A WESTBURY town councillor who attended COP28 as a representative for his company Waste To Wonder, says the world is “on the cusp of some very positive changes” with regards to combatting climate change.
Michael Amos, managing director of Waste To Wonder, was invited to COP28 as a delegate with the British Chambers of Commerce. COP 28 is the United Nations Climate Change Conference that took place in Dubai at the start of the month.
Waste To Wonder redistributes unwanted office equipment to good causes and it has to date equipped over 1,300 schools in 32 countries and prevented over 2,500 tonnes of equipment going to waste annually (with 97% reuse). The company has donated over £30million worth of equipment to enhance lives in some of the most disadvantaged communities in the world.
Speaking about the event, Michael said, “At COP, it really felt that we are on the cusp of very positive changes in the world and there was a resounding feeling of hope that we will combat climate change. Some of the ideas discussed were really interesting – including one person who is developing solar farms which can be used in space to make them more efficient.
“The event was a great mix of meeting UAE government officials and UK trade officials, and we were able to sit in on a round table with First Abu Dhabi Bank and we were given the opportunity to say what our goals are with regards to decarbonisation.
“At Waste To Wonder, we clear offices of equipment and furniture to equip schools and charities, and so I asked the bank what the situation is currently over there and urged them to encourage businesses not to throw items in the skip and instead consider initiatives such as ours.
“Also, we’ve equipped schools in 32 countries and that has been carried out through a huge number of micro-charities that we have supported, and I’ve noticed that these charities receive little to no government aid money.
“One of the big things that came out of COP28 is the climate disaster fund, which has boasted some impressive sounding funds to support sustainable development in some of the most disadvantaged communities, so I suggested that work could be done to remove some of the mysticism and the barriers to access funding for small and micro charities on a smaller scale.
Biggest take-away
“My biggest take-away from COP is that there have been some great agreements in terms of soil preservation with countries around the world agreeing to support farmers to prevent soil degradation, which has an impact of food production; the disaster recovery fund; and a lot about water preservation and access to fresh water. Some great commitments have been made, but now there needs to be some follow through.
“Waste To Wonder received a great reception out there, as traditionally there is a throw away culture in the UAE, but we are here now to provide an alternative which would not only benefit others in need but also reduce items going to waste. The feedback has been very positive and it’s clear that companies want to do the right thing.”
Carbon neutral
Waste To Wonder recently obtained platinum level carbon neutral status, meaning the organisation is carbon neutral. While Michael was in Dubai, he also hosted an event to encourage businesses in the UAE to embrace sustainability in their day-to-day activities and provide advice on how businesses can become carbon neutral.
Michael added, “The focus at the fringe event was to look at how smaller business can take proactive steps on their journey to being carbon neutral – this would make businesses rely less on government intervention with this and instead make small changes that will have a big impact accumulatively.
“The key thing we wanted people to take away from the event was that the climate change problem is not so daunting that you can’t make a dent in the issue yourself in your business. Part of the problem is that thinking about these things can seem as a distraction from the day-to-day business activity which can form a barrier to change, but actually some of the solutions could be quite simple – such as changing energy provider, changing how you get to work or perhaps doing more online meetings rather than face-to-face.
“These are incremental changes, but if every business did this than that would result in a significant amount of carbon reduction.”
Following Waste To Wonder’s double awards scoop at the Green Apple Environment Awards 2023, which saw them pick up the International Green Champion Award (service category) and the Green Champion of Champions Environment Award, the company was also recently awarded the International Impact Award at the UK Social Enterprise Awards 2023. In March, the company will take part in the international Green World Awards being held in San Paolo Brazil.
Waste To Wonder has also provided refurbished office equipment to Fairfield Farm College, Westbury Community Project, Westbury Area Network and the Hope Nature Centre.
For more information visit www.wastetowonder .com
