ENVIRONMENT

The rubbish reality: a country blighted by litter

Over 90% of places surveyed across the country are plagued with litter, reveals shocking new report. Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy has released a landmark report exposing the alarming scale of England’s litter crisis and its disproportionate impact on the...

The pencil that turns into a plant

How do businesses make simple changes and communicate their sustainability initiatives, without boring customers? Michael Stausholm, CEO and founder, SproutWorld, has one simple – but ingenious – solution. SproutWorld’s journey began in Massachusetts in 2013, when a group of robotics...

New awards for countryside heroes

New national awards will recognise private land managers who are improving the health of the British countryside. The Schöffel Countryside Awards is organised by country clothing brand Schöffel Country and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT). At a moment in...

Rolls-Royce turns talent to luxury dormouse homes

Apprentices at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars have designed and handmade a series of nest boxes for one of the UK’s most endangered mammals, the hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius), as part of the marque’s long-term environmental partnership with the neighbouring Goodwood Estate. The...

Why you should invest in peatland restoration

Scottish SMEs can offset their carbon emissions with the help of nature-based solutions, says Freddie Ingleby, of Caledonian Climate. Last year saw 12 named storms recorded in the UK, the highest number since records began in 2015. COP29 was held against...

The real threats hiding behind CO2

We must address the full spectrum of air pollution, not just the ‘poster child’ of CO2, says Dr Alexander Krajete, CEO of holistic emissions treatment specialist Krajete. Ambient air pollution is responsible for 4.2 million premature deaths each year, according...

Supermarket announces sustainability fund for British farmers

Co-op is supporting British farmers with an £820K fund for sustainable farming efforts, building on its long-term investment in UK agriculture. The investment in two major sustainability projects will see farmers directly rewarded for efforts to reduce carbon emissions and...

How supermarkets can ‘meat’ net zero targets

What we put on our plates impacts the planet. So how can we make the weekly shop more sustainable, asks Harsh Amin, CEO, Ivy Farm Technologies. In late 2024, the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) issued a stark warning to UK...

Bar turned into sustainable urban farm

The Urban Farmer Project is the first of its kind in in the City of London and will turn food waste into 20,000 meals for vulnerable communities, while also cultivating 15kg of greens every month. The project is a collaboration...

Banning & taxing plastics is just ‘gesture-politics’

It’s time for governments to work with industry to reduce the environmental impact of plastic products, says Michael Laurier, CEO, Symphony Environmental. It’s estimated that UK households throw away a staggering 100 billion pieces of plastic packaging a year, and in...

Landmark crackdown on ‘water pollution’ bosses

Major legislation to crack down on water bosses polluting Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas has been unveiled by the government, including the most significant increase in enforcement powers in a decade.  The Water (Special Measures) Bill has been introduced to...

Barbados: A welcoming environment for business

Barbados attracts UK business interests through the Scottish Annual Inward Trade and Investment Mission, organized by Invest Barbados in partnership with Renfrewshire Business Network and the UK’s Department of Business and Trade, proving successful for many entities Why Investors choose...

Don’t let climate change defeat sport

Climate risk is having a profound impact on major sporting events, from the excessive heat and pollution concerns at the Paris 2024 Olympics to the extreme weather of the 2024 Euros in Germany. Could summer events be shifted to...

Huge response secures Skiddaw Forest for nature

A nature appeal has exceeded its £1.25 million target in just over a month. Cumbria Wildlife Trust launched the public appeal to secure Skiddaw Forest in early September. With funding now in place, the team can complete the purchase of...

Can investors help stave off sixth mass extinction?

Nature is increasingly valued as a material financial risk, says Matthieu Maurin, CEO and co-founder of Iceberg Data Lab. This year’s Living Planet Report by WWF highlights a devastating 73% decline in wildlife since 1970, threatening ecosystems, human populations and...

