The recent announcements by world and national leaders that we as a race are at a critical juncture in our attitude, action and behaviours to our planet are a wake-up call, but one that has been coming for decades.

I recall my early private sector career in the waste industry, the sometimes questionable practices that existed before the introduction of the Environmental Protection Act in 1990, and how that regulation turned a positive significant corner in both the private and public sectors. Practitioners become more aware of the effect on the general environment and, as a society, how we treated what previously had been seen as something to dispose of and hide.