Amy Bray is founder of the charity Another Way which empowers people to become more eco-friendly.

Exeter student receives prestigious award from UK Prime Minister

An environmental campaigner and University of Exeter student has received the Prime Minister’s Points of Light award for her work on fighting the climate and ecological crisis.

Amy Bray, who is studying marine biology at the Penryn Campus in Cornwall, is founder of the charity Another Way, which empowers people to become more eco-friendly.

Amy set up the charity at the age of 16 in 2019, stemming from her passion for our planet and the oceans. After influencing her family to go plastic-free and to live more sustainably, she wanted to share their discoveries and the motivation to do this with the wider public.

Three years later, Another Way has two zero-waste shops, planted 12,000 trees, inspired over 4,000 people to make changes to live more sustainably and created numerous resources giving people advice on how to do so.

Amy is now a recipient of a Points of Light award, given to outstanding volunteers who are making a change in their community.

“I am honoured to have been recognised by the Prime Minister for my work with Another Way alongside so many other individuals doing wonderful things for their communities,” said Amy.

“I am so grateful for the people who have supported me in creating Another Way; my friends and family and our fantastic trustees and volunteers.

"The people who have planted thousands of trees or climbed mountains in driving wind and rain, who have pledged not to fly on holiday, to give up single-use plastic or to eat more plant-based food: you are the heroes, you are the people who will save Planet Earth and you are the people who give me hope.”

Amy will be attending the COP26 conference in Glasgow in just a few weeks’ time, where world leaders will meet to discuss their plans and targets towards reaching net zero.

She is also currently filming for a new BBC series launching in the run up to COP26 – The Regenerators – which will be part of an online platform for young people to learn about climate change.

“I cannot emphasise enough how critical COP26 will be to the future of humanity,” added Amy.

“We need a holistic plan for how we are going to change our entire system to stop taking indefinitely from our planet but start sharing and giving.

"This is humanity’s chance to transform into a better society; one in which we tackle inequality, poverty, prejudice, colonialism, health crises, soil degradation, ecosystem exploitation and climate change.

“We need our government to use COP26 as a chance to show the world how tackling all of these issues holistically can create a healthier, happier world for all who live in it. There is no silver bullet to the climate and ecological crisis.

“Our collective actions really can make a difference, but only when each of us puts the health of our environment at the centre of every decision we make, in our everyday lives, in businesses and as governments. Ultimately, that is the only solution.”

You can read more about Amy’s work and find information and advice on how you can live more sustainably on the Another Way website.

Date: 20 October 2021