My previous blog was about the how the ultimate success of recycling programs with the long-range objective of achieving “zero waste” will depend not on incentives, but on instilling in the public a sense of respect for the intrinsic value of the things we now casually discard. No matter what physical assets we put in
In the course of nearly a decade spent working with and learning about waste streams and recycling technologies, I’ve managed to visit most of the countries that boast world-class reprocessing and recycling facilities and high percentages of waste diverted to other uses, as well as some at the bottom of the ‘refuse heap’. These experiences
I recently met with an entrepreneur who has an incredible product to offer the water conservation industry. As he quickly started rattling off schedules of ownership and budgets, I had to stop him because I wasn’t yet interested in the numbers or percentages involved. First, I wanted to determine whether I thought that both he
It’s often said that “timing is everything” (which is now even the title of a popular song). And we often see examples that seem to bear that out – instances where the timing of a particular endeavor spelled the difference between success and failure. But just how important is timing in the realization of our
In a blog I posted a few months back, I announced my intentions to focus some of my efforts on the problem of food waste – all that perfectly good, nutritious food that ends up being tossed in the garbage while millions of families in this country don’t have enough to eat. To this end,
In my previous blog, I put forth the premise that companies should stop focusing on the one-dimensional idea of “going green” and concentrate instead on the goal of achieving sustainability, which involves a three-dimensional focus on the ability of people, the planet and profit to all survive and thrive. Now I’d like to carry this
Lately, I have started rethinking the value of businesses “going green.” When companies spend money to make their products or manufacturing methods “greener,” but find consumers are reluctant to pay a corresponding “green” surcharge, what they have done is to substitute one form of green – the environmental kind – for another — the monetary
As I’m writing this, yet another Earth Day has rolled around – but I must admit that this year I’m seeing things from a somewhat different perspective. That is to say, I’ve come to the conclusion that merely focusing on “pure” sustainability efforts is currently the wrong approach to preserving the planet. While it has
Recently I was talking with a friend about his business and couldn’t help asking him why his expectations for it were so low. It made me realize how important it is for us to set our sights high and not put limits on what we expect to accomplish, because, quite frankly, if you can’t visualize
This past week I was visiting with an old colleague who was contemplating a career change. He was especially interested in a particular opportunity that had arisen, but didn’t feel he had the right qualifications. So I told him a favorite story of mine about one of our top guys at Greenopolis who took it