Ubuntu Bristol

Whichever side you land on, the latest Harry and Megan documentary on Netflix has got us talking — and in a good way! According to Meghan, she recently adopted a tradition of choosing a word that serves as a guiding principle for the year ahead. Every January, she selects a word that holds personal significance to her, and uses it as a focus for her thoughts, actions, and decisions throughout the year and stay mindful of her goals and aspirations.

So as we head into 2023, we wanted to do the same. Our word?

Intention.

A thing intended; an aim or plan.

At Ubuntu, we want to make a conscious effort to live with intention — in the big and the small. The coming year is going to be another critical point in history that will define the future of our planet. So we want to be present and mindful in every moment; making clear choices that align with our values and taking the time to appreciate and enjoy everything life throws our way.

Whatever your word is for the coming 12 months, we hope you'll come on the journey with us to create and share a brighter future.

Here's to a year of purpose and direction!

2023

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year! 🎄🎉

We all love a challenge, and nine years ago what started as a new year's resolutions became a viral sensation, and it's been going strong ever since: Veganuary.

Veganuary is a pledge to lead a vegan lifestyle throughout the 31 days of January, and offers those taking part a chance to simplify their diet and address the volume of meat we eat as a nation — one of the biggest contributors to the climate crisis we currently face. According to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the meat and dairy industries account for around 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. That's a huge percentage that could make a significant contribution to us reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

Honestly, we're here for it — and we're not alone. During the 2022 campaign, more than 620,000 people took on the dietary challenge, while more than 1,540 new vegan products and menu options were launched in key campaign countries.

Here at Ubuntu, we can't vouch to be die-hard vegans. Between us, we lead a combination of vegetarian and stripped-down meat and dairy lifestyles, so we too are taking up the challenge and will be participating in Veganuary. Not only are their health benefits to reduced meat and dairy consumption, but it also presents the chance to try new foods and be a bit more adventurous with our cooking.

Who knows? Maybe we'll stick to it!

If you'd like to join the Ubuntu team in making a pledge to Veganuary, then head over to http://veganuary.com/try-vegan to get involved! We'd love to find out how you get on.

Our latest positive news report of the year is out and it's the last one of the year!

As always, it's full of positive updates from around the world — this week, we're talking about new sustainable fishing technology projects and shark conservation efforts, so there's plenty to be hopeful about just in time for Christmas.

🌱🌍 Give it a read and a share on your feed to spread some positivity: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/ubuntu-studios-positive-news-round-up-friday-23rd-december-2022/

And just like that, 2022 is coming to an end. In a year which saw 3 different British Prime Ministers, the return to "normality" after 2 years of Covid19 lockdowns and increased tensions over the state of the world, thank you for sticking with us! 🌱

Ahead of the Christmas break, our founder Simon has written a brief roundup of the past 12 months at Ubuntu Studio. It's been an amazing year of growth and change for us, and we feel privileged to be able to share in the fight for our planet and the people and species on it.

You can read the full roundup here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/2023-the-year-climate-change-got-even-more-real/

Following Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard's choice to transfer ownership of the billion dollar Athletics company to a specially designed public trust, Jeff Bezos announced plans to give away the majority of his immense fortune too.

As the world's richest become even richer, we look at whether their donations to charity are good deeds to be acknowledged, or plays for more publicity. You can read our thoughts here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/billionaires-are-giving-away-their-fortunes-but-is-it-for-the-greater-good-or-simply-publicity/

It may be bitterly cold outside, but the positive news this week has warmed our hearts and will hopefully warm our homes in the future too! This week we're bringing you three amazing stories from home insulation programmes to a breakthrough in nuclear fusion.

Grab yourself a hot chocolate and pop on your fluffy Santa socks and check out our positive news roundup from the week: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/ubuntu-studios-positive-news-round-up-friday-16th-december-2022/

Brazil’s President elect Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva is looking to shake things up.

In a stark contrast to his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, Lula’s administration has made it known that they aim to create a new Federal Police unit focused on environmental crimes.

Senator-elect Flavio Dino is running the transition team’s task force addressing violent crime, limiting gun ownership and protecting the Amazon rainforest. Lula has already pledged to end illegal deforestation in the Amazon, which is one of the world’s biggest carbon sinks and an incredibly important part of the world’s arsenal against climate change.

Illegal deforestation hit a 15 year high under the previous presidency due to Bolsonaro’s government has scaling back the enforcement of environmental laws and pushing to open Indigenous lands to commercial exploitation, as well as intentionally weakening pre-existing environmental protections.

It seems as if Lula's presidency couldn't have come at a more crucial time. Follow us for more news on this.

The Christmas period has become synonymous with shopping. Already customers are swarming high streets up and down the country looking to spend a large amount of money on gifts for their loved ones.

