The fundamental mission of Sustainability Cubed is to help individuals transition towards a sustainable lifestyle, particularly with respect to eliminating dependence on fossil fuels in the home as well as taking action to support biodiversity and improved health and wellbeing in our cities.
We will look at the actions you can take on a local, regional and global scale to create positive change and a sustainable world for future generations.
My Story
It seems like a lifetime ago but back in 2005, I created my first website, buyorganic.com.au. Granted, it wasn’t the most creative of names but it did the job at the time. Over the following five years it became the most visited website in the Australian green living niche, reaching its peak in 2010.
Unfortunately, interest in that kind of information was low at the time and my success was limited by a lack of demand. I found this frustrating and demotivating. Eventually, I moved on to travel writing with my blog, Rearview Mirror. It was less lucrative but more fulfilling, at least for a while.
Even though I focused on slow travel by staying weeks at a time at one location, travelling mostly by car and train and supporting small businesses, I still felt like I was contributing to the negative impacts of over-tourism.
Then 2020 happened.
COVID-19 put an end to my travel website and my desire to travel. Like many people, I was prompted to re-evaluate my current lifestyle and where I was headed in the future.
I went full-circle, ending up right back where I started, in the green living niche.
This time I won’t focus on organic products but on sustainability. This can mean many different things but for me, right now, it means making changes in the home to become energy efficient, electrify everything, switch to renewables, limit plastics, support biodiversity and advocate for change.
What are my credentials to enable me to write about these issues with authority? Good question! I am currently studying sustainability, learning how we can make changes to be more sustainable in the home but also with the actions we take with the companies we support.
While the changes we make as individuals are important, without governments and businesses making significant changes, we’ll never reach climate change targets, reduce biodiversity loss and create a sustainable world for future generations. This is why it’s vital to advocate for change, vote and demand action from all levels of government.
Transparency in Business
We believe it’s important to be transparent in business as well as in the actions we take as individuals. We publish sustainability reports for Sustainability Cubed, openly sharing who we work with, disclosing our financial relationships, sharing our community initiatives and how we’re working to become a sustainable business.
Reviews and Recommendations
Sustainability Cubed includes reviews and recommendations for products and services. As much as I would like to use each item before giving a personalised review, I don’t believe this is sustainable. I do not want to have a constant stream of products delivered to my door, leaving me with unnecessary packaging and unwanted products at the end of the review. I’m only one person, I don’t need or want all these things. For these reasons, I generally base recommendations on extensive research along with personal experiences where appropriate.
Affiliate Relationships
I have an affiliate relationship with some (not all) of the companies and products I recommend. This means if you make a purchase via my affiliate links, I receive a small commission from the retailer at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Affiliate links are always marked with a * after the link.
Does this make me biased? I try my best to provide accurate information and suggest quality products but I do believe all reviews and recommendations are inherently biased to some degree. That being said, my relationship with my readers is more important than financial relationships. Breaking the trust we have by making poor recommendations is counterproductive. Any short term benefit would be to the detriment of the long term success of the site. I’m in this for the long term. If you believe you’re seeing unnecessary bias in a review, please contact me and I’ll address the issue.
Display Advertising and Paid Listings
I use a well respected, US-based small business to serve display advertising (banner ads) on this site. I actively block ads from unethical industries but if you see an ad you believe is inappropriate, please take a screenshot and forward it to me so I can revise my ad settings and block list.
Sustainability Cubed also provides a product directory (the Sustainability Hub). All listings are reviewed and must meet set community guidelines before going live. These listings often include affiliate links (marked with a *). However, some listings have no commercial basis but I list them simply because I like and personally use them. Just because I’m not being paid doesn’t mean I won’t recommend a product or event.
Sustainability School
Creating a ‘Sustainability School’ is a goal of mine but the development of the course is currently on hold. Once COVID-19 is under control, I would like to return to university to complete a Master of Sustainability and continue volunteering in the industry. Sustainability is a broad topic that requires a deep understanding of many issues which I don’t pretend to have right now. Until then, I am reading as much as I can while taking a number of sustainability courses to improve my knowledge, beginning with a Graduate Certificate of Environment.
I welcome feedback and constructive criticism. Feel free to contact me with your thoughts and questions.
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