electric vehicles.

  • The largest hole we’ve seen in the Ozone layer for more than a decade has closed

 

March

  • In an innovative effort to stem bulk buying, a supermarket in Poland introduced tiered pricing on hand sanitiser, PLN17 (£3) for the first bottle, PLN400 (£77) for the next.

  • 150 Tunisian factory workers isolated themselves together at work to keep making surgical masks and other PPE. Keepers at an animal sanctuary in the Cornwall did the same so the animals could continue to be cared for.

  • The suspension of Bull Fighting in Spain saved the lives of 120 bulls; 78 elephants were freed from a closed tourist park in Thailand; swans and dolphins returned to the canals of Venice; a herd of mountain goats reclaimed the deserted streets of Llandudno, Wales and Fallow deer have taken over front gardens in east London.

  • Billionaire Jack Ma donated 20k testing kits and 100k masks to each of the 54 countries in Africa.

  • Earth Hour was forced to move online but received support from 190 nations, up 20 from last year.

 

February

  • Finland continue to put the rest of us to shame being the only European country to see homeless number decrease in recent years thanks to their Housing First scheme and have announced plans to make parental leave equal for mothers and fathers in an effort to "promote wellbeing and gender equality".

  • Just a month after Amazon threatened to fire employees who spoke out about the company's role in the climate crisis, Jeff Bezos announced the $10bn 'Bezos Earth Fund' looking to fund "scientists, activists, NGOs and any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world"

  • Conservation efforts have helped populations of Blue and Humpback whales in the southern hemisphere make remarkable recoveries.

  • Arsenal has won something! Praise from Friend of the Earth for their reusable cup scheme which has saved half a million plastic cups since the start of the 2019/20 season.

  • Dubbed the 'Greta effect', one in four UK teens are said to be keen to pursue a career in the green economy. They are in luck – a report from the National Grid estimates that 400,000 new 'Green Collar' jobs will need to be filled in the energy sector alone to meet net zero 2050. If you know any young women or girls in need of a role model, just send them this.

 

January

  • Late in December, Greta Thunberg & David Attenborough met for the first time (via Skype of course to spare any flygskam)

  • Tunisia has become the first Arab nation to begin providing sex education for children as young as 5. 

  • Child marriages in Bangladesh has dropped by two thirds in the past 20 years, and the country is on track to for zero under-15 marriages by 2021.

  • Palau has become the first nation to ban 'toxic' sun cream that harms coral and sea life.

  • With half the world's coral having succumbed to the effects of climate change, scientists in the Seychelles have developed a technique where 'super coral', which is resistant to bleaching, is grown on land and transplanted back into the sea.

  • Well I couldn't end without reliving the ace climate change protests aimed CS and Roger Federer could I?

 

December

  • I'm sure you are all aware of the things you can do in your everyday lives to reduce your impact on the planet, but have you ever thought what gives you the best carbon saving bang for your buck? This quiz posted by CNN earlier in the year is rather eye opening – if you get anything over 50% you're doing pretty well.