Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak wins prestigious Stockholm Water Prize

I was thinking about this blog over the weekend. I wanted to write something about World Water Week but also share TPR Group's Well Water Project in association with World Vision where we give $20 for every water related product installed in offices around Australia to to build Wells and Sanitation projects in Asia. However somehow our modest and genuine efforts (we're a national franchise organisation comprising of some 35 owner operated small businesses) seemed to nowhere convey the urgency of the need for clean drinking water to many of the world's population, including children. And I felt if I didn't convey the urgency of the need we wouldn't be able to encourage our clients' to contribute either. We're just starting out with our 'little' Well Water project but our plans are big. Eventually we'd like to be able to demonstrate with case studies of how Australian businesses have contributed to building wells and even an overseas delegation of how our fund raising has contributed.

The Obvious - Why is Water so fundamental

Water is fundamental to survival. Go without it for a short time, and we would die. Although 71 percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water only 2.5 percent of the earth’s water is fresh and approximately 2/3 of that is locked up in glaciers and permanent snow cover.

But clean, safe drinking water is not available to over 1.2 billion people (28 percent of the world population). And more than twice that number lack access to adequate sanitation, which is part of the problem. In less time than it takes to read this material, 20 children will have died because of unsafe water.

According to the World Health Organization, 1.3 million children, most under the age of 5, die every year of diarrheal disease caused by drinking contaminated water. Approximately 10 percent of those living in developing countries are infected with intestinal worms. 4 billion cases of water-born diarrhea occur annually. 6 million people are blind from trachoma. Large numbers of people are subjected to cholera and typhoid fever epidemics. And millions of people are adversely affected by the arsenic and other contaminates found in unsafe water. All told, water-related diseases, which are usually easy to prevent or to treat and are rarely seen in the affluent world, account for 80 percent of illnesses and deaths in the developing world. Imagine if 18 fully-loaded jumbo jets with children were to fall from the sky for just one day what the news would be reporting. But, that is what happens every day because of contaminated water.

About 6000 children – “the equivalent of 18 fully loaded jumbo jets” – die. Every 15 seconds, a child dies in our world from the effects of poor water quality.

Sick children cannot attend school. Parents of sick children cannot work on a regular basis. Women have more children because of the anticipated deaths. Having clean, safe drinking water is the first step to break the cycle of poverty in which many people are trapped.

The World Acknowledges work of someone who is working at the coal face to solve this problem - Dr Bindeshwar Pathak from India

First presented in 1991, The Stockholm Water Prize is the world’s most prestigious prize for outstanding achievement in water-related activities. The annual prize, which includes a USD 150,000 award and a crystal sculpture specially designed and created by the Swedish artisans of Orrefors, honours individuals, institutions or organisations whose work contributes broadly to the conservation and protection of water resources and to improved health of the planet’s inhabitants and ecosystems. H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is the Patron of the Stockholm Water Prize.

The 2009 Stockholm Water Prize will be awarded to Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of the Sulabh Sanitation Movement in India, at a Royal Ceremony followed by a Banquet in the Stockholm City Hall on Thursday evening, August 20. Dr. Pathak will also deliver the annual Stockholm Water Prize Laureate lecture at the Opening Plenary Session of the Week.

Dr. Pathak is known around the world for his wide ranging work in the sanitation field to improve public health, advance social progress, and improve human rights in India and other countries. His accomplishments span the fields of sanitation technology, social enterprise, and healthcare education for millions of people in his native country, serving as a model for NGO agencies and public health initiatives around the world.

Founders of the Stockholm Water Prize

The Founders of the Stockholm Water Prize are Swedish and international companies who strive to push sustainability forward in the water sector. The Founders of Stockholm Water Prize working in cooperation with the City of Stockholm are: Bacardi, Borealis & Borouge, DuPont, Europeiska Insurance, Fujitsu, General Motors, Grundfos Management, Hewlett Packard, ITT Water & Wastewater, Kemira Water, KPMG Sweden, Läckeby Water, P&G, Ragn-Sells, Scandic, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Siemens, SJ (Swedish Railways), Snecma, Uponor, Water Environment Federation and Ålandsbanken Sverige.

Related Links

Biography of Dr Pathak

About World Water Week

Watercube .tv

2009 Programme

Riversymposium 2009 - Brisbane Australia

Why you must add plants in your office

Recently Jim Bouchard interviewed Kathy Fediw for a podcast on the benefits of indoor plants and how to green your office and home.

