What does sustainability mean to me?

I count myself extraordinarily lucky to have spent time in some of Africa's ‘untouched’ wilderness areas. Borne from this is a deep sense of responsibility — not only to African wildlife but to the planet as a whole — to preserve and protect what is natural, to respect what was originally here. 

With our growing human population placing very visible, ever-increasing pressures on the planet, it is more and more difficult for anyone to ignore the consequences. There is no future for an economic model built on the unsustainable use of finite precious resources; giving wealth and opportunity to an elite few at the expense of so many; entrenching individualism, and patriarchy, and disconnect. It’s time for new ideas; new societal constructs; new cultural norms — ones that reconnect us with one another, and with the natural world.

I am a passionate advocate of comms as a critical tool to shift mindsets and spark cultural reset. I plan to use my skills in this space to advance a more sustainable and equitable world, holding these values front and centre:

• Helping pioneers to disrupt: We won’t change the system by tinkering with it. Start-ups, scale-ups, SME’s challenging the status quo and flipping our current economic paradigm on its head need effective communication skills and tools to succeed. I hope to be able to help.

• Working with women and girls: Women leaders are showing us an entirely new path when it comes to navigating global challenges: one of collaboration over competition, one of empathy and inclusion, one of humility. It’s no surprise that educating women and girls is deemed one of the top ten most powerful levers for reducing emissions, as calculated by Project Drawdown. Where I can, I hope to elevate the work and thinking of females.

• Global north-south connection: Sustainability and circularity are advancing in silos across the world and the disconnect between global north and south is becoming increasingly evident. As a South African living and working in Europe, I am passionate about bridging that knowledge gap and conversation.

If your organization is putting its energy into building a better world, I would love to meet you.