Please visit the Green Pioneers blog for the latest photographs and articles from the project.

Green Pioneers was conceived as a collaborative portfolio piece between photographer Thomas
James and journalist Iain Withers, as part of a final year photography documentary project to look at a cross-section of people working towards Sustainable Development Goals in the UK

The issue interests us both not from just a ‘green’ perspective but from my own University background in politics, and economics. There is a genuine shift happening from the grass-roots to international-relations in terms of dealing with an important issue that has shifted from a long-term concern, to more immediate issue. The economic issues are dragging what was commonly considered a niche issue a decade ago into the mainstream.

It combines issues that push for lifestyle changes on an individual level right through to the development of new and innovative technologies: a pressing human concern that requires mobilisation across varying fields to pull together to create real solutions. Whilst the media is distracted with issues concerning the validity of a well established argument, little attention is given those already working on solution at any level.

Our ‘agenda’ is to show a different human side to a widely tackled issue that is pro-active in terms of the climate change/sustainable/technological development argument. We don’t want to show ‘victims’, but rather take a step back and look at those already working hard to make a difference be it through technology, policy or community.

These roles are important and the people involved with them are often overlooked. Our intention is to put together a portraiture story that not only includes photographs of those working in the technology, policy or community fields, alongside short interviews to build up an image of the motivation and work of those who choose to participate in the project.