When The Client Cancels …

1. When The Client Cancels … Who taught plantscapers to roll over and play dead? When the going gets tough the tough get going … So why is it that so many plantscapers when faced with a customer cancelling a hire agreement just say, “Thank You”, and move their planters out. It is far cheaper to keep an existing customer than to find and secure a new customer. This is one of those times when “No” really does not mean no. Find out why and then prepare your response from the customer’s perspective. We know it’s all about you, but the customer needs to feel it’s all about them.

2. Your business headed paper • 31st January 2008 • Mr …. • The Commissioner of ……… • Queensland ……….. • BRISBANE Qld • Dear …………, •  My business, NIPA Indoor Garden Hire, supplies your Service with indoor plants. I have been the owner-manager of nipa Indoor Garden Hire since 19.. as well as being an active member of my industry’s professional association, the National Interior Plantscape Association (NIPA)since 19 ,,. •  Based on my experience and knowledge, I would like to present a strong case to you to maintain the presence of indoor plants in the Q… offices because of the increased indoor environmental quality their presence provides. •  NASA scientific research as early as the 1970’s shows that living green and flowering indoor plants clean pollutants from the air. Research also shows that the majority of Queensland Government employees spend about 90 per cent of their time indoors and internationally acknowledged agencies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency rate indoor air pollution among the Top 5 of the World’s environmental health risks. Reputable • Australian agencies such as the Green Building Council, the Commonwealth Government’s Horticulture Australia Limited, industry associations such as NIPA and its research arms including the University of Technology Sydney, are all working together to reverse any trend to cut administration costs by removing live indoor plants at the expense of employee’s health and well being. •  Administrators perceive that green building costs are higher than they actually are. The difference is not the cost of plant hire but this cost less the savings incurred through increased staff productivity and improved health and well being. Is it worth that extra money in your budget? Research shows your employees could be performing 20% better in your current greenenvironment. • /2 … • 2 • Indoor potted plants are acknowledged world wide as the most energy efficient air cleaning device. Air conditioners and other man made devices merely recirculate the air – only indoor plants truly clean the air. Plants decrease the concentrations of indoor air pollution caused by the furnishings in your buildings, your vehicles and just the outside air coming inside. Q…’ indoor plants decrease nitrogen oxides by over 30 per cent, reduce dust levels, refresh the air, stabilise temperature and humidity levels, reduce noise levels and raise the level of your employees well-being and productivity. •  The CSIRO and National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia found that 80 per cent of our buildings have carcinogenic chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in them. The species of potted indoor plants my business provides to the Queensland ……… are species tested as the most “eco-friendly”, i.e. the potted plants in your buildings purify and revitalise the air. Even taking Queensland’s water restrictions into consideration, each plant consumes as little as one litre of water per week. • I urge you to retain the presence of potted indoor plants in Q…. buildings. I would be only too pleased to meet with you or you nominated representative to speak on this matter in person. • I await your advice. • Sincerely yours, •  Name • OWNER MANAGER • NIPA INDOOR GARDEN HIRE

3. Interior plants are an investment rather than an expense. Plants provide significant environmental, psychological, personal health, and productivity benefits. The potential returns on an investment in plants make them an extremely worthwhile and valuable addition to the workplace.

4. Increase Employee Productivity by 12% • Research done by Dr. Roger Ulrich of Texas A & M University, Helen Russell of England's Surrey University and Dr. Virginia Lohr of Washington State University has shown that plants significantly lower workplace stress and enhance productivity. In Lohr's study, subjects were found to be 12% more productive and less stressed than individuals who worked in an environment with no plants. • Another study found that workers who spend at least 4 hours a day on a computer show a significant improvement in efficiency and concentration when plants are present.

5. Clean the Air and Improve Well-being 12% • Research indicates that plant-filled rooms contain 50% to 60% fewer airborne molds and bacteria than rooms without plants. • Dr. Bill Wolverton spent nearly 20 years at the Environmental Research Laboratory at John C. Stennis Space Center testing this. He found that plants suck chemicals out of the air, absorb the office pollutants into their leaves and transmit the toxins to their roots, where they are transformed into a source of food for the plant. Based on those findings, Dr. Wolverton recommends that everyone have a plant on his or her desk within what he calls the "personal breathing zone." This is the area of six to eight cubic feet where employees spend most of their working days. Only one plant per 100 sq. ft. will do the job! Just 15 to 20 plants are enough to clean the air in a 1,500 sq. ft. area. • A 1996 Norwegian study by Professor Tove Tjeld of the Agricultural University in Oslo, Norway found that health symptoms dropped by 23% when plants were present. Symptoms of fatigue, headache, dizziness, and concentration problems fell by 30%, cough symptoms fell by 40%, while hoarseness & dry throats were reduced by 30%.

