Nearly three decades before “net zero” entered the mainstream, Professor Bruce French — a leading cardiothoracic surgeon — quietly took his family off grid, building a solar-powered home on a rural property outside Sydney.

But while the French household ran without mains electricity or water, relying instead on truck batteries, tank water and a worm farm, it was never about going without.

For Professor French, sustainability didn’t mean sacrifice — it meant living thoughtfully, and proving that a simpler life could still be a full one.

“I guess I’ve always been intrigued by living simply and not consuming too much of the world’s resources,” the head of Liverpool Hospital’s cardiothoracic surgery unit tells 6minutes.