Melissa Sterry
DCL
How do we bring sustainable solutions into the mainstream? Design scientist Melissa Sterry believes designers and engineers hold the key to innovation. She has set up the New Frontiers initiative to promote innovation through design education in the UK.
As the founding director of Societás, a platform to launch groundbreaking new initiatives in design, media and the visual arts, Sterry has been a champion of design innovation for many years. Now as co-founder of New Frontiers, together with sustainability consultant Matt Prescott, she is forging a collaborative path to "to help evolve and embed a strong understanding of sustainability issues; form new collaborations and networks; and promote the best ideas and innovations."
As a dedicated Change Maker Melissa Sterry joins us to talk about the inspirations and motivations behind her work, including environmental activism, the importance of biodiversity, and the joy of digging in her allotment.
Planet Green: How did you get into this line of work?
Melissa Sterry: I've been an environmentalist since childhood. Year on year two factors have become ever more prominent in my mind: the scale of environmental destruction is getting greater and too little is being done about it. Environmental issues went from being something I tackled in my spare time, to something I worked on part-time, to becoming my career.
PG: When did the green bug strike?
MS: I was 11. My bedroom window overlooked a small strip of land with assorted trees and a hedge, the inhabitants of which included squirrels, a fox, a hedgehog, a woodpecker and various other small mammals and birds. One morning I awoke to the sound of diggers. The trees and hedge were being chopped down, as developers were clearing the site. I was outraged. I never saw the squirrels, woodpecker or birds again. From that moment I decided that some day I would be able to stop the chainsaws and the diggers.
PG: Who is your green hero?
MS: My hero isn't someone I can name; they are not famous and you probably wont read about them in a magazine or see an interview with them on television. My hero is the person that gives it their all to fight for what is right. They are the person who is on the frontline of deforestation, risking their life trying to save the world's rainforests. They are person who scales The Houses of Parliament to raise awareness of climate change. They are person who patrols a reserve fending off poachers. If that person is you - you are my hero.
PG: What is your ultimate green goal?
MS: Putting an end to the carnage. The scale of destruction, pollution and extinction simply has to stop. The Earth's resources are treated like disposable items and its oceans and lands like an enormous trash can. There are many who have absolutely no intention of doing anything to protect our planet and the interests of future generations. Unfortunately many of these people are very powerful, very wealthy and completely and utterly unscrupulous. My goal is that these people don't win what has effectively become a battle of wills.
PG: What is your motivation?
MS: Survival. The situation is now life and death. We are no longer in a scenario in which we lose the odd species or two; since the late 1960s a mass extinction has been underway and we, humankind, are the culprits. However, it's not just the creatures that we share this planet with that are under threat; it's ourselves. Mass Extinction expert Dr. Richard Leakey recently stated that it would be 'complacent' to assume humans aren't on the extinction list. Life is my motivation.
PG: What is most important to you, ecologically speaking?
MS: Biodiversity. While astrophysicists search for extraterrestrial life, which may, theoretically exist elsewhere in the Universe, we have not yet identified a planet other than our own that can sustain life, let alone complex life. Life has been evolving for 3.8 billion years and most of the species that inhabit Earth today took 65.5 million years to evolve. 1/3 of all biodiversity has been destroyed since 1970 and the speed of extinction is increasing, that situation needs to slam into reverse.
PG: What is the most challenging part of your job?
MS: We live in a world in which the majority of investors and bankers reward greed, immorality and irresponsibility. Making money is easy, if you haven't got morals. Any of us could be a multi-millionaire if we were prepared to walk over other people and have a free lunch at someone else's expense. This situation isn't only technically difficult for social entrepreneurs, it's also somewhat soul destroying - there comes a point when you get sick of seeing the greedy guys prospering and the good guys struggling.
PG: What is the most rewarding?
MS: Working with truly incredible people. My colleagues are phenomenally bright, innovative, creative and all-round awe-inspiring individuals. Many of them are working on groundbreaking initiatives and inventions of historical importance, yet without exception they are humble, charming and kind. I consider myself honoured to work alongside them.
PG: Of the people you have worked with, who impresses you most?
MS: Crikey, that's a tough question! If I have to name just one person I think it has to be Mike Barry, Head of Sustainable Business at Marks and Spencer. Why? Mike's understanding of sustainability is simply immense. However, even more impressive than his encyclopedic knowledge of environmental and social issues is his vision, which is inspired, intelligent and embeds innovation to its very core.
PG: What green thing do you do everyday?
MS: I do a lot of green things every day, but the one I enjoy most is keeping an allotment. Walking to the allotment to dig something up, or pick something for dinner is much more fun than going to the grocers. When I find myself with a spare moment I can usually be found digging, planting, weeding or exchanging growing tips with my fellow allotmenteers.
PG: What do you wish you could do?
MS: While I keep car travel to an absolute minimum, there are times when it's my only option. In an ideal world I would exchange my diesel Fiat for an Aptera.
PG: What is your biggest eco-sin?
MS: Hot showers; especially on cold winter mornings. There's little I like less than a cold or a lukewarm shower - it's my idea of hell. I hope to build a sustainable home in the coming years and creating a renewable energy powered shower that uses rainwater harvested from the roof will be central to the planning!
PG: If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
MS: I would fix everyone's insecurities. Insecurity is a major factor in consumption, especially of the conspicuous kind. If humankind consumed within the limits our Earth could sustain we wouldn't be in this mess. We need to consume less, but the barrier preventing that happening isn't technical, it's psychological.
PG: What is your best green advice?
MS: Realise how important the role you have to play in creating our sustainable world is. You count. Without you, we're not going to get there.
