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Lifelong Learning to Impact Change

April 4, 2018 by Leave a Comment

At MASS, our staff is made up of a wide array of unique and energetic individuals, each of whom bring something different to our team. One thing that we all seem to share in common is an eagerness to continue to grow our skill sets so as to ensure we provide our clients with the absolute best service possible. Recently, we have invested in our commitment to lifelong learning, and several of our staff members have received notable certifications which we’d like to congratulate them for!

TRUE Zero Waste Advisor

Our goal at MASS is to work with our clients on achieving their environmental goals through waste diversion and cost control. We believe that true sustainability also focuses on the cost impact of programs, and we are very proud to state that MASS clients save an average of 30% annually on their waste disposal costs, upon the implementation of the MASS methodology. As we continue to grow, we want to expand our capabilities as a team in terms of how we help our clients to reduce their waste.

This is why Mac Brown and Alex Brown recently completed the TRUE Advisor Certificate Program, providing them with the skills and tools to help our clients achieve their zero-waste goals. By developing an advanced understanding of zero waste values and policies, Mac and Alex can now work with clients to develop and implement waste reduction strategies and apply for certification as a TRUE Zero-Waste Facility. If you are looking to become certified as a Zero-Waste location, please contact our team to set up a consultation on what our team can do for you.

 

Recycling Council of Ontario Waste Audit Certification

Our team completes over 250 Waste Audits every single year, working with clients from coast-to-coast. As with everything we do, we are continuously committed to systems improvement. In that spirit, our Waste Audit Manager, Mac Brown, and Waste Audit Technician, Erik Varner recently became certified with the RCO (Recycling Council of Ontario) through their Waste Audit Workshop. This has allowed our team to further enhance what we do, providing added value to our clients on data compilation and more.

In the Province of Ontario, many businesses are mandated to complete an annual waste audit through the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change. Many additional businesses across the country opt to participate in an annual waste audit to verify what material they are sending to landfill, how they can do better, how they can control their costs, and more. This certification means that our team will support your location in application of 3R Certified Status through the RCO.

When our Audit Team arrives on site, our goals are to:

  1. ASSESS – Assess what is in your Waste Stream.
  2. IDENTIFY – Identify your company’s waste production policies.
  3. BASELINE MEASURE – Provide a Baseline Measure to improve your waste reduction work plan.

When we submit an audit report to our clients, we are committed to being a part of the solution to achieve your goals. We are not the type of company to hand you a report and expect you to impact change yourself. We measure your progress, and then manage your success. A Waste Audit is the best way to qualify and quantify exactly what is going into the waste and recycling at your location.

If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

As we continue to grow, we look forward to continuing to learn and develop as a team. As Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” We plan to continue using these lifelong learning opportunities to impact change on behalf of our clients.  Congratulations to our team members for their successful certifications! We look forward to working with our clients to further achieve their waste diversion goals.

Tagged With: 3r certified, alberta, british columbia, business, canada, canadian business, compost, development, education, ontario, ontario business, rco, rco certified, rco waste audit, rco waste audit certification, recycling, recycling council of ontario, staff development, sustainability, training, true advisor, true advisor certification, waste audit, waste audit certification, waste disposal, waste management, zero waste, zero waste business, zero waste campus, zero waste certification, zero waste facility

3 Canadian Destinations That Remind Us Why This Earth Is Worth Protecting

March 13, 2018 by Leave a Comment

As a proudly Canadian company, we have the immense honour and privilege to work with clients from coast-to-coast to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill. We are proud to have an impact across the country, with clients spanning from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia. Knowing that we are making a difference for our clients and the planet gives us all the motivation we could ever need to keep pushing forward every single day.

But sometimes, everyone needs a little reminder of what we are all working towards when we choose the RECYCLE bin instead of LANDFILL, or when we opt to put our food scraps in the COMPOST container instead of WASTE.

Today, we are sharing with you three special places in Canada that serve as a reminder to our team of why we do what we do to preserve our environment and protect Mother Nature.

Peggy’s Cove

WHERE: Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia (located on the eastern shore of St. Margaret’s Bay).

WHO: Pictured here, one of the technicians from our audit team, Erik Varner, sits atop the famous rocks of Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia. As an East-Coaster who was born in Nova Scotia, raised in New Brunswick, and maintains a strong sense of pride in his Maritime roots, Erik considers Peggy’s Cove to be one of the most powerful reminders of why our earth is worth protecting.

