Save yourself, then save the world!
Jackie Mills
Improve your personal health and any of us can help save the planet.
Michele Cox
Driven by her passion for football, Michele is at the peak of her career and loving it.
Go Green to Save Green
Small and easy changes for your business that will save the environment.
her inspiration
Save yourself, then save the world!
Jackie Mills
Helping save the planet is something we can all do, fitness trainer and nutritional doctor Jackie Mills points out.
To talk to Jackie Mills, wife of Les Mills International founder, Phillip Mills, you must first get him out of the room. Otherwise, he’ll talk non-stop about the state of the planet and our responsibility to do something about it. Which is no bad thing of course, but it’s not what we’re here for. We want to talk with Jackie, who’s a nutrition medicine expert and creative director of Les Mills International.
Fortunately, after giving me a brief tour of their house (a huge century-old villa with high ceilings, an enormous staircase and a library to die for), Phillip is called away and Jackie and I can talk in peace. They have been married 24 years, so she knows when it’s time to let Phillip do the talking and when it’s her turn!
These days it’s not uncommon for the wives of hugely successful men to have careers of their own. Jackie has done this and more. She’s also an integral part of the Les Mills business, travels overseas twice a year and, with Phillip, has written the book, Fighting Globesity: A Practical Guide to Personal Health and Global Sustainability.
The book’s central message is this: yes, the problems of the planet are huge and need to be addressed; and yes, it’s hard for each of us to feel we can make much difference, but we do so in the small choices we make every day.
Jackie’s input is based largely on her knowledge and understanding of nutritional medicine. Until 2005, she was an obstetric GP but gave it up to move into nutritional medicine. One day a week she practises her medical skills at the Holistic Medicine Centre in Auckland’s Pt Chevalier. The medical centre is unique, in that it combines the advantages of traditional medicine making diagnostic facilities available, for example) with bio-medical naturopathy.
“People are looking for optimal health - energy, vitality and clarity. We deal with people the medical fraternity cannot help: people suffering from chronic conditions like fatigue, headaches, irritable bowel and other debilitating conditions. People come from all over [the country and the world] to us.”
Jackie argues that it is impossible for people to want to, or be able to, help save the planet (the key issue of our times) if their own health is poor. In other words, we have to be well and strong in ourselves in order to be able to think about and care about the difference we can make to the rest of the world.
“One of the biggest areas of expenditure in our society lies in supporting a health system that is increasingly burdened by the costs of inactive aging and obesity. By taking a preventive approach to health, we free up society’s resources for pressing issues like global warming,” she explains.
The Mills family, despite their wealth, strongly believe in this message and they work hard to reduce their own carbon footprint. They’re installing a solar water heating and power system, for instance, which in a house the size of theirs will no doubt see a huge reduction in the energy bill.
Jackie eats only organic food (preferably locally produced and only what’s in season) and has done so for years. Her family have gone along with her, albeit with the odd grumble, although when I enquire what teenage son Les is heating up in the microwave, I’m amazed to be told it’s gluten-free, organic spaghetti.
Jackie walks and regularly plays tennis (her svelte figure proving this strategy works well); in fact there’s a tennis court right alongside their house. She exercises daily and believes the key is for each of us to find something we like to do.
Otherwise – and don’t we all know this? – we won’t keep it up. Joining a gym, organising work-outs or games with friends, or taking up a sport are just some of the suggestions she makes for those of us who haven’t yet seen the exercise light. Of course, she’s right. Numerous studies show that exercise can help stave off many of the negative and debilitating effects of our over-indulgent lifestyles.
It makes sense then that the other and perhaps larger part of Jackie’s worklife is given over to designing fitness programmes for Les Mills International, where she is creative director. With eight group fitness programmes running concurrently, Jackie is kept busy creating new routines, along with arranging their accompanying music. She also oversees the programme directors - in a way, training the trainers.
She and Phillip use their business as a platform to lobby gym members to take action to save the planet. “With up to 20 percent of westerners belonging to a gym, many of whom are affluent and prone to using high levels of resources, and [with] the Les Mills fitness programmes being franchised through 11,000 gyms worldwide, we reach a huge audience,” she explains. Because, clearly, governments are not taking sufficient action, they need to be persuaded by their constituents that change is essential if the human race is to survive on an even vaguely habitable planet.
Jackie and Phillip believe that every little change that each one of us can make counts. “Attitude shift causes action; change starts in your own back yard,” she asserts. As Jackie says, a lot of people are deeply concerned about the environment. But unfortunately: “They are likely to have to feel some pain before they get the message.”