Almost 500 tonnes of Christmas lights are discarded in the UK each year, in addition to the £42 million worth of unwanted Christmas presents sent to landfills each year - quite frankly, Christmas consumerism is a problem more people should be talking about.

If you're conscious of how much you or someone you know consumes at Christmas time but you have no idea where to start to combat the issue, then check out our latest blog!

We've shared some insight into consumerism at Christmas and our advice on cutting down: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/a-guide-to-avoiding-overconsumption-this-christmas/

It's that time of the week again where we're bringing you our positive news roundup! This week we're chatting about Los Angeles' advancements to ban oil wells, the new cycle trail under construction in the U.S and some amazing new technology bringing water to the world’s driest places!

You can get your dose of weekly positivity here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/ubuntu-studios-positive-news-round-up-friday-9th-december-2022/

Ever thought about how much of an environmental impact the "beautiful game" has on our beautiful planet? Spoiler alert: it's a lot.

With over 5 billion fans across the globe, of which 1.2 million are thought to be attending this years FIFA World Cup, it's looking like 2022 is going to be a record year for carbon emissions in the football industry.

In the space of 12 years, Qatar have built 7 new stadiums, 1,700km of new roads, 207 new bridges, 143 new tunnels, over 100 new hotels, and 1 new metro line. All of which has come at a high carbon cost for the environment.

Read more about the environmental impact of this year's FIFA World Cup over at https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/the-not-so-beautiful-game/

I think it’s fair to say that a dominant belief of our time is that low prices are good, and high prices are bad. And that’s view has credit: low prices can (and are) often an issue of social justice. Low prices are how the things we want and need aren’t just reserved for the rich.

But low prices have to be real prices. We’ve put a lot of energy, money, research, and policy into making the prices of food low, and particularly meat, and it has worked very well.

I'm going to make a very unpopular argument: meat is too cheap. The prices we pay are "fake", and in being fake, they are shaping our whole system and relationship with the environment, with animals and with ourselves.

Read on to discover the true cost of cheap meat — not only on the conditions for animals, but on us too: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/the-real-cost-of-cheap-meat/

It's officially December and the festive season is upon us! Even if you're not quite feeling it yet, we hope that our weekly PNR will give you the little boost you need.

In this week's instalment, we're covering some strides made in the UK renewable energy space, as well as an old species potentially returning to the UK...

So get cosy, grab your favourite beverage and read the latest PNR update here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/ubuntu-studios-positive-news-round-up-friday-2nd-december-2022/

COP. The contentious annual summit that has seemingly brought about significant change — and lack of it — in equal measures over the years. And COP27 appears to have been no different.

While strides were finally made in the form of an agreement for a "Loss and Damages" fund alongside formal steps to re-evaluate the financial systems that enable such funds to be collected and distributed fairly, the Egyptian-held meeting also regressed in a critical areas: emissions.

After the momentum generated in Glasgow last year, there was a sense that many of the delegates pushing for greater action on mitigation had to do a lot of hard work just to keep the moment and maintain the agreements put in place at COP26 alive; not actually to push them forward. Many delegates came to Egypt this year hoping there would be further targets for peaking emissions before 2025 — they did not achieve that.

You can check out the full thinking in our reflections report here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/good-cop-bad-cop-the-future-of-climate-action-looks-shaky/

Brazil is back! After four years of deforestation and policy favouring big business over the climate crisis, Lula has been elected president. He recently gave an impassioned speech at COP27 cementing his position on the future of the Amazon rainforest, as well as the future of the planet.

Brazil — and its formidable rainforests — is going to be crucial in the fight for our planet. Check out how one new president could be a game changer for the future of climate action: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/brazil-is-back/

Happy Friday from Ubuntu HQ! We've got a great PNR for you this week, we're covering some good news from the recent COP27 as well as some interesting news about Japan's ivory market.

Grab yourself a cup of tea (and a biscuit) and lets get into it: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/ubuntu-studios-positive-news-round-up-friday-25th-november-2022/

Black Friday: a time of excitement and anticipation or fear and dread? "How cheap can I get that Samsung 40 inch? Is the latest Apple watch going to be in stock?"

People all around are waiting on the edge of their seats for a good bargain. But this strange holiday also comes with a host of its own problems — over-consumerism and waste being top of the list.

Of course, we've written a blog about it. Check it out here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/black-friday-whats-the-best-deal-for-our-planet/

COP is an event that gets its fair share of controversy — and the 27th meeting was no different. It was pre-emptively expected to be a whole lot of discussion resulting in very little action, and without going into the Coca Cola sponsorship and greenwashing related scandals, it's fair to say that expectations were low.

However at Ubuntu HQ, we like to be pragmatic. As a follow up to our previous "What we expect to see at COP27" article, we've written a summary of what was (and wasn't) achieved in Sharm el-Sheikh.

