Latymer eco-entrepreneur wins place at UK’s first carbon-neutral eco-summit

Congratulations to Sixth Former, Lysander, who won a coveted place on the panel at the upcoming Youth Against Carbon Conference (YAC Con), the UK’s first carbon-neutral eco-summit.

The summit was designed specifically to give young people a voice in the climate debate. Live-streamed on Instagram TV on Tuesday 13 October, the debate will be chaired by BAFTA Award-winning TV presenter, Maddie Moate, and Lysander will be joined by other young prominent environmentalists including Edinburgh based climate justice activist Mikaela Loach (22) Amy and Ella Meek, the Notts teens who founded eco-charity Kids Against Plastic and naturalist and chair of Black2Nature, 18-year-old Mya-Rose Craig (aka Birdgirl). The remaining seats will be filled by the two other competition winners Mya Bambrick and Zaqiya Cajee.  

Lysander won his place after impressing organisers with his eco-entrepreneurship and passion for reducing plastic consumption. He balances his studies with running his own business, Loving Earth’s Oceans –  Leo’s Box – for short, an eco-friendly home subscription box service which he launched last year. His company delivers boxes of eco-friendly household and personal care products to customers to make it easier and more affordable to live in a sustainable way. Leo’s Box is the youngest run business in the world to receive B Corp status 

Streamed live on Tuesday 13th October at 6.30-7.00PM on Zurich UK’s Instagram (@zurich_uk) and Youtube channels (Zurich UK), YAC Con will feature an all-youth panel who will debate a range of topics including the war on waste, conservation, fast fashion, climate change education and climate justice. 

Lysander said: “I’m thrilled to have been selected for the panel of the very first YAC Con event. Currently, 91% of the plastic we use is non-recyclable, meaning it just ends up in landfills or worse, in the oceans, where there are currently 8.3billion tonnes of plastic waste. This has to stop.  One of the consequences I dread from coronavirus is that we are potentially taking steps backward in how we tackle plastic use and waste.  Despite current concerns, we must continue to tackle the most critical crisis facing us, that of climate change.  I hope, by being part of YAC Con, I can help communicate just how essential young people are in the fight to save our planet and reinforce the role we can all play in driving change.”

Maddie Moate, chair of YAC Con commented: “For many young people, the impact of a changing climate is a huge concern, and one of the biggest threats the planet faces, yet so many young people feel helpless and confused about what they can do. If you’re one of these people, join us at YAC Con to hear more about what you can do to help change the world.”

For more information about YAC Con please visit: www.zurich.co.uk/yaccon or email yaccon@uk.zurich.com 

Author: Karen Dove