Finance and Investing

Robbie Gray speaks to 17-year-old Shae Lavery in Italy and 35-year-old Robert McLean in Scotland for the ‘100 Voices: Home and Away’ project.

Mobile stock market. Photo by Aidan Hancock on Unsplash

Away- Shae Lavery, Italy

A Scottish business student who is currently living in Italy, Shae Lavery, 17, said in the first three years he lived there, the country did not appear to be engaging with sustainability on a meaningful level. However, he said: “It is starting to change now. Currently there’s a programme where you recycle your empty bottles and are rewarded with free train tickets. But I think the government should be spending money of lowering crime and poverty rates. Those are issues which if dealt with would help the environment, too.”

Home- Robert McLean, Glasgow, Scotland

A former business analyst from Glasgow, Robert McLean, 35, disagreed about how the UK government spends money. He said: “They don’t focus on people who need it. There is so much that could be done in terms of housing. People should invest in companies that don’t directly or indirectly facilitate famine and war. Our government does invest in some ethical companies but they invest in some unethical ones, too.”