Industrial hemp has been cultivated virtually everywhere in the world for thousands of years, for everything from clothing to construction, but recently the substance has become subject to controversy and legislation. It’s licensed in the E.U. and Canada, and is grown extensively in China, but hemp was made illegal in the United States in 1937 and its use heavily restricted. It comes from the Cannabis plant and is cousin to marijuana. But despite the controversy, the much-maligned substance contains very low quantities of the drug THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is what gets marijuana smokers ‘high’. So while you can smoke hemp, it’ll give you a headache and nothing more.

As a raw material, industrial hemp can be used for food and fuel, and even a building product. And according to HGS, hemp is up to 400% more efficient than agro-forestry per land use when it comes to CO2 absorption, which is good news for anyone wanting to save a planet.

Like Rebekah Shaman and her partner, Carlo Dawson, the founders of HGS. HGS was formed in March 2006 after Rebekah and Carlo read a postgraduate MEnvS thesis on how hemp could be used to slow down climate change. At the time, Rebekah was trying to get businesses more involved in corporate social responsibility and sustainable development through genuine solutions rather than what she calls “token greenwash”. So after reading the thesis they pitched the HGS vision to their investor friend Anthony Goodman. He immediately saw the potential and Hemp Global Solutions was born.

Just over a year on and HGS is working on several ambitious projects, maximising hemp’s potential to make a difference on major issues such as soil health, nutrition, deforestation, sustainable raw materials and, of course, climate change.

‘Food and Fuel’ utilises hemp for nutrition, alternative fuel, reforestation and shelter in communities with no access to agricultural machinery; ‘Modular Hemp’ has been designed to develop low carbon hemp building solutions to replace intensive existing hemp products in the building industry, creating innovative technologies with minimal transport, processing and carbon footprints; and the ‘Seed the Future Campaign’ sells hemp seeds cultivated by HGS themselves for £1 each, to raise awareness and funds for future projects.

“Our ‘Seed the Future’ campaign offers people the opportunity to become ‘micro-philanthropists’ and invest in a sustainable future by supporting projects and revenue systems which prioritise communities and their environments,” says Rebekah. “In order to empower all stakeholders in a sustainable society, we need to change the way we view ‘business’. At present, the economic value of communities and environments is not recognised, so there is no motivation to change habits and behaviours. When production, manufacture and trading are localised, everyone is integrated into the supply chain and revenue can be shared fairly while environmental impacts are minimised or eliminated.”

HGS is working at the grassroots, empowering local communities and engendering collective responsibility to mitigate climate change. It’s an ambitious vision, but the people behind it have no doubt as to whether it can be achieved.

“Hemp was the number one crop on the planet for thousands of years during which humans lived sustainable lifestyles,” argues Rebekah. “Hemp can immediately solve some of the major issues we are facing at this critical time such as deforestation, nutrition, soil health and climate change, while creating long term sustainable, living models.”

For more information on HGS, click here.