Commitments to green schemes may be bubbling away on the back burner as businesses concentrate on surviving the recession intact but becoming more environmentally friendly can be a vital marketing tool that can also cut costs. Karen Dent discovers why Dame Ellen MacArthur will be in South Shields to support the sustainable business agenda.
SHE'S famed for becoming the youngest person and fastest woman to sail around the world alone and now Dame Ellen MacArthur will be sharing her tips on sustainability with North East businesses.
The yachtswoman will be in South Shields next week to talk about how companies can gain business advantages by better use of their resources.
She said: “Through my experiences at sea I learnt how to manage the resources on board really carefully, right down to the last drop of fuel – to win or to lose.
“On the boat I have to charge my batteries, but when energy is available at the flick of a switch it’s all too easy to take it for granted. Many resources we use at home and in our working lives are not replenishable.
“The effect of this is irreversible and the way we manage these finite resources today will define the way others live their lives tomorrow.
“The contrast between that life at sea, and our lives on land is stark. I feel we have lost the ability to link what we use to where it comes from.”
Dame Ellen will be one of four speakers at a business event, organised by Groundwork and BT South Tyneside, at the Customs House on Monday evening.
Andrew Watts, the operations director at Groundwork South Tyneside and Newcastle, says she is the ideal figurehead.
“She needs the natural environment to do her job, she needs the wind to sail. It does link in really well,” he said.
