8 minute read
Eco Wave Makers
WITH THE ISLAND FORGING ITS OWN PATH TO CLIMATECHANGE ADAPTATION AND SUSTAINABILITY, HOME-GROWN ECO WARRIORS ARE TAKING ON THE CHALLENGE. HERE, WE MEET THE DEDICATED INNOVATORS, ACTIVISTS AND ENTREPRENEURS BRINGING THEIR EXPERTISE AND UNIQUE VISION TO THE MISSION.
Blessed with year-round sunshine, rich nature preserves and enticing coasts, Cyprus nevertheless faces challenges when it comes to protecting its environment and transitioning to a circular economy. But while the pressures are considerable, Cyprus has no shortage of scientists, green NGOs and sustainabilityoriented entrepreneurs to rise to the occasion. These visionaries have made it their mission to drive the tech innovations, lobby for the research-backed policies and promote the best practices to empower society to adapt to the environment’s changing demands. Today, with the clock ticking, and Europe aiming to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050, the island is seeing eco initiatives taking shape across sectors. Meet three voices reshaping Cyprus’ environmental future.
With a Cypriot father and Greek mother, Dr Xenia Loizidou’s personal connection to the sea was arguably predestined. She spent her childhood riding her bike along Paphos’ pristine shoreline, having been born — like her brother Michael — in their mother’s native Athens, because “like a turtle, she was going back to her motherland or the coast to deliver her babies”. In time, the mathematically-gifted girl grew up to study civil and coastal engineering, establishing the ISOTECH environmental consultancy with her chemical engineer sibling, and becoming a founding member of the AKTI Project and Research Centre. Given her decades of work in coastal erosion management, she has observed the phenomenon first-hand. “In Cyprus, we have 70 percent of our coastline retreating due to human interventions, with the cost being that we lose precious coastal land,” reveals the engineer environmentalist.
PROMOTING A CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Today, AKTI researches Cyprus’ unique ecosystems, promotes the emergence of an eco-conscious society, and engages in Integrated Coastal Zone Management. As Chair of AKTI, Xenia sees positive signs of an emerging local circular economy. “I strongly believe the people of Cyprus are ready and willing to implement sustainability practices,” she says. For example, “as AKTI, we have a network of more than 350 HoReCa members, and small tavernas came up with an idea to buy goats and chickens. They feed them their green waste, and minimise the amount of waste they take to the landfills: it’s a win-win.” Nevertheless, while AKTI’s mission is rewarding, decision-makers’ failure to implement sufficiently sustainable solutions, remains a challenge. Under different circumstances, says Xenia, “we could be the paradise of sustainability and best agricultural practices; a pilot case for the circular economy”. Still, her native determination demands she stay the course. “With engineering, you learn to be problem-solving,” she says. “There is no saying ‘this can’t be done’. We are trained to say how this can be done.”
TECH-DRIVEN INNOVATION
In terms of commercial work, ISOTECH has successfully undertaken engineering projects in over 50 countries, drawing high-level European funding and distinctions along the way. Current works include developing biomaterials to replace plastic agricultural mulching film that farmers across the world – including in Cyprus – use to protect crops from weeds. “Right now, microplastics and nanoplastics are getting through the roots in, for example, the lettuce, and we’re eating them.” But given that biomaterial is biodegradable, once the product is ready for market, the benefits, including for Cyprus, are clear. Other efforts include ISOTECH’s participation in SeaClear 2.0, a robotics and artificial intelligence-driven project to clear deep sea beds and harbours of marine litter weighing up to 250kg. As for the future? In spite of the island’s frustratingly slow adaptation to environmental risks, Xenia takes heart from Cypriot youth. “They’re more educated, more aware of what’s happening. I trust them. I trust them very much.”
Over the 2010s, with climate change intensifying, Irene Loucaides had a professional epiphany. While working for a listed tourism organisation, she was tasked with preparing the company’s first sustainability report. “It was something the board knew nothing about, and I needed to make them understand why this issue was worthy of attention,” she recalls. Engaging with sustainability and ESG criteria, which evaluate a company’s environmental stewardship, social responsibility and corporate governance, it became clear an organisation’s every operation stood to be impacted, regardless of size or sector. “That’s when I realised this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” shares Irene. “Finding solutions to sustainability’s most pressing issues: from the climate crisis to inequality to corruption— these are barriers to our progress as a society.”
