Producing events always meant that we had a clear deadline. The date for the event was clear at the start of the preparations. It was great, it took out one of the variables in what the event could be like.

In business, it is a lot more flowing. It is very easy to fall into the trap of improving, rather than getting something out there. It is probably one of the inventor diseases.

To overcome that, I set a date: 31 May 2008, the date of our launch. And to make it even more serious, we committed to being part of World Environment Day.

It was actually a whole month before the original plan. It was a crazy date, but it helped us to focus on the essential things.

And we made it. The SolarPay website was ready. The other marketing materials were ready. The partners were lined up. The team had given everything to make it.

Most importantly though, we had cut out all “nice-to-have’s”. Absolute focus on the core of the business model.

A fantastic way to get things done.

1. Set a date
2. Link it to something outside of your control
3. Collect a list of nice-to-have’s for future improvements
4. Refocus on the core of your business model

Due to bad weather the actual launch did not go ahead, because the event we wanted to held it at was postponed. But we had achieved our goals.

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Alexander

“Sustainability is a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained at a certain level indefinitely.” according to Wikipedia.

The process I am interested in is that of humans living on planet Earth.

There are 3 major components: People, the planet and profits.

Profits

I need to start with the end. Profits are the driving motor for our global community. It is also what drives each individual in each interaction.

What I mean is that whatever we do, we try to benefit from it. In each interaction we put in time and effort and maybe money so that at the end we have something.

And if it is possible to get the same result for less time, effort and money we go for it.

The problem in our complicated world is that the time, effort and money is not always passed on to the person who gets the benefit.

One of the best examples is global warming. It takes relatively little to dig up coal and burn it to generate electricity. Great profits are made. But now we find that the real costs include the results from global warming. These costs are carried by the community of human beings, even though individual companies and people have profited.

Planet Earth

No matter whether you are sentimental and like nature or you are a hardnosed business person, there is no denying that our lives are intricately linked to the well-being of a multitude of species and systems and processes that are all part of nature. Any imbalance in nature leads to a suffering of humans.

Many of the human actions have lead to unexpected problems elsewhere. In Australia, the introduction of cane toads are a well-known example. To fight beetles that were eating the crop, cane toads were introduced. Today they are still a plague.

Another example are our finite resources. Building a society that is dependent upon oil as its main source of energy is very short-sighted. (Peak Oil)

People

Naturally people come first. After all that is what I am and it still gives me the greatest joy to interact with others.

And anyway without humans, nature would look after itself anyway and we would not have to worry about sustainability.

But there is another aspect. Profits are often made with little regard to the impacts on human beings. Think of the sweatshops in Asia and Africa.

Sustainability - The Ideal Solution

So here is what sustainability means to me:
We use solutions that have a positive impact on the planet and care for people throughout the process of producing, using and discarding them. Additionally, they produce a profit for the company offering them and are no more expensive to me as a user.

The Sustainable Living Festival turns into an annual event for the first time. It attracts over 50 volunteers in responsible positions during preparation.

160 exhibitors show their sustainable solutions to 120,000 visitors. Our core team of 8 full-timers, who all took the risk of potentially not being paid all get their due.

The last 12 months have been an amazing ride through joy and frustration.

Some of the sponsoring companies were absolutely amazing at supporting this huge volunteer effort, others had to be dragged to the party.

I realise that it is a lot more comfortable to have a budget that funds all the event plans from the start, rather than having to adjust plans and budget all the time to accommodate necessities.

I also realise that a strong vision and sense of purpose greatly enhances any team. Bringing so many volunteers together, letting them follow their own dreams while weaving it together into a whole was an amazing feat. Luke Taylor held that vision.

Brigitte House had the ability to smooth out any ruffled feathers that I created through unpopular financial decisions. Together we achieved a huge step towards an event about sustainability that was also run using sustainable concepts.

People and planet were happy and a profit was left over to fund other parts of the Sustainable Living Foundation.  A success in all areas.

My wife had finished her Master, so we decided to follow our dream even further and move north to the sunny Sunshine Coast in Queensland were it is warm, even in winter.