I am an advocate for taking personal responsibility when it comes to environmental sustainability. 

Every individual choice and action we take has consequences.

Take, for instance, our use of water. There is a perception that it is an abundant natural resource, however, it is limited. Of the 70% of our Earth that is covered in water, only 3% is actually fresh and drinkable. Of this 3% it is not that easy to get! 80% of it is actually frozen in the polar ice caps. So, what does this leave us with? A shocking 1% of fresh water available to us- globally.

As our world population and industries grow, there is a huge demand placed on our water resources. As of 2019, a total of 17 countries are now feeling the stress of water shortages. 

The World Data Institute (WRI) says that about one quarter of the world’s population, approximately 1.7 BILLION people - live in a place where farming, industry and cities use 80% of their available water supply every year.

This means that only 20% i...

Changing your heating system is a significant investment and can feel like a daunting and unnecessary process. I wanted to investigate what options and grants are available for homeowners looking to move away from oil or gas heating to a more sustainable alternative. 

Alternatives to Oil & Gas Heating

The most popular choice at the moment is the air-to-water heat pump. The heat from the air is transferred to the water in your heating system, such as your radiators and your hot water tank. Unlike gas and oil boilers, heat pumps deliver heat at lower temperatures over a longer period of time. It is not a new technology; it has been used in fridges since the early 1800's.

Governmental Grants

At present SEAI offer a number of different grants for homeowners, including installation, insulation and assessment grants. The first step in the process is to get your home’s energy efficiency assessed. The building needs to be well insulated – nearly 30% of heat escapes through the walls and 30...

At present in Ireland there are 53 operating data centres – 8 more are under construction with 26 having received planning permission. 

Ireland is a prime location for these centres: we are in the E.U., we have a highly skilled young workforce and a climate suited to data centres (our cool temperate climate is ideal in reducing running costs as the heat-generating computers need to be kept cool).

Dublin is reaching its full capacity of data centres so there is opportunity for other cities now to attract these centres. Tiktok, with their €420 million data centre investment, Google, Facebook, Amazon; they have all set up shop in Ireland.

I myself am reliant on the internet for work and use these data centres – this I am fully aware of. Also, Ireland is in need of job creation and investment post-pandemic, so is this not a Win-Win? What’s the issue?

Well…. A report by Eirgrid has shown that the demands in electricity are due to data centres: in order to meet the vast electricity nee...

In 2015 at COP21 in Paris, it was agreed and became a part of the remit for many governments, that for the next 30 years there HAS to be a reduction in global carbon emissions. 

For this to come to fruition in the future, we cannot only introduce higher rates of carbon tax, invest in public transport or simply upgrade our energy extractions to renewables.

 There is no doubt that all these actions will result in a greener economy, and I am certainly not disputing this. However there is one vital component to achieving true environmental sustainability that is missing, and that is to provide EDUCATION to all members of our society.

Imagine for a moment if you will, an Ireland in the year 2040… Our government has embedded Environmental Education into our school’s curriculum - from primary school right through to adult education, and this has been ongoing since 2021. 

The basic principles of environmental sustainability are now second nature to the current workforce. We all know how to...

We have often heard of the spread of invasive species, plant species like Japanese knotweed in Ireland, for instance. We come up with measures to remove them, so they do not wreak havoc on the local plant species and land.  Yet we have not really considered the most destructive and invasive species of them all. 

Us Humans. 

We are exhausting our freshwater supply, filling our environment with waste, exploiting natural resources to extract oil, gas and raw materials.  

Everything we ourselves need to survive; we are destroying it.  We have shown concern as our hunting and pillaging habits have brought plant and animal species to extinction globally.  Our concern is met with very little preventative action though. As a species we are the catalysts of our own demise. 

A recent article in the Guardian said that the source of the world’s food, it’s seeds, are in the control of just four companies. It also highlighted, for instance, global banana sales are controlled by one company, the ...

As defined by the European Parliament;

“The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended.”

The drive towards a circular economy has recently seen a huge push as it is in line with governments reaching their net zero targets. We are hearing it more and more in sound bites and headlines as for the most part, globally, there is an acknowledgement that our current linear economy is simply not sustainable.

So, how is the shift for European society going from our current throwaway culture?

Digging a little deeper into waste management plans and objectives, the Netherlands popped up several times so I decided to have a look into their overall ambitions and targets. For example, their government strategy has very clearly outlined that by 2050 the transition to the circular economy must be reach...

It is a place many of us love to be on a sunny day, or on our holidays – by the sea.  Looking out on that beautiful, vast horizon I normally find my problems become minute, but how often does it enter our minds that it is being overwhelmed with plastic pollution?  I fear this problem is very much “out of sight, out of mind”. 

It is estimated that 10 million tonnes of litter enter the world’s oceans each year.  Plastic makes up 80% of this “marine litter” (IUCN, 2018). Think about that figure for a moment, 10 million tonnes of waste equates to more than 1 garbage truck load of rubbish, entering the ocean every minute. That is staggering.

Beach clean ups are great initiatives, bringing communities together, creating awareness and keeping local coastal areas clean. But it is not enough. they are not a solution to this problem, it is like putting a band aid on to a broken leg.

“It is estimated that 70% of marine litter is on the seabed, 15% is floating in the water column and 15% is wha...

Inequality amongst the human race is something that has caused a lot of pain and suffering over the centuries, and unfortunately, injustice continues in present times.

Let’s look to the past to inform our present. The foundations of many of today’s inequities are centuries old and they have remained through centuries of change.

Slavery, being one of the most insidious, with its first peak in ancient Egypt and the Roman empire.  One might think that in modern times slavery does not exist anymore, but unfortunately, in 2019 approximately 40 million people, of whom 26 percent were children, were enslaved throughout the world, despite it being illegal.   

It is shocking to me that slavery is still happening in our society. For many people across the globe the term “slavery” is something of the past, historic. It is hard to grasp this concept because we don’t see it with our own eyes, but it is a plight of our time.

So how does slavery relate to Climate Change?

With colonization and th...

 At Fifty Shades Greener, we always say that small actions do count, especially when being carried out by many. This blog series will endeavor to highlight those people or communities who are driving REAL action.  

We hope their stories inspire you, and more importantly that they spark hope. 

Our first story of hope comes from the Recycle Bike Hub, based in Winchester in the UK. 

On first hearing about what this group of volunteers do and have achieved to date, we knew we wanted to spotlight them for our first “Story of Hope” this year. 

They are achieving so much on an environmental and social scale in terms of sustainability and it’s all driven by a passion for road worthy, affordable bikes to be put back on the road, while raising funds for fantastic charities. 

We are so impressed by their commitment to a circular economy model as well as the data they have measured to date from one workshop set up 2 years ago. 

If you want to learn more about the life cycle of a bike and i...

18 months ago, the ‘Work from Home’ movement was building momentum, but for the vast majority of office workers, the concept of having a permanent full time office seemed unlikely.

The pandemic saw something we never thought we would witness in our lifetime, where industry and businesses grounded to a halt, forcing workers to remain within the confines of their homes.

Following the government’s recent announcement to ease restrictions on returning to the workplace from September 20th, we are going to see a large percentage of the workforce leave this familiar space. For some this will be a positive progression, others not so much.

Recently, one of my team members was on his way to Dublin city and rang me to say how abysmal the traffic difference was in the city centre compared to even the past weeks. The dreaded commute and traffic has finally returned.

Those who are eager to get back to socialising with work colleagues and separating their professional and personal lives will acce...