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...

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 can share our learnings and upskill ...

This is difficult to determine, because there is more than one issue at stake.

In terms of Co2 emission at the production stage, Tetra Pak cartons are the winner, followed by plastic, then aluminium, and surprisingly then glass is the worst.

Glass is the highest producer of carbon emissions because of what energy is required to produce it BUT if you are reusing the glass bottles, their shelf life is much greater than the other materials, and so it could be considered a more sustainable product.

In terms of  plastic pollution and the ability to do closed loop recycling, glass and aluminium are the winners. And as you recycle them more times, their carbon emissions start to fall back down towards cartons and plastic. As per Ethical Consumer, it depends on how the item is going to be used and then disposed of.

Some are better in terms of their carbon emissions and others tie into the closed loop of reuse/recycling and affecting waste output.

Glass and Aluminium 

• They can be recycl...

Last week I saw the amazing Clover Hogan, a young climate activist from Australia give a TEDTalk 

The link to her talk is on this week's written blog on our website, I encourage you to watch it - it's fantastic!

 “Climate change is not your responsibility, because it is outside your control, but what is your responsibility, is the things inside your control.”

So what does Personal Responsibility for Climate means?

For me, it all comes down to the things I have been speaking about on my weekly blogs for the past 2 years.

You can choose to;

1. Continue to live your life as you are..

OR

2. Continue to live your life with an added commitment to reducing your impact on the planet.

Two clear choices and no wrong answer.

YOU are in charge of your life and what do you with it is completely up to you.

I would not chastise anyone for choosing Option 1, however know that I am choosing Option 2 because I want to look back on my life in 10 years time and know that I did everything I poss...

Sustainability has so many definitions that it can often drive people to distraction…

What does it actually mean? How do I make my own business more sustainable? How do I know if I am successful at greening my business?

The answers are much simpler than people may think and I'll tell you why.

Here at the Fifty Shades Greener office, a ‘green’ or sustainable business is simply one that reduces its impact to the environment. Businesses affect the environment in 3 ways; through their use of energy, production of waste and consumption of water.

In order to run an environmentally friendly business, you first need to reduce your business’s utilities, and the best part of this journey is that not only will you reduce your business’s Carbon Footprint and impact to the environment - you will also SAVE MONEY off your utility bills.

It is a win/win situation for any business owner.

Yet 99% of the Hotel owners I meet on a weekly basis, do not have a handle on these 3 pillars of sustainabilit...

We are beyond thrilled to spring into February on a very positive note! 

In collaboration with KWETB Training Services (Kildare/Wicklow Education & Training Board of Ireland) we are presenting an online Environmental Education programme to secondary schools.

This pilot project allows us to bring the “Build your future Fifty Shades Greener” programme to secondary schools from Kildare and Wicklow counties of Ireland and  is completely funded by KWETB, so at absolutely no cost to the school.

We are seeking teachers that want to involve their class on this 'first of its kind' project.

This programme is taught through video based tutorials, practical lessons and action based learning in a fun and interactive way. It teaches the student how they can achieve a lower carbon footprint lifestyle, as well as reducing their household’s energy, waste & water costs. This vital knowledge can then be applied to their schools and even at their future workplaces.

The Fifty Shades Greener team will ...

The modern society we have collectively created has its pros and cons...

Many might feel that having supermarkets where you can buy EVERYTHING in one place, is a welcomed development in our society. It seems that convenience is prioritised above all else (even above reducing the food waste).

Has this also led to an enormous disconnect from our food chain? Have we lost the sense of where our food comes from? I am afraid the answer is yes.

The harsh reality is that many children in our larger cities may have never seen a live cow, a chicken or a pig. They learn about them in primary school and see pictures in books or cartoons, but the correlation that those animals end up on our dinner plates as pork chops or chicken wings, is lost in translation.

I remember when I was a child, we often spent some of our holidays in a small rural village in Spain with our nanny and her family. We had a full time nanny back then as both my parents worked long hours and travelled a lot for work.

For ...

First of all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

I hope 2021 is kinder to all of us than 2020 has been...

As we all delve into New Year’s resolutions, I wanted to start my year talking about a country I admire and have followed the progress of for a few years now - Costa Rica.

This blog, is a little longer than my regular blogs because I found the story of the development of Costa Rica so interesting and inspiring that I couldn't make it any shorter!

The moral of the story for me, is that a government that invests in protecting its natural resources and educating its people on the importance of the same, is on a winning trajectory.

In the era of the world wide web and fake news, it is difficult to determine which “facts” are real or not so to write this blog I partnered with Luis Murillo from Costa Rica and I found the story of their sustainable developments fascinating. 

Here is what Luis told me:

According to Luis, there were 4 elements of the history of Costa Rica that allowed ...

Sustainability doesn’t have to be an unattainable goal, or something in the distance that we all know exists but we fail to pursue. There are so many small changes we can all implement in our lives and workplaces that will directly affect our use of resources and our production of a carbon footprint.

When I founded Fifty Shades Greener in 2017, my mission was to train the hospitality workforce in Ireland, so we could live up to our name, the Emerald Island, providing green accommodation to our overseas visitors.

Fast forward a couple of years and my goal grew legs. I now want to teach every single hospitality worker in the world the little things we can all do to change our behaviour around the use of energy and water and production of waste.

A new partnership between Fifty Shades Greener and Dalhousie University’s College of Continuing Education will help bring this dream to life as we work together to green the hospitality industry in Canada.

For more than 35 years, the College o...

Allow me to steal 3 minutes of your time today to show you how simple it is to reduce your Hotel’s carbon footprint and even achieve carbon neutrality.

Sustainability is this big word that is thrown around so often and in so many scenarios that it becomes an unachievable task in our minds. So I want to demystify it and break it into actionable steps:

1. Calculate your current Carbon Footprint

This is again easier than you might think, all you need to do is learn to understand your utility bills, waste, water and energy.

2. Set up a system and assign a person in your team to monitor your carbon footprint every month – this person is going to be your Green Manager who should report to you and the rest of the time periodically.

3. Observe your building, where and when is energy used, where and when is water used and where and what waste is produced.

4. Provide staff training for waste, water and energy reductions

5. Generate savings in year 1 and 2 from your utility
...