What does 20 minutes cost? One less break? Skipping one sitcom on TV? But what can 20 minutes bring? To those participating in the 20-Minute-Makeover, those 20 minutes can have an incredible impact on the world around us.
In London, we’ve supported this event since it was brought to The Forest City six years ago. The concept is dazzling in its simplicity: companies around the city allow their employees to head outside at 2 p.m., arm them with garbage bags and gloves, and encourage them to clean up the area around their workplace for 20 minutes.
Amway Canada is on a major street, so the front of our building is subject to debris blowing off the road. And let’s not forget the fact that spring thaw has revealed all those hidden cups, wrappers, and other items that people have convenient left behind. It makes a difference. And the more companies you have working together, the more of a difference you can make.
More than the immediate results, the event helps you focus on the simple things we can do to promote our environment. Really, how hard is it to hold on to that losing Roll Up the Rim cup for a few minutes until you get to a trash can or recycling bin? That empty bag of chips isn’t going to self-destruct, so leave it in the car until you get home. And how much of that wrapped snack food is actually healthy? Maybe it’s time to swap the chocolate bar for an apple: better for the environment and better for you.
Now, what if that 20 minutes was stretched out to a few hours? The impact is exponentially increased. As part of London Clean & Green, Saturday marks Community Cleanup Day. Starting at 9 a.m., Londoners from all walks of life gather together to return some of the green back to The Forest City.
From parkland to residential neighbourhoods, citizens – supported by the City of London and local businesses – band together to undo the damage that we’ve done. Amway Canada’s been a part of this organization since its inception 16 years ago and, unfortunately, we foresee a long and happy partnership for the future.
I say unfortunately, because it’s sad that we even need to have events like this. It’s incredible to see the amount of garbage people just toss into their local parks, forests, and green areas. And the worst part is the motivation behind the behaviour.
I’d almost prefer that this was caused by willful and malicious destruction of our parklands. At least then you could understand the justification (not agree with, but at least understand.) Instead, we’re left with two less-than-flattering explanations: apathy and laziness. As I said above, how hard is it to hold onto your trash until you get home? Or to one of the many garbage cans dotting public parks and streets? It just seems that people don’t care – and that apathy is the hardest thing to fight.
I encourage you to learn more about Clean & Green! And if you feel motivated to start your own event, then more power to you! It would be great if you could contact your local municipal representatives, co-ordinate some businesses, and get people motivated!
Of course, it would be equally great if you simply stopped tossing trash out of your car windows, or dropping your cups while out for a walk. Combine that with maybe picking up the odd piece of trash you see on the ground and depositing it where it belongs, and we all can have an incredible impact on our community. Big or small, every action makes a difference.
Your thoughts? Comments are open! And we’ll keep you posted on our efforts both at the Amway Canada Facebook page and on our Twitter feed!
Hello all. As you know, it’s been an enviro-filled fun fest at Canuck Central the past few days. On Friday, I posted an update about the past weekend’s London Clean & Green event, of which Amway Global Canada is a long-time supporter. Today, we participated in our 20-minute makeover, wherein we join other local companies in cleaning up the grounds around our building. You can view photos of that here on Amway Global Canada's Twitpic site.
But now I’d like to take you back, oh, 40 years or so. Because on Apr. 22nd we’re celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
Earth Day means different things to different people. At the very least, it’s a day to reflect upon the impact our individual actions have on the environment. This isn’t a day about politics, lobbying, or debate – it’s about seeing what results a small effort can bring. If we multiply one day’s efforts over 365 days, then multiply that over however many people commit to making a change, then we have a chance to exponentially increase the quality of life for us, our children, and for generations into the future.
Of course, that’s been a defining belief of this company since its inception. We were green before green was cool. With the development of such environmentally friendly products like L.O.C.® Liquid Organic Cleaner and SA8®, with its biodegradable surfactants, to DISH DROPS® and its phosphate-free performance, we’ve been leading the way in developing planet-friendly products for over 50 years
From the concentration of our products to forward-thinking packaging that minimizes its environmental footprint, we’ve been leading the way in terms of innovation for four decades. Now that everyone’s jumped on the green bandwagon, we’re still leading the way with premium products, value pricing, and superlative performance.
But we can talk until we’re blue (or green) in the face about our products. We’re more interested in hearing what you have to say about them. Feel free to post how you use our products in the comments section, or send an e-mail to tellkate@amwayglobal.com to share your thoughts. Hey, you can even tell us what you do with the packaging – what creative ideas do you have to reduce, reuse, and recycle our products?
