š± The Grumpy Optimists #172
Records tumble, sewage flows, and nobody wants to talk about ESG anymore.
Happy Monday. š
Welcome back to The Grumpy Optimists. I took two weeks off after a very busy week away in Girona cycling, running, swimming, reading and drinking beer. It was glorious, exactly what I needed and great prep for my Ironman in August.
However, while I was there some of the routes Iād planned to take were closed due to wildfires. The fact that I flew there and I am part of the problem is not lost on me at all by the way. I am constantly sat within the tension of how do you live with optimism about the state of our planet, enjoy the beauty it brings and use it to inspire, while also not pretending there isnāt a contradiction. I think to me itās doing as much as you can. Iāve been to Marseille, Paris and the Alps in the last 12 months by train and I will continue to prioritise it as a form of travel.
I donāt have a good answer, but I do know I find it difficult and Iām sure others will too. Anyway, hereās me smiling to show I had a great time.
š News to make you feel good this week
š The UK has finally ratified the High Seas Treaty. After more than three years of foot-dragging, the Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, deposited the paperwork at the UN in New York on Friday, making the UK one of 90-plus countries now signed up to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction agreement. It creates the first legal framework for marine protected areas in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean. Britain helped shape this treaty back in 2023 and then nearly embarrassed itself by being among the last to ratify.
š My thoughts? Our oceans are crucial theyāre under serious stress. We need to do more to protect them and while this is good, we need action. We canāt sign up for the gym and not go!
āļø A quarter of EU power came from solar for the first time in June. Solar generated a record 52 TWh across the EU, 25% of all electricity, making it the EUās single largest power source ahead of nuclear, gas, wind and hydro. Spain crossed a third of its power from solar for the first time, and even coal-heavy Poland hit 24%. Emberās analyst called solarās rise ātruly stratospheric,ā and for once the hype is earned. Five years ago solar was only 10%.
š The Seine has reopened to Paris swimmers for a second summer. Three free, lifeguarded bathing sites near City Hall, the Eiffel Tower and eastern Paris are open through August after a 1.4 billion euro clean-up that began ahead of the 2024 Olympics. As somebody who loves swimming and lives in central London, this is probably one of the only times Iād be jealous of a French person.
š£ The Olympic champion fighting to clean up Britainās rivers. Imogen Grant won rowing gold at Paris 2024 while working as an NHS doctor, and she is now one of the sharpest voices on the UKās water-quality crisis. No single river in the UK is classed as in āgood overallā health, and the only reason it is not front-page news every day is that it has been going on so long. Imogen has helped set up the Clean Water Sports Alliance to align seven national water-sports bodies, and wants the definition of ābathing watersā widened to cover rowers, not just swimmers. As she puts it, caring about it is the first step to finding the time for it.
š My thoughts? Contrast this with the Seine. Paris spent over a billion euros and got swimmable water and thirty-plus fish species back. Britain has water companies that would rather return value to shareholders than stop pumping sewage into the only rivers we have. This is a great story and one we need more of. Iāve always been a big fan of connecting climate and sport.
šØ Little Moons is rebuilding its supply chain around responsible sourcing. The mochi ice cream brandās sustainability chief Louisa Dodd makes the argument I wish more companies would: responsible sourcing is not a luxury, it is what makes a supply chain resilient. What stood out to me is that they called their first report an āImpact Progress Reportā specifically to be honest about the gaps. In a category drowning in greenwash and big bold claims, āweāre progressing but weāre not perfectā is refreshingly grown-up.
š Companies have gone quiet on climate, but not necessarily cold. Following on from Little Moonsā impact report, this is a great story about how corporate sustainability communication has changed. A few years ago companies raced to make splashy public climate pledges. Now they are deliberate to the point of silence (or greenhushing), squeezed between a Trump administration applying legal pressure over ESG, consumers who care mostly about affordability, and employees and activists who punish anyone seen to be quietly backsliding. The most important thing is that actual environmental reporting has not dropped much. Investors still read it as a proxy for management quality. I see this everyday with my company Zevero too. Brands are doing great work, they are just unsure how to talk about it. Itās better this way than the other!
š A Royal Kennel Club gundog training estate is being rewilded. The 7,550-acre Emblehope estate in Northumberland, where retrievers and spaniels are trained for pheasant and partridge shoots, has been sold to rewilding business Restore, which plans to hand the land back to nature. Dog trainers and the Countryside Alliance are furious, calling it āblind adherence to the cult of rewilding.ā Which tells you something about how much the ground is shifting.
š± A bit closer to home
At Zevero, we brought the whole team together to actually learn about the thing we work on every day. Mahi Patki, part of our Japan team, was over in the UK office to run a Climate Fresk workshop, and it was brilliant. Systems thinking, climate 101, and, most importantly, how you turn all of that into actual action. Funny how rarely you get to step back and learn when you work in sustainability. If you and your team have been meaning to get properly up to speed, in a way that is interactive and actually good fun, send me a message.
My song for the week is Bliss by Atoon Music. Itās just so very peaceful.
George, The Grumpy Optimist š