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Monday, February 7th, 2011 by Admin
 New SIFT Trustee Darren Patterson Darren Patterson starts as a new trustee for SIFT this month. He has a wealth of experience within the waste industry, with 10 years working at ECan looking after various aspects of the Waste Portfolio – the Pollution Prevention Programme, managing and implementing the Canterbury Hazardous Waste Management Strategy and general advice and guidance for the council on waste management. Darren now runs his own consultancy PattersonEnvironmental. He is also an active board member of WasteMinz. We look forward to working with him more to help support our charity’s goals and endeavours.
Welcome to the team Darren.
Read more on Darren here and check out the Green Collar Jobs Q&A he did for us last year here.
Posted in Green Collar Jobs Q&A, SIFT, Waste Management | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 25th, 2011 by Admin
 Sam Fisher is our go to guy for all things PR and Comms related. He runs a great boutique PR company in Christchurch called Green Eggs Communication so we thought we would ask him for his answers to our Green Collar Job Q&A – our first for the year. Love that he actively offsets his company’s emissions by planting trees in Little River.
1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with a low impact) in your life?
I try. I’m not one of the world’s great sustainable living practitioners, but following advice I have had from people who are, it’s about minimising impact where I can.
2. How do you live more sustainably at work?
I work from home and do a lot of work by phone and internet. For my business; Green Eggs Communication, I’ve paid for native trees to be planted near Little River on a block of land to help offset carbon and other emissions. Personally, I find the basis on which a proportion of carbon credits were awarded (particularly around coal power factories) offensive so would rather ensure the mitigation I use is real and practical. I’d like to get more into this.
3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Christchurch/New Zealand?
Answers. The single biggest issue is having answers and being able to act with confidence. I’ve found easy or intuitive answers can be very wrong. It’s very hard to work out what’s the ‘best’ thing to do.
4. What makes you smile?
Classic Brit com (DVDs are a fantastic thing) and my kids.
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Currently, barking dogs. Usually taggers.
6. What is your favourite colour and why?
Yellow. I tend to have a lot of yellow things. It’s a positive vibrant colour.
7. Do you have a favourite place in the world? Describe why?
The banks of the Avon River around Beckenham, St Martins and Opawa. It’s where I grew up; my Turangawaewae.
8. What’s your connection to Sift?
I’m helping with communication work.
9. Do you remember your favourite teacher and why they were your favourite?
Yes, a Mrs Williamson. She was very understanding and encouraging.
10. What do you want to leave behind?
Happy memories and no loose ends.
11. What do you think the future will bring?
I have no idea!
12. Who is someone you really admire and why?
Douglas Adams, he was very funny and talented, made people think and it turned out he really cared about bigger issues. His Last Chance to See book and TV on endangered animals was brilliant.
13. What is happening outside your window right now?
A City Care van has just driven passed at way over the 30km speed limit. And there are ducks.
14. What is your favourite breakfast?
Fried vegetables and rice
15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us?
Value flexibility. Any piece of advice is only relevant in the right context, and there are probably no absolute answers which can be applied in 100 per cent of situations (including this advice).
Thanks Sam!
Tags: Green Collar Job post, Green Eggs Communication, Sam Fisher
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Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010 by Admin
 Gina Dempster, Wanaka Wastebusters As with last week’s Green Collar Job Q&A with Simon from Wanaka Wastebusters we have not actually met Gina Dempster (also from Wanaka Wastebusters) but know that she is doing good green work. Gina looks after the communications for Wanaka Wastebusters, “pretty much anything that needs to be written is my responsibility” she says. That includes advertising, press releases, newsletters, leaflets and the website. “I work two days a week, and love the dynamic, unpredictable and energetic workplace here.” Before working at Wanaka Wastebusters, Gina was part of the media team for the Green Party in Parliament.
Here are her answers to our Green Collar Job Questions:
1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with a low impact) in your life?
I try not to throw too much out by recycling, composting, re-using things and fixing them up (although sewing is not my strong point so I have a whole basket of clothes waiting for mending day which never comes). I get satisfaction from finding the perfect second-hand object: old telephone poles to hold our deck up or a pair of nearly new ski pants for my sister. I grow most of our summer veggies and fruit, support local producers and avoid food packaging.
