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Eco Hero: Fin Walravens

Sophie Rivett-Carnac | 04.05.10

In February of this year, Greenhouse did some work for the Environmental Investigation Agency, helping them launch their report ‘Chilling Facts’ that exposed who, out of the UK’s ten biggest supermarkets, are the sinners in terms of HFC (hydrofluorocarbon)* emissions. The report was a follow up to their initial investigation that took place in 2008 and this year supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, ASDA and Waitrose were clamouring to find out who had been awarded first place.

The EIA's wonderful Fin Walravens, coordinator of the Global Environment Campaign, was the driving force behind this campaign, combining her expert knowledge of refrigeration practices in supermarkets (let’s face it, there aren’t many out there) with her brilliant sense of humour plus an environmental and campaigner’s passion. As she said in her interview with Zoe Wood from the Guardian, “people don’t know about the issue because, basically, HFC’s just aren’t sexy” yet she instantly challenges this whole preconception. Never before have Greenhouse met someone who can talk about supermarket refrigeration with such style, technical detail or passion. HFCs are definitely the thing to know about. We were so impressed that we wanted to make her our Eco Hero of the week.

Find out more about the Chilling Facts report (and which supermarket won). But first, get to know Fin in the following interview from blogger Anna Shepard.  -- ed.

How would you describe yourself?

Environmentalist, campaigner and eclectic nature nut.

What is your mission?

When I was studying primatology, part of the course involved going to Nigeria. Out there, I realized I didn’t want to study baboons and forests, I wanted to protect them. Being an academic wasn't proactive enough. What I love about working for EIA is that we’re a small charity, only about twenty people, but there’s this empowering feeling that we can change the world.

What do you care passionately about?

On a personal level, I care about nature. I grew up in the countryside, in Oxfordshire. I watched seasons unfold in front of me every day. Although I now live in London, I still feel a strong connection with nature. We’re living in a world that uses up its resources so quickly and I want to do something about it.

In my work, it’s probably the illegal trade of CFC gases. Although they were phased out in the nineties, there is still demand for them, which has created a black market. It’s not individuals buying them, but refrigeration engineers who unknowingly come across them. To find out where they are coming from, we set up dummy companies and tried to get hold of them ourselves. We found several companies in China that were offering to export CFCs to European countries.

Is organic important to you?

I'm a fan of organic gardening because it makes you think inventively. It’s so easy to go into your garden and blast your roses with pesticides, but if you have an organic ethos, you can look at alternatives, such as companion planting. Instead you could plant garlic next to your roses which would keep the aphids away.

What is the next big challenge?

Without doubt, it’s climate change. The biggest hurdle is going to be recognizing that each of us has a role to play. It’s hard when people are always telling you to cut back on things, but there needs to be a shift in the way we see the world. We need to move towards a simple life, instead of surrounding ourselves with gadgets and gizmos. We need to reassess what we really want from life, and make sure we’re getting it right.

What would you like to achieve in your lifetime?

If I could manage to ensure that global warming refrigerants, such as HFCs, would be phased out, that would be a big achievement. Supermarkets are the biggest users because of their big refrigeration system. Everyone can make a big difference by encouraging their local supermarket to change and reduce the HFCs they use (see chillingfacts.org.) Also, it sounds corny, but I feel very lucky to be alive on this beautiful place so I feel I have a responsibility to make sure I leave it in a semi-decent state.

What top green principles do you live by?

When I buy something, I make sure that I really need it and then I make sure that I enjoy it. I also cycle to work and I buy my fruit and veg from markets and I try to avoid any packaged foods.

How can we combat green fatigue?

It’s about looking at things differently. Instead of viewing cycling as a virtuous thing, we should see it as enjoyable. What I love is that I get to spend twenty minutes extra in bed every morning and I don’t have to pay the bus fare.

What one thing do you wish everyone would do?

This is going to sound very frivolous, but I wish that everyone would spend some time smelling all the beautiful flowers that are coming out at the moment. Then we might all be a bit happier and recognize the good that’s around us.

How long have we got to save the planet?

We should be changing the way that we life right now, but in reality it’s going to take us time to get everyone on board.

Who is your Eco Hero?

A Filipino lawyer called Tony Oposo, who has worked on environmental issues all his life. When he wins a case, he ploughs the funds back into his own projects. He sued the Filipino Government for its polluting practices and organized a huge crackdown on fishing in Manila Bay. He’s an example of how one person can make such a difference. I’m also a big fan of the BBC writer Richard Black. He’s fantastic at getting the message out there.
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*HFCs (Hydrofluorocarbons) are a type of cooling gas commonly used in supermarket refrigeration. HFCs are man-made greenhouse gases developed by the chemical industry to replace CFCs, HFCs’ ozone-killing cousins, which were banned in 1992 by the Montreal Protocol. We tend not to hear about them in quite the way that we hear about carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, yet HFCs are 3,800 more potent than CO2 - and replacements exist (only their manufacturers don’t want us to know about them).

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