Sally Owen, bookseller

It is important and at times vital for a business or company to develop an environmentally aware approach to its business dealings. Adhering to regulations regarding the environment can be a form of business itself. For instance, carbon credits stem from the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere and these credits can sell for vast amounts of money. Speakers can teach companies how to reduce their carbon footprint, which in turn reduces their need for carbon credits. The companies may even be able to sell carbon credits that they don't need, which is a good source of capital.

Customers or clients can hold a company's environmentally-friendly approach to business in such high regard that they transfer their loyalty (and hence their money) from a less expensive but less eco-friendly company offering to a greener but more expensive company offering. Inspirational speakers that can provide information on how to carry out business in an eco-friendly manner are a great tool for a company to utilise in order to help them retain and grow their customer base. Companies can help to protect the environment by using sustainable resources over non-sustainable ones and this practice will also save them money in the long term because non-sustainable resources will become costlier as their amount is reduced. Utilising sustainable resources also improves a company's image, thereby assisting them to maintain and grow their client base.

A celebrity speaker is a great addition to an event that centres around environmental issues as they will draw attendees to the event who want to hear what the speaker will talk about. There are numerous celebrity speakers who speak on environmental issues. A celebrity speaker may for instance support a charity like the World Wildlife Foundation and such a speaker would be highly suitable for a conference that was focused on wildlife and natural habitat preservation. Celebrity speakers may endorse a particular eco-friendly initiative such as Fairtrade and be willing to speak at Fairtrade events. The celebrity speakers may be able to tell their personal stories of visiting farms for instance where the Fairtrade initiative has supported sustainable farming methods that assist in protecting the environment. By hearing from such celebrity speakers about the progress that an initiative like Fairtrade is making, this can encourage people to be environmentally aware and to start and/or continue supporting Fairtrade.

A speaker is able to inform their audience about a range of energy-producing initiatives that can assist in protecting the environment whilst saving people money at the same time. For instance, a speaker can highlight that investing in solar panels is a great way for both companies and homeowners to produce electricity which they can consume, thereby reducing their energy costs as they need to buy less electricity from elsewhere.

It is vital that people start to live their lives in an eco-friendly manner and that companies carry out their business dealings in a sustainable, environmentally-friendly way so that the natural world is protected for ourselves, the generations that will come after us and the wildlife we share the planet with. Speakers are an incredibly useful tool for conveying to audiences of varying sizes that we must all play our part and be environmentally aware.