2. How do you live more sustainably at work?
At Wanaka Wastebusters our work is all about recycling, re-use and challenging people to think about what they really need. Our Green Christmas has been very popular over the last two years, encouraging people to give one-off gifts from our re-use shop. We have just insulated our office which means we get to take off our down jackets in the winter.
3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Christchurch/New Zealand?
The current mode of thinking that resources are limitless.
4. What makes you smile?
Watching my four-year-old on his first ever powder run (he crashed all the way down).
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
People who think they can’t make a difference, so it’s not worth trying.
6. What is your favourite colour and why?
Blue – because it’s the colour of the sky and the sea.
7. Do you have a favourite place in the world? Describe why?
Wanaka . I love seeing the mountains every day, especially against a clear sky at dusk.
8. What’s your connection to Sift?
Sift and Wanaka Wastebusters are working to minimise waste.
9. Do you remember your favourite teacher and why they were your favourite?
I think her name was Ms Gore, and she was my teacher in Std 2. I remember we studied medieval history and had a jousting tournament with newspaper swords. I got to be a knight and ride on two of my friends who were the horse – maybe they don’t remember that day so fondly.
10. What do you want to leave behind?
Happy kids (hopefully grown up by then). A world that values the earth.
11. What do you think the future will bring?
Sometimes I think chaos and darkness, but mostly I think communal strength and wiser ways of living.
12. Who is someone you really admire and why?
Barbara Kingsolver. For writing about things that matter.
13. What is happening outside your window right now?
It’s nearly dusk and the grey sky shows it’s that time when the temperature plummets. Time to go home and light the fire.
14. What is your favourite breakfast?
At the moment it’s scrambled eggs and gluten-free toast, or maybe some almonds and fruit.
15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us?
Once the wave forms, change happens quickly.
Lovely answers – thanks Gina. You can find more about Wanaka Wastebusters and the good work they are doing to reduce waste to landfill here.
Tags: community, Green Collar Jobs, landfill, recyle, reduce, reuse, Wanaka Wastebusters, waste
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Monday, July 26th, 2010 by Admin
 Simon Williams Our latest Green Collar Job Q&A is with Simon Williams. Now, we haven’t actually met (or interacted) with Simon (yet) but we have with Sue Coutts (from Wanaka Wastebusters) who passed on the Green Collar Job Q&A to a few of the people who work for Wastebusters and Simon is one of them. He is the Enviroschools Facilitator, Zero Waste Educator and graphic designer at Wanaka Wastebusters.
Education for sustainability is Simon’s thing. For the last 3 – 4 years he has facilitated EfS within the Lakes District of Aotearoa, New Zealand, with the local early childhood, primary, high schools, youth groups & community. He delivers the Enviroschools and Zero Waste Education programmes with passion, energy and commitment. Simon loves working at Wanaka Wastebusters, the dynamic and energetic way of working really suits. When he’s not immersed in EfS he uses his graphic design and photography skills to promote sustainable living to his community.
Simon is part of a growing number of people who are using their skills to further sustainable living ideals – thanks Simon for your answers!
1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with a low impact) in your life?
I try to minimise my waste, am conscious of home energy consumption, I buy quality products that I expect to last a long time.
2. How do you live more sustainably at work?
Print as little as possible, recycle and compost my waste, make the most of travelling, using the least amount of energy possible, promote sustainable practices to many people I work with.
3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Christchurch/New Zealand?
That more, big and economic growth are best.
4. What makes you smile?
snowboarding, amongst many other things, and the colour yellow.
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
People talking using only clichés and power terms, it tells me they don’t fully understand what they are talking about and it’s so ambiguous….grrrrrrrrrrrrr
6. What is your favourite colour and why?
White because it is a combination of every colour…….then yellow because it makes me smile
7. Do you have a favourite place in the world? Describe why?
2nd pipe at Treble cone……it’s so much fun
8. What’s your connection to SIFT?
I don’t have one
9. Do you remember your favourite teacher and why they were your favourite?
I’ve had many favourite teachers, the ones who inspire me to change the way I think and question my staid opinions
10. What do you want to leave behind?
Inspiration
11. What do you think the future will bring?
Fun and lots of smiles on top of many heart wrenching tears
12. Who is someone you really admire and why?
Richard Feynman – One of the world greatest thinkers with the ability to communicate amazingly complex things with everyone in a fun and engaging fashion.
