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Natalie Fee: ‘The world needs positive stories’
Natalie Fee founded Bristol’s plastic pollution campaigning charity City to Sea in 2015. The organisation has since gone from strength to strength.
Their water bottle refill campaign saves over 100m plastic bottles from landfill each year, and they campaigned successfully for a ban on plastic cotton buds, saving 478 tonnes of plastic annually.
They also recently celebrated England’s ban on single-use plastic items including polystyrene, plastic cutlery and plates which they have pushed for since 2020.
is needed now More than ever
Current work includes a city-wide refill return cup scheme and a plastic-free periods campaign.
Meanwhile, Natalie has found time to write books including Do Good, Get Paid and How to Save the World for Free, and speak at events including Tedx Bristol and Cheltenham Science Festival. She has received awards from the Sunday Times and the Observer, and an honorary doctorate from UWE Bristol.
Natalie is appearing at the Blue Earth Summit for purpose-led business on October 11 and 12. She tells Bristol 24/7 how business can drive progress on sustainability and where she finds her inspiration.
City to Sea staff with Natalie at the centre – photo: City to Sea
What are you speaking on at this year’s Blue Earth Summit? What do you hope the audience will take away from it?
I’m hosting two sessions, ‘Rewilding the Sea’ with Charles Clover at 11am on Thursday, and ‘Plastics and ocean health: showcasing innovative solutions and successful partnerships’ at 12pm on Thursday.
I’m hoping the audience will come away feeling hopeful and inspired at the changes being made to tackle plastic pollution, whilst also feeling a sense of urgency and pressure to keep our eyes on the prize of plastic-free seas!
Which speaker are you most looking forward to hearing from and why?
I’m excited to be in conversation with Charles Clover, as I think the world needs the positive stories of how quickly, given the chance, nature can regenerate.
What’s the single most important thing businesses can do to step up on sustainability?
Be honest with themselves. How much are they really striving for sustainability and how much are they actually still striving for growth and profit? Have they decided what is ‘enough’ or are they still focused on being the biggest and the best? I think these kinds of questions are rarely asked in board rooms, it’s mostly about driving growth and profit, with a bit of a green slant, instead of fundamentally changing the way we do business.
How do events like Blue Earth Summit drive forward positive action on nature and climate?
I think it’s helpful for people to network, be inspired, and celebrate some of the wins. Changing the system can be lonely and tiring and very screen-based, so getting together and exchanging ideas in person is needed!
Tell us about one of your favourite outdoor spaces and how it inspires you.
The oak tree in the middle of Greenbank Cemetery, with a circular path around it. It’s where I went most days for two years when I was living there, and it became an ally; a source of ideas, healing and ‘more-than-seen’ kinship that I think we all too often overlook.
The Blue Earth Summit 2023 takes place from 11-13 October.
Inspired by the great outdoors, the three-day event plays host to industry pioneers, provocative thought-leaders, sustainability trailblazers, insightful solutionists and boundary-pushing start-ups. It‘s the place to explore, collaborate and take action. To find out more and book tickets, visit blueearthsummit.com.
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