Jim Bouchard was the keynote speaker at this year's TPIE conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

The Podcast includes a casual, fun conversation on how plants help us be healthier and more productive. Other tips on "going green" for home and office are also included in this podcast.

We think you'll agree that this information is interesting and will convince you why you must have plants in the office

Jim has graciously given his permission to download this Podcast to your website, or provide a link, at no cost. His only request is that you do not re-sell the podcast.

We hope you'll take advantage of this very special offer. Be sure to check out Jim's other podcasts while you visit his website.



To download the Podcast, click here!

Get close to nature on G'day Day, it's good for you

At TPR GROUP every Friday we as a company take the time to get close to nature, usually drinks in the afternoon are outside.

Here's my wish list for today:
1. Walk in the nursery at lunchtime
2. Take my laptop outside and work by the dam in the sunshine
3. Water my pot plant on the desk

What will you aim to do? Post your your G'Day (grounded in nature)list and a brief description on how it made you feel. The winner will receive Coffee on us, delivered direct to your door.TPR Group is an indoor plant hire company with franchisees serving over 2000 businesses Australia wide.

Indoor plants promote happiness, wellbeing and productivity

In the 1980s, Professor Roger Ulrich and his colleagues in the USA showed that hospital patients recovering from major operations suffered fewer post-operative ill effects if they had a view of nature, as opposed to a view of buildings, through their window.

They were discharged sooner, had fewer post-operative side effects, such as nausea and headaches, needed fewer and weaker painkillers and were less demanding of nursing personnel.

Further studies, using volunteers and pictures of urban and rural landscapes, confirmed that scenes of nature lower stress levels, facts that have both economic and healthcare implications

Related Articles Workplace Oasis
Indoor Plants can improve the quality of our lives
TPR Group for indoor plantscaping, office interiors Australia wide

Get Creative with Bringing Nature Indoors – Indoor Aquariums are all the rage.

Australian Federal Pollie, Joe Hockey has one in his office even naming his favourite fish, ‘Big Kim’ and Tom Cruise sent one as a gift for Jennifer Lopez’s twins. Not sure about that but as the nursery is themed Pacific, I suppose I’ll let him get away with it. Indoor office aquariums are all the rage.

The point is getting close to nature in the office can take many creative and enjoyable forms. Working in cupboards with no elements of nature suurounding employees causes stress, anxiety and is un-natural.

And it’s not a new philosophy, according to the ancient art of Feng Shiu used by thousands of business people around the globe, aquariums help create balance between our lives and the environment, helping to restore harmony with our natural world. Fish keeping as it is known can energise your office with living colour and is beneficial in reducing stress. Here’s a few Feng Shui tips to get you started:

•Clean, flowing, well-lit water with fish is the ultimate way of transforming bad energy
•Black fish represent protection -- very handy to stave off the evil eye from your colleagues or loved ones. Goldfish are “baby dragons” in feng shui and considered very lucky.
•The Chinese word for fish, “yu”, is the same as the word for success.
•If fish are placed in the office or home, it is believed good fortune will follow.
•An aquarium on the left hand side of your front door (as you face it from inside) encourages good ‘chi’, the energy force that flows throughout the Universe.
•So if you have a business reception area for visitors that is the ideal position. Three fish symbolise “yang” energy. The best combination is two goldfish (representing good luck and energy) and one black fish (representing protection).

Your can hire a aquarium for your business from TPR GROUP. All aquariums are wall mounted, so take up very little space. They are installed for you and fully maintained. And reasonably priced too starting as little as $30.00 per week. Available through TPR GROUP in Sydney, Canberra, Ryde, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Townsville, Melbourne and Newcastle.

The Nature of Happiness

In my travels I am often surprised by how many of us work in workspaces, like cupboards. Internal, no views, void of calmness just a sole focus on doing business.

While that may work for a while, have you ever thought how 'un-natural' it is for man NOT to be around nature in the workplace. Our whole evolution as a species is inextricably linked to nature, yet we often try and remove it from our indoor environments.

Research indicates that we spend 90% of our time indoors, 7% travelling in a car and only 3% outdoors so today I'd like to try an experiment. Do something for yourself to stay grounded in nature. Go for a walk at lunch time, look at a view, water your pot plants, enjoy a garden and I'd love to hear your comments. How did this make you feel?

This has been prompted by Prof Mardie Townsend's (Deakin University) paper where she examined how plants affect people's health. She establishes not surprisingly that humans require contact with nature for many reasons including our general well being.

