For nearly 20 years now, David Harland has been part of the team at the helm of Cornwall-based charity, Eden Project. Now CEO of Eden Project International and tasked with helping to drive development activity and the establishment of further Eden sites around the world, he is putting into practice the educational organisation’s motto that, “communities have an important part to play in overcoming the environmental challenges the world faces today”. Here, David discusses how the latest collaboration between ScanCom and Plastic Bank embodies this ethos, plus why any real innovation needs to have the planet at its heart.

This is a very exciting partnership for ScanCom International and Plastic Bank. Why do you feel collaborations like these are so important?

Collaboration is very important to the Eden Project and no single organisation has all the answers.  It is only by working together across industries that we will identify new solutions to some of the issues that we have.  We work with partners across our operations, sharing expertise and working towards common goals. We like working with ScanCom and Plastic Bank because they make great products that, ultimately, aim to enhance the environment and, through the Social Plastic® programme, provide sustainable incomes for disadvantaged coastal communities. 

What is your vision?

This is a big question! But, if we were to try and articulate the common thread that runs through Eden’s work, it would be that we try and highlight the importance of the natural world and demonstrate that people are a part of nature rather than apart from it. Ultimately, we have to remind everyone that we are dependent on the natural world and to use it appropriately. We have a broad range of activities and work across many different sectors, but this philosophy informs everything we do.

How do you strive to effect change through Eden and what do you believe is key to driving change in the world amongst consumers?

We are privileged to have a big audience – currently around a million people a year come through our doors in Cornwall, and we reach countless more through media and social media platforms – so, our primary method of effecting change is to use these interactions to educate and entertain in a way that gets our message across effectively. We don’t aim to be hectoring or didactic, but we have a responsibility to use our platform to help people understand the, sometimes complex, issues that are affecting our planet.

How do you measure innovation in the current climate? Do you feel that any real innovation should always have our planet at the heart of it?

The issues that make up the planetary emergency have been known about and widely discussed for decades, so there really isn’t any excuse for anyone – businesses, governments, institutions and individual people – not to be making positive changes. In our view, anything purporting to be an innovation that doesn’t have our planet at its heart doesn’t deserve that label.  However, we also recognise that transdisciplinary solutions are essential, and we try to promote innovative partnerships between partners who may not have otherwise met.

We know that the Eden Project focuses on educating people and working to change behaviours, plus new Eden sites are in the pipeline across the globe, which will support local livelihoods. With this in mind, Plastic Bank’s work and the way Social Plastic® is helping to educate local collectors about plastic waste in their country must really resonate with you. Tell us more…

We are working around the world on new Eden Projects, as well as regeneration and conservation projects, and one thing we know is that working with local communities is vital to the success of any work we do. Whether it is involving residents in Dundee in the development of content for the new Eden Project in the city or developing agroforestry schemes in Costa Rica, in collaboration with local farmers, it is hugely important that local communities are active throughout the process.

Find out more 

Founded in the 1990s, the Eden Project is an educational charity and social enterprise, headquartered at its flagship site and visitor attraction in Cornwall. The organisation’s destinations and projects explore the interconnections between all living things and aim to highlight the power of what people can achieve when they come together to protect the planet. 

With a mission to demonstrate people’s interdependence on the living world and for communities across the globe to develop their own narratives, the educational charity is now in the process of developing new Eden sites on every continent across the world. The aim is to reach a wider audience and help change people’s behaviours on a greater scale, in a bid to explore a better future for the planet.

To learn more about the Eden Project please visit www.edenproject.com

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