You can check out the full read here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/cop27-tears-of-joy-or-more-frustration/

It’s been a hell of week weather-wise here in Bristol, from crisp blue skies, to torrential rain. To help you embrace this cosier and more reflective time as winter rolls in, we've got this weeks PNR to perk you up a bit just before the weekend!

You can find it here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/ubuntu-studios-positive-news-round-up-friday-18th-november-2022/

For years, investments in oil and gas have far outstripped their renewable counterparts. However, for the first time we're seeing the reverse as countries scramble to source secure and affordable energy in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

"Investments into renewables are likely to increase further moving forward as renewable project payback times shorten to less than a year in some cases,“ says Michael Sarich, senior vice president at Rystad Energy.

Read more in our latest article here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/a-shift-in-the-wind-investment-in-renewables-is-on-the-up/

Have you noticed the shift in available options at the grocery store?

From mangoes to oat milk, we're now spoiled for choice when it comes to food. In some ways, this is a wonderful thing - introducing new cultural cuisines from around the world into our society.

However, as always, there's a more negative side; importation - which comes with a whole host of negative impacts on our environment. We wanted to look into the (fairly recent) 'Eat Local' movement, and the benefits that come with it.

You can check out our latest blog here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/eating-local-the-what-and-where-of-our-eating-habits/

The weather's been pretty bad of late, so we wanted to make this week's PNR even more fun than usual.

From penguins with orthopaedic shoes, to dolphins restoring coral reefs in unconventional ways, to ants crawling their way into farmers' good books, we've got it all.

We hope you enjoy!

https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/ubuntu-studios-positive-news-round-up-friday-11th-november-2022/

At the recent Blue Earth Summit, we were delighted to listen to talk by Clare Brook about the dangerous effect of 'bottom trawling' — a particularly aggressive and indiscriminate method of fishing. This sparked a conversation about the dangers of overfishing, and we've written a blog about it.

Check it out here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/overfishing-and-warming-seas-are-putting-species-at-risk

COP27 has already shaped up to be a controversial event — from the UK's new King being apparently coerced into not attending, to the event sponsors being named as one of the world's leading plastic producers for the 4th year in a row.

We wanted to look at what could come out of this year's event, its importance as a mechanism for global engagement, and four things that must change if we're to get even close to addressing the fundamentals of the climate crisis.

Read the full article here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/cop27-a-haven-for-hypocrisy-or-a-avenue-to-action/

Despite the rather turbulent times we're living in, we're still here to deliver you some positive news with our weekly positive news round up.

We've got bison, we've got solar power - and you can check it out by clicking the link in our bio☝️or by checking out our stories! 👀

Despite the rather turbulent times we're living in, we're still here to deliver you some positive news with our weekly positive news round up.

We've got bison, we've got solar power - and you can check it out here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/ubuntu-studios-positive-news-round-up-friday-4th-november-2022/

A lot has changed up and down the country and around the world in the past year.

Smuggled amongst numerous policy changes and U-turns, was the British governments stance on fracking. Scientists have long confirmed the detrimental effects the technique for recovering gas and oil has on our planet, yet its continued use as a source of energy has caused controversy within the government and the general public for over a decade.

So we delved into the history of fracking, its affect on the environment and took a look at what the future holds for the UK.

You can read it by heading over to our blog: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/no-fricking-fracking/

President Xi Jinping was recently confirmed as the Chinese Communist Party leader for a historic third term, and he had some interesting things to say at their once-a-decade party congress.

One of the main focuses was on China's future commitment to net-zero emissions — but it's more complex than that, as China is the world's biggest contributor of global emissions.

To read more, check out our blog: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/chinas-going-green-but-is-it-fast-enough/

Hello readers. We've got a stacked PNR for you this week. From 100 mile hedgerows to Renault's new internal recycling initiative - it's all here.

Check it out here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/ubuntu-studios-positive-news-round-up-friday-28th-october-2022/

Bristol is a 'liberal' city in the south-west of the UK, sitting in amongst a swath of blue voting cities. Yet beneath its welcoming exterior, hides a dark past it would rather forget.

Our social media manager Callum - a born and bred Bristolian has written a blog in an attempt to discuss more about Bristol's part in the atrocity that was the slave trade, as well as things that (in his opinion) Bristol needs to do better to be a city that truly celebrates everyone who lives within its borders.

Check it out here: https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/black-history-month-can-bristol-do-better/

For years, climate injustice has been a problem in Britain. The poorest residents, many of whom are black and brown, have lived in the most deprived areas and felt the greatest affect of climate change.

Whilst much has changed – from Kate Raworth’s equity-focused Doughnut Economics, to the UN Sustainable Development goals which more fully reflect poverty and inequality, racism, Indigenous and women’s rights — we still have a long way to go in aligning climate action with climate justice.

Check out our latest read as part of our Black History Month series over on our blog:
https://ubuntustudio.co.uk/black-history-month-why-social-justice-is-the-key-to-the-climate-debate/