WHAT: Nova Scotia is fittingly known as the “Ocean’s Playground,” and Peggy’s Cove is no exception. The stunning natural beauty of the Peggys’s Cove Coastal Region is second-to-none, and has been formed by millions of years of history in the making. When molten material first bubbled up from the Earth’s interior more than 400 million years ago, the rocks of the Great Nova Scotia Batholith were formed.  Years of glacier migration, ocean tides, and moving ice ridges followed, shifting the landscape drastically and leaving behind the famous coast we now know today. If you visit Peggy’s Cove, you can see the marks left in the bedrock by the movement of glacial ice – a forever reminder of the natural history of this unforgettable spot.

Today, Peggy’s Cove has been declared a preservation area, and is a popular destination for tourists around the world. The famous Peggy’s Point Lighthouse is a ‘must-stop’ location for all visitors who wish to see the unparalleled beauty of the Atlantic coast

Cathedral Grove

WHERE:  Cathedral Grove, located on Vancouver Island in British Columbia

WHO: Cara Bentley is pictured here, taking in the breathtaking beauty of Cathedral Grove. With many members of her family located in BC, the province holds a special place in her heart, and her many visits to the Western Coast have inspired her deep passion for protecting our planet.

WHAT: Located in MacMillan Provincial Park, Cathedral Grove is an old forest, with some of the biggest trees that most visitors will ever see. The beautiful Douglas Fir Trees tower over you as you make your way through a network of scenic trails. Some of the trees in the grove are more than 800 years old, making this grove not only a pillar of natural beauty, but one of untold history from the centuries behind us.

Cathedral Grove is protected by the Provincial Park, keeping an internationally significant number of Douglas Fir trees healthy and safe, making it truly a one-of-a-kind experience. Tourists visit from around the country and abroad to get a glimpse of the famous forest, and to experience the feeling of magnificence that comes with standing next to one of nature’s giants – the biggest of which within the park measure 250 feet in height, and 29 feet in circumference.

Cobourg Beach

WHERE: Cobourg Beach, Ontario

WHO: Mac Brown, our Waste Audit Manager is pictured here admiring the shores of the Cobourg Beach, a place our entire team is grateful to call home

WHAT: Located on the shores of Lake Ontario, Cobourg Beach draws tourists from all around the province and beyond. When the warm Ontario summers begin, there is no better place to be than at the beach. There are actually two main beaches in our little town – first, there is Victoria Beach which is kept groomed by the town and is located adjacent to Victoria Park. This is where most of the visitors go when the summer months arise. But there is also West Beach, a second beach in town in walkable distance from Victoria Beach. This one is left un-maintained and kept au-naturel, but is equal in its beauty. Both beaches are popular destinations for the MASS Team all summer long.

As huge fans of the beach we would also like to take this moment to gently remind all of our followers about doing your part to keep our shores clean and tidy this summer. Every year, we find broken pieces of plastic from discarded beach toys, take-out dining containers, clothing, cigarette butts, and more, washed up along the shoreline. We implore each of you to think about the material you bring with you to the beach, and make sure you bring it all home. Let’s keep our lake clean and waste free this year!

Tagged With: bc, beach, canada, cathedral grove, cobourg, environment, forest, lake, lake ontario, mother nature, nature, nova scotia, ocean, ontario, peggys cove, planet, vancouver island, waste diversion

Bidding Adieu to Sibling Rivalry – 5 Tips from Alex and Mac Brown

March 6, 2018 by Leave a Comment

 As a family owned and operated business, MASS Environmental Services Inc. has been navigating the peaks and valleys of working side-by-side with the ones you love most since 2001. Today, the second generation of the Brown clan has become a key force within the company, with Mac (age 26) and Alex (age 25) both holding management roles based out of our Cobourg, Ontario headquarters.

Alex is our Operations Manager, which means she oversees the daily services for over 1,000 locations across Canada including Non-Hazardous Waste, Hazardous Waste, Confidential Shredding, Grease Trap Services, and Used Cooking Oil Collection. On top of this, she provides executive support in all contract negotiations, while managing our team of customer service coordinators who report to her.

Mac is our Waste Audit Manager, which means he leads the audit team to complete over 250 24-Hour Waste Audits each year from coast-to-coast. This requires consistent travel and strong client communication, followed by intensive data management in the report compilation when he returns back to the office. In addition, he provides executive support on business development, working on the continuous growth of MASS year-over-year.