13. What is happening outside your window right now?
I don’t have a window right now.
14. What is your favourite breakfast?
Full English
15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us?
Don’t talk to me in clichés
Tags: education, enviroschools, Green Collar Job, recycling, sustainability, sustainable living, Wanaka Wastebusters
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Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 by Admin
 Waitaki Resource Co-ordinator Maxine Woodhouse Maxine Woodhouse, Waitaki Resource Exchange’s Co-ordinator is our Green Collar Job interviewee this week. We met Maxine at the WasteMinz workshops in April and although Waitaki is just outside of the Canterbury region we still thought what she does everyday would be of interest to our blog readers. Three days a week Maxine works with businesses, not-for-profits and schools looking at waste as a resource with the aim to divert that waste from their local landfill and to show people how to utilise waste as a resource within the community. She has also assisted in the implementation of recycling in local workplaces. Maxine says “Our goal is to create lasting networks between those with excess resources & those seeking them, thus extending the life of usable materials & keeping them out of the landfill”.
When not focussed on waste Maxine is either in her garden or volunteering in other initiatives in the community such as local cycle groups and the Alternative Transport project which is run in conjunction with Sport Waitaki, the Rural PHO (Primary Health Organisation) and the local Transition Town movement. Maxine also writes a fortnightly column in the local Waitaki paper which is read by people from all walks of life in the community.
1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with a low impact) in your life?
There are a number of things: I recycle all my household items, choose wisely when shopping, grow my own Fruit and Veges, I walk to work, ride my bike or car pool to visit business owners and I volunteer for the Transition Town movement to help educate the community on low impact activities to help our environment & promote alternative means of transport for people to get to school, work and around the community.
2. How do you live more sustainably at work?
I work from home. So this means I just have to walk up the back of my house to my office. Sometime I choose to jog or ride my bike. ha-ha
3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Christchurch/New Zealand?
There are a number of environmental issues that I think NZ is going to face in the future & some that are already being shown.
I think we need to be farming smarter (inc Beef, sheep, cows, crops etc) and changing our habits, in order to protect our water ways and soils here in NZ, Genetic Engineering and food labelling.
The amount of people that drive cars.
How we, as consumers, are consuming. We are creating problems that are making our rubbish problems bigger. We need to start taking ownership of our consumer choices, when it comes to quality and the end of line, for our products.
4. What makes you smile?
Interacting with community and seeing people being positive and happy.
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
People making excuses for their behaviour and not having a consequence for their actions!
6. What is your favorite colour and why?
Ummm, blue at the moment. Representing Water in the world and how precious this is for our survival.
7. Do you have a favorite place in the world? Describe why?
Oamaru of course. It’s centrally located, over looks the ocean, has a great community of supportive people, is the end place for the new cycle way in NZ, great surfing and has big things on the way for the future!
8. What’s your connection to SIFT?
I met the Olivia and Chris [Pickrill, Chairman] at the Waste Minz conference in April and heard all about the great initiatives that they are doing.
9. Do you remember your favorite teacher and why they were your favorite?
Would have to be when I did my Outdoor Education course in Cairns (OZ), my teacher Amanda Smith. She was a great female role model and inspired me to pursuer my career as an Outdoor educator in Victoria, which I did for almost 3 years.
10. What do you want to leave behind?
A world full of people who care and take responsibility for their actions, as human beings and understand that we can’t just keep taking and nothing is going to happen.
11. What do you think the future will bring?
This is the year for change. So hopefully people will make wiser consuming choices, start to recycle better and write more letters to companies to let them know what they think about products and the packaging used.
12. Who is someone you really admire and why?
I don’t have anyone that comes to mind, but in general, people who take risks and give things they may never had done before a good go!
13. What is happening outside your window right now?
It’s really raining. We have flooding and no school today.
14. What is your favorite breakfast?
Organic Clearwater Yoghurt from Peel Forest, with fresh organic strawberries.
15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us?
