Fact file
Mike Smith
Owner of Zero Co, a home cleaning and body care products company with a core goal of ridding oceans of plastic waste. Age 39, married to Alyssa.
His school teacher parents, Judy and Steve, taught him that he had a responsibility to people and the planet. His first job was at McDonald's, where he learned about teamwork and responsibility. As a teen, he surfed and took guitar lessons, planning one day to be a professional basketball player. "I was a terrible saver of money as a young person. My sister saved from working at the local cinema, and I had the largest record collection at high school." He encourages young people to become involved in any type of activity that would help to save the planet.
What really left a mark on them was the amount of rubbish they saw. “It really affected me,” Smith explains. “I didn’t consider myself as an eco-warrior before that, but it was a life-changing experience. I returned to Australia in 2019, and committed myself to trying to solve the problem. I have been doing it every day since.”
His challenge is big and bold. Smith hasn’t limited his focus, for instance, on his home town of Byron Bay or even to the northern NSW coast. “I had an insight to solve the plastic problem globally,” he says. “There are two things we had to do. First of all, we have to stop making single-use plastic because, if we keep dumping more and more of that, we will never catch up. We have to find a way to do large-scale ocean clean-ups.”
この記事は Money Magazine Australia の September 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Money Magazine Australia の September 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Is the public market shrinking?
Australia needs a healthy stock market to give companies access to funds and to allow retail investors to build wealth.
India: three steps to transformation
Massive investment and extensive reforms turbocharge the economy.
The ballet of business
Changing direction, products, models and marketing is a hard task for a business. We chart what it takes to turn a business around, plus profile four successful pivots.
Save money and the planet
Could the high cost of living give us the incentive we need to reduce how much water and energy we use or waste? These eco-friendly household tips will help you do just that.
AI adoption is the new black
Artificial intelligence is set to reshape the commercial world, and small enterprises can’t afford to miss the boat.
Spam attack! Murky laws jam our inboxes
Unwanted marketing material is one of the pain points of modern life.
From rags to riches in style
Rich Tran sported a bowl cut until he was 14 years old and had no intention of becoming a hairdresser.
New work deals are killing the 'old' office
The Covid pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns accelerated the trend to more people working from home. It was a mixed experience.
Points taken: the truth about rewards
Can hopping between credit cards really boost your frequent flyer haul and give you cheap or free travel - or is it doing more harm than good behind the scenes? Money puts it to the test.
Shortcuts to own a home
Innovative ideas with a focus on low costs and sustainability could help solve the housing crunch.