A Few Firsts...
There’s a theory in business that companies should always aim to be first or second in an emerging market. Subsequent entries face a constant battle for their share and will most likely end up being irrelevant– or so they say. I never cared for this theory. Anyone who has ever started a business, whether first on the scene or fifth, can tell you that it’s always a constant battle. You’re fighting the devil in the details: callbacks, to-do lists, forms. It’s endless.
When we began our first project in 2003, we certainly weren’t the first development firm in Papua New Guinea. We weren’t even third, but to us, it didn’t matter. The sustainability and humanitarian standards of