Earthwatch at 50: Sue Alexander

Earthwatch at 50: Sue Alexander’s story

In 2002, Sue Alexander saw a poster on the office wall advertising Earthwatch expeditions as part of HSBC’s Investing in Nature programme. She signed up and joined a project monitoring forest marsupials.

The trip marked the beginning of a relationship with Earthwatch that still continues two decades on. Sue went on to lead two award-winning partnerships: HSBC Climate Partnership and the eight-year HSBC Water Programme, a collaboration with Earthwatch alongside WaterAid and WWF. The partnerships resulted in five regional Climate Centres with Earthwatch and engaged 40,000 staff in environmental issues.

Sue has long been interested in nature and her role at HSBC presented an opportunity to combine her personal interest in the environment with her professional belief in the power of large corporates to make a positive difference.

“Since my retirement I have had more time to contribute to Earthwatch’s FreshWater Watch database and have recruited friends to get involved. I believe in the power of citizen science to get people interested in the natural world, to love it and to care for it.”