GETTY IMAGES. INTERVIEW BY KIRSTIE CLEMENTS
Action
Natalie Isaacs’ 1 Million Women revolutionbeginsathome
- REDUCEELECTRICITYCONSUMPTION.
Takea momentandlookinsideyourhouse.If 1 million
peoplemakea 20percentreduction,wecould
potentiallyshutdowntwocoal-poweredstations. - REDUCEFOODWASTE.Useleftovers.
Shopyourownfridge.Avoidoverpackageditems. - CONSUMELESS.Takea breathbeforeyou
buy something.Askyourselfif youreally need it. - EAT LESS MEAT.
alieIsaacsis thefounderandCEOof 1 Million
omen,a globalmovementofwomenandgirls
hopledgetotakepracticalactiontofightcli-
atechangebychangingthewaytheylive.Now
0 yearsold,1 MillionWomen hasbecomea
adingAustraliannetworkconcerned withcli-
940,000followers(andcounting)and4.5mil-
lionwebsiteviewseachmonth.InSeptember,Isaacsaddressed
theUNClimateActionSummitinNewYork,presentingher
recentlylaunchedapp,whichwascreditedasaninnovativetool
forbuildinga movementanddeliveringbehavioural change.Harper’sBAZAAR:Howdidallthisstart?
NATALIEISAACS:I wasa cosmeticsmanufacturer
for 23 years,butin 2006I hadanepiphany.Therewere
a numberof touchpoints:AlGore’sdocumentaryAn
InconvenientTruthhadcomeout,therewereferocious
bushfiresragingandthemediabeganwritingabout
climatechange.I startedbygettingourhousehold
electricityconsumptiondownby 20 percent.When
I sawthebill,I’dsavedbothpollutionandmoneyat
thesametime.I sawthatI waspowerful,notpowerless,
andthatI wastheownerof thisissue.It’seasierto
thinkit’ssomeoneelse’sissue;you’rewaitingforthem
to fixit. AllI haddonewasbemorevigilantaround
thehouse.ThenI gotourhouseholdfoodbilldown
bya massive 80 percent.I beganto lookat foodand
overconsumptionin a completelydifferentway.
It’saboutchangingbehaviour.
I thenlookedat theinternet,thinking,Whatmorecan
I do?andtherewasn’tanythingspecificthatspoketo
womenandclimatechange.SoI thoughtif I couldn’t
findit, I hadbettercreateit.Thegrowthof 1 Million
Womenmirroredmyownstory—bite-sizedactions
to achieverealresults.In thebeginning,it wasa simple
proposition:youjoinedupandcommittedto cutting
upto onetonneof pollutionoutof yourlifewithin
a year.Ourwebsiteshowedyouhowto doit. Now
that’sjustoneof manythingswedo.Onceyou
join,ourfocusis to empoweryouto livewith
theleastimpactontheplanet.Toliveclimate
actionandthento useyourvoice, and
your vote, to fight for it. FOURSIMPLEWAYS
TOSTARTTHE 1 MILLION
WOMEN JOURNEYwomen
HB:Whatis thephilosophybehindthemovement?
NI:Ourgoalis to reachwomenandgirlswho
arenotalreadyengagedin climatechange,to
empowerthemto liveit andinfluenceothers
to dothesame.I wantthebeginners.Wefeel
wearedoingourjobwhenwereachwomen
whoarenotalreadyengagedandwantto be.
Climatechangeis suchanurgentissue.It’san
emergencyandit needsallof us.Youcan’tjust
marchin thestreets.Youhaveto liveit.Women
make 85 percentof consumerdecisionsthat
affectthecarbonfootprintof a household.
Womenarenurturersandcanemotionally
connectwiththisissue on a deep level, for
futuregenerations.HB:Sosmall,individuallifestylechanges
canmakea difference?
NI:Yes!Startsmall.Justreducingelectricity
useis suchaneasything,yetit canprofoundly
shifthowyouthink.Lifestylechangeis usually
theelephantintheroom.AtUNconferences,
it hasalwaysbeenanadjunct,andnowit has
movedfrontandcentre.Weneedeverything
andeverybodyat thetable.
Toprofoundlychangehowyoulive,you
haveto havea deeplovefornature.If youcan
feelit, youshiftthewayyoulookat things.
My final message? Fall in love with the earth.“Womenmake 85 percentofconsumer
decisionsthataffectthecarbon
footprint of a household.”57 HARPERSBAZAAR.COM.AU December 2019
VIEWpoint