6. Reduce Stress and Absenteeism by 3.6 days per year • Two Dutch studies revealed that a considerable proportion of sick leave can be attributed to building related health complaints. Research published by Bio-Safe Incorporated confirms that offices are often 10 times more polluted than the air outside. Office environments can lead to a marked increase in employee illnesses from poor indoor air quality. Workers were found to be absent 3.6 days. • By absorbing office pollutants into their leaves and emitting clean oxygen, interior plants can cut down on sick leave expenses considerably. • Studies by Roger Ulrich (1993, 1984) have consistently found stress reducing and health promoting outcomes associated with passive viewing of nature stimuli through windows. • R. Kaplan (1992) reports similar results in a field study of office workers. Kaplan found that workers who had window views of nature felt less frustrated and more patient, and reported more overall life satisfaction and better health than workers who did not have visual access to the outdoors or whose view consisted of built elements only. Viewing nature and garden scenes were found to reduce stress within 3 to 5 minutes. The positive effects of nature may also extend to the immune system, thereby directly affecting human physical health (Parsons, 1991)

7. Improve Corporate Image • Studies by Dr. Ulrich and Dr. David Vizell from Oxford University verify the positive effect plants have on employee perception and disposition. In the final analysis, marketing research (Krome Communications, 2000) confirms that employee attitude and retention are top incentives for corporations to continue interior landscape contracts. Employees with positive perceptions of their workplace are less likely to seek employment elsewhere.

8. Low cost = 300 per cent return • One plant per 30 sq. metres = 334% return on investment (ROI). • Here's how we calculate the ROI: ¤ The average wage earnings for a worker is currently $36,140 per year.¤ They're absent 3.6% of the time costing $1301 per year.¤ With at least one plant per employee, studies prove absenteeism can be reduced by 14%. That amounts to $182.14 ($1301 x 14%).¤ The cost of a plant program providing 1 plant per employee is about $42 a year per employee ($3.50 a month).¤ The investment in a plant program will return $140.14 per employee ($182.14 minus $42) or a 334% return on your investment of $42!

9. Upon reading that an inner-city hotel that once had an interiorscape has been refurbished … • Hello Mr ……., • My business, NIPA Indoor Plants, is one of Queensland’s biggest indoor plant hire companies. I have been the owner-manager of NIPA Indoor Plants since 1996 as well as being a Board member of the National Interior Plantscape Association and a member of the Green Building Council. Based on my experience and knowledge, I would like to present a strong case to you to re-introduce the presence of indoor plants into your newly transformed reception areas and restaurants because of the increased indoor environmental quality their presence provides. • As early as the 1970’s, NASA scientific research shows that living green and flowering indoor plants clean pollutants from the air. Research also shows that the majority of hotel guests and employees spend about 90 per cent of their time indoors. Internationally acknowledged agencies, such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency, rate indoor air pollution among the Top 5 of the World’s environmental health risks. Also reputable Australian agencies such as the Green Building Council, the Commonwealth Government’s Horticulture Australia Limited, industry associations such as NIPA and its research arms including the University of Technology Sydney, are all working together to reverse any trend to remove live indoor plants at the expense of residents and employee’s health and well being. Managers perceive that green building costs are higher than they actually are. The difference is not the cost of plant hire but this cost less the savings incurred through increased staff productivity and improved health and well being of hotel guests and employees. Research shows your employees could be performing 20% better in a “green” environment. • Indoor potted plants are acknowledged world wide as the most energy efficient aircleaning device. Air conditioners and other man made devices merely recirculate the air – only indoor plants truly clean the air. Plants decrease the concentrations of indoor air pollution caused by the furnishings in your hotel, your vehicles and just the outside air coming inside. Indoor plants decrease nitrogen oxides by over 30 per cent, reduce dust levels, refresh the air, stabilise temperature and humidity levels, reduce noise levels and raise the level of your employees well-being and productivity. The CSIRO and National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia found that 80 per cent of our buildings have carcinogenic chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in them. • The species of potted indoor plants my business provides are species tested as the most “eco-friendly”, i.e. to purify and revitalise the air. Even taking Queensland’s water restrictions into consideration, each plant consumes as little as one litre of water per week. • I hope I have provided you with a compelling argument to introduce live green plants into the Sofitel Hotel. As your advertising purports, your Hotel provides the “perfect setting for relaxing and socialising”. I would be only too pleased to meet with you or you nominated representative to speak about increasing that level of perfection through the introduction of living plants. • I will contact you in the next few days with a view to arranging a personal meeting. Do not hesitate to contact me at any time in the interim. • Sincerely yours, • NIPA Indoor Plants Owner Name • OWNER MANAGER • NIPA INDOOR PLANTS

