Every so often in talking to businesspeople I come across somebody who really inspires me with their ideas and passion.
Wendy Thomson of Stonehouse - or Wendy Goes Green as she has called her company - is one of those people.
What struck me about her one-woman firm is that we don’t need to be too complicated to get the message across on our journey to net zero.
Quite simply, Wendy produces her own range of home cleaning products under the Just Primal banner.
“Just Primal means with as little added as possible”, says Wendy, 58, a former RAF squadron leader.
“You don’t need different spray bottles to clean different parts of the house”, she tells me.
“To help us all reach net zero in our own personal way, we have a real challenge in educating people that you just need some primal ingredients.
“I think I can make a difference with my cleaning products for people to look more easily at their carbon footprint.
“According to the World Health Organisation, individuals have got 45% control of their carbon footprint. Everything else is out of our control.
“My washing powder has three main ingredients. The main brand selling over 23 million a year has up to 48 ingredients of which only ten are labelled as a cleaning agent.”
Yes, Wendy is a minnow in the vast cleaning business, but it strikes me that the simplicity of thought like hers in the challenge of climate change and the road to net zero is so important for us all.
And as we approach the COP26 climate change conference in November, I think the government must urgently come up with financial incentives for businesses to be encouraged to play their part.
Boris Johnson now needs to encourage more Wendys of this world - small businesspeople with ideas and a passion to help us all make inroads to net zero.
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