Having bemoaned the horrors of blatant rubbish dumping in Cairo – a city where recycling is a dirty word and where pollution from the city centre dump and offensive smoke belching from factories and traffic fumes permeates every space – I was horrified to read how almost 10,000 tonnes of waste (the equivalent of 851 bin lorries worth) that should have been recycled in Yorkshire last year ended up on tips or being burned. Such headlines make Britain, labelled by Paul Bettison as: “The dustbin of Europe, with more rubbish being thrown into landfill than any other country on the continent” a laughing stock.

They also make us seriously question our commitment to attaining our share of EU recycling targets (50 per cent for municipal waste by 2020) which would save emissions equivalent to more than 89 million tonnes of CO2 per year – the equivalent to taking 31 million cars off the road. Campaigners are calling on the UK Government to support and implement these targets to realise our vision of a low-carbon economy. As two thirds of all household rubbish can be recycled, we can maximise facilites provided by retail “champions.”

As businesses, we can also adopt responsible practices outside of recycling initiatives that can deliver both environmental and economic benefits. For those of you looking for a starting point, the Carbon Trust’s SME Footprint Calculator will give you an idea of your firm’s carbon footprint – then you can look at reducing it.

For a comprehensive list, Business Climate Change Champions have produced an excellent guide, but steps we have already taken at Quest include:

· Turning down your heating – costs rise by 8 per cent for every 1^oC incremental increase

· Switch off equipment when not in use – avoiding stand-by modes can cut cots by 30 per cent

· Maximise natural light and reduce use of artificial light

Let’s all do something more this week as householders and businesses to help reach these targets and make us proud of our contribution.

Every fortnight I wake up even earlier than normal to join around 10 other professionals and bosses to share best practice, learn business improvement tips and help each other with any issues. Hosted by Andrew Cussons a business coach from Action Coach, Profit Club is sometimes like a glorious breakfast counselling session and at other times a welcome opportunity to advise other businesses and share learnings.

This week’s followed up on our previous theme of identity icebergs. The concept is that to change people’s (and your own) results, actions and behaviours (above the water) you need to work on their beliefs, values, environment and skills (below the water). It’s certainly something we’ve experienced at Quest – and something we continue to work on. Up-skilling as well as operating with common values and beliefs is a core facet of our business. Casting off self-limiting beliefs and delivering on an ethical platform are definite ‘Quest-isms’.

Our discussions struck a particular chord with me having confronted my own self-limiting beliefs by completing a marathon. Having never previously taken on any serious physical challenge – nor committed myself to such a time-consuming and all-enveloping training regime – I was able to achieve a major life milestone. I cast off my previous belief system that I could never achieve such a tough task and focused on crossing the finish line.

So, how does learning about identity icebergs add to my working life? Well, I think it demonstrates a valid point for PR. Let’s extend the analogy and say that PR is the above-water for a company – its own internal mechanisms are played out by the below-water part of the iceberg. By quite literally getting under the water of our clients and understanding their business vision, values and abilities, we hope that what we’re portraying is an accurate reflection of the truth.

For some in PR that’s not always the case. Companies have approached us to cover up or fudge issues to protect them from media flack and I can happily say we have so far turned them down. Why? Because how can we stand by our own ethical value if we don’t extend that to our clients. Presenting the public with a false impression of a company or person is tantamount to lying – not something I am comfortable with (or, quite frankly, very good at.)

And me? Well having cast off my self-limiting beliefs I have unleashed a new demon – how to satisfy my new craving as an exercise junkie. So, I’ve joined a gym – not the cheapest experience ever but hopefully one that will enable me to continue pushing myself and dispelling further personal myths.