Shoppers should boycott companies who fail to go green, says minister
SHOPPERS should be prepared to boycott firms who fail to go green, a minister has said.
In an unusual swipe at small businesses still reeling from the shock of the pandemic, Anne Marie Trevelyan urged Brits to vote with their wallets if firms are big polluters.
The newly appointed cabinet minister told Sun readers to use their spending power to make a more environmentally-friendly world for their kids and grandkids to grow up in.
In an interview on the eve of the PM's landmark COP26 eco summit in Glasgow, she told them they should punish companies killing the planet, and Britain is leading the world towards a greener future.
Ms Trevelyan also piled pressure on nations dependent on Chinese investment to pressure it into speeding up being more environmentally-friendly.
But her comments risk a backlash from Industry already hit with huge hikes to National Insurance, supply chain chaos, and those struggling to bounce back from Covid.
Donning a pair of £80 heels made from recycled plastic, the top Tory:
- PIILED pressure on small nations dependent on Chinese investment to turn fire on their paymasters to speed up going green.
- ARGUED Britain must show "moral leadership" to the world on going green - after two centuries of polluting the world
- HEAPED praise The Sun's Green Team for giving the public the inspiration that they can make a difference
She said Britain must show “moral leadership” after two centuries of polluting the globe.
In her first major intervention on the world stage, Ms Trevelyan said small countries "which have a relationship with China" must use their voices to pile pressure on the emissions giant to change course.
She added: "Little voices really do matter - and we are seeing a shift, we just need to keep pushing."
“We just need to keep pushing."
The Trade Secretary, who is herself building her own "net zero house" with electric chargers and heat pumps, admitted it can sometimes be hard to go green - but Brits had the power in their hands to make a difference.
She insisted: "It is worth bothering.
"Consumers can genuinely make a difference - we need to remember that, and we shouldn't be afraid of using that."
When asked if that meant the public should boycott companies that aren't green enough, the Trade Sec replied: "Yes, they can say 'I'm sorry, I don't like your products, and I'm not going to buy them'.
"The more we spend our pound in the way that's green, the more business will want that green pound.
"Think what a mosquito can do in a room - we are never too small to make a difference."
But her comments risk a backlash from industries facing National Insurance increases, supply chain chaos, and those struggling to bounce back from Covid.
Most read in The Sun
Join The Sun's Green Team
THE Sun today encourages its army of readers to make at least one lifestyle change to slow the advance of climate change.
Everyone can get involved.
We’ve teamed up with the global campaign Count Us In to calculate how much carbon you will be saving by ditching old habits.
Remember even small changes help.
Find a step that’s right for you and your family. Keep it up for at least two months and see how you do. It might become a habit.
When you’re ready, try another step. All these will add to change. We’ll get there together.
Visit and pledge to one or more lifestyle changes.
It could save you money and all of your actions will go toward a global goal of getting a billion people to make changes.
1. - Going meat-free for a day brings the same carbon saving as not driving for a month.
2. - The average UK family throws away £700 of food a year.
3. - With energy prices rocketing this will save you money.
4. - Stop heating the sky with heat escaping through your roof.
5. - We ditch the equivalent of 250 t-shirts a year.
6. one extra journey a day - petrol cars emit twice as much pollution in their first five minutes of use, so even short journeys add to climate change.