“Don’t try to convince people to change the way they think. Just focus on how you can work with the positive solutions and the positives examples…” David Holmgren
I love this peace of advice and this is my motto for this year..(It’s working too)
Tags: landfill, Maxine Woodhouse, resource, SIFT, Transition Towns, Waitaki Resource, waste, WasteMinz
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Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 by Admin
 Darren Patterson This week’s Green Collar Job Q&A is with Darren Patterson. SIFT caught up with Darren at last month’s WasteMinz Workshops and thought he would be great Green Collar Job Q&A candidate as he spends his days helping others to reduce their impact on the environment and has a wealth of experience in waste and environmental sustainability. Based in Christchurch Darren is a consultant specialising in helping businesses to operate sustainably. Darren aims to work with each client to seek pragmatic solutions that will work for both their business and the environment. You can see more of what he does at www.pattersonenvironmental.co.nz or his blog here. To make contact email him on
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or even speak to him one on one by phoning 021 440832. You can also follow him on twitter here, or Facebook here, or LinkedIn here.
1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with a low impact) in your life?
I walk or ride to work, compost at home, recycle, and reuse what I can. We have a solar hot water system and energy and water efficient appliances and monitor our energy use with a Centometer.
2. How do you live more sustainably at work?
Providing the right advice to businesses helps them reduce their impact on the environment and their liabilities. It can also reduce their operating costs.
3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Christchurch/New Zealand?
The biggest global environmental issue would be climate change but more locally the poor management of waste and hazardous substances impacts directly on the water we drink and the air we breath.
4. What makes you smile?
My children.
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Apathy
6. What is your favourite colour and why?
The colour blue of the sky at sunrise and sunset. Reminds me of my travels.
7. Do you have a favourite place in the world? Describe why?
To live: Christchurch – sorry to the rest of the world buts its just right for me.
To visit: Pagan in Burma (Myanmar) amazing town with over 3000 Buddhist stupors/temples. However, it’s controlled by an oppressive regime that persecutes its people.
8. What’s your connection to Sift?
I’ve worked with Sift during my time at Environment Canterbury.
9. Do you remember your favourite teacher and why they were your favourite?
Miss Camsey: she was the deputy head of my junior school and had a very progressive approach to teaching 10 year olds.
10. What do you want to leave behind?
Two successful sons that live in a world that’s better than the one that I entered.
11. What do you think the future will bring?
Opportunities that we don’t yet know.
12. Who is someone you really admire and why?
John Campbell; I love his enthusiasm and his willingness to ask the questions that get him to the nub of the issue.
13. What is happening outside your window right now?
Leaves are falling off the tree and a bird is hunting through them for food.
14. What is your favourite breakfast?
Pancakes
15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us?
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. – Emerson
Tags: business, christchurch, climate change, community, environmental sustainability, Green Collar Job, landfill, Patterson Environmental, SIFT, waste
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Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 by Admin
 Baled Plastic Milk Bottles Waiting for processing at Mastagard This week’s Green Collar Job Q&A is with Angus Winstone, Sales Manager for Mastagard here in Christchurch. Mastagard are one of the key industry players here in Canterbury for waste collection and recycling. They collect from around Canterbury, Christchurch and the West Coast and have a focus on recycling as much as possible. They work with SIFT fund recipient Agpac recycling the baleage wrap and other agricultural plastics that Agpac collects from around Canterbury farms. SIFT recently visited Mastagard to check out what they do and we will be posting about that soon. In the meantime here are Angus’s answers:
1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with a low impact) in your life?
Thats a hard one, sustainable living ….. I do the normal recycling, but I have the added advantage of being able to bring things to work to be recycled.
2. How do you live more sustainably at work?
As a recycling company it easy to recycle, slightly cheating! We recycle just about everything in the office. We always turn off our computers at night. I think when you work in an industry that is driven by recycling you don’t really think about it, as we are all trying to come up with ideas to do things more sustainably for our clients, so its just a fundamental part of our business!
3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Christchurch/New Zealand?
The government needs to regulate or legislate the export of recyclables. As a privately funded recycling company we are competing to purchase product from buyers from overseas that are totally unregulated! If recyclables were supplied to the New Zealand recycling processors we would be able to expand and recycle new recoverables!
