If you’ve been here for a while, you’ll know that we tend to invite you to complete various surveys for the different research projects we run. We realised that we very seldom talk about the things that happen behind the scenes. We are now taking a new initiative to launch a newsletter which will reach your inbox at various times during the year.
Our aim is to tell you a bit more about how what we do, how your feedback is impacting the world.
Your newvista Team
For our first newsletter, we would like to start with a message of hope and confidence that we can make things better.
If you’ve paid much attention to the news over the last few years, you may feel that it has been unusually bad — from Brexit to Covid, and now the war in Ukraine and a cost-of-living crisis. The stories around sustainability are not any more positive, particularly with some making use of scaremongering techniques.
We, as humans, have a Negativity Bias and as such we are drawn to negative information first. And, even if they have the same intensity, the negative information (or events) will have a greater effect on our perceptions and memory than neutral or positive ones.
Many of you were asked to share your opinions in a research study we ran for the Institute for Groceries Distribution. Your opinions however, have shown that when it comes to encouraging people towards healthy, sustainable diets, focusing on what food people shouldn’t eat is not effective. As such, positive reinforcement can be a better strategy when it comes to sustainable behaviours.
Having hope is crucial for our brain and a lot of research has gone into showing the effects and benefits of hope. Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh, known as the “father of mindfulness“, once said that “hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”
So here is to hope!
Small things we can all do to make our environment better:
TOP TIP
Lidl have started a new WASTE NOT box, for £1.50 you can get 5kg of fruit and veg. Follow the link for more info
https://www.lidl.co.uk/our-products/fruit-veg/waste-not
NV is part of Walnut Unlimited and we signed The MRS NetZero Pledge in 2021. This initiative, asks CEOs to make four commitments towards ensuring their organisations are sustainable by 2026. The pledge includes: to be NetZero, publishing carbon emissions, collaborating across the sector and encouraging call outs by employees and clients on environmental concerns. For more information visit www.mrs.org.uk
Head over to our Facebook page weekly to join in our prize draw competition here!