Meet the Founder
Read an Interview with the Business Founder Layla D’Monte:
Why did you set up Green Dorset?
I am often hearing how easy it can be to go green. Yet nearly everyone I know don’t feel they are well enough informed on how to take the most basic steps towards living green. I’ve found that frustrating for ages, so I set up Green Dorset to make it easier for businesses and organisations to switch to greener practise without having to spend loads of money. I also wanted to dispel some myths for example: that business and the environment are naturally opposing causes.
Do you live as green as you tell other people to?
I really don’t tell people what to do - it’s more about providing information. But I certainly make no claim to live a perfectly ‘green’ life. Small changes now can make a big difference in the long run, and of course if there is a greener option then I definitely follow my own advice. However you have to balance living ‘green’ with the rest of your lifestyle, I prefer to make practical changes to my currently lifestyle rather than doing anything to extremes.
Can you understand why some people think there’s no point taking small actions, like changing a light-bulb, when growth in other countries such as China and India is going to cancel out our efforts to cut emissions?
Yes. It is always difficult to see how one person could make any sort of tangible difference; but changing your own lifestyle will inevitable affect those around you. If businesses and organisations lead by example, letting the community know what you are doing and why, before long everyone could be living far greener. There is still time to make a difference and what other countries are doing is no excuse for inaction. For example China’s emissions per person are still much lower that those in the UK. And the irony is, that a large part of its carbon footprint is accounted for by the manufacture of goods that we in the Western world, consume.
We have to remember before we ask other countries to limit their economic development, that whilst we were developing we have been largely responsible for carbon emissions in the past century. Therefore we have a moral obligation to manage and reduce our waste and use less energy by taking steps to live greener now.
Do you think people will really committ themselves to living greener?
I think that people will commit to living greener. I think once you have made a conscious effort to buy, for example, an energy efficient light bulb, you will have made an intelligent rational choice that will in turn impact in other areas of your everyday living. For example, once you have bought and fitted the bulb, you might be more aware of turning it off when you leave the room, whilst your turning off the light switch you might be tempted to go back and turn the TV off. Once you’ve spent time conserving energy upon leaving a room, you might be more tempted to walk to the shops rather than take the car, once at the shops you might consider buy a material bag rather than using plastic bags…and so on.
What do you have to say to anyone thinking of using Green Dorset?
Your making a great investment in the future. Not only will you save money by wasting less, you will be making a real difference in the local community and demonstrating that you take your environmental commitment seriously.
To get you started all you need to do is email me: layla@greendorset.co.uk or call and leave a message on 0870 058 5885, that’s it, it couldn’t be easier! Go Green Today!