There is further evidence in the emerging science field of positive psychology where 'getting grounded' can often be used to managing stress in the workplace, even going so far as used in the treatment of patients with clinical depression. One study found that patients recovering from gall bladder operations recovered more quickly with a natural view (Ulrich 1984) and natural environments have been found to foster recovery from mental fatigue and are restorative. (Kaplan 1995)

So when you weigh up the evidence and our love of nature it is a bit strange that we introduce artificial plants to indoor offices or, devoid ourselves of the experience of working around nature. No longer should plants been seen as decorative add-ons, rather they are an important tool that aides in workplace happiness, well being and productivity. Next blog I'll examine some case studies of happy offices and why.

Blog written by Katy Patrick also known as @happinessatwork on twitter. Katy looks after TPR group clients in Ryde and Canberra. TPR is a national franchise network dedicated to providing healthy office corporate services for businesses around Australia with a focus on assisting employee happiness, well being and productivity in the workplace. For more information visit TPR Group

ArtVase - new trends in floral design for the office

Just had to show you all this, it's one of our new artvases, exclusive to TPR Group. A sculpture and living plant all in one, so now everyone can throw out all those artifical plants that are bad for the environment and use something stunning in your reception or boardrooms, ideal for weddings and events also. This one has a floral arrangement, most prefer a living orchid or similar. Artvases are really cost effective, start from $35.00 per week for hire. This one is about to be delivered to a client, but just had to show you. Very exciting as they have only just arrived, we spent months having them designed so check out our website for further designs and options.

Additional Resources : Do Plants in Offices promote Health?
How Plants Affect People's Health
Interior Plants for Sustainable facility ecology and workplace productivity

At TPR Group 9-5 is ‘Happy Hour’

I thought we'd share a little about TPR Group's amazing organisational culture. It is quite unique in the marketplace or we like to think so....Imagine a company in this tough economic climate whose sole focus is on happiness and wellbeing for businesses doing it tough.

The assumption that happiness and productivity go together seems hard to contest. Common sense suggests that psychologically healthy (as opposed to complacent) workers with a smile outshine the grouches.

Support for that view comes from a raft of research including a Kansas State University study that surfaced earlier this year, which found that staff with high wellbeing make better decisions, show superior interpersonal skills and are less inclined to quit.

That’s the philosophy of our organisation who provide a range of healthy office solutions and products to create a happy and productive office environment for their clients. Originally conceived as an indoor plant hire company more than 30 years ago when owner Stuart Swaddling had the foresight to bring ‘green’ indoors, the company has evolved in recent times to provide a suite of services that deliver happiness and wellbeing to its clients.

We like to say at TPR we’ve undergone a transformation, a happiness and wellbeing transformation! We help people feel connected to nature by providing everything from soothing water features, aquariums, living plants, eco-friendly heaters, sculptures and artvases.

Today, TPR is a network of some 35 franchisees nationwide and growing, many of whom have been in the business for over ten years. Most work less than 30 hours a week, and have extra time for their families and recreation too. That’s part of our happy culture. It is important that we make time for our families and recreational pursuits, to aid lifestyle balance.

This is embedded in the organisation’s culture. TPR regularly hosts ‘happy activities’: laughter yoga for franchisees; ‘Wollemi Club’ weekends away for franchisees and office staff with their families; optimism tools for franchisees to help them on ‘happy day sales calls’ and even a happy board where staff and visitors write a ‘happy’ message before leaving the office. We celebrate the arrival of a new franchisee into the system, part of the reason that many franchisees are attracted through friends and family. Staff at our Head Office share lunchtimes together every day as a group and Friday afternoons are sacred for coming together as a team at 3.30pm, to celebrate the past week with a drink.

Happiness is not just an elusive word but a critical component in producing a productive working environment, particularly when the pressure is on. This is supported by Harvard Business School Research, which indicates workers in a good mood on any given day are more likely to have creative ideas that day and the next. A positive cognitive process sets in, parking ‘flexible, fluent and original thinking’. One way to promote a ‘feel good’ glow in the workplace is for bosses to ensure the environment is anchored in ‘nature’. It makes people feel grounded even when the going gets tough.

It is well documented that employees who are constantly under pressure are more likely to have workplace related stress difficulties even sometimes resulting in clinical depression. Tools to assist reduce workplace stress include introducing time-out breaks, exercise activity and of course getting close to nature.

