You have carved a distinct presence and following online about sustainable living and climate-conscious content. Can you tell us a bit about how you were motivated to do so?
Through my learnings in my day job (Project Management of Renewable Energy), so many resources are not readily available, are extremely difficult to find, or are located across multiple different government websites. I wanted to take my learnings and knowledge and share it with the public in an easy to find, and accessible way. I’ve always been passionate about the planet, and gardening, spending numerous summers in my nans garden growing up. Once I started working I realised that I would be doing this for the majority of my life, and I took time to reflect on what kind of impact I was going to leave on the planet. This lead me to set up my account @_greengal two years ago.
Alongside enthusiasts who have a certain level of climate-literacy, who makes up the rest of your followers?
My audience is primarily made up of Irish females, of all ages and walks of life. I like to think of my page as a community that is a safe space for people to come together, those who are already on their sustainability journey, but also those that are just starting. There is no judgement, or blaming in the content that is shared. Sustainability as a topic is extremely complex, ever-changing and developing! We are currently living in an unsustainable world, so trying to navigate that can be extremely difficult. I try and bring people together to learn, share and educate each other in a welcoming space.
What are some of the FAQs that you receive when it comes to the topic of sustainability?
I get so many questions! They can be extremely random, but my top questions and answers are related. I often get asked ‘whats the best thing you could do to be more sustainable’. Unfortunately there’s no simple answer to this. We all live busy, and completely different lives. I could tell people to limit the amount of driving they do but this isn’t applicable to everyone, and some people don’t own a car (like me!). My top tip to be more sustainable is to always be curious and open to learning something. If you do that, you will always want to learn more, whether that’s where our clothes come from, new policies that the EU is bringing in, what food is in season etc. It opens you to continue your sustainability journey by acknowledging that we always have room to improve. Secondly, I often get asked about my education! I have three degrees, a BSC in Microbiology, MSC in Business and Innovation and a HDip in Sustainability in Enterprise (all from UCC). Most recently I completed a micro course from UL in Environmental Impact Assessment Reporting for my 9-5 job in the renewable energy sector.
Sustainability can often be framed as a ‘niche content area’, how do you think we can engage broader audiences, and encourage participation?
I both agree, and disagree with this statement. Obviously there are some topics and content that focus on unsustainable practices (and likely to have a negative impact on the planet or people). But more often than not, sustainability can be brought into almost every topic of conversation. An area I have seen getting huge engagement in the past year has been around Irish businesses and supporting small companies, and local people within the community. I am SO passionate about this. I absolutely love the idea of supporting a person, or family when I am purchasing a product, rather than a big corporation. This is the more sustainable choice as well, and it also supports the individual and the Irish economy too.
What do you think the biggest cliché is when it comes to talking about sustainability online?
I think there are two clichés that I have observed, and they are two sides of the same coin. One is that those who care about sustainability are tree huggers and a bit hippie (probably true for me, if I’m being honest), and the other side is that people who care about sustainability have the luxury, in terms of time and money to care about sustainability, and don’t have to worry about the daily battles we all face during this cost of living crisis.
I can understand why people might feel like this, and make assumptions. Unfortunately it is the average, every day person (like myself) that might feel like they can’t make an impact, or have the power to do so. However this group can make the biggest positive change! I’m just your average 30 something year old, renting in Dublin, working two jobs, trying to get by. Things are busy, they’re hard, but I invest my time and energy to research how to be more sustainable, how to make better choices for our planet. We absolutely have to do this, with all of our choices, before we run out of time!
How do you think the conversation has evolved in the last 5+ years?
I think it has evolved tremendously! Both online but also within the workforce. It’s amazing to see employees and consumers alike demand transparency. With the rise of social media over the last number of years, it’s very hard to hide in a sea of information. I think this has increased the conversations being had. It can be hard to battle with climate deniers online, which is becoming more and more common on TikTok. I think people have forgotten it is ok to disagree, and debate is healthy, but ultimately if the facts are stating something, we can’t say it is untrue because we dislike them, or they are hard to hear.
Ultimately I think sustainability is becoming more spoken about across all walks of life, intentionally or not – for example, as things become more expensive, people will look to reduce unnecessary spending and ask ‘Do I really need this?’. Although people may not try to be sustainable with this way of thinking- it is! I think people becoming more aware of overconsumption and the rising cost of living will have a positive impact on our sustainability journey.
What are your ambitions for the future? (personal or business)
The world is changing so rapidly, it’s hard to say where exactly I see myself in the future. There are jobs around today that didn’t exist 10 years ago, never mind 20!
I hope that whatever road GreenGal takes, or whatever job I am in, I would like to leave the world in a better place than I came into it. We work for the majority of our lives, and I would like to look back on my career and think that I helped the planet and people in some way. I hope I can always stay true to my values, no matter what life brings, or no matter how hard the fight for a better planet gets.
Although I don’t share too much of my personal life online, I am in the midst of planning a (sustainable) wedding! Following this I hope to be able to buy a home (like most 20-30 something year olds). Unfortunately the current climate in Ireland is not the best, but I am hopeful. By running GreenGal I am lucky enough to be able to save some additional income, and I am hopeful this will help!
Can you nominate who your climate hero(es) is/are?
One of my climate heroes, and hero in general is Mary Robinson. Starting her career as a Lawyer, she never failed to stand up for what she believed in, even when facing extreme backlash. She worked tirelessly throughout her career to campaign for human rights and climate justice. I hope to have half the strength and perseverance she does throughout my career to campaign for what is right, and to face backlash and adversary with conviction to never give up for my fight for a better, more sustainable, healthier planet.
My other climate hero would have to be my good friend Kayleigh-Ann Myles, Head of ESG at Lawler Sustainability and Founder of Save the Planet Society. She has worked incredibly hard throughout her education and career, rising up the ranks in her full time job at Lawler Sustainability, whilst also running a not-for-profit education platform, Save the Planet Society. She juggles working full time, running a not-for-profit with a large team of volunteers, and looks amazing doing it. She must have three times the hours I have in a day because she never stops, and is completely dedicated to her mission of making sustainable education accessible, reliable and transparent. If I ever need support or guidance for GreenGal, and creating sustainability related content online, she is there for me. I would recommend anyone who wants to learn more follow Save the Planet Society on their socials.
Can you share your #1 tip for making sustainability more accessible to individuals?
Be positive! There is a tendency when you’re in the sustainability space to feel frustrated or annoyed at how wasteful or silly things are. It’s easy to get pulled into the thinking of what we are doing wrong. Overall I don’t find this approach helpful, as it starts on a negative note. I always try and start my messaging in a positive way – I find it’s much more receptive. There are so many things we need to improve on, but if we focus on what we are doing right, and how we replicate this, it’s more solution-focused rather than problem-focused, and I think this will open up sustainability to those who feel like one person can’t do anything. Small changes have big impacts!
