The Guardian newspaper recently ran a feature on what it grandly called: 50 people who could save the planet. Nominated by Jonathan Porritt, George Monbiot and John Vidal amongst others, the list of 50 made for interesting reading. There was a smattering of celeb greens – Leonardo DiCaprio, most prominently – but overwhelmingly the majority of those selected are not household names, not even, one suspects, in their own homes. Only the darkest green among us, we’d wager, knows the name of René Ngongo, a biologist from the Congo DRC. We didn’t.
The article did its job well. It got us thinking about whether we could find a half century of heroes in the world of sustainable development and environmentally friendly housebuilding. Well, we haven’t come up with 50 but we have put forward around a half dozen – and we’re certain we will have left out someone significant. (Please forgive us). To remedy our anticipated oversight, we’d like you to nominate others we have not and who you feel deserve to be on a roll call of those who are doing their bit – and often a lot more than their bit.
Contact us with nominees. There’s no prize, nor awards, to be had save the knowledge that you’ve imparted your thoughts with others who might be appreciative. In no particular order, here’s a list of those we feel deserve a mention.
Sue Riddlestone
Sue is a director of BioRegional, whose pioneering low carbon community BedZED has set the benchmark in the UK for sustainable development and who are the driving force behind the One Planet Living initiative.
Bob Tomlinson
The man who has toiled to bring to fruition the Living Villages’ energy efficient and social sustainable community The Wintles in Shropshire, Tomlinson has plans to build similarly in other UK regions.
Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway
An outspoken critic of housebuilding in the UK, entrepreneur Wayne Hemingway is putting his reputation on the line, working with Taylor Woodrow on their 1,500-home community, The Bridge, in Dartford.
Mischa Hewitt
A director of the Low Carbon Trust and the project manager of the Earthship Brighton project, Hewitt is known for his hands-on approach to creating sustainable low-carbon developments in the UK.
Kevin McCloud
The man from the telly, yes that’s him. He’s here, he’s there, he’s every flippin’ where, but that’s no bad thing as he’s invariably got something interesting to say about sustainability on TV, in print or on a stage near you.
Pooran Desai
Pooran is the sustainability director at BioRegional Quintain Ltd (BQL), the associated development company of BioRegional. Current projects include One Brighton, and Middlehaven. He is a former co-director of BioRegional.
