Sustainability Heroes with Ciara Fennessy

What does sustainability mean to you?

To me, sustainability means maintaining the earth’s inherent equilibrium. Humans represent an imposing force on the delicate balance that nature has so painstakingly crafted, it’s our responsibility to regulate that force to ensure the earth’s preservation. 

What challenges do you face when trying to be sustainable (lack of time,  resources, knowledge etc.)?

I find access to sustainable alternatives to be one of the biggest limitations in my effort to be environmentally conscious. Ireland’s public transport system leaves a lot to be desired and, as an island nation, we rely heavily on air travel for international journeys. Much of the produce in regular Irish supermarkets is the fruit of unsustainable processes and comes wrapped in single-use plastic. It would be great to live in a world where the sustainable option was always the norm. 

What steps do you take to be sustainable in your everyday life?

I do a lot of things with the environment in mind in my everyday life, none of which are particularly difficult or arduous. I cycle to work and most other places that I regularly frequent. I’ve been vegetarian for about eight years and more recently my diet has been almost completely plant based. I take care to consider the environment in my general consumption and purchasing: I opt for seasonal, local, organic produce with little packaging when possible; I limit waste and I shop second-hand first. I mend things rather than throwing them out and repurpose others, I promote biodiversity in my garden and turn off or unplug unnecessary appliances when not using them. 

What advice would you give to someone who is trying to be more sustainable? 

Trying to make the move towards being more sustainable can be daunting; there’s a lot of information to digest and other people’s passion for sustainability can sometimes backfire and come off as intimidating or shaming. There’s really no need to be apprehensive however, everyone must begin somewhere, and every sustainable thought is a step in the right direction! The backbone of a sustainable mindset is the sense that we are all in this together, is it not? So, my advice to anyone looking to make more environmentally conscious decisions is to simply start incorporating the planet into your everyday decision making. If you’re buying something don’t just consider the item or the price but also the impact is has on the earth, you can do the same with all of your daily decisions. 

Is Deloitte helping you be more sustainable? 

I have been pleasantly surprised by the emphasis that Deloitte puts on sustainability, and I think it has helped me to be more sustainable. The office is very accommodating of commuting by bike, Solas offers great vegetarian options and much of their takeaway containers are completely compostable, I’ve even taken some of their coffee grounds to fertilise my little vegetable garden. I’ve also been given the opportunity to volunteer on larger scale sustainability projects with the NSE WorldClimate team and hope to continue similar work in the future. 

Has the Giki app helped you in making more sustainable choices? If yes, how?

The Giki app has definitely helped, primarily in informing me of new ways in which I can incorporate sustainability into my life. For example, I had never before considered whether my bank or pension company invest money sustainably. 

What are the key learnings you’ve gained from the Giki app? How will you take these with you and continue using in your day-to-day life?

Because of the way that the Giki app classifies the sustainable steps you can take by the size of the beneficial impact they’ll have on the climate I realised that there are a couple of extra things I could start doing that would have a relatively large impact, like being more proactive in my advocacy for sustainable development and considering the knock-on effects that my current and future investments may have on the environment. 

If you could recommend one step that everyone should take to be more sustainable, what would it be?

Try a vegetarian or plant based diet for one or two days a week! We simply cannot sustain the current global population on the kind of meat heavy diet that we’re used to here in Ireland. With half an acre of land you can grow enough food for a vegetarian diet. A typical diet including meat needs about 4 times that amount.