Sustainability in Cyprus: a mission for change

Lusine Mirzoyan believes lasting change starts with small, practical steps. Through EcoForward Cyprus, she hopes to bring individuals and businesses together to explore more sustainable ways of living and working

“I always say I was born in Armenia but Cyprus shaped me,” says Lusine Mirzoyan. We are sitting in the Home For Cooperation cafe, drinking coffee and talking about her latest project – EcoForward Cyprus that will take place on November 29 at Limassol’s St Raphael Resort.

It is actually our second conversation within a week. With Lusine, there is always a lot to talk about. This year marks a whole new stage of her life. Mother of two and well known in Limassol’s business community, Lusine is in the middle of a storm of new ideas, projects and opportunities, all resonating with the singular word sustainability.

When I ask her what she understands by sustainability, the 40-year-old founder of the sustainability information portal NatureallyDone speaks with the thoughtfullness of someone who has spent many hours analysing all aspects of the meaning of the word, having carefully navigated her way beyond the broadly cliche-like application of the term to explore the ethical philosophy implicit in its principled use as it pertains to our way of life.

“Many people might think, and it’s a big misconception, that this word is just about environment but it is not,” she says.

“It’s all about how you can sustain your life and your business and in general your life for the long term. We have environmental sustainability, we have social sector sustainability and we have economic sustainability.”

Lusine choses her words carefully: “When we’re talking about sustainable environment, obviously it’s about taking care of the environment. It’s about having a healthier planet. It’s about having healthier soils, which means healthier products, which means health. So it directly affects us. The social element refers to human rights, social equity, ensuring access to basic needs like clean water, healthcare and education, and fostering fair, safe communities. And as for the economic element, it is all about building financial systems, businesses and livelihoods that can thrive long-term without causing social exploitation or environmental collapse. Say you have a business: it’s not only about using environmentally friendly materials, it is about where and how your products are produced.

“Are they produced ethically, carefully? For example, does producing them involve the use of child labour? So all this means you cannot be sustainable in your approach to one thing and not in another. That would amount to ‘greenwashing’, which is also a big topic nowadays.”

Sustainability goes beyond the environment

Greenwashing? Sounds a bit like brainwashing.

Lusine nods: “Yes, it’s like if you go to the shop and you get some eco or organic product but you can’t find any information about where or how it was produced. It’s a way of putting dust in your eyes. You think you are buying a green product but that’s not the case.”

So basically, greenwashing is akin to a company using eco labels in advertising to look environmentally responsible when in fact they have not made the necessary operational changes? The term would also apply to an NGO running a project that ceases to be relevant the moment its funding ends, when in effect the project was never really sustainable?

“Exactly. That’s why one of the topics during the B2B (Business To Business) part of EcoForward event will be a panel discussion on green finance, where we will be discussing two topics: first of all, why a business or a company should go sustainable and what the economic benefits are, and secondly, where to find money for such a move.”

That moves our discussion directly to the EcoForward event, organised by the IdentECO Marketing & Communications company, also created by Lusine and specialising in marketing and communications services for brands committed to sustainability.

On its website the event’s aim is explained as “bringing together people, businesses, creators, and educators to discover practical steps we can apply towards a more sustainable way of living and doing business… an event designed to empower the general public and local businesses in Cyprus with small achievable steps that create a big impact.”

Lusine studied general management as her first degree in Armenia and also holds an MBA in marketing from the University of Nicosia. Afterwards, she embarked on a career in the corporate world before joining the publishers of Vestnik Kipra, a Russian language news operation. She subsequently launched her own company which currently focuses on all proponents of sustainability principles. She points out how those very themes featured in many of the events staged here during the course of Cyprus’ recent presidency of the EU Council. Realising how the focus was repeateedly on the same issues – ie “what problems we have in Cyprus” – she came away thinking about how to address them.

“We know our problem and we know we could do better when it comes to the regulations or implementations. But what can we do at the individual or business level? Can we change something ourselves? This is how the idea for this event came about. I wanted to organise an event that would not focus on problems, but on opportunities, on practical solutions, on something that we can do in the present situation, with what we have and where we are.”

It all became even more clear when Lusine, who speaks at least four languages fluently (Armenian, Russian, English and Greek, not to mention a little bit of Spanish and the fact that her Armenian means being comfortable in three different dialects), started to view sustainability as a journey and not something that can be achieved in the immediacy of the here and now. The way she approaches the issue is very pragmatic.

“You cannot change something at once. But small steps could lead to a big impact,” she says. “I’m not a perfectionist, I have to say that. I don’t believe in perfection. I don’t believe in zero waste. It’s all ongoing work. But I believe that each of us on the individual or business level are capable of making some changes. And I know that a lot of people say that it doesn’t matter what an individual does, if there’s no decision from the government, etc. But it’s not that. Because when we implement small changes, we become more aware, which can inspire us to work towards more changes to the point we might actually create and generate change that generates pressure on and for the government. Of course, the truth is that we are capable of making lots of changes in our daily lives and/or our business operations without getting permission or new regulations from the government. The issue is that most of us don’t know what we can do.”

Turning sustainability awareness into action

According to Lusine, EcoForward’s format is uniquely designed not only to inform and encourage the general public to start implementing changes to the way they live but also to create a connection between an individual and the business world as well as help the business world find viable solutions to become more sustainable.

“We will have three zones. There will be the Exhibition and Kids Zone where visitors will be able to meet brands based in Cyprus committed to sustainability offering practical solutions one can apply at home or in business. Then we will have a Networking and B2B Zone where SMEs, entrepreneurs and sustainability-focused professionals will be able to connect and explore new opportunities. This zone will also hold various panel discussions on relevant topics.

Small steps, lasting change

“And finally, there will be the Inspiring Talks Zone where practical talks from experts about trends, habits and small steps towards more sustainable lifestyle and business will take place,” she explains.

Having previously been involved in organising various conferences and fora, Lusine is proud to stage EcoForward as the first ever event on sustainability in such a format.

“It is not a huge event. It will not focus on quantity, it will focus on making changes. If one business or person leaves this event and starts making some changes, I will consider it as mission accomplished.”

A high achiever, Lusine allows that she rarely does the same things twice.

“Maybe it is like that because there are so many other things I want to do and I think I want to dedicate my time to them,” she muses, noting that it is extremely rare for her to read the same book or watch the same movie twice. Once, having decided to participate in a semi-marathon in Protaras she did just that, first practicing and then running on the day.

“I came like 240 out of 500 people and I said ‘it’s fine’. I’m quite sure this will be the last marathon in my life.” She took a similar approach to skydiving – once – and to diving and paragliding. The same applied, she admits, to piano and dancing lessons. “I was good but when it was time to get professional, I was like, no, I’m not going there.”

The crucial difference is that when it comes to work, she is just opposite.

“No, all the skiing and running – this is not related to my work. In work, I’m pretty much consistent. And also I am very responsible, too responsible. So if I promise to do something, it might take a lot from me and maybe I would regret that I promised it but I have to do it. It was like this with this event – once I started there was no turning back. And you know, it is much more than just an event. If I see that it is successful, if I see that people like it, if I see the demand, the idea is to make it annual, and bring more experts, speakers, and businesses, also from abroad. Because we are years behind in Cyprus, when it comes to sustainability. But obviously this needs financing.”

But why does an Armenian care so much about the sustainability and environment in Cyprus?

Lusine laughs: “Because Cyprus is my home and we care about our home.”

More on EcoForward: www.ecoforwardcyprus.com/ and Lusine’s information portal: natureallydone.com/