4. What makes you smile?
My kids playing.
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I don’t really have a pet peeve ….. but if I had to identify something that got me upset it would have to be the misunderstandings about plastic recycling. Plastic is a great product, it can be 100% recycled. What is not OK is the low recovery rate!
6. What is your favourite colour and why?
It should be green but I do like blue.
7. Do you have a favourite place in the world? Describe why?
Yes, Lake Tarawera in the North Island. It is a lake that I have been going to my whole life, it’s is the most unspoilt and natural place I have ever seen!
8. What’s your connection to SIFT?
We are working with SIFT on the ‘Plasback’ scheme [*with Agpac] to promote and collect all rural plastics, also they are help us get our message out to the wider market place.
9. Do you remember your favourite teacher and why they were your favourite?
My favourite teacher was probably my Physics teacher, Mr Jefferies. He used to let me electrocute myself, blow myself up …. good times!
10. What do you want to leave behind?
Good worm fodder …… no really, I want to see a recycling industry in New Zealand that works, it would be great to leave behind a robust recycling industry in New Zealand!
11. What do you think the future will bring?
Well I don’t think the hover craft cars are on the immediate future, but maybe we will all be driving hybrid cars instead.
12. Who is someone you really admire and why?
It’s so hard to answer a question like this without offending someone … so im going to say ‘My Dad’ sorry Gandhi.
13. What is happening outside your window right now?
I am eyeing up a timber yard with a whole lot of plastic that should be recycled, why?
14. What is your favourite breakfast?
Weetbix with peaches! Sorry you can’t beat it.
15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us?
I think that the New Zealand recycling industry has been confused with the New Zealand ‘Bale and Ship to China’ industry …. We need to help recyclers prosper, not help the companies that are helping the Chinese recycling industry prosper (and it is). My personal opinions may seem rather strong, but when the Mastagard plastic company is purchasing plastic from off shore and importing it to New Zealand because it is unable to source plastic locally, then something is very wrong. New Zealand is teaming with unregulated commodities brokers and greedy councils stripping the best plastics away from local New Zealand recyclers. If we want the New Zealand recycling industry to blossom, we need to make it an attractive industry to invest in.
Tags: agpac, China, Green Collar Jobs, Mastagard, plastic, recycling, waste
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Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 by Admin
Brenda Harkin is the National Communications Manager and the Manager of the Central & Southern Regions for the Sustainable Business Network, of which SIFT is a member. The Sustainable Business Network pomotes sustainable business practices, helps businesses to become more sustainable and provides a forum for people to talk about sustainble business practices, tools and ideas. You can find out more about what they do here and become a member here. The Sustainable Business Network is a valuable organisation for a sustainable future for New Zealand. Here are Brenda’s answers to our Green Collar Job questions:
1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with a low impact) in your life?
I endeavour to incorporate sustainable living choices in all areas of my life; from choosing eco-friendly cleaning products, to growing organic vegetables with my homemade compost. During recent home renovations, I researched sustainable options with regards to hot water heating, showerheads, and insulation and so on. We have two children so we spend time educating them around sustainability and helping them to understand the potential positive and negative impacts our choices have on our environment.
2. How do you live more sustainably at work?
The whole purpose of the Sustainable Business Network, the organisation I’m employed by, is to help businesses to succeed through sustainability. Inherently, everything I do links back to this purpose. On a more personal level, SBN staff endeavour to ‘walk the talk’ at every turn and this manifests itself in managing work/life balance, office purchasing decisions, advancing sustainable action, and so on.
3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Christchurch/New Zealand?
The biggest challenge we face around sustainability is apathy. Inaction and disinterest are the environment’s largest threat.
4. What makes you smile?
The funny things my children say in complete innocence and at top volume, for example: ‘Mum, why does that woman’s hair look like a lion’s mane?’…oh dear!
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
People who complain about the world or their lives, but fail to take a stand and instigate the action necessary to facilitate change. Paraphrasing Mahatma Gandhi, ‘If you want to see the change, you have to be the change.’
6. What is your favourite colour and why?
Actually, its green…and surprisingly, it doesn’t relate to any green affiliations; I just like the colour!