10. Letter to Government Minister • Senator the Hon Kim CarrMinister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research4 Treasury PlaceEast MelbourneMELBOURNE 3022 •  Dear Minister Carr, • I am an elected member of the Board of the National Interior Plantscape Association and an Australian interior plantscape business operator who today received an email from Enterprise Connect (Brisbane Technology Park) advising of a directive by the National Office that all plants must be removed from their offices. • The benefits of indoor plants to human health and well being have been globally documented most recently by Australian scientists funded by the Australian Government. Indoor plants clean toxins out of the air and increase employee productivity. Productivity savings alone make indoor plant installation a cost effective measure. Removing live indoor plants from government buildings is a false economy that will affect the health and productivity of workers as well as set an extremely negative example to business and industry generally that could destroy Australia’s indoor plant industry. • The aim of Enterprise Connect given by the government at its launch in May last year “is to help Australian firms develop the skills, tools and knowledge needed to improve their competitiveness and productivity and to maximise their growth potential”. Further, the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research’s published key priority is to encourage the sustainable growth of Australian industries by developing a national innovation system that drives knowledge creation, cutting edge science and research. • The benefits of indoor plants are based on innovative cutting edge science. If your portfolio commits to a directive to eliminate all indoor plants in government buildings, cancelling contractor agreements nationally, what hope does industry have? • Like many others, I took notice when you said in your first speech to the Senate that you had a longstanding belief to maintain a strong, innovative and diverse industry base in Australia. • 2. • On behalf of my business and, more importantly, the Australian interior plantscape industry which is made up of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), I ask that this decision to remove live plants from Enterprise Connect be reassessed in light of the flow on adverse effects. • Yours sincerely, • Name • Business Name • Member - , National Interior Plantscape Association

11. Letter to Premier • 29th July 2010 • The Hon. John Brumby, MLA, • Premier of Victoria. •  Dear Mr Brumby, • The Australian indoor plant industry is concerned that cuts in government spending may include cancellation of indoor plant hire to the detriment of both the health and wellbeing of building occupants and plant hire businesses. (Herald Sun: “Taxpayers shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars for plant hire” – July 24th.) •   If this happens in the current economic crisis, many micro and small businesses will collapse. •  Indoor plants in government buildings are there for the health and wellbeing of workers and also the general public. They are not just about aesthetic appeal. •  Australia leads the way in global research showing that live indoor plants help to improve air quality and contribute to the health and well being of people. Indoor air quality is important as we spend 90 percent of our time indoors and 30 percent of that is in the work place. •  The indoor plant microcosm, made up of: the plant and roots, the soil and the microbes (that are supported by a healthy plant) clean the air of Volatile Organic Compounds; these are the things that can cause sick building syndrome.  • In hospitals it has been proven patients recover quicker in the presence of plants, and in offices with plants there are less sick days and attrition rates are lower. It is easy to justify the cost of indoor plants when calculating the savings on less sick days and attrition alone. The cost saved by not needing to employ one new staff member, will pay for many plants in a year. Refer www.nipa.asn.au • The National Interior Plantscape Association is asking you to put the well being of Australians both in health and financially, before any determination to cut government spending on indoor plants during this economic crisis. Victorian members of the National Interior Plantscape Association would be happy to meet with you or your representative/s to discuss this matter in greater detail. • Yours sincerely, • P. DolleyPresident