Oh, and who’s Kate? Well, she’s our resident cleaning maven. And in the near future you’re going to be hearing more from her in terms of tips, advice, and ideas on maximizing your cleaning prowess while minimizing your impact on the environment. Share your ideas with Kate and she’ll pass them on to IBOs and customers alike!
At 2:00 p.m. today, Amway Global’s Canadian employees will trek outdoors, garbage bags in hand, for a little spring cleaning as part of the 20-Minute Makeover. Tomorrow, some of those employees will also be involved in a larger, city-wide project under the auspices of London Clean & Green.
True to its commitment to environmental awareness, Amway Global’s been there right from the beginning.
“Amway’s been really important to our organization, simply because of their commitment to their own environmental initiatives,” Ron Scarfone, chair of London Clean & Green and general manager of Joe Kool’s a local restaurant/bar.
“They’ve been strong supporters of this program over the past 14 years.”
London Clean & Green runs an annual event, which allows Londoners to register on-line to pick up trash at various points throughout the city. Amway Global has been involved since the program’s inception.
“We started with 30 volunteers 14 years ago; we had 5,000 volunteers – that we know of – last year,” Scarfone added. “How important is it? We’ll put it in numbers. Last year we had 10,000 garbage bags donated [to the clean-up effort], and at the end of the day we put away 400 of them.
“It’s not hard to go out and look and see the trash along the streets, against the roadside barrier.”
Four years ago, the committee created the 20-Minute-Makeover – a program that was developed from Amway Global’s own existing efforts. The purpose of the 20-Minute Makeover is for companies to allow their employees to spend 20 minutes picking up trash and cleaning their immediate surroundings.
“Amway Global has been a London leader not only in this program, but in a number of other environmental programs in this city,” explained Jay Stanford, director of environmental programs and solid waste for the City of London. “There are a handful of companies in this city that get involved in environmental programs and when I think of them, Amway Global always comes to mind.”
Stanford added that for events like this having corporate involvement is important due to the breadth and reach of the companies in the city.
“Corporations no only have employees that live in the community, but they themselves are a part of the community. When they take action, it helps the city as a whole,” he said. “[The 20-Minute-Makeover] shows what can be achieved in a very short period of time. When companies let their employees take 20 minutes to spruce up their area, it really does make a significant difference.”
Scarfone agreed with Stanford’s assessment, adding that he hopes corporate involvement has a lasting impact on the participating companies’ employees.
“It’s all geared to our business sector, asking them to allow their employees to take 20 minutes to go out and clean up the area around their business,” he said. “Amway’s been involved since the beginning of that program. We ask the businesses to get involved and we hope that trickles down to a long-term commitment.”
Much of what’s being done this week is designed to raise local awareness of the prevalence of waste in the city. The addition of the 20-Minute-Makeover serves as a preview of tomorrow’s big event.
“London Clean & Green is probably one of Canada’s longest-running programs designed around garbage collection and clean-up,” Stanford said. “By expanding four years ago to include the 20-Minute-Makeover, it gave us the chance to spread awareness of the event prior to the actual [Saturday] date.”
But the focus isn’t just one garbage clean-up. More and more, Stanford explained, the group is delivering a message of prevention – especially to the younger members of our community.
“Over the last couple of years, the first couple of days of Clean & Green have extended from being about picking up litter, to now expanding into the prevention side,” Stanford said.
Earlier today, Stanford and Scarfone were in attendance at a student-focused event at a local theatre. “Today’s movie was called Garbage: The Revolution Starts at Home. It tracks production of garbage from a family of four, and it’s a great way to show people the benefits of reducing, reusing, and recycling products.”
The message of that film, in addition to this week’s efforts, appears to be resonating with the ones who will most benefit from a cleaner world.
“This is all about awareness, let’s get out and do our part,” Scarfone said. “We’re finding that we’re getting the youth to really understand these efforts and, in the end, it’s their future. [The youth] are the ones taking more pride in their efforts.”
Click here to listen to an MP3 of Amway Global Canada's manager of technical/quality services — and resident Enviro Guru — discuss Amway Global's environmental involvement, including today's Clean & Green.
For more details on this program, please visit http://www.cleangreen.london.ca/. And stay tuned for updates and pics from Amway Global Canada’s 20-Minute Makeover participation.