7. Do you have a favourite place in the world? Describe why?
In New Zealand, it would have to be Matapouri Beach in Northland; one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. My partner’s family is from Whangarei so we usually spend Christmas holidays there. If I’m thinking further afield, then I would have to say that I love returning to my hometown of Dublin, Ireland. There’s just something special about the view of Dublin Bay as you descend into the airport that makes me feel like I’ve come home. And as the youngest of seven siblings, it’s marvellous to spend time with my extended family as well.
8. What’s your connection to Sift?
One aspect of my role with the Sustainable Business Network is Southern Regional Manager. Sift is one of SBN’s members based in the Southern Region.
9. Do you remember your favourite teacher and why they were your favourite?
My favourite teacher was when I was about eight years old – her name was Miss Bergin. She wasn’t long out of teaching college from memory and she was just so LOVELY; she still had a wonderful enthusiasm which some teachers unfortunately lose over time. Added to this was the fact that since I attended a Catholic Girls School, a reasonable portion of my teachers were strict nuns!
10. What do you want to leave behind?
A life well-lived with no regrets.
11. What do you think the future will bring?
I’m an optimist by nature so I have complete faith that the human race will make the necessary changes to ensure that the world will amend its flawed ways. There is a huge groundswell evident at present and it’s only a matter of time before we reach critical mass. Then, the people who care about sustainability will outnumber those who don’t and positive change is inevitable.
12. Who is someone you really admire and why?
I really admire anyone who is willing to take a stand against wrongful activities, whether that’s where environmental issues or human rights are being concerned. As a pacifist, I don’t support violent protest, but believe that the way to instigate change is to engage in meaningful dialogue with the affected parties and present reasoned arguments in an undeniably convincing manner.
13. What is happening outside your window right now?
The sun is shining and, since its school holidays, there are lots of children around town laughing and having fun. Oh to be young and free again…
14. What is your favourite breakfast?
Despite being Irish and hating the taste of it upon my initial arrival in NZ, I’m proud to say that I’m now a ‘two slices of toast with marmite’ aficionado. Now that’s what I call black gold…
15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us?
Take a stand, embrace sustainability at home, at work and in your community, leave apathy behind…the rewards you’ll reap (environmental, social and economic) will far outweigh the efforts expended along the way.
Thanks Brenda for your wonderful, meaningful and thought provoking answers. We look forward to continuing our relationship with you into the future.
Tags: business, environment, environmental sustainability, Green Collar Job, SIFT, sustainable, Sustainable Business Network, sustainable living
Posted in Green Collar Jobs Q&A | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 1st, 2010 by Admin
 Prof. Emeritus Arthur Williamson Long time SIFT Trustee, Professor Emeritus Arthur Williamson is our Green Collar Job Q&A for this week. Arthur Williamson is the founder of Thermocell, one of New Zealand’s leading solar water heating manufacturer and also former head of Chemical and Process Engineering and Dean of Engineering at the University of Canterbury. He has conducted extensive research on thermodynamics, industrial energy management and solar energy (and taught others on the subjects) for over 30 year. He is a wonderful source of information, expertise and insight to the science, technology and business management of SIFT projects. You can read more about Arthur here.
1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with a low impact) in your life?
I try to reduce my domestic energy consumption by using efficient methods of doing things around the house like heating, lighting and refrigeration. I have solar water heating installed in my home. I also avoid fashion and trends so I wear my clothes until they are worn out – some of my items of clothing have patches especially on the elbows.
2. How do you live more sustainably at work?
I try to minimise my use of paper but not very successfully and am conscious of the waste produced and turn my computer off when I am not in the office.
3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Christchurch/New Zealand?
What relates to Christchurch are things that are of global significance such as vehicle fuel use – our use of fossil fuels for transport. And our expansion of the major ruminants in the interests of economic development which leads to excess water use, waterway pollution and the evolution of large amounts of extremely bad greenhouse gas called methane.
4. What makes you smile?
Jokes based on incongruity, which most are.
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
My biggest pet peeve would be our obsession with monetary evaluation of all decision making processes.
6. What is your favourite colour and why?
Red because that’s what colours Ferraris are.
7. Do you have a favourite place in the world? Describe why?
My two favourite places are our holiday home in Bealey Spur and our house in Christchurch.
