Dragon Den’s star Deborah Meaden said climate change is “here and now” at a Bupa eco-Disruptive event in London, which took place in the wake of wildfire evacuations in Greece.
Talking to the BBC she said: “I’ve noticed over the last six years that people are waking up to the power that they have in their pockets, in their wallets to influence the way businesses operate to reduce their planetary impact. They now know more about the planetary impact. They care about it.”
“I have been concerned about sustainability and climate change for a very long time but it’s always something that was going to happen way in to the future, but of course it isn’t, it’s happening now,” continued Meaden who has campaigned on sustainability and spoken up on issues like river pollution.
“It is here and now, and we need to deal with it here and now and not think we’ve got time,” she added.
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The Bupa event hosted a range of start-ups, including Australian Cassava Bags who create disposable bags that dissolve in water and won a prize worth £200,000.
The businesswoman turned TV star and campaigner also highlighted how she and others in business began to raise concerns around six years ago, but emphasised the importance of continuing to “connect the dots” to improve prospects for both the planet and business.
In recent years, with the damning IPCC report that highlighted the need to keep global temperatures at less than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, and an increasing number of heatwaves sustainability has become a major issue and risk factor for businesses.
However, businesses, have had accusations of “greenwashing” to appear more environmentally friendly that they are, and “greenhushing” to avoid the subject altogether.
