Hey everyone,
With some unexpected time at home, I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to get back into writing my blogs again. You may have seen that my page has taken a little turn as of late. I have began talking a little more about my career and my appetite to learn more about sustainability on Instagram. For the longest time, I kept my page very focused on travel, but for 2020, I made a New Year’s resolution that I would start practising what I preach when it comes to the environment. I have really loved writing my first environmental focused blog and hope you enjoy reading it.
My dream for my sustainability blogs
My hope is that I your spark interest in sustainability and environmental awareness, but to also ensure that I never make you feel guilty for conducting practises which are out of your control. I am a big believer that we are all just trying to do our best. My blog is to encourage and support people like you, who wish to make small everyday changes that will have a big sustainable and environmental impact.
Rewind, what do I actually know about sustainability and the environment?
For the last 5 years I have worked as an ISO Management System Auditor, predominately auditing ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems and ISO 20121:2012 Event Sustainability Management Systems.
And I absolutely love it. I hadn’t planned on working in the environmental field, but I guess I kinda just fell into it. I initially studied Health and Safety Systems in NUI Galway and graduated way back in 2011. In alot of H&S jobs here in Ireland, environmental duties come hand in hand. Eventually, my environmental work became my passion.
I must admit that I take my role very seriously and I always want to be at the top of my game, because of this, I very rarely take my head out of books. In 2017, I went back to University and got my Graduate Certificate in Environmental, Sustainability and Energy Management from University College Dublin. There were many sleepless nights and endless cups of coffee consumed but I got there in the end. Sitting my exams and getting the results I wanted is still to this day my proudest moment in life. To change things up a little bit I have decided to go back to study again in 2020. This time around I am doing a Diploma in Organic Cosmetology. I hope at the end of the course I will be able to produce my own sustainable skincare products, significantly reducing the waste associated with my skincare products.
What do I mean when I say "Sustainability"?
Sustainability is a word we hear associated with almost everything: sustainable living, sustainable travel, sustainable fashion, sustainable environment, economy, society, etc. It’s a word we hear often but understand little about. Putting the word ‘sustainable’ in front of another word changes the entire meaning and since we will be hearing it regularly in the future, we need to know what sustainability means.
In the simplest form, sustainability is having the ability to do something today without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same thing. For example, we want to have clean drinking water today, but we must stop polluting our natural water sources or future generations will not have clean drinking water. When the word ‘sustainable’ is placed in front of another word, like sustainable food source, it means the item can be provided indefinitely and at the same level. Sustainability is often linked to the environment however, the environment is only one of three pillars linked to Sustainability.
Pillars of Sustainability
Social, Economic, and Environmental are the three pillars of sustainability. They all work together, and one cannot work without the others. The three pillars work together to create a circular economy. To have access to employment, health care, renewable food sources and live in a clean, safe environment is vital to the health and well-being of every human. The aim of sustainable living is to reduce waste and find new and renewable methods of doing things that are economically viable but in an ethical manner.
Sustainable Practices
I hope with this blog, I can share some of the sustainable practises that I have implemented like supporting local business and keeping profits within the local community, using Keepcups™ for my take away coffee, significantly reducing waste going to landfills and supporting slow, ethically made fashion brands. Hopefully you will get inspired and together we create a sustainable lifecycle for today, tomorrow and future generations.
I hope this was a good introduction to who I am and what I believe in. I truly hope you enjoyed it and that you might consider coming along the sustainable journey with me. I would love for you to send me a message on Instagram (@keane_on_travel ) and let me know what you thought.
Keep it Green,
Sarah Keane
Keane on Travel
Kommentarer