Drumroll! It is 10 years to the day since I set up Terra Infirma to bring sustainability to life.

Ten years.

A whole decade. (“I wouldn’t go that far, Dave” as Trigger once (almost) told Rodney in Only Fools & Horses)

And what a decade. I started with a self-built website, self-designed/printed business cards and a dormant contract with Envirowise to do waste minimisation visits which I had transferred over from my previous job. My plan that summer was to build a dry-stone wall in my garden during August and get marketing in September with the hope of work in October. Three days of humping sandstone around later and the phone rang.

Next thing I knew I was in the shower, out, dried and into a suit – I’d landed my first new contract by mid-afternoon. The Envirowise work suddenly sprung into life a few weeks later, bringing in regular work. The dry-stone wall took another 18 months to finish.

And look where the company is now! A roster of great blue chip clients such as Johnson Matthey, BAE Systems, the BBC, News International, Viridor, East Coast Mainline. Stanley Black & Decker, the NHS and, most recently, Interface. Five books on Sustainability. Green Academy webinars. On-line training. The Corporate Sustainability Mastermind Group. The Low Carbon Agenda. Green Jujitsu. This blog. Modesty aside, I’m very proud of what’s been achieved.

But we want to do more to help others embed Sustainability into everything they do. Looking ahead, I’m working on a second branch of the Mastermind Group (because it’s the richest way to learn I’ve come across) and expanding our on-line training (as that’s got global reach).

Lastly, I would like to extend a massive, warm thanks to everybody who has helped over the last ten years: clients, suppliers, associates, partners, friends and, not least, family. It wouldn’t have happened without you.

Here’s to the next ten years!

Cheers!