THE VIEW FROM HAMBLE Phil Horton, Environment & Sustainability Manager
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The postponement of the Olympics has been tough for Team GB’s sailors, including Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre.
No action is too small
Positivity is crucial as we work towards a sustainable future, and the RYA is committed to being part of a change for the better
A
s you will read elsewhere in this issue, the RYA is now beginning to implement its sustainability strategy. We will measure our impact across a range of issues including climate change, biodiversity, human rights, equality and diversity, procurement and investment planning. It’s all too easy to look at the
scale of the problems we humans are causing for the environment and our societies, and for a degree of apathy to creep in. We should look at these worldwide challenges and consider what we need to do in response. However, the ‘Think global, act local’ mantra has never been more relevant. We can all have a positive influence on our collective future. No action is too small to count when we need to get to ‘net zero’, whether that’s for carbon dioxide emissions, waste, pollution or inequality. The RYA’s focus over the coming months will therefore be on positive actions, rather than the negative consequences of inaction. There are many reasons why we should pursue reduced pollution, waste and carbon emissions, and they’re not all to do with the protection of the environment.
“The ‘think global, act local’ mantra has never been more relevant.
We can all have a positive influence on our future”
Our health, the beauty of our surroundings, greater energy security, fulfilling jobs, addressing the needs of future generations, increasing diversity among our staff and participants in our sport – all of these point us in the same direction as our concerns about climate change and loss of biodiversity. We have made huge strides as a global sailing community in delivering on the UN Goals over the past 20 years, and we are in sight of achieving many of them by the target date of 2030. I thoroughly recommend the book Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About The World – And Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling as an antidote to negativity. He demonstrates how many of our perceptions of a lack of progress in human development are misplaced and out of date.
He also shows how rapid change is possible. This gives me hope that we’ll be able to successfully address the climate and biodiversity crises we’re facing – and, importantly, do so in a fair and just way that is positive for all our communities. The RYA won’t consider any action too small to count as we implement our strategy.
Photo: Omar Shamsuddin/Getty Images
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