8. What’s your connection to SIFT?
I am a long time SIFT Trustee.
9. Do you remember your favourite teacher and why they were your favourite?
My fourth form science class teacher at High School (Hutt Valley High) because she encouraged me to become a scientist.
10. What do you want to leave behind?
Your real immortality is your children and your grandchildren.
Whatever else you do is going ephemeral and will fade – almost all of the science I have done has been surpassed and is now out of date. I would like to think I have left behind some things that will influence the country for a better future, what those are I don’t know.
11. What do you think the future will bring?
I think the future will bring a recognition that we do need to reduce the population of the planet, it’s a major part of sustainability. Whether we can achieve that without killing each other off in resource wars will be a matter for the politicians.
12. Who is someone you really admire and why?
Bob Scott, one of my former bosses, is probably one of the most honest, clear thinking people I know.
13. What is happening outside your window right now?
The sun is shining.
14. What is your favourite breakfast?
Cup of tea, toast and marmalade.
15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us?
Just keep trying.
Tags: Arthur Williamson, future, Green Collar Job post, SIFT, Sustainable Initiatives Fund Trust, sustainable living, Thermocell, University of Canterbury
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Monday, March 15th, 2010 by Admin
 Tim Burnside, Deloitte This week’s Green Collar Job Q&A is with Tim Burnside from Deloitte. Again, not strictly a green collar job but Tim has helped SIFT out with financial modelling for various projects over the past couple of years. Here are his answers to our Green Collar job questions:
1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with a low impact) in your life?
I separate and recycle my rubbish. Also, I buy lots of things second hand, although my family would say that’s got more to do with me being an accountant than a greenie.
2. How do you live more sustainably at work?
I think before printing whether it is really necessary and in addition all our printers are set by default to print duplex to minimise paper usage. I turn off lights in areas not being used and when I leave my office. We also try to teleconference as much as possible, rather than travel to meetings.
3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Christchurch/New Zealand?
How we manage our water resources more effectively. New Zealand is lucky to have a plentiful supply of water at present but I feel it needs to be managed to ensure it is put to the best possible use and also that it is not contaminated for future generations.
4. What makes you smile?
My family and in particular my youngest daughter Jyla who is 7 months old, her lovely smile is infectious.
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Dead cabbage tree leaves that fall and make our backyard look untidy and then the fact that they can’t be put in the green bin and therefore have to fill up our red bin (which is only emptied every second week).
6. What is your favourite colour and why?
Blue and Gold – something to do with being born and bred an Otago boy I think.
7. Do you have a favourite place in the world? Describe why?
No particular favourite comes to mind but I really enjoy the outdoors, whether it is mountain biking, walking or hiking, on the golf course, or working on the family farm.
8. What’s your connection to the Sustainable Initiatives Fund Trust?
Deloitte is SIFT’s preferred supplier for financial advisory services, particularly in relation to potential investments they are looking at making. I am responsible for managing the relationship with Linda and the team and ensuring SIFT receives the advice and service they require.
9. Do you remember your favourite teacher and why they were your favourite?
I can’t recall a favourite teacher but I do have a lot of respect for a university tutor that had a particular knack of being extremely challenging and therefore ensuring that you were always well prepared, top of your game, and striving for bigger goals. All good attributes that serve you well in life.
10. What do you want to leave behind?
A world where my children and their children can live happily and safely.
11. What do you think the future will bring?
Far greater environmental challenges than anything we currently imagine.
12. Who is someone you really admire and why?
My wife – after finding out she was pregnant in the first week of university she went on to complete a four year first class honours degree, get a great job, while bringing up a wonderful daughter, Brooke. She is extremely passionate and is currently doing a wonderful job of being a stay at home Mum for Jyla, while also setting up a home based web business and being a great support for Brooke & I.
13. What is happening outside your window right now?
Not a lot that I can see. It is dark but I can hear the wind blowing down more Cabbage Tree leaves.
14. What is your favourite breakfast?
Weetbix with Rhubarb – you can’t beat it.
15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us?
Always plan your work then work your plan.
Tags: community, Deloitte, environment, Green Collar Job, SIFT
Posted in Green Collar Jobs Q&A, SIFT | No Comments »
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