Business View Magazine
        
        
          
            11
          
        
        
          munities. “That ties us to all of the sustainability best
        
        
          practices that are happening in the sectors,” Christo-
        
        
          pher says.
        
        
          As if the preceding wasn’t enough to endorse Chris-
        
        
          topher’s bona fides in the realm of best sustainability
        
        
          practices, he has also recently authored Sustainability
        
        
          Demystified, a practitioner’s guide for businesses, and
        
        
          organizational leaders, managers, and owners that
        
        
          uses local case studies to present ways in which en-
        
        
          terprises can reap the benefits of best sustainability
        
        
          practices. “We probably have over 20 best practices of
        
        
          sustainability that businesses have implemented and
        
        
          there is a local case study of each of the companies
        
        
          that is implementing them,” he explains.
        
        
          “Everybody is a client,” he adds. “Long term, sustain-
        
        
          ability is about avoiding costs, creating value, and mak-
        
        
          ing better decisions that improve social, environment,
        
        
          and economic impact.  It’s first about creating aware-
        
        
          ness for all different institutions, enterprises, organi-
        
        
          zations, and businesses and letting them understand
        
        
          what sustainability really means.” To emphasize the
        
        
          point, Christopher quotes a contemporary colleague
        
        
          this time - Birgit Klohs, a local economic development
        
        
          leader, who recently opined that “’Sustainability is the
        
        
          DNA of West Michigan.’” Christopher sums up: “When
        
        
          you say that, it’s beyond an individual. It’s beyond a
        
        
          corporation, or an entity, or organization. We’re all,
        
        
          now, looking at a set of applied best practices that
        
        
          could make West Michigan a very attractive region to
        
        
          live, learn, work, and play – and that is the end zone
        
        
          for us.”
        
        
          PREFERRED VENDORS
        
        
          DeWitt Barrels
        
        
          - DeWitt Barrels specialize in the sales
        
        
          and reconditioning of steel, fiber, and plastic drums of
        
        
          all sizes. The company also sells IBC’s (Intermediate
        
        
          Bulk Containers) and new drums. It was founded in
        
        
          1893, in Chicago, by Peter DeWitt and his two sons,
        
        
          Peter and William, who began by making and repairing
        
        
          wooden barrels and kegs. -  
        
        
        
          Independent Bank of West Michigan
        
        
          - 
        
        
        
          -
        
        
          dentbank.com
        
        
          Quoin, Inc. (Almond Products)
        
        
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          ucts.com