As world leaders make grand promises and backroom discussions take place at COP26 in Glasgow, there's one Highlander actively fighting against climate change.
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Jeremy Barnett is Managing Director and founder of Planitree, an online marketplace for sustainable building materials.
After two decades working in Asia, a continent where the effects of overdevelopment and pollution are making themselves known, Barnett decided to return home and set-up Planitree.
With construction and design accounting for 39 per cent of global carbon emissions, Barnett is investing in what he hopes is a simple but effective solution.
"In the few years before COVID I was out around Asia in places like Singapore, China and Vietnam promoting Australian sustainable design and innovation products aligned with green building," Barnett told the Southern Highland News.
"I just realised the world is too big and I couldn't reach enough people. So the decision was made to put the products online so we could potentially upscale globally.
"That's how Planitree was founded. It's a marketplace for technology."
It's not just a strategy focused on lowering emissions however but also an awareness about what both the planet and human beings need to thrive.
"With population growth, especially all these million people cities in Asia, the World Green Building Council says everything humans have built is going to double by 2050," the Highlands local explained.
"Blind Freddy can see the planet can't support that.
"Wellness is the other side of the coin. We're about promoting the use of natural materials, bringing fresh air and sunlight into buildings and connecting people with nature. There are proven benefits for mental and physical health."
Designed for both sellers and buyers alike, Barnett says he wants Planitree to be something of a one-stop shop for the eco-conscious, starting with the Southern Highlands.
"The first step is to bring as many of these solutions as possible onto one platform," he said.
"That's going to save people searching hundreds of websites and it's bringing lots of international products [within reach]. The aim is to offer global choice but people can still choose to shop locally as well.
"We also help people sell their products. It could be local builders who specialise in sustainable design or architects who would like to promote their services or suppliers of eco-friendly materials.
"They can establish a virtual store on Planitree and plug into a global green building market worth $500 billion. It's a platform where we can say to people, you can be part of the solution."
Like most start-ups they are on an investment drive and still figuring out what they want to become, a process that will need to be flexible as the past two years have shown the business community.
But ever the local, Barnett has one very clear vision as he moves into office space on Bong Bong Street.
"We're not saying Planitree is going to save the world by ourselves but it's something we can contribute towards.
"I'd love to have an office full of young Highlanders doing coding, digital marketing, admin, all sorts of things."
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