“Re-think the future” is the official tagline of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, an independent charity set up by the famous yachtswoman with the aim of “inspiring people to re-think, to re-design and build a sustainable future”.    

It’s bang in line with our own goal of putting the UK on a path to a 100% renewable future, and Good Energy was very pleased to be part of the launch of the foundation at the Science Museum in London last week.

Ellen MacArthur’s record-breaking yacht racing career has taken her to all four corners of the globe, to sights that most of us could never even dream of. This, coupled with the need to manage resources extremely well within the confines of a boat, has given her a clear understanding of the need to protect what we have, and the urgency of re-thinking how we use the planet's finite natural resources. But for Ellen MacArthur, tackling these issues isn’t about just sending a message, but rather taking action: “I could have gone round the world in a boat with the slogan “Use less” but that would have been just raising awareness. We already know there is an issue. I want to be part of doing something about it. Persuading people that to rethink the way we do things is the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced, a Herculean task.”

For Ellen MacArthur, the UK needs to rethink the way our economy runs. Speaking at the launch, she said: “Our economy is still based on a linear ‘take, make and dispose’ model. We take minerals, oils and metals out of the ground, make something valuable with them using fossil fuels and then throw them away which can never be sustainable. Just taking a bit less, making a bit less and recycling a bit more isn’t going to fix anything. Efficiency is crucial, yes. But it’s not the ‘cure-all". The Foundation is supporting a longer term approach based on the principle of ‘using things’ rather than ‘using things up’. It’s advocating ‘The Circular Economy’, a longer-term approach where the economy is powered increasingly by renewables, waste becomes food for another cycle or process rather than simply thrown away, and prices reflect the true cost of any activity.

That’s something which really resonates with us, and we applaud the Foundation’s aims to work with educators, students, businesses and the media to inspire and educate people, and challenge the status quo. Good Energy CEO, Juliet Davenport, said: “Ellen MacArthur’s Foundation shares many of Good Energy’s own beliefs. Creating a renewable future is about taking actions not words and Ellen’s new take on sustainability could inspire millions to make the behavioural changes we need to see.”