by Jodie Balmer
I recently had the pleasure of attending the Blue Earth Summit as part of the B Local North East and Scotland delegation. From inspiring talks and thought-provoking films to live performances, poetry and conversations with fellow B Corps, the Summit brought together people passionate about creating a better future. I came away with brilliant new connections, plenty to think about and, above all, a renewed sense of optimism.
Of everything I experienced, one message stood out: we need to change the way we talk about sustainability.
From crisis to abundance
One of my highlights was hearing from Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of legendary ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau and co-founder of Oceana 2050.
Alexandra spoke about how we’ve lost almost half of the ocean’s living natural capital, but rather than focusing solely on what we’ve lost, she challenged us to imagine what we could restore.
Her vision is to rebuild ocean abundance within a single human generation.
That word, abundance, really stuck with me.
For decades, environmental conversations have been dominated by crisis, urgency, destruction and everything we need to stop doing. And while those challenges are very real, people are exhausted by bad news. With so many competing crises, it’s easy to understand why apathy sets in.
Alexandra’s message offered a different perspective. Instead of only talking about preventing further damage, why aren’t we showing people what a thriving future could look like?
Oceans full of life.
Flourishing ecosystems.
Healthier communities.
Businesses that actively contribute to a better world.
We need to give people something to work towards, not just something else to worry about.
It’s a lesson I’ll certainly be taking into how we communicate sustainability at McBryde & Co, both for us and for our clients. Facts matter, but so do the stories we tell and the emotions they inspire.
Plastic is everywhere, in everything and in everybody
Another standout moment was hearing from Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet, who was phenomenal. Her passion, determination and refusal to accept the status quo made her one of the most inspiring speakers of the Summit.
Plastic is quite literally everywhere. We’re ingesting microplastics through our food and drink, wearing synthetic fibres and using products containing plastic in our everyday self-care routines.
The session also explored the impact of certain chemicals associated with plastics on our endocrine system, which regulates hormones and plays a vital role in everything from growth and development to metabolism and reproductive health. Professor Richard Lea, a reproductive biology expert from the University of Nottingham, highlighted concerns about endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in some plastics, which can interfere with hormone signalling and affect reproductive health.
Research has estimated a 62% decline in average total sperm counts between 1973 and 2018. This is the stat that made everyone sit up and take notice. While the causes of this decline are complex, environmental chemical exposure and reproductive health deserve serious government attention.
The responsibility for solving the plastic crisis shouldn’t fall on consumers.
How can we be expected to avoid plastic when it’s built into almost everything we buy?
We can make more conscious choices, of course, but we can’t shop our way out of a problem created by decades of production and manufacturing decisions. We need governments to introduce stronger regulation and businesses to invest in safer, scalable alternatives that can genuinely compete with conventional plastics such as PET.
The solutions need to become the norm, not expensive alternatives available only to those who can afford them.
Sian’s work with A Plastic Planet demonstrates exactly the kind of change that’s needed. Its PlasticFree Babies campaign is calling for action to reduce babies’ exposure to potentially harmful chemicals from plastic products, particularly during their first 1,000 days of life. The first step? Banning the plastic baby bottle.
Her message resonated so strongly that I’ve already written to my local MP about the initiative, and I’d encourage others to explore the campaign and add their voices.
I left Sian’s talk shocked by the scale of the problem, but inspired by her determination to tackle it at the source.
Nature has a culture problem
Another brilliant discussion was the Nature Has a Culture Problem panel, hosted by Nadeem Perera and featuring content creators Lippy Lickshot and Outside with Lira.
The conversation challenged the way conservation is traditionally presented and who we tend to associate with it. Too often, nature and conservation are seen as predominantly white, middle-class pursuits, rather than something that belongs to everyone.
But if we want more young people, particularly those from urban communities and Black and brown backgrounds, to connect with nature and ultimately play a role in restoring it, we need to rethink how we’re reaching them.
As the panel pointed out, we can’t just put up a birdwatching poster and hope people will come!
We need to bring together nature with popular culture to engage the masses. Think music, memes, humour, creativity and collaborations that genuinely resonate with different audiences. We also need more diverse faces on our screens, particularly in nature documentaries and wildlife programmes, so that more people can see themselves represented in these spaces.
It was such a refreshing conversation, and one that really challenged the idea that conservation needs to be serious or traditional to be meaningful.
Nature belongs to everyone, but we need to make sure everyone feels like they belong in nature.
And once again, it brought me back to one of the biggest themes of the Summit: if we want people to care, connect and take action, we need to change what and how we communicate.
Making sustainability make business sense
That theme carried through to the business discussions, too.
In Stepping Up or Stepping Aside with the CEO of GiffGaff, one takeaway was the importance of meeting people where they are. Sustainability needs to make business sense, and communicating its value means understanding what motivates different audiences.
I also enjoyed What Founders Do Next, which explored how business owners navigate growth, exit strategies and staying true to their values. Wild’s acquisition by Unilever was a particularly interesting example of the opportunities and challenges involved in scaling a purpose-led business.
Whether we’re talking about nature, business or climate action, the message was consistent: know your audience, make it relevant and give people a reason to engage.
More than just a conference
What made the Blue Earth Summit particularly memorable was the variety of experiences on offer.
I watched films exploring our relationship with the coast and the importance of marine ecosystems, heard from inspiring changemakers including Clover Hogan, and was blown away by the talent of spoken word poet Tyrone Lewis.
Another unforgettable performance came from Woodzy, whose Letter to Mother Earth was absolutely brilliant. His powerful spoken word performance was moving, thought-provoking and a perfect example of how creativity can communicate environmental messages in a way that facts and statistics alone sometimes can’t. It was one of those moments that really stayed with me.
There really was something for everyone, and the creativity woven throughout the programme made some of the biggest environmental challenges feel more human and accessible.
Attending alongside the B Local North East and Scotland delegation was another highlight. Being surrounded by fellow B Corps and like-minded people who genuinely believe business can be a force for good was incredible.
And a special mention has to go to the fully plant-based catering, which was a lovely finishing touch to an already brilliant experience.
A future worth getting excited about
I left the Blue Earth Summit feeling inspired, but also challenged to think differently.
We absolutely need to acknowledge the scale of the environmental challenges we face. But if we want more people to act, we need to offer more than warnings about what might happen if they don’t.
We need a compelling vision of what becomes possible when we do, alongside the systemic changes that make that future achievable.
For me, that’s the biggest takeaway from the Summit, and one I’ll be carrying forward in my work at McBryde & Co.
Less doom and gloom. More hope, abundance and action.
Because creating a better future starts with helping people believe in one.
If you’d like to chat about how you’re communicating your sustainability efforts, please get in touch: jodie@mcbrydeandco.com