By Lynnaire Johnston
her insight
Bend It Like Michele Cox
Michele Cox
Football is one of the most popular, highly scrutinised and well-publicised sports in the world. Making a name for yourself in this sport is intensive and competitive but the dynamic Michele Cox managed to rise above the ‘Tall Poppy’ syndrome and now sits at the summit of her career, and she has even found time to write a book or two about it.
Sporty from a young age, Michele was instantly smitten with the world of football because to her it encapsulated everything from speed to stamina to agility and flexibility. Michele believes that despite football’s profile in New Zealand, it also offers more for women than any other team sport in the way of travel and recognition. “For example, 92,000 people went to the FIFA Women’s World Cup final in 1999 and 65 million TV viewers watched the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2003,” Michele proudly states.
Michele’s involvement in the realm of football verges on the ridiculously impressive. During her career she has represented New Zealand in soccer, played for a top women’s football team in Germany and run a soccer academy. Currently she heads New Zealand Women’s Football and is a committee member of FIFA Women’s Football, travelling the world organising sponsorship for women’s football.
Although Michele no longer plays football at an international level she still plays top-level club football. Her focus has turned to the administrative side of the sport, and her successes in this field thus far are equally momentous, as Michele truly wants to make a difference for women who have chosen a similar path.
“Football at the moment offers New Zealand women the best opportunity to gain whatever it is they are seeking - they can play in front of huge crowds, go to the Olympics and World Cups as well as get all the individual benefits like fitness and friendship that sport in general offers.”
The benefits of playing football at this level are clear but as with any competitive sport a blissful high can be followed by a crushing low, especially when you take into account that this sport is conventionally dominated by men. “It is still really tough for women in sport,” asserts Michele, “perseverance is, I believe, the key to succeeding.”
Michele can clearly recall the times when she was told that she wasn’t good enough or couldn’t do something. “But one of the best pieces of advice I ever got was, ‘don’t let others saying no ever stop you from doing something you need or want to do.’ ” Michele chose to enlighten others with her own personal experiences by giving some advice of her own in the form of her first non-fiction book,
Growing Tall Poppies, which she wrote in 2004.
Growing Tall Poppies is an examination of the lives of successful New Zealand sports women, looking at how they coped with the ups and downs of fame. “I wrote my first book because I was sick and tired of the ‘Tall Poppy’ syndrome. I have faced it in my own small way,” bemoans Michele. “When I played in Germany a member of the executive committee rang a paper and told them I was just there on holiday. It hurt me at the time but now I just think it is sad.”
Michele feels that ‘Tall Poppy’ syndrome can really hold people back from progressing on an individual and societal level because good people are too scared to talk about their achievements in New Zealand, resulting in the loss of a valuable source of information. Information and communication play an important part in Michele’s busy life, she can speak German, is learning French, and is studying a part-time PhD in Health Science, another achievement in a string of serious academic qualifications.
Michele maintains that the discipline she learned in her sporting career has helped her and can help others in their own academic and working careers. The subject of her latest book,
Sunrise from the Summit, is a reflection of the relationships and foundations built on the sports field and the life lessons that instilled in her values such as tolerance, acceptance and respect for others.
Sunrise from the Summit is a profile of 18 of New Zealand’s top female sporting coaches, athletes and administrators and gives a deeper more personal look at what made these women tick and how each overcame her own individual challenges. The book showcases how each of these women reached their own metaphorical summit working from the ground up. The all-star cast includes sporting greats such as Bernice Mene, Susan Devoy, Valerie Vili, Allison Roe and Yvette Corlett.
Michele’s desire to write the book came from wanting to encourage women to progress further up their own mountains and to help them discover the beauty and enjoyment of being involved in any sport. “I am really not sure that the principles of success have changed,” reflects Michele. “The people that are still doing well are those that demonstrate the same qualities as the wonderful Yvette Corlett did 50 or so years ago - mental fortitude, no excuses type mentality, discipline, perseverance, pride in themselves and their country.”
By Kelly Alexander
her inform
Go Green to Save Green!
25 tips for creating an environmentally (and financially) friendly business.
Moving your business toward a more environmentally friendly path doesn’t have to mean installing solar panels in the ceiling. In fact, many of the smallest and easiest changes are those that will save the environment (and your pocketbook) the most in the long run. Here are a few simple ideas:
1. Evaluate your utilities. Call your utility company and ask for a free energy audit and tips on lowering your energy bill. Someone will come to your business to review things like the types of light bulbs you use or the effectiveness of your air-conditioning unit. One small change could save you thousands of dollars in a year, so keep an open mind – and open ears.
