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Before we begin, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm John Wozniak, no relation to Steve, the co-founder of Apple. I'm a sustainability consultant, and writing is my passion. My aim is to bring some of the globe's pressing issues to the surface and to spark meaningful conversations about our planet. I don't walk around wrapped in seaweed, and I, like many others, am doing my best to make small changes to the way I live. Little things, like unplugging the TV at night and avoiding taking 10-minute showers. After all, water is a scarce commodity.

I grew up in English county of South Yorkshire, a place historically known for its mining community. My grandfather was the deputy at Elsecar Colliery, one of 16 active coal mines within a 10-mile radius of our little part of England. One of the National Coal Board's mantras was "people will always need coal." Elsecar Colliery closed in 1983, before finally being demolished in 1978. The Miners' Strike of 1984 divided communities, some of which haven't recovered, 40 years on. Although I didn't follow in my grandfather's footsteps, you could say I was born to have some involvement in the sustainability sphere.

The Main Event

OK, enough about me. What I am about to write is from the heart, the mind, and from experience. It's quick-paced so you're going to have to keep up. I live and breathe this stuff because it's complex, interesting, and vital for the future of our planet. I'll have time to explain all the juicy jargon in later editions. Are you ready to go?

We're f*****! On one hand, the World Green Building Council is working fastidiously with 70+ partner councils to deliver green buildings and to reduce carbon emissions. Verified data and transparency of supply chains are the order of the day. That's the space I operate in.

A Lack of Government Direction

On the other hand, governments allow imports of cheap cement, they allow domestic house builders to construct unstustainable housing, fit for a lifetime (60 years WTF), they dilly and dally with energy security, and tell porkie pies about the validity of heat source pumps. If you're living in a relatively new build, observe the heat leaking out of your walls during the cold mornings. That's your hard-earned cash literally going up in smoke.

There are many reasons why first-world governments don't take sustainability seriously; they view crime prevention, education, health, and tax as a priority. Ironically, the golden thread that runs through them is sustainability. Let's take an example of the illegal bushmeat trade. Because the rich aren't content with eating beef, lamb, or pork, they want something that others can't get, like great apes. Think about all the illegal fishing that's conducted all in the name of shark fin soup. Here’s an idea. Let’s see what would happen if the idiots left the sharks in the ocean! You get the point.

The Big EV Debate

The world is waking up to the fact that there aren't an infinite number of resources needed to build all the unaffordable cars that governments want us to drive. Now we are in a position where the greedy CEOs want to plunder the deep sea in order to extract minerals needed to increase the production of semiconductors. You can hear the chatter across the car industry's board members. "I know, let's help you reduce your Scope 1 footprint (keep up) — but we'll destroy a fragile ecosystem while we're at it." Genius. Remember, devastation creates opportunities to make a nice profit.

Local Government Authorities (LGA) advocate the spraying of weeds, which incidentally kicks the shit out of biodiversity. Why hasn't Whitehall, and every town hall across the globe, dished out copies of Silent Spring? If you don't know what that book is about, google it. We've got to keep moving.

LGAs would rather send mattresses to landfill than come up with simple solutions, such as filleting them and recycling what's left! I know because I've written that business case. Of course, it was REJECTED on the grounds it wasn't the boss's idea!

Nan and grandad are trying to set an example for their grandchildren by recycling, but nobody has got an effin clue what's supposed to go in the black bin or the blue bin. Hang on, maybe you've got an orange bin? Is that for oranges? Answer me this: How the hell have we reached 2024 without a national waste strategy?

It's ok, we'll send all the rubbish to our neighbors, a place where we like to go on holiday. Yeah! I paired thousands of my savings to sit on this beach. Let's go and swim in the sea with all the un-recycled washing-up bottles.

High Demand, Low Price

Speaking of washing-up bottles, the Amazon driver is here with our cleaning product subscription. I know it's him because of all the shit coming out of his exhaust. I wonder if he's delivered the 25 pairs of jeans for my Insta wardrobe shoot. I don't want to lose out to Cheryl; she's on 450 followers. I've told Emma I'll beat her to 1,000 by next week. Speaking of textiles...

