Famous figures will always face charges of hypocrisy in advocating sustainable lifestyles and green infrastructure changes while jetting around the world, owning numerous properties etc, but they undoubtedly have a role in bringing issues into the mainstream that invite further investigation. Raising broad awareness is positive, but some celebrities are taking matters still further by putting their wealth behind their stated beliefs.
Legendary designer Dame Vivienne Westwood, for example, has put lb11million into the renewable energy crowd funding platform, Trillion Fund. Westwood is savvy to the blending of sustainable change and economic motivation involved:
"The aims of the fund are to redirect savings and investments that might otherwise go to fossil fuel companies through the hands of traditional fund managers into clean energy and other sustainable businesses instead...I'm glad to help pave a new, more inclusive path for environmentalism - one that recognises the right of individuals to also make a profit."
Electric vehicles are increasingly becoming the go-to transport option for celebs. Pop star Katy Perry recently spent over lb300,000 on top-of-the-range electric cars for the members of her not-inconsiderable entourage. Leonardo DiCaprio has gone further, though, launching a team in the Formula E electric racing series alongside others such as Richard Branson. The series has levelled the playing field in more than one way: all the drivers are driving the same car for the first season before teams can come up with their own models, and it's a unisex sport. Famous names are a Formula E feature outside team figureheads, with relatives of famous racing drivers Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna just some of those doing the driving. There is a positive but pragmatic tone to the aims of the series, which chime nicely with the aims and lifestyles of the celebrity sustainability enthusiast:
"The championship centres around three core values of Energy, Environment and Entertainment and is a fusion of engineering, technology, sport, science, design, music and entertainment - all combining to drive the change towards an electric future."
crowd-fundingDame Vivienne Westwoodelectric vehiclesFormula Egreen celebritiesgreen celebrityinvestmentKaty PerryLeonardo DiCaprioPeoples Climate Marchrenewable energyTrillion FundInternational
