• Home
  • Executive Coaching
  • Unlocking Leadership
  • Who I Am
  • Blog
  • Contact

Executive Coach & Management Consultant Anthony Zolezzi

Anthony Zolezzi is an entrepreneur and CEO. He has founded and successfully sold more than a dozen companies.

T (562)
Email: anthonyzolezzi@icloud.com

Open in Google Maps
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Insights
  • Sao Paulo impresses first-time visitor as upbeat and solution-receptive city
August 8, 2025

Sao Paulo impresses first-time visitor as upbeat and solution-receptive city

0
Tuesday, 29 March 2011 / Published in Insights

Sao Paulo impresses first-time visitor as upbeat and solution-receptive city

Sao Paulo

This is an incredibly vibrant city –one that gives me the same feeling as I had in (yes) Las Vegas in the mid’90s of being a “happening place” with unlimited potential for smart growth and urban solutions. San Paulo is an incredible mass of humanity concrete and brick, but its people are upbeat and realize that, far from being bit players, they are in the process of assuming a key role on a world stage. Unlike most cities I visit these days, there is an undercurrent of optimism and excitement here, and, perhaps most importantly, an awareness of the environment that feels totally unique.

As I write this, I am sitting on the patio of a beautiful restaurant after having been given a tour of the city by my guide Luciano. Unlike most conventional tours, however, this one included a stop at the municipal waste station and recycling location for 13 million people. It also included  interviews with several of the “street pickers” whose occupation is redeeming aluminum cans and other recyclable materials, from which many make a comfortable living. This method of recycling, in fact, has become a regular industry here in a country that has no formal reclamation system to speak of, but it has proven so successful that Brazil is now considered the world leader in redemption of aluminum containers, with a 96.5 collection rate.

That, however is far from the case where plastic is concerned. According to estimates I was given by the locals, in fact, the recycling rate of plastic packaging and containers here may be no higher than three percent – something I saw evidence of in the streets, where plastic is often discarded while the collectors’ carts are filled to capacity with aluminum and cardboard. (And Sao Paulo, don’t forget, is only a few miles from the sea, where plastic pollution remains a major threat to marine life.)

Right now, I still have four more days of meetings scheduled here. But my initial impression is, if we want to make the world a more sustainable place, this is one of the strategic locales we’d better be focusing our sights on – a solution-oriented place, to be sure, but one where the business of tackling urban problems has been left largely to the people themselves.

What you can read next

‘Close encounter’ with nature’s full fury a reminder that we’re not calling the shots
A case for taking up raking and leaving blowers behind
Good Karma

Recent Posts

  • Keep Walking Is More Than a Slogan: The Science Of Bouncing Back
  • Remembering the Founding of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
  • Humility vs. “Extra” – The Path to a Happy and Fulfilling Life
  • The Man on the Porch: The Profound Power of Simple Greetings
  • The AI Paradox: Why 16th-Century Discernment Is the Tool We Need Now

Recent Comments

No comments to show.

Recent Posts

  • 21ec0084084d2a3c848e0dd4050661ea-scripts

    https://hb.wpmucdn.com/zolezzi.coach/f23394eb-8...
  • 54fa21cf1ed0f155cd013c9021f77f90-styles

    https://hb.wpmucdn.com/zolezzi.coach/4b867eb1-4...
  • 312ba88afeab0392ea5787ac2f05445c-scripts

    ...
  • person walking image

    Keep Walking Is More Than a Slogan: The Science Of Bouncing Back

    Yesterday knocked me down, but this morning, a ...
  • 34339282027cd220bd11cf556879122b-scripts

    https://hb.wpmucdn.com/zolezzi.coach/d2852a34-3...

Archives

  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • November 2024
  • September 2024
  • October 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • September 2022
  • May 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • January 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • August 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • November 2010
  • March 2010
  • August 2003

Categories

  • Executive Coaching
  • Insights
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Podcast
  • Posts
  • Press
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Featured Posts

  • 21ec0084084d2a3c848e0dd4050661ea-scripts

    0 comments
  • 54fa21cf1ed0f155cd013c9021f77f90-styles

    0 comments
  • 312ba88afeab0392ea5787ac2f05445c-scripts

    0 comments
  • person walking image

    Keep Walking Is More Than a Slogan: The Science Of Bouncing Back

    0 comments
  • 34339282027cd220bd11cf556879122b-scripts

    0 comments

© 2022 All rights reserved.

TOP