I recently came across One Earth Consulting, a company that develops marketing for your business suited to your sustainability vision. One Earth Consulting was created by Olivia Nowek, a talented professional with a genuine concern for the environment, working towards sustainable solutions and, therefore, ensuring our role in our home, the Earth, doesn’t compromise our ecosystem (and therefore ourselves). I was quite inspired by Olivia’s work and I wanted to know more about One Earth Consulting, so in her own words:
1 – What has compelled you into creating One Earth Consulting?
I recently created One Earth Consulting as a result of my lifelong desire to spark meaningful impact in growing sustainability. Sustainable initiatives form a small portion of my current working role at Planet Bee but I wanted the opportunity to take on new clients hoping to expand their sustainable offerings and fine tune their messaging, benefitting their business and allowing me to pursue my passions. As a proactive step, I began blogging in late 2018 on the subject of sustainable tourism practices as an outlet for my passion and a way to encourage my continued studies and research into the subject.
2 – What’s the role of education in sustainability?
Great question! I think the more we can educate the public about the reality of what Climate Change means, whether or not it is shocking, grim, and honestly depressing in some cases, it will help people make informed decisions. In my opinion, the most important education we can all pursue is educating ourselves on the power of our political vote, because much of the change needs to happen at the government level in order to be truly meaningful.
3 – What steps can we take to create more sustainable businesses all over the world?
My belief is that sustainability needs to be authentic to your own business, and it really needs to start early. In my experience, when you start with a mission for your business which includes sustainability from the beginning, you will build your brand around that core value and customers will see that you are being authentic when you say you care about the planet. It is much harder to come in later on and decide we want to be sustainable and make broad changes, although it does happen and it should not be a deterrent from making those steps. One Earth Consulting helps businesses to define their sustainability values and create a mission which resonates with their customer base and which lays out achievable goals for their sustainability mandate.
I am also a strong supporter of accreditation programs, having worked to achieve Green Tourism and Biosphere designations for my current employer – I have found the support and guidance that accreditation bodies and auditors provide to be priceless, as well as the opportunities to network with other like-minded businesses on their sustainability journey a great way to share ideas and spark greater improvements. No matter what industry you come from, research the standards you can work to achieve and celebrate your successes with your employees and customers (who both love to be a part of the journey as well!).
4 – What’s the role of marketing in the development of a global sustainability vision?
Marketing as a profession sort of fell into my lap, having studied Geography and Tourism Management at the University level, I don’t have much in the way of formal training in Marketing. I enjoy Marketing because it allows a creative outlet and a chance to put your best foot forward to customers. I strongly believe that you need to provide realistic expectations and attainable experiences in your advertising so that customers will not be left feeling like they were misled. In terms of Global Sustainability, marketing has the ability to reach people in places they spend a lot of time these days – such as Instagram, Facebook, and online. There are many great Sustainability channels we can follow on social media which share great tidbits of information and provide calls to action. Marketing and specifically Social Media has the ability to bring together people from all over the world, from all backgrounds, with different experiences and opinions, and this is one of the best ways we can work on growing the global movement for sustainability.
5 – What final words would you like to share about the mission and goals of One Earth Consulting?
One Earth Consulting was created to help businesses create a strong vision for sustainability, communicate it to customers in an engaging, innovative and authentic way and ultimately achieve more than was originally thought possible. At the core of One Earth is the understanding that sustainability needs to be real to each individual business. As customers demand more of their tourism experiences, we must rise to the challenge. One Earth Consulting represents a very important milestone in my adult life where I have taken important steps to align my career with my personal ambitions and passions. I have found it highly rewarding to create a consulting business focused on achieving my sustainability mission and goals, and encourage anyone with a passion for sustainability to pursue all avenues towards expressing your passion and working on the solutions in every aspect of your life. Visit One Earth Consulting to learn more!
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