Kelly Slater supporting sustainability in surfing

I am not especially fashionable, never paid fashion a great deal of attention – if it doesn’t involve jeans and a t-shirt, more often than not with a pair of deck shoes thrown in there’s a strong chance that I’m not going to be very engaged. But I’m in the minority; millions of people across the globe are engaged, enthusiastic and passionate about fashion. Whilst estimates vary I was somewhat shocked to learn that the fashion industry in the UKRead more

Towards a Sustainable Earth!

The whole notion of a Sustainable Earth Institute is likely to ruffle feathers. What does that mean – a ‘sustainable Earth’? After all, our planet has been practicing sustainability for four and a half billion years now. It is a survivor of unceasing physical and chemical change and traumatic biological turnover. The planet, it’s pretty clear, doesn’t have a problem. As the American comedian George Carlin put it… ‘The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been throughRead more

Climate Change and Health: The big issue

On 17th June we (Jane Grose and Janet Richardson) joined the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the Campaign for Sustainable Healthcare, and healthcare professionals at The Climate Coalition #forthelove of climate change lobby at Westminster. Our banner, supporting the University logo and the slogan ‘Climate Change is a Life and Death Issue’, had been carefully designed and made during discussions about what politicians and healthcare professional bodies should be doing about sustainability and climate change. Approximately 10,000 people lined theRead more

Deal or no deal: the influence of political risk in global climate decision-making

As the clock winds down on current efforts to avert an impending Greek default, it seems timely to consider the role of deal making in decisions that have far-reaching consequences. The Greek situation has produced extraordinary volatility on stock and bond markets through May and June 2015. Whilst the macroeconomic outlook for many European stocks would seem positively bullish, cognitive attention has been drawn to a relatively minor contributor in terms of GDP and anticipation of future risks from theRead more

Sustain-a-fable: Sharing Inspiration for a Cracking Earth

“Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.” Native American proverb I have had an inspiring (and tiring) few days. We have just held our ISSR event – “Cracking Earth 2015:  Building Sustainability Research with Foundations”.  With 23 Plymouth University speakers, 16 external speakers, 21 exhibition stands and about 240 delegates, the event was a fantastic success with most importantly –Read more

Your creativity is the only limit

In the book ‘Goodvertising: Creative Advertising that Cares’ Thomas Kolster selects 120 innovative ‘do good’ campaigns. This book shows how the advertising industry can use its creative powers to change behaviours and to inform; from saving water to using less paper and eating healthy to quitting smoking. The campaigns are organised around 10 guidelines for ‘goodvertising’, so I’ve taken my favourite from each area in a hope to inspire creativity and install hope in the advertising and marketing industry, whichRead more