Interview with Chad Winters

Today our guest is Chad Winters the CEO of The Australian Conservation Monitoring Group.

What are the aims of The Australian Conservation Monitoring Group (ACM Group)?

Our goal at ACM Group is to protect the Australian environment through a wide variety of conservation efforts, but it is also quite important to us to serve as a conduit through which concerned citizens can speak and hold the private and public sectors accountable. Given the importance of ensuring the people have a clear and strong voice, we work diligently to advocate on behalf of all Australians and take great care to ensure that we are reaching out to businesses and government organizations at every level, thereby guaranteeing ethical and responsible environmental practices throughout the whole of this beautifully diverse country.

How do you plan to empower Australians towards these aims?

We believe that, in addition to providing a voice through which Australians can share their concerns regarding the environment, it is critical that we further empower community members through educational programs, information-sharing campaigns, and opportunities to actively participate in environmental preservation and protection projects. Through these efforts, we feel that we can simplify some of the ambiguity and complexity -- and, unfortunately, the intentionally deceptive wording -- inherent in public policy as well as private sector proposals.

Which are the main activities and key focus for 2017?

As we approach a new year, our principal focus remains geared toward the improvement of environmental literacy and the sharing of simple and straightforward information concerning the Australian environment. We also intend to make fun and engaging projects and activities available to the public with the goal of stimulating a deeper level of interest in environmental protection and preservation.

What are the most challenging aspects in tackling these environmental issues?

Even though we have made substantial progress in recent years, both the public and private sectors tend to believe that capital cost barriers exist that make efforts toward sustainability seem less feasible in a profit-driven environment. Demonstrating that profit motives and environmental consciousness can indeed coexist -- and, in most cases, reduce costs and enhance overall profitability -- is the primary challenge facing ACM as we try to make progress in the achievement of our environmental objectives.

What kind of success do you expect to achieve?

Recent global events like the Paris Climate Accord highlight just how critical it is that success is achieved in short order, so we have set very high standards with regard to our conservation efforts through ACM Group. There is simply too much at stake to be satisfied with incremental progress or so-called “moral” victories; anything short of sweeping changes to the manner in which we protect and preserve the environment cannot be considered a success, at least in our view.

At ACM Group, we believe that our efforts will ultimately prove to be instrumental in ensuring our children and our grandchildren are able to enjoy all of the natural wonders that exist in Australia as well as the world at large. When we feel entirely assured that we have secured this future for the generations that follow, only then can we deem our efforts a success.