12. Letter to the Leader of the Opposition • 29th July 2010 • The Hon. David Davis, M.L.A., • Parliament of Victoria. •  Dear Mr Davis, • The Australian indoor plant industry is concerned that cuts in government spending may include cancellation of indoor plant hire to the detriment of both the health and wellbeing of building occupants and plant hire businesses. (Herald Sun: “Taxpayers shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars for plant hire” – July 24th.) •  If this happens in the current economic crisis, many micro and small businesses will collapse. •  Indoor plants in government buildings are there for the health and wellbeing of workers and also the general public. They are not just about aesthetic appeal. •  Australia leads the way in global research showing that live indoor plants help to improve air quality and contribute to the health and well being of people. Indoor air quality is important as we spend 90 percent of our time indoors and 30 percent of that is in the work place. • The indoor plant microcosm, made up of: the plant and roots, the soil and the microbes (that are supported by a healthy plant) clean the air of Volatile Organic Compounds; these are the things that can cause sick building syndrome. • In hospitals it has been proven patients recover quicker in the presence of plants, and in offices with plants there are less sick days and attrition rates are lower. It is easy to justify the cost of indoor plants when calculating the savings on less sick days and attrition alone. The cost saved by not needing to employ one new staff member, will pay for many plants in a year. Refer www.nipa.asn.au • The National Interior Plantscape Association is asking you to put the well being of Australians both in health and financially, before bringing pressure to cut government spending on indoor plants during this economic crisis. Victorian members of the National Interior Plantscape Association would be happy to meet with you or your representative/s to discuss this matter in greater detail. • Yours sincerely, • P. DolleyPresident

13. NIPA Media Release • 20th October 2008 • CUTS IN PUBLIC SECTOR SPENDING MAY ADVERSELY AFFECT AUSTRALIA’S SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR •  While the Prime Minister is boosting the economy through the creation of consumer spending, there is concern that public sector and business belt tightening may only look at the bottom line and not consider the bigger picture. •  Industry groups are concerned that cuts in government spending such as cancellation of indoor plant hire contracts may have a detrimental effect both on the health and wellbeing of building occupants and on plant hire businesses nationally. •  National Interior Plantscape Association (NIPA) President, Peter Dolley, said, “The last time the public sector started belt tightening, private sector contracts were the first to go. If this happens in the current economic crisis, many micro and small businesses may collapse.” •  “Indoor plants in government buildings are there for the health and wellbeing of workers and also the general public. They are not just about aesthetic appeal,” he said. •  Mr Dolley urged the government to look at more than the bottom line when cutting public sector spending. “There is little point in Mr Rudd depositing funds into the economy with one hand, and Government Departments withdrawing spending in the private sector with the other. •  “Small business is the backbone of Australia,” Peter said, “and family businesses are the key to our social structure and our chances of surviving the looming crisis.” •  The NIPA Board made the point that even when the economy was booming the Commonwealth Bank has made a design decision, that there is no place for indoor plants in new and renovated branches. “International research has long shown that while live indoor plants help to improve air quality and contribute to the health and well being of people, plastic (silk) plants do the reverse – they pollute. Indoor air quality is important as we spend 90 percent of our time indoors and 30 percent of that is in the work place. •  The NIPA Board has called on government and big business to put the well being of Australians both in health and financially, before their determination to maintain high profit margins during this economic crisis. •  FOR FURTHER MEDIA INFORMATION CONTACT PETER DOLLEY, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL INTERIOR PLANTSCAPE ASSOCIATION (Australia) ON TELEPHONE (07) 3880 2293

14. Letter to the Editor • Concerning “Taxpayers shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars for plant hire”  by Lucie van den Berg – July 24th: • Australia leads the way in global scientific research showing the health benefits and increased productivity benefits to employees  of working in environments with indoor plants.  While it is not easy to put a direct cost saving on improved health, improved productivity means labour cost savings. Labour is the biggest expense of business and government.  Live indoor plants clean toxins out of the air.   Employee and public health should not be compromised in a hair trigger response to one ill informed news article.  Government is urged to hear the scientific arguments for maintaining indoor live plants in buildings before setting in motion any plan that will affect the health of workers as well as set an example to big business that could destroy Australia’s indoor plant industry.P. DolleyPresidentNational Interior plant Association