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1 nomination from readers

• Having worked with Eugenie for four years, I continue to be inspired by her energy, commitment and dynamism. She has an innate ability to start with a small, simple idea but to think big. In an incredibly short time – less than four years – she has built a social change brand which is already proving that small actions x lots of people = BIG change can actually work. The book Change the World for a Fiver has touched the hearts of thousands of people and inspired them to do small, everyday things but also, in some cases, to make dramatic changes in their own lives and influence changes in the wider world. Eugenie has created some kind of brand magic with We Are What We Do and I have lost count of the number of times people have said ‘This is exactly what we have been trying to do but you have succeeded in communicating it in a fun and memorable way’. This kind of observation can come from a parent, teacher, student or someone who is trying to find their purpose in life, but equally it can be the reaction from someone developing a CSR programme in an organisation of thousands. Eugenie’s collaboration with Anya Hindmarch on the ‘I’m Not a Plastic Bag’ project is an example of her ‘anything is possible’ spirit. She identified a way of turning a universal everyday problem on its head and it not only put a spotlight on an environmental issue, it has led to transforming the way individuals, governments and retailers think about how we shop. I believe that Eugenie’s approach of doing things differently – one that is now copied the world over – combined with her belief in the ‘formula’ small actions x lots of people = BIG change can and will be applied to massive social and environmental issues in a way that empowers all of us to change our behaviour in order to change the world.

  Nominated by Sandra Deeble, 17 May 2008