Bringing ‘green’ indoors is critical to this. Every employee should have a green living plant within their eyesight and preferably one on their desk too, to help them identify with nature and assist in staying grounded on difficult days. It is not an added cost but really a necessity to ensure absenteeism and workplace stress does not over-run your organization and affect productivity.

So in essence it seems ‘natural’ that we should all have plants within the office if it keeps us healthier and more productive.

The Margaret Burchett Papers
How Plants Affect People's Health
Reports and Fact Sheets
More about developments in the study of happiness and positive psychology from this TIME magazine article.
Ten Ways to be happy at work

You can't afford NOT to have plants in the office

Indoor plants go beyond just making an office environment feel warm, they clean the air of powerful toxins known as VOC's. These toxins are found in carpets, paints, cleaning agents etc. There are some 400 identified toxins known to be present in indoor office air.

My own office has plants everywhere. When I walk into work each morning I do notice the feeling of happiness the environment brings to me, but then again I work around nature, even our lunch room overlooks a lake.

Workcover Authority of NSW recommends plants be used in the workplace to help alleviate characteristics of Sick Building Syndrome. You only need 1 plant for each 10sq metres. So don't let absenteesim cost you money, for as little as $3.50 a week you can have a living mini garden on your own desk. Don't work in a cupboard, get close to nature to keep you happy and productive.

Are we missing the point about employee productivity?

I am continually astonished how many people I meet in my travels seem so unhappy at work. Stressed, uptight and overloaded. I suppose I shouldn't be, as times are tough and the pressures on us all has a flow effect to our own wellbeing, sense of purpose and ultimately happiness.

But on the other hand, do you ever just take the time to truly step out, to smell the roses, go for a walk, savour a beautiful sunrise or sunset. Sometimes the world seems to be racing just too fast that we all need to slow down. Tehnology has made us almost always 'on demand' rather than slowing the pace.

It is no mistake in the busy workforce world the best offices are those with views and outlooks: as the saying goes in real estate it's called position. position.position. The same should apply to the office rather than employees being 'contained' all of us should be able to enjoy something of nature. Even if it is only a pot plant on our desk, the sound of water or beautiful earthy music. It keeps us grounded.

One of the receommendations Dr's use in treating workplace stress is to encourage people to 'get grounded', get close to nature, like gardening, feeling connected with the earth. I think we need to go back to the basics and help employers understand that if you have a happy grounded workplace you have a productive workforce which equal more profits. And in tough times if you can't invest in your staff this way something is really wrong! Footnote: Interested in learning more, a good article from Forbes crossed my desk this morning

Ten Ways to be happy at work

Improving the energy of your business environment

The word Feng Shui is often heard but many of us still do not understand what it means. In its simplest forms, it is an ancient philosophy developed by the Chinese over 3000 years ago that aims to balance the energies of any given space to assure the health and wellbeing and indeed good fortune for the being inhabiting their space and hoem/office. 'Feng' means 'wind" and shui means 'water' ( pronounced fund shway).

For the office to improve the business environment use aquariums, water features, colour, plants to improve the energy in any given space.

Additional Resources - How to Feng Shui Your Office

Does office wellness improve the bottom line in today's tough business environment?

These are challenging times that require resilience and positivity. A work environment must allow your best people to thrive - fully utilising their strengths. A positive work environment enhances financial, social and strategic performance.

Facts:
Some may have the perception that investing in health and wellbeing has a relatively low yield. Statistics illustrate this is a myth. Recent case studies show an average ROI (return on investment) for workplace wellness programmes is $3-$5 for every $1 invested according to Harvard Business Review

Did you know indoor air quality is more polluted than outdoors?

Live plants have more than just decorative qualities, they certainly do create atmosphere and image but LIVING PLANTS do so much more!Living plants in buildings reduce the levels of air pollution and volatile components which are emitted by materials in computers, photocopiers, furniture and fittings along with micro organisms from staff and visitors.

Toxins, chemicals and odours (undetected yet ever present) cause the obvious headaches, eye, nose and throat irritations, nausea and stress and the not so obvious 'bad moods', low motivation and lethargy. Indoor plants have the ability to remove these air toxins and improve air quality to create a healthy and productive workplace.

Workcover NSW recommend plants be used in the workplace to help alleviate characteristics of Sick Building Syndrome. You need only 1 plant for each 10sq metre. Visit our website to learn more about plants for hire in offices Australia-wide.