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Over the last three years,
I have had the privilege of
serving on the Gwinnett
Clean & Beautiful Citizen
Advisory Board. I accepted
the position to learn more
about being a better steward
of the environment through
my business. I had no idea
just how easy and relevant
it could be to go
green right here in
Gwinnett.
Green, clean
environments
have an incredible
impact on economic development. Let’s
be honest, when you’re driving through a
neighborhood covered in litter and graffiti,
do you feel safe? If you were a CEO looking
to bring your business to Gwinnett, what
impression would that give you? In today’s
environment, we have to fight for those
companies to come to Gwinnett. It’s fiercely
competitive. Being “green and clean” is one
of the critical components and most valuable
assets.
In 2011, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful
established a vision to make Gwinnett
“the greenest and cleanest community in
America.” But what does that look like
exactly? How do you define the “greenest
and cleanest”? As an organization that
analyzes the facts and measures results, we
set out to define it.
This is the definition we crafted: A green
and clean community is a community that
sustains and effectively manages its quality of
life by preventing litter and graffiti, manages
and conserves water resources and energy,
educates and engages residents, improves air
quality, protects our landscape and habitats,
recycles and reduces waste, and builds
public and private entities that protect our
environment.
During the Great
American Clean Up
2011, Gwinnett Clean
and Beautiful working
with our strategic partner,
the Gwinnett Chamber,
engaged citizens, businesses,
civic organizations,
neighborhoods, community
leaders, youth groups, and
residents to organize clean-
up projects to help us to
achieve our goal. Groups
chose from programs ranging from adopt-
a-road, clean-a-stream, graffiti cleanup, and
tree planting, to lunch and learns, recycling,
and water conservation. The response was
overwhelming. Although these programs
are year-round, this initiative was part
of the national campaign (The Great
American Cleanup) to educate, inform, and
engage communities about environmental
protection. Many organizations were amazed
at just how simple it can be to make a
tremendous impact.
In the 2011 Great American Cleanup
Gwinnett we had 22 businesses participate,
166 individual participants and held 207
events. We educated more than 9,100 people
about how to help make our community
greener and cleaner. The impact of these
efforts was immediate and strikingly visible.
We calculated 25 percent less litter on
our roadways, 3 percent more materials
recovered through recycling, and 3,300 more
trees to help improve the air we breathe and
the land we love.
So, who should get involved in making
Gwinnett the greenest and cleanest
community in America? Anyone who loves
to live, work, or play in Gwinnett County!
In order for Gwinnett to continue to thrive,
we have to take responsibility for improving
our environment. The result will be a safer,
healthier, and more prosperous community.
If you want to get engaged in the Great
American Cleanup or any of our new
initiatives, please visit
www.gwinnettcb.organd sign up to assist with a project. Start
a recycling program at your office or ball
field. Everyone can do something to help.
Every project matters. Every project makes a
difference.
Make Your Business “Green and Clean”
Cathy Nichols, President & CEO of Mobile Communications of gwinnett, inc.
THE EXECUTIVE – WINTER 2012
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