Your chance to shape the face of sustainable tourism

The National Forest is inviting business visionaries to help shape the future of its sustainable tourism accommodation. The charity is inviting conversations with companies passionate about sustainability to help capitalise on its high demand for tourist accommodation. Their 200 square mile...

Micro & nano-plastics: the invisible threat haunting our seas

Only drastic action can avert inevitable environmental disaster, warns Fabio Trincardi, Technical Advisor to Seas Geosciences. Although the effects of human activity on the environment are increasingly apparent, one of the most insidious pollutants is something we can’t see with...

Ocean gardens could suck up carbon

Seaweed ocean farms can help combat climate change, says Dr Franziska Elmer, head scientist at UK aquaculture firm Seafields. While reducing CO2 emissions is vital, it’s insufficient without sequestering historic CO2 levels. Traditional solutions like mass tree planting have limitations,...

If we want to save our planet, upholding climate pledges ‘no longer optional’

It’s critically important that companies and countries stick to their promises, says Antoine Rostand, President and CEO of Kayrros. Recent studies reveal a startling reality: European insect populations have declined by more than 75% in the past 27 years, with...

Nursery aims to restore lost sea meadows

A seagrass nursery in Wales is at the forefront of a critical new drive to reverse devastating biodiversity loss in the UK. With as much as 92% of the UK’s seagrass meadows lost since 1936, the project aims to grow...

Retrofit at scale – changing our homes for the better

Becci Taylor, Arup Director and Retrofit at Scale business leader for the UKIMEA, investigates the issues holding back widespread home retrofitting in the UK. The world has a building problem. While paramount to our lives, buildings account for 39% of...

Forget the next generation, today’s leaders hold all the power

Now’s the time to cement your green business legacy, says Emrah Durusut, Senior Partner, Xynteo, the global environmental and social business consultancy. Our collective environmental harm has been ongoing for a long time and across multiple generations, yet, finding solutions...

Water: tapping into vast green opportunities

Shrewd investment can address climate change and drive greener development, says Rebecca Schlagenhauf, Principal at Baird Capital. The water industry is experiencing significant transformation driven by climate change and the urgent need for sustainable solutions. Water and climate change are inextricably...

Stop using the sea as a dumping ground, urges microplastics pioneer

The world-renowned marine scientist who first coined the term microplastics is urging major collective action to improve the fragile state of our global seas. Professor Richard Thompson OBE is founder of the University of Plymouth’s International Marine Litter Research Unit, which has...

Chimney soot and newspaper could boost Kenyan crops

A low-cost sensor system to detect nutrients and improve soil fertility aims to tackle food insecurity in Kenya. The project takes inspiration from ancient art and design-based printing processes such as wood blocking, combined with local natural materials like chimney...

Planet-saving reasons we should fight our fear of bugs

By the end of the century, up to 40% of the world’s insect species may be extinct, so it’s critical to appreciate how conserving creepie-crawlies and their ecosystems is paramount to our own survival, says environmentalist Ed Crowther of...

Nature recovery mapped out with location data

Ordnance Survey (OS) data has helped map out a major nature recovery strategy for Manchester. The city is one of five pilot areas chosen by DEFRA to develop a Local Nature Recovery Strategy to help reverse urban nature decline. The local...

Conservation covenants ‘a new legal tool for landowners’

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has appointed a new ‘responsible body’ to advise on conservation covenants. Ecological consultancy RSK Biocensus – and specifically its biodiversity net gain (BNG) team RSK Wilding – is one of the...

The water industry is ripe for reform: The next government will be ready to intervene

The sustainability of the UK’s existing water infrastructure is under serious pressure and enormous challenges lie ahead, says Yännick van den Nieuwendijk, Managing Director of Amiblu, UK and Ireland. Public trust in the ability of water companies to deliver on...

Create more leaders, not victims, in climate change fight

Alex Ritchie, UK Chief Executive of GlobalGiving, argues the case for a climate resilience approach to corporate philanthropy. The need Ongoing geo-political crises around the world have left whole regions unstable, and there is huge pressure on the humanitarian system to...