Chris Hines (environmentalist)

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Chris Hines
Occupation Activist, consultant   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
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Awards

Christopher Ian Hines MBE is a British surfer and environmental activist. He is a co-founder of Surfers Against Sewage and led on sustainability policy for the Eden Project.

Contents

Career

Hines was raised in Devon and educated at Tavistock Comprehensive School.

He is a co-founder of the lobbying group and marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage, established in 1990, [1] and served as their Director of Campaigns for its first ten years. [2]

In November 1997 he gave evidence to a government select committee looking at issues around sewage processing. [3] [4] He was also a special advisor to Michael Meacher in the latter's role as Secretary of State for the Environment. [a] [5]

He was Sustainability Director—the first in that role [5] —at the Eden Project from 2001 to 2007. [6] While there, he played a major role in organising the "Africa Calling" concert as part of Live 8. [3] He was also instrumental in the establishment of The Wave: Bristol, an artificial surfing pool opened in 2019, having responsibility for its sustainability policy. [7]

He now runs his own sustainability consultancy company, "A Grain of Sand". [3]

Recognition

Hines was runner-up in the 1999 Green Politics Award. [8] In 2006, he was jointly awarded (alongside Glenn Hening of the Surfrider Foundation) The Surfer's Path magazine's "Emerald Path" award for work at the Eden Project to develop biodegradable surfboards, using balsa, hemp and plant-based resin. [8]

In 2008 Hines was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire "for services to the environment". [6] [9]

He holds an Honorary Doctorate of Science awarded by the University of Plymouth in 2011 [10] [11] and in 2025 Royal Holloway, University of London awarded him an honorary degree "for his commitment to protecting England's seas and waterways". [6] [3]

Hines was portrayed by Tom Durant-Pritchard in the 2026 TV drama Dirty Business , about illegal sewage releases by water companies. [12]

Notes

References

  1. ↑ "Dirty Business: Real people behind the sewage drama". Surfers Against Sewage. 27 February 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  2. ↑ "Chris Hines on surf-culture, sewage and balsa-wood". ArtCornwall. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Townsend, Andrew (28 July 2025). "Honour for co-founder of Surfers Against Sewage in Cornwall". The Cornish Times. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  4. ↑ House of Commons - Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs - Second Report.
  5. 1 2 Otter, James (4 March 2017). "An Interview With Chris Hines MBE". Otter Surfboards. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "Chris Hines MBE awarded Honorary Degree for his commitment to protecting England's seas and waterways". Royal Holloway, University of London . Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  7. ↑ "The Wave, Bristol". Hydrock. Archived from the original on 21 April 2025.
  8. 1 2 "Top award puts green champion Hines on the crest of a wave". Falmouth Packet. 15 June 2006. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  9. ↑ "No. 58729". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 14 June 2008. p. 18.
  10. ↑ "Intelligent Activism and Surfing as a Catalyst – Lecture". National Maritime Museum Cornwall. 17 February 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  11. ↑ "University of Plymouth honorary doctorates". University of Plymouth . Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "Dirty Business full cast list for new Channel 4 docudrama starring David Thewlis". This is Oxfordshire. 23 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
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