SUSTAINABILITY DRIVES PROFITABILITY
So, when COVID shut down the world in 2020, she founded Grow Sustainability Consulting, to help companies embed sustainability into their core operations and culture. “Sustainability is about building companies’ resilience,” Irene explains. “And it starts with having ethical and responsible leadership, appropriate policies, and procedures as to how to implement these policies throughout the organisation. When you look into all of these indicators, your operations improve. That’s why sustainability is linked to profitability.” A key sustainability principle is also embedding stakeholders’ - not just shareholders’ - views into decisionmaking and strategy-setting. Today, that includes earth itself. And what gives the planet a voice? “It’s scientific research, the findings from the IPCC report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and so on.”
LOCAL-GLOBAL ESG TRANSITION
Today, Europe has compelled the island “to place sustainability higher on its agenda, to create our national strategies, to implement laws into our local legislation”, says Irene. Companies are also paying more attention to sustainability, pressured by their own stakeholders. Nevertheless, making deep change takes time, despite promising developments, such as greater use of solar energy and progress in social equity. For herself, Irene is all in. Alongside awarded work for multinational companies and local SMEs, as well as launching Grow’s unique ESG data-management platform, she also organises biennial congresses to upskill NGOs, provides thought leadership through her “Inside ESG” podcast, and supports local kids battling health challenges as part of Grow’s own CSR. “It’s a journey that never ends,” she says. “There is no: ‘I’ve reached my goal. Let’s fold it up and go home’. You can always improve in this field. And if we have long-term vision and good change management, Cyprus can accomplish a lot and become a best-practices case study.”
From its establishment in 1993 to the present day, Friends of the Earth (FoE) Cyprus has mobilised communities to embrace sustainable practices and advocate for social justice. For her part, Project Coordinator Sara Mariza Vryonidi models the power of such collaborative can-do. A native of Limassol, she joined the organisation after completing her studies in physics, energy and sustainable development, and today oversees several of its initiatives. “If we continue business as usual, we’ll be in trouble,” she says, referring to climate change’s impact on the local environment. And business as usual is the opposite of what FoE stands for. “We take a bottom-up approach,” she adds. “We ask children, we ask owners of shops, we ask people of the neighbourhood, what they would like to see changing in their area.”
CLIMATE NEUTRALITY MISSION
Given their multi-stakeholder philosophy, FoE projects demand patience, creativity and network-building. Current initiatives include the Lemesos City Cooling Challenge (LC3), part of Limassol’s goal to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. “The most important challenge that Limassol faces is the limit of green public spaces,” says Sara Mariza. “That increases the urban heat island effect — the ceiling you have in the city when you walk or do any activity — so the city gets warmer and warmer. If we had more green spaces, and didn’t have so many streets blocking soil from being on the surface, we wouldn’t face this issue.” LC3’s actions include minor interventions in small city spaces or on buildings, to reduce the heat ceiling during the warmest months.
POWERING GREEN SOLUTIONS
Other FoE projects include reducing plastic waste (ERIC), developing an app for a digital platform that facilitates HoReCa food surplus donations (Food Connect), and promoting uptake of small human- or electric-powered devices for short urban trips (MicroMobi). Ongoing efforts also focus on protecting biodiversity, supporting renewable energy communities, and driving eco advocacy. Recent successes include designing Plastic Prevention Plans for Nicosia and Ypsonas – “shortterm actions include switching to non-single-use cups for all employees, while longer-term actions cover establishing water-refill stations,” she explains. Meanwhile, a recent micromobility conference in Limassol featured best-practice-sharing by the Dutch Cycling Embassy’s Chris Bruntlett.
Looking ahead, much work remains. Yet Sara Mariza and her FoE teammates remain undaunted. “I think every one of us could be an agent of change — not only in our personal lives, but also in pushing for and demanding change — change where our hands reach, as we say in Cyprus.”
