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Environmental Awareness

Written by: Paul Bridle

Article Overview: Last year I researched a number of organizations that had an exceptional business. Among the many things that I learned was that each one is focused on environmental issues. The level of environmental focus varied from one organization to another, but the consistent finding was that the commitment started at the top, it came from the leader.

Free Download - An Accountant or a Leader - but rarely both By Paul Bridle
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Environmental Awareness

In some cases it was an extremely proactive approach, which required a degree of effort and time. For example, the restaurant chain that was negotiating with it’s suppliers to provide produce in recyclable packaging and had built the latest restaurant with a water purification unit so that the water used to clean the vegetables was purified and then used to flush the toilets. It is true that these steps have a cost, in the short-term at least.

Others simply have a commitment to using recyclable material and separating their waste so that it can be recycled. In one case, there was a committee of volunteer staff members who looked for ways to improve the commitment the company had to recycling and environmental sustainability.

I was impressed in a recent visit to Australia when I was on a train leaving the city. There were a lot of school children on their way home, also on the train. One group of teenagers were eating a takeaway. When they finished, one of the group collected the waste from everyone and when the train stopped at the next station, he ran off the train and threw the waste into a bin and then ran back to the train before the doors closed.

I commented to my friend that this was not typical behaviour that I see of teenagers in other parts of the world. He said that the Australian Government had done a lot of work in educating the public about the need to recycle and keep Australia clean. They had achieved the right behaviour through raising awareness and education.

As leaders our role is to educate people and raise their awareness. Our job is to provide them with the means to behave responsibly. It does not have to be costly and it can reap benefits.

Let us take the business point of view. Businesses want customers, to attract and retain staff, to have engaged staff and to make a profit!

Customers - We know that the consumer is keen to deal with organizations that are more environmentally aware.

Attract and retain staff - A recent survey showed that 80% of graduates want a job that has a positive impact on the environment, and 92% would choose to work for an environmentally friendly company.

Engaged Staff – Increasing environmental awareness and sustainability is an ideal opportunity to engage people, and allow them to influence the business in a practical and safe manner.

Profit - I am always amazed at how little things make such a big difference. Simply changing light bulbs, turning off items when not being used, etc. can add money directly to the bottom line.

People need to be educated and/or engaged in ways of saving the environment and money, as opposed to enforcing rules and regulations. The long-term impact will be phenomenal if we learn this approach.

Paul Bridle

Leadership Methodologist

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Article Tags: australia, australian government, br, business point, doors, environmental sustainability, group of teenagers, job, nbsp, point of view, proactive approach, purification unit, recyclable material, recyclable packaging, recycling, toilets, train, vegetables, volunteer staff members, water purification

About the Author: Paul Bridle
RSS for Paul's articles - Visit Paul's website

Paul is a Leadership Methodologist. For almost two decades he has studied effective organizations and the people that lead them. As a result of his research around the world, he is called upon to assist both private as well as public organizations by acting as an advisor or consultant on a range of projects relating to management and leadership issues or development. Paul is a Faculty Member of the Institute of Management Studies, Fellow of the Institute of Business Consulting, Fellow of the Professional Speaker Association and a Certified Speaking Professional. Paul was also voted 12th in The Top 30 Most Influential Leadership Gurus in the World in 2007 & 2008 for his contribution to Leadership development. International Business Speaker, Author, Facilitator, Advisor and Consultant

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Starting a New Business Starting a New Business - Congratulations on the first step of deciding to create your own business. First, you have to ascertain if you are going to be selling your products or services to people or to businesses. People purchase products and services for three basic reasons: •To satisfy basic needs •To solve problems •To make themselves feel good. You have to determine which of these three categories your product or service is the solution to. Businesses, unlike individuals, buy products and services for three reasons as well: •To increase revenues •To maintain the status quo •To decrease expenses. Knowing the reasons why people/businesses buy, you should have a picture emerging of who you think your "Target Market" (or ideal customer) is. Once you have zeroed in on your solution, you are ready to create your Marketing Strategy. If you look at any company that has grown rapidly over the past few years, (i.e. WestJet and Starbucks), it should demonstrate to you the importance of Marketing. In simple terms these companies have: •Clearly defined what makes them different; •Who their ideal customer is; •How to reach them; •Why customers should buy from them; •And most importantly why customers should come back again. It is strong Marketing Awareness that singles out the best companies. I can not stress enough how important it is to create a "living" Marketing Plan before you even start. I hope this helps a little in the creation of your plan. All the very best of luck. Remember: "A Goal without a Plan is just a Wish" Miles of Smiles, Marketing Maven


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