In other words, … Mac and Alex are both busy young professionals with a lot on their plate. For many people, this could translate into stress, irritability, and the tendency to take it out on your easiest target. And who could be easier than a sibling? You grow up side by side as best friends one minute, and sparring the next! But somehow, Alex and Mac have found a way to put aside the complications that haunt many sibling relationships and make theirs work – in AND out of the workplace. Here’s how:

Tip # 1 – Never Forget Your Common Goals

“We both want the same things for the company, even when we don’t necessarily agree on how to get there,” shares Mac. Both Brown siblings agree that consistently reminding themselves that they both have the best interests of the company (and each other) in mind at all times, helps them to put traditional sibling rivalry on the backburner.

“When you are working towards the same end-goal, you are team mates. Team mates respect one another, and work cohesively to get to where they are going,” Alex adds, with Mac nodding along.

If you can share a common goal, and keep this in mind, you will always know the other person is on your side. Keeping this mindset at the forefront is key to eliminating rivalry.

Tip # 2 – Accept Your Natural Competitive Nature – & Embrace It!

“I think it’s natural for both of us to want to be the very best at whatever we are doing in any given situation,” Alex explains. “We are competitive by nature, and this can turn into a sort of sibling rivalry.”

But Alex and Mac have developed a unique mindset that allows them to reframe that sense of rivalry. Rather than rejecting it, they accept that a certain level of rivalry is healthy, and maybe even a good thing.

“If knowing Alex is doing well brings out a competitive side of me, and motivates me to push myself further, I don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing,” adds Mac. “We use a healthy dose of sibling rivalry to hold ourselves to a certain standard We both expect ourselves to do well, so that we can live up to the bar that the other has set. It’s cyclical, and keeps us moving onward and upward.”

Tip # 3 – Just Say “No” to Resentment

Accepting a certain level of sibling rivalry is all well and good, but what do you do when it escalates? Mac and Alex have a simple but effective strategy. They simply say “No” to resentment, and insist upon enjoying one another’s successes.

“In our situation, we’ve both learned to control our emotions. We’ve learned to reject feelings of negativity or jealousy that could arise in seeing someone else succeed,” Mac explains. “We just don’t let ourselves feel that way,” Alex adds, elaborating, “We make the choice to be happy for one another every single time we achieve something exciting, no matter how small.”

By enjoying one another’s successes, rather than being envious, Mac and Alex have found a way to multiply the joy that comes with achieving their goals, creating a stronger bond of comradery as both co-workers and family.

Tip # 4 – Third Party Accountability Checks

Disagreements are natural in a sibling relationship, especially one where you are working together every single day. However, if they do disagree about how a certain project should be approached, Mac and Alex typically are able to communicate openly with one another to find a resolution. If this doesn’t happen, however, they have a solution.

“As young adults, we obviously do not want to have to go to our parents about our disagreements on a regular basis, however in the rare situation that we cannot come to an agreement, we’ve learned that talking it out with them as a neutral third party can be the exact mediation tool we need to find a solution,” Mac says.

“Exactly,” Alex agrees. “Our parents are great about not feeding us the solution directly, but instead just being an open listening ear that allows us to voice our concerns in a neutral environment. Having a neutral third party to hold us accountable really helps in the rare situation where we cannot figure it out for ourselves.”

Tip # 5 – Have Fun Together

‘All work and no play’ is a recipe for disaster. With siblings, it is important to have fun together and reconnect – after all, they were probably your first playmate as a child, and there’s no reason you can’t let loose together and have fun as friends now too!

“It’s essential for me that Alex and I never allow our relationship become one of just co-workers. She’s my sister first, and I never want to lose sight of that. So scheduling in time together outside of work to enjoy one another’s company is really important to keep our relationship strong and healthy,” Mac explains.

Alex clearly agrees, stating: “Spending time with one another outside of the office allows us to come back to work feeling positive and refreshed. Laughing together, and having fun together is key to working together, and being productive together. They go hand in hand.”

 

And there you have it! Mac and Alex Brown, our Waste Audit Manager, and Operations Manager from MASS Environmental Services Inc. have shared their tips for working cohesively and cooperatively as both siblings and co-workers in a close-knit environment. Do you have any ideas on how to maximize either your work or family relationships? Leave a comment below and let us know what has worked for you!

Tagged With: brother, business, canada, entrepreneurs, family business, family operated, family owned, ontario, relationships, sibling rivalry, siblings, sister, tips, working with family, young professionals

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