Green Plus » Zemo Trevathan and Associates

Congratulations to “A Better Image” Printing for Sustainability Award

Zemo Trevathan and Associates — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:14:57 +0000

After providing several months of strategic planning support to A Better Image Printing, we were very proud to see them named as the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce Sustainable Business of the Year. They have been working for years on initiatives addressing both “planet” and “people” outcomes, and it is great to see them pull it all together and receive the recognition they deserve — also achieving certification as a GreenPlus member business.

Our perspective, as their partners on this journey, is that all they really needed to do was take one basic step… a step that is probably similar for many, many other companies that are challenging themselves to become more sustainable…

We need to take our “isolated” efforts to “be more energy-efficient” or “engage our employees more effectively” off of the list of “good things to do” and BUILD THEM RIGHT INTO OUR CORE STRATEGIC PLAN. If a company has one “strategic plan,” and another “environmental plan”, and another “employee plan”, then it has already missed the fundamental point of sustainability — that everything is connected.

A Better Image Printing has done a wonderful job of incorporating their care for their team, and their care for the community at large, and their sense of stewardship of the planet right into their business plan. We’re happy for their continued success, and proud to have been part of their learning process.

Sustainable Strategic Planning Process

Zemo Trevathan and Associates — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:41:30 +0000

We are very excited to be working with local printing company and Green Plus Movers “A Better Image Printing” in creating a long-term Sustainability Strategic Plan. Like many local businesses, Diana and Steve Minta, owners of A Better Image Printing, had already established a number of business practices that generate positive People and Planet outcomes (employee profit sharing and using post-consumer recycled paper, e.g.). With the additional focus on sustainability they plan to be certified Green Plus before the end of the year, and to build their People and Planet objectives right into their long term strategic plan.

A ‘dream team’ of local sustainability consultants has pulled together to help A Better Image Printing design and implement their Sustainability Strategic Planning Process: Brooks Rainey Pearson (Intern at the Institute for Sustainable Development), Ben Quinn (ActionCoaching), Prinny Anderson (Duke Corporate Education) and Jonathan Estes (Strategic Measures, Inc.). For all of us, working together with one client in this fashion has become a powerful way to test some of the new processes and ways of working in the new sustainability paradigm, and learn from each other.

Non-Profit Roundtable Session on Channeling Strong Emotions

Zemo Trevathan and Associates — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:34:55 +0000

Sponsored by the Chapel Hill Carrboro Chamber of Commerce

Presenter: Zemo Trevathan – Zemo Trevathan and Associates, Inc.

Hot Topic: “Nonprofit Leadership and Strong Emotions:

What Do We Do with Anger, Grief and Hopelessness?”

When: June 10, 2009 from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Where: Chamber Office at 104 S. Estes Drive, Chapel Hill

What to Expect: Leading a “mission-driven” organization -trying to make things better for some portion of the larger population – involves constantly bumping up against obstacles, barriers, even injustices, and a constant need for balancing emotional responses. On the one hand, as a leader in the community there is a requirement for maintaining level-headedness and building bridges with people on all sides of the issues. On the other hand, sometimes the strong emotional reactions -outrage, for example – are the fuel for carrying forward with the mission. This session will provide a few principles and ideas on how to best channel strong emotions as part of successful nonprofit leadership, as well as elicit the ideas, best practices, and challenges from participants.

About the Presenter: Zemo began his career in 1994 serving community organizations, small businesses and individual clients by founding LifeWorks Coaching and Consulting. The clients were diverse and passionate, including a cooperative grocery story, a community theatre director and a PhD candidates just trying to ‘get that PhD’ done. Zemo says of those days, “I can remember, at the end of the day, smiling and saying to my wife: ‘I am so lucky to be doing this work!’” Over the years his network of clients grew to include national and international organizations and corporations, and Zemo also began working with Jonathan Estes at Strategic Measures, Inc. Zemo still works with many of those same early clients, and still ends the day with gratefulness for having found such a joyful, challenging path of service — and for the entire spectrum of emotions it’s taken to stay on this path.

Signing Up for the Session:
If you or any of your employees have an interest in this timely and essential session, please RSVP back to Whitney Woodyard, Chamber Roundtable Liaison: wwoodyard@carolinachamber.org no later than June 8, 2009. We only have room for 30 participants so reserve your seat today!

Agenda for Roundtable:
11:30 to 12:00 – Networking and Lunch (brown-bag)
12:00 to 12:45 – Formal Presentation;
12:45 to 1:00 – Question & Answer period