The Global South, out on a limb, has to deal with textile mountains that dwarf 20 Fenchurch Street. Hello H&M.

The second-largest fashion retailer in the world, H&M, contributes to monumental amounts of textile waste and churns out millions of clothing items and designs every year. With more than 5,000 stores worldwide, H&M is one of the many fast fashion companies known for copying high-end fashion, rapid clothing turnover, unsustainable practices including the use of harmful chemicals in its products, as well as inhumane working conditions. Earth.org

Now We're Flying

Passengers are paying for the cost of Sustainable Aviation Fuel because the airline industry is under pressure to reduce emissions. The planet is warming, and those folks in high-risk areas are praying for sunshine every time it rains. The situation has got scientists rethinking the Saffir-Simpson model (keep up). Meanwhile, golden boots from the Premier League’s top clubs are flying up and down the country on a private jet. WTF!

Never mind. The clever people will sort it out. You know, those men with the really expensive watches. Oh, you mean the global leaders convening in countries with appalling human rights records, arriving on private planes. The annual COP meetings are an oddity in itself, especially in the age of digital technology. Zoom to Teams instead of zooming to the runway.

I'm now imagining the COP delegates sat on a private jet, flying somewhere over the Arctic Circle.

"Oh look! There's a Polar bear swimming out in the ocean." "What? He's about 20 miles from land. He'll never make it." "Speaking of food. I've booked us into one of those bushmeat restaurants. You know, the ones where you can order giraffe and gorilla." "Hey, Mr. Switcheroo has launched a new green energy company. Maybe it's powering the illegal restaurant we're going to visit." "Yeah, Mr. Switcheroo is paying farmers to grow grass for those fancy biomass boilers." "So?" "There's less land to grow crops on. My Weetabix will cost a fortune, and I'll only be able to eat 2 a day."

Many of us love an overseas holiday, including me, but it's my opinion that the airline industry has been too slow to press for ubiquitous development and availability of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). I'll be writing more on this topic.

Sustainability Doesn't Need to Be Complex

Do you see my point? Whatever your view is on sustainability, it affects us all. There's a good chance that if you're reading this, you're an advocate of change. You don't need to be a sustainability ninja to make small changes to help you, your family, and future generations.

In the next weeks, months, and hopefully, years, I'll be having one or two difficult conversations about the way 'we' live our lives. I'll be talking you through some of the technical aspects of sustainability, often referred to in the finance industry as Environment, Social and Governance (ESG). So when you see the term ESG, I'm referring to sustainability.

The Rise of the Unregulated E-Waste Problem

There's no point in blaming the government, big pharma, the oil giants, or big tech. Everyone has to take responsibility for their own actions. How many gadgets have you bought in recent years? The question is a segue to my next point, which has huge social value implications.

It's important to discuss the global e-waste problem, which no f***** has got any ideas on how to tackle. An estimated 18–30 million women and children deal with e-waste by burning circuit boards. Just to be clear, exposure to fumes from burning polyvinyl chloride insulation (widely used in applications such as pipes, medical devices, and wire & cable insulation) causes a range of respiratory ailments. I wonder if images of children burning e-waste should be plastered on technology packaging? That's one for the comments section.

Recapping a Whirlwind Tour of Sustainability

There you have it. Now you know a little bit more about me. There are a thousand things I haven't discussed, and I don't hug trees, I don't wrap myself in seaweed, and I am far from perfect. I have made small changes to my lifestyle. Ditching meat (if I can do it, anyone can), turning off those vampire devices, and planting a few extra pollinators are just a few measures I've taken. It all helps, and that's the point. My aim is to exchange knowledge and look at the bigger picture. My favorite aspect of all is dealing with the supply chain. Hey Mr. Supplier, have you been greenwashing again? Hmmmmmmmm, I think you have!

Until next time, share the shit out of this post, and let’s start discussing the elephant in the room (that’s if they’ve not been hunted to extinction)!