Business Goes Barefoot
Business Goes Barefoot huge success
On November 26, One at a Time Foundation welcomed more than 80 Sydney executives to taking their shoes off for the sustainability in business social networking event, Business Goes Barefoot.
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| Business Goes Barefoot Please click on the image to see a photo slideshow of the green event (opens in new window, Picasa slideshow, wait some seconds to see high-resolution images). |
The event was held at dusk on the lawn outside the MCA, during Zero Footprint Week, and saw guests taking off their shoes and mingling on the grass in a symbolic gesture of reconnecting with nature.Narelle Hooper, editor of AFR BOSS magazine, and emcee for the evening, said of the Business Goes Barefoot networking event, “this idea’s got legs.
”Independent filmmaker Maryella Hatfield, director of “The Future Makers,” a film about Australians in business leading the world in the field of renewable energy, was guest speaker. Hatfield spoke about the inspiring Australians she met during the making of The Future Makers, all innovators in sustainability in business, and urged guests to reflect on ways to reduce their personal and business ecological footprints.
Amanda Little, founder of One at a Time, spoke about how she was inspired to start One at a Time Foundation after seeing Ray Anderson, Chairman and Founder of Interface Inc, and now patron of One at a Time speak at a CSR summit saying, “If we find in a future decade that we have destroyed the biosphere, it would have happened insidiously, one silted or polluted stream at a time, one dying coral reef at a time…” Amanda realized that if that’s how the damage had come about, that’s how it needed to be reversed - one step at a time.
Visy Recycling supplied recycled cardboard chairs, tables, lectern, backdrop, and shoe racks, which were recycled after the event, ensuring a minimal footprint. Alex Kanaar, of Visy, reminded guests of the importance of recycling. “Recycling is one of the most underestimated tools in reducing our ecological footprint,” said Kanaar.
Rose Read, of Mobile Muster, the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry, stressed the value of recycling disused mobile phones, “one tonne of mobile phone circuits can yield the same amount of precious metals as 110 tonnes of gold ore.” MobileMuster provided free mobile phone recycling post-packs to all guests.
Prizes on the night included, jewellery from MobileMuster, made from recycled precious metals and a Greenhouse Gas Inventory from Neco Consulting.
Guests enjoyed Cascade Green, Australia’s first carbon neutral beer, and wine and champagne from The Wine Society, an Australian not-for-profit wine club.Great Southern events consulted to One at a Time to ensure the entire event had the lowest footprint.
Business Goes Barefoot raised funds for the One at a Time Foundation’s climate change community awareness programs.
