In partnership with BMW i, AllBright speaks to Sue Riddlestone OBE, the Chief Executive of Bioregional, about her work and her advice for how we can all live more sustainable lives.
Many of us share a desire to live more sustainable lives, but what does a more sustainable lifestyle really look like, and how can we achieve it?
To answer these questions, AllBright spoke to Sue Riddlestone OBE, in partnership with BMW i. As Chief Executive and Co-Founder of Bioregional, Sue has spent years working in the field of sustainability. She has lived in BedZED, the UK’s first major zero-carbon community, since it opened in 2002, and received her OBE due to her services to sustainable business, as well as the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
As a brand, BMW is also moving forward with steps to creating more efficient cars, with the BMW i range of cars offering both all-electric and plug-in hybrid variants, giving drivers the opportunity to embrace the future of mobility without compromising on any of the brand’s luxurious touches. The BMW Group is working towards cutting C02 emissions for vehicle production by 80% by 2030 compared to 2019, and hopes to reduce C02 emissions in the supply chain by 20% before this date, too.
Read on to hear more about Sue’s career, and her expert advice on the small and achievable steps we can all take to live more sustainable lives.
Sue Riddlestone OBE, Chief Executive, Bioregional
You’ve achieved a huge amount in the field of sustainability. Please can you give me some insight into your passion for sustainability, including why you wanted to work in this field and why it is so important that we all start living more sustainable lives?
I wanted to do something about the impact of our overconsumption on the natural world. I have always loved and appreciated nature, even from a young age. I saw the impact that our lifestyles were having, such as seals dying on the coast from waste and pollution, or trees being cut down on Vancouver Island and affecting the habitat of killer whales.
We founded Bioregional 30 years ago, initially focussing on sustainable local production of things like recycled paper. Since then, the problem of overconsumption has only got worse, and the world’s population has kept growing. Our ecological footprint takes into account our carbon emissions and resource consumption, and shows that if everyone in the world lived as we do in the West, we would likely need almost three planets to support our lifestyles. You can work out your own footprint by clicking here.
You’ve lived at the BedZED eco-village from the beginning – please tell me about your experiences of living in the community? What have been the benefits, and have there been any disadvantages? If so, how did you counteract these?
BedZED was Bioregional’s first development and the UK’s first large-scale, zero carbon mixed-use eco-village. We were looking for land to build a new, sustainable office, and when the BedZED site became available, it was so large we thought, ‘why not build homes, too?’
It’s the best place I’ve ever lived. It makes it easy for residents to live a one-planet life. We use zero-carbon energy, swap goods with neighbours to reduce consumption, and have space for bikes and a car club onsite. More than anything, I love the sense of community, with car-free streets for children to play in and for people to chat. On average, BedZED residents know 20 of their neighbours by name. In nearby streets, that falls to about eight people.
Lots of visitors want to see what it’s like to live here, so one disadvantage is that I must be ready to show people around my house at a moment’s notice! Because it is so unusual, we also need to work with contractors who understand innovations like district heating systems.
Please tell me about One Planet Living® – why did you co-found this? How has the initiative developed since 2003? What has it achieved so far, and what would you like it to achieve in the future? We just wanted to do the best job we could with BedZED. It was a massive success, and people were inspired to come to us from across the world for help in building their own eco-community. So, we systematised what we learned and created the One Planet Living framework, and made it into a free resource.
It is such a powerful tool because it is flexible enough that it can be used by anyone – individuals, schools, businesses, property developers, or communities – anywhere in the world. It gets people thinking differently and is a fun way to co-create and implement a holistic, regenerative, and easy-to-understand sustainability plan.
One Planet Living has been used on more than $30bn of property developments on five continents. Local authorities use One Planet Living to create their own sustainability strategies, and major retailers such as B&Q use it to become more sustainable businesses, and to create more sustainable products and services for customers.
We want One Planet Living to continue to spread, like a meme, through our culture, because we need cultural change if we’re going to become sustainable as a society.
What do you want everyone to know about the importance of living more sustainably?
People need to know that this is urgent. We need to halve carbon emissions globally by 2030 to keep our planet habitable, and we need to regenerate our natural world. This is the only place in the universe where we know that there’s any life, built up over billions of years, and we are destroying it in just a couple of generations.
Having worked on this for 30 years I know the solutions are there, and when we put them in place we will look back and think ‘our lives are so much happier and healthier. What were we thinking? Why didn’t we just get on with it?’
Advice On How To Be More Sustainable: 5 Simple Tips
Use less, greener energy at home. Energy use in the home makes up around 14% of our CO2 emissions. Being more energy efficient saves money and allows us to live more comfortably. The Energy Saving Trust has good ideas for saving energy in the home. Then, make sure the energy that you use is green by converting to a renewable energy tariff.
Make your money work for the planet. Organisations like ShareAction and Make My Money Matter can help ensure your money is invested responsibly. Research shows that making your pension green saves 21 times more carbon than going veggie, giving up flying, and switching energy provider, combined.
Get on your (e) bike. I have never looked back! E-bikes make it so easy to get around, and are an effective and affordable alternative to driving, especially over shorter distances. And they are a great alternative to bicycles, particularly if, like me, you’re not that athletic!
Eat more plants. I’ve now got the best diet that I’ve ever had. Some vegan meat alternatives can be tempting and make it easier to cut out meat and dairy, but there are also so many amazing recipes and taste combinations from around the world you can discover. Join Veganuary to make it easy – they send great recipes to try at home.
Don’t buy new. Keep asking yourself ‘do I really need to buy that?’. There are other ways to get items we really need, by buying second-hand, sharing with neighbours, or through organisations like Freecycle. Better quality products will last longer. And if it breaks, get it repaired – it’s also really satisfying when you learn to fix something yourself!
To find out more about the BMW i range of cars, please click here