ABC radio in Australia has a program called The Year That Made You, in which guests talk about the year that changed their life. I am often asked how Environmental Earth Sciences started, so in reference to the program, lets talk about the year that made us, or the year that we started, which was the year that made me.
In 1984 my wife Allison and I married, welcomed our first child and started our company. It was certainly the year that made me, though I did not know it at the time, as I was struggling to find my way.
Since age 10, I had always had ways of making money doing what, back in those days, would be called small businesses. In 1984, I thought that I was too young and inexperienced in science to make money in my profession, so I was keen to move into business where qualifications and name did not matter, something I had always done.
In 1984, while keeping a small income through some consulting work, I ventured into several business initiatives (all of which failed) and completed my thesis for my Master’s degree. Part of my perception of failure was exacerbated by the fact that the name I had chosen to trade under – Soil and Environmental Services - was objected to by another business that did road stabilisation. After a period of fruitless negotiating, I gave up on that name.
In 1984 the field of environmental studies associated with the earth was just emerging and was yet to be named or be defined by courses or professionals. Consultants were named after their founders, seasoned professionals with decades of experience. As a 1981 graduate and relative nobody, I chose a name that simply described our work—advising on soil, groundwater, and waste management, what we now refer to as the "Brown" Environment. The term "Environment" was scarcely used in business names then. Thus, there was no objections. Our application was accepted and registered on 27 August 1984.
My experience has taught me that it takes clear vision, strong leadership and, most of all, a great team to build a successful company. I had a clear vision of what I wanted the company to do, and wrote down founding goals in early 1984 that guide us to this very day. But being good technically alone does not make good leadership. How to build a great team was not an area at which I excelled, and those who know me well would say that to describe me as Aspergers overestimates my ability to recognise emotions and faces; essential skills for leadership. I was good at solving problems of degraded land, but admittedly had no idea about people.
I got lucky with my partner, Allison. She knew about people. I focussed on the quality of scientific problem solving (our product), the training of young scientists to deliver the product and selling our services. I was the public face bringing in business and focusing on the quality of what was done. Allison was quietly responsible for the look and culture of the company. Allison knew that a team culture where it was fun to work, and where people cared for each other, would lead to company growth if the product was right.
Our company days and Christmas parties were legendary. And afterwards when we all hit the pubs and night clubs, the silly hats ensured mob protection, and no-one was left unescorted to their room or their transport. Our offices were often quirky, repurposed industrial sites close to the city and water, like The Coal Loader at Waverton. All shaped by Allison. The vision, the structure, the systems and the peculiar approach to marketing and training of staff were areas of my influence.
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My vision to fix land was enshrined in our name from day 1, and our founding goals became the company's DNA. From the beginning we did work that had purpose, that mitigated, nurtured or repaired land. We did work that made a difference.
The amazing thing for me was that so many staff have shared and adopted this vision, or at least shared part of their life journey in helping us achieve our founding goals. We are forever grateful for this.
From the outset, I suspect as we were essentially the first specialist company in environmental geochemistry and contaminated land, the large international and public listed companies were our clients. The developers and state and federal government departments came next. Though initially our work was subcontracting to the engineering consultancies, our first directly contracted client became the different divisions of BHP. Many smelters and refineries around Australia and NZ quickly followed, including RioTinto, Comalco, Pasminco and then the larger industrial companies such as Boral, CSR, Orica and Koppers. As we developed our value proposition, our client base diversified to oil majors, councils, developers and lastly the rural sector. Our company timeline traces some of our key jobs throughout the decades.
Without the support from our clients we would not have grown. Thank you for your past and ongoing support.
Thank you to all past and present staff who are integral to our legacy and the continued growth of our company and its impact. and thanks especially to Allison. Your commitment to repairing and nurturing land has made us a crucial component of sustainable growth in Australia and beyond. I am immensely proud of the work we have accomplished, playing a vital role in the advancement of our industry.
To the current staff, alumni, and all our clients – THANK YOU for sustaining the EESI Group for 40 years.
Phil
The Environmental Earth Sciences International Group acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
