Sustainable influencers. Do we need them?

By Oana Orzac

Photo by Rachel Martin on Unsplash

What is a social influencer’s task? It’s just what the name suggests…

It may be a challenge to maintain a sustainable lifestyle when just starting out. Some people may be frustrated to hear others constantly pushing the words “vegan” and “eco-friendly”. Still, there has never been a better time to start living sustainably.

It’s a good thing that so many sustainable influencers are gaining attention. Statistics show that not caring about the earth has already led to severe problems.

The Climate Change Committee made a statement in the UK last year. They come up with solutions for what people in the country should do to help the environment. According to them, almost every part of the UK needs to change completely to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Ben Brown and Ciara Doyle are two of many people who use their power to help the environment.

Going Green Media

Going Green Media is a brand dedicated to preserving and protecting the environment. The owners are Ben, 22, and Ciara, 24. Ben started the company in 2019, and Ciara joined in 2020. The reason? “We wanted to be a positive voice and not so much focus on the doom and gloom of the world,” said Ciara.

Their brand focuses on sustainable initiatives and innovations. It also encourages people to become active in their communities.

Ben and Ciara. Source: @goinggreenmedia Instagram

Ben studied architecture in Leicestershire. He decided to become vegan in 2019, while Ciara became vegan in 2013. Ciara grew up surrounded by nature in her home state of Florida, USA.

“We gravitated toward learning about protecting the beauty of our respective environments and the detrimental impact of animal agriculture on climate change,” Ciara said.

"Pointing fingers does nothing where the action is needed instead"

The couple met on Instagram in 2020, and both realised their compatibility and common goals. “We both realised there was so much more potential to cover sustainability’s many aspects and opportunities,” Ciara explained.

Ben said the world’s problems are a combination of past generations and big companies. “Rise in excessive created an extremely wasteful system that corporations are making billions.”

Being influencers on social media motivates them to continue. “Seeing other people empower inspires us to always do the same”, said Ben. “We have also been lifelong admirers of Sir David Attenborough and his passion for saving the natural world, and we want to ensure that the torch can be passed and carried by us and others proudly one day.”

London is the best place to be vegan

Ben and Ciara live in London, where they fall in love with different cultures, languages and foods. Living in the capital has another bonus: it’s much easier to travel worldwide for projects.

“London is also the best city in Europe to be vegan in, hands-down! Ciara even lived in New York City and was blown away when she first moved here by the availability, accessibility, and low cost of vegan options in the UK, overall”, said Ben.

Inside a Recycling Centre | Veolia London. Source: @Going Green on YouTube

Influence with impact

They now have 119k followers on Instagram and 27.9K subscribers on YouTube. However, they want to grow even bigger. “In social media, we want to continue to grow our communities across various platforms so that people who gain a lot of their knowledge from shorter-form content can be informed and inspired,” said Ciara.

Ciara also talks about the connection with the people. “Our digital communities also make people feel more directly connected with us, even if they live half a world away. We want to continue maintaining this ‘small community’ feel, even as we continue to grow.”

Tips and tricks to be sustainable!

Video by Ben & Ciara. Source @goinggreenmedia on Instagram