2. Recycle and encourage your customers to do so. Recycle as much as you can at your business: cans, metal, computers, etc. Let your customers know that you strive to be an environmentally friendly business and reward those who bring their own carry bags with, say, five percent off purchases.
3. Cut vehicle emissions. Even if you can only do it once a week or once a month, commit to leaving your vehicle at home regularly. This could mean sharing a ride, taking public transport, or riding a bike to work. Post the day on your workplace calendar where your employees can see. Reward employees by allowing them to arrive 30 minutes late, or early, if they participate in the program.
4. Post an energy usage policy in your business for employees. Don’t just tell them to turn off equipment, but explain that it saves 25 to 50 percent of energy usage. Offer tips for them to save money at home as well.
5. Buy products that are environmentally friendly. Shop for products with low-environmental impact, like all-natural cleaning products. Buy from companies that reuse packaging (such as recycled ink cartridges) and invest in a water cooler for employees to discourage them from buying individual bottles of water.
6. Shop, or partner, with companies that give back to environmental causes. Look for companies that give a percentage of their profits back to non-profits that support the environment.
7. Cut back the paper waste. Buy recycled paper and use both sides for copying/faxing whenever possible. Use e-newsletters instead of printed newsletters and discourage employees from printing out emails unless absolutely necessary. Don’t use cover letters on faxes unless required or, better yet, use a fax modem instead of a traditional fax machine to send and receive paperless faxes on the computer.
8. Fix broken appliances and taps. A faucet, for example, can waste 10,000 litres for a drop-per-second leak. Generally speaking, equipment that is ‘tuned-up’ regularly is also more efficient and cost-effective.
9. Refurbish old office furniture. Need a new desk? See what it would cost to refurbish your old one. It’s often not only cheaper but much better for the environment.
10. Maintain company vehicles. Make sure your delivery or service vehicles get regular tune-ups, oil changes, tyre rotations, etc., to save on fuel and maintenance.
11. Buy locally. The less your products have to travel, the less energy needed to get them to you.
12. Don’t flush with a full tank. Place a brick or plastic container filled with rocks in the back of all toilet tanks to decrease the amount of water used per flush.
13. Travel green. Look for eco-friendly hotels and car rental agencies that offer hybrid vehicles. Get an e-ticket instead of a paper copy, take your own reusable coffee mug, and let housekeeping know not to bring you fresh towels every day or to turn on the air conditioning or heat in your room while you’re gone.
14. Buy in bulk. Unless there’s a chance the product will go bad before you use it, buy materials in larger quantities to eliminate wasteful packaging. If possible, buy unpackaged – rather than packaged – goods.
15. Buy unbleached products. Items like toilet paper, office paper and coffee filters do not need to be bleached to be sanitary. Unbleached products are just as safe and better for the environment.
16. Avoid junk mail. Call companies that continue to send you unsolicited and unwelcome mail. For companies from which you DO want materials, ask that they not share your mailing address.
17. Contribute leftover food items from corporate events. Call ahead to see if a nearby church or homeless shelter will accept the leftover food to prevent waste.
18. Donate obsolete or misprinted office products. Did you accidentally print 1,000 magnets with the company name spelled incorrectly? Donate them to a local school or charity rather than throwing them out. Ditto with old letterheads, phones, etc.
19. Upgrade to energy-efficient items. Buy energy-efficient appliances and office supplies and you’ll save money in the long run. Invest in a programmable thermostat that automatically turns down the air-conditioning (or heat) at night.
20. Use natural energy savers. Plant shade trees or windbreaks, or use awnings around your business to save on energy bills.
21. Share equipment. Partner with a neighbouring business to share a copier, fax or scanner.
22. Use xeriscaping. Low-water landscaping reduces the amount of water needed to keep the outside of your business looking inviting.
23. Dispose of hazardous waste properly. If your business uses or produces paints, solvents or other similar materials, be sure to dispose of them properly to avoid poisoning the environment or wildlife.
24. Invite an expert to speak to your staff. Many environmental agencies are more than happy to send a speaker to your workplace free of charge. Take advantage.
25. Make it fun to be green! Get your employees involved by holding recycling contests or rewarding those who find environmentally friendly options for things you already use around the workplace.
By Wendy Burt
