Striving for environmental sustainability in our shopping habits is no easy feat.

I find myself having to make tricky decisions every day of the week.

One of the first problems I encounter personally, is the issue of TIME, or lack of time to be precise.

I am blessed to live in an area where I have access to fresh locally grown produce. However, in order for me to access this delicious food, takes planning and organisation because I need to visit several different venues, every single week.

I always try to purchase my meat from our local butcher, who keeps their herd in Kilkee, Co. Clare, just down the road from me.

I also want to get my vegetables and fruit at the farmer’s market, but this is only available on Saturday mornings.

My cleaning products and the few bathroom amenities I use, have to be purchased from the health food shop as I know the brands that contain no chemicals and keep my wastewater and skin healthy. 

On the rare occasion that I do eat pork, it...

Recently, we met with Clare Tait, the founder and owner of Chocolatey Clare, an Irish business making a range of luxury confectionary.  The products are vegan-friendly; dairy, gluten and palm-oil free; with ethically sourced, where possible -organic ingredients; and plastic free packaging. 

At Fifty Shades Greener, we have broadened our green business online and training programmes to include social sustainability, green purchasing and green marketing. 

We want to share how important it is to generate sustainability throughout all our business practices, and that includes who we partner with.  We always love to celebrate an Irish product and particularly one that is environmentally friendly. 

Clare Tait has considered sustainable elements from the inception of her business.  She quotes greener.ie explaining “true sustainability is about understanding your supply chain and working with the right partners, not focusing on your business in...

Have you ever put an item into the wrong bin? Food in landfill, landfill in recycling. Did your brain tell you for a second this is wrong and you still did it?

I know I have, and I am ashamed to admit it but hey, it’s the truth. I worked in the Hospitality Industry and this is a hard paced, busy, exhausting industry. There have been occasions in the past when, even though I realised the item was in the wrong bin, my body just didn't follow my brain's commands: Pick it up! This is wrong! You might contaminate the entire recycling bin! I swallowed my guilt by reasoning that I am "up the walls", in a hurry, it’s only a small thing. Have you ever been there? Has it happened to you?

The phrase “Out of sight, out of mind” seems appropriate in this case.

Recycling Waste

A while ago, I attended a workshop from Voice Ireland, a fantastic organisation that has spent the past few years going around the country, educating people on how to recycle...

At the end of May, our team organised an online event called ‘Generation Tomorrow’ for students in Co. Wicklow and in Nigeria.

The students presented their research and findings on two topics - food waste and water.

Of course we expected differences and this is what made it such a valuable and insightful project. Students in Ireland highlighted the growing concern of water scarcity as well as fantastic tips to help you conserve it. When water is mentioned in environmental terms, conservation springs to mind immediately. 

Some students from Nigeria however took a different angle that we hadn’t thought of before, but that is simple and true - that water is an absolute necessity to the human body.

Hydration is vital to our survival. Our brain alone comprises 60% of water and when we are without it, our concentration and mood levels plummet. Our stress and anxiety levels increase and it can contribute to debilitating “brain fog”.

According to the...

The pandemic has sent sanitation and hygiene to stratospheric levels of compliance for the majority of people and businesses. Never have we paid such close attention to what we touch and how we clean to keep ourselves “safe”.

It is no surprise that with such demand, the offer for new products and sanitation technologies is through the roof. I have been watching closely those systems that claim to be environmentally friendly and often get asked to comment on such new technologies.

I am not an expert, and I am always so careful with the advice I give, positive or negative. For me, when a product claims to be environmentally friendly, saying so is not enough. I want to know more detail:

• What are the exact ingredients used to make it?
• What is the process of making the product?
• Where is it made and sold?
• How is it packaged?

Trying to understand the full life cycle of a product, will allow you to spot possible environmental issues. Of course perfection is difficult, and you...

In today’s world of instability, there are certain parts of our daily lives both personally and in business that we feel we have SOME amount of control over.

The COVID Climate has reinforced the idea of personal responsibility across the globe and it comes down to the simple tasks of social distancing and hygiene. Washing your hands, cleaning down surfaces and touch points - there has been a real, palpable fear of dropping the ball, resulting in serious consequences both for the human element and for your business.

Within all industries, there is a need for sanitation and cleaning. Some require it more than others. But sanitation has leapt up the scale and is now top priority. 

Something we can speak from experience with at the 50 Shades Greener office, is cleaning within the hospitality industry. It doesn’t matter the department that we worked in, there would always be an element of it involved.

Often you would find yourself working with cleaning products that...

I have been working as an educator for environmental sustainability for a few years now, and never have I been more disillusioned than in recent times.

I like many others, had confidence and trust in the many “labels” seen on products we consume. ‘Eco-labels’ - Free from Tuna, Sustainable Palm Oil, Carbon Neutral Certs…the list goes on. But as you dig a little deeper, you start to realise that the vast majority of these labels are smoke and mirrors. 

They are in many cases entities that are looking to make a profit above all else. Regardless of the promises and standards, their labels claim. That is not to say that false labelling applies to every business. However the more I research this issue the more of them I uncover. There is a real danger that this blatant greenwashing will create mistrust amongst society and consumers.

Every fortnight, I ask my team to complete research on something different related to environmental sustainability, so we...

In today’s opinion piece I am looking at ‘Urban Gardens’. 

People are becoming more and more creative, and inventive with very little space: planting vegetable & flower gardens on rooftops, salad and herbs on balconies and windowsills. 

Growing our own food is not only a tasty and healthy option, but also empowering. Having the knowledge of where our food is coming from and what has gone into its growth, for example, knowing that no pesticides have been used. Plus it reduces carbon emissions as it does not have to travel miles to get to your plate!

Space is a factor for many businesses considering urban gardening as they may not have what is needed for more commercial growth. 

There are now a number of companies who have come up with solutions.  I met with Dan O’Brien from ‘Farmony’ last week and providing indoor vertical farms, which use hydroponics and have a range of options: from stackable trolleys with trays...

I am a Hospitality professional with an entrepreneurial mind. 

I have worked as a Hotel Manager for 20 years of my life, but I always knew I wanted to do more, I wanted to do something different, something that changed our industry for the better and had a positive impact.

That is why in 2017 I founded Fifty Shades Greener.

Fifty Shades Greener is an educational company teaching hospitality employees and managers the simple skills they need to learn to reduce their workplace carbon emissions and SAVE MONEY at the same time.

Our simple systems and processes of implementation and education are helping us green Hospitality businesses all over the world, and now, we need more people like US, to help us spread sustainability in the hospitality industry as far and wide as possible.

You can become a Fifty Shades Greener Licensed Trainer anywhere in the world, having exclusivity in your own territory which will make you the only trainer allowed to use our training programmes in your...

Utility bills are often looked at solely to see the total cost to be paid and then filed away. 

How many people analyse them to become more energy efficient? Now there are many options in terms of energy providers, and I think it is time that we took a minute to see how they can help us, their customers, to analyse the information they are giving us.  

A recent meeting with Pinergy Ireland has enlightened me on the way in which energy suppliers can be helpful to us in managing our use of energy. 

How we use our resources comes down to personal responsibility but having a provider who can offer data for us to monitor and decrease our use is a step in the right direction.  They can help us as we create positive changes by better understanding our consumption of energy.  

Also, there are now many energy providers who have moved away from fossil fuels to renewable energy.  This industry is changing.  Being less reliant on fossil fuel energy...