Name

Irina Fedorenko

Location

Oxford, UK

What was your ‘eureka’ moment for getting into sustainability?

I have always been passionate about the natural environment, as many people who grew up in the Russian Far East. I was taking part at school science competitions, and won a few prizes in environmental competitions too. When I went to university, I joined the students' union, and I started being involved with many societies. I was doing lots of volunteer work, but there was no society that was dedicated to sustainability. I then applied and got a grant from the Be The Change foundation, who sponsored my organisation to run an education for sustainable development course for school pupils. After giving a few classes I realised that I must do something about the absence of places and organisations for the students to express their desire to do something good for the planet. So I set up an environmental NGO, that united the schools and the universities to run environmental projects. Over the three years we have managed to involve more than 5000 people, and run more than 30 projects. I understood that this is what I really wanted to do (and not the marketing degree I was working towards) and I applied for further study in sustainability and got the full scholarship at Oxford.

What have you been doing on sustainability since?

In Oxford, I was elected as an Environmental Rep for my college and managed to sort out several important issues such as better recycling and more energy efficient buildings. I have then switched into social entrepreneurship and being inspired by the fellow Weidenfeld-Hoffmann scholar, set up a start-up that addresses both: environment and development. BubbleNut Wash is a brand of natural detergents that brings out some of nature’s gifts in formats that consumers can readily use in their daily lives. We use sustainably-sources soapnuts to promote chemically free living. We support women's cooperatives in India, while empowering sustainability-minded consumers in the UK. BubbleNut Wash provides a natural alternative that can replace chemical-intensive products from our lifestyle.

What’s your vision for reaching a sustainable future?

I believe that we all have an impact on the world around us, and if we prioritise our own health, as well as the health of our planet, there will be fewer points of disagreement. Egoism and the pursuit of short-term goals, on personal, institutional and even international level might be the biggest obstacle to arrive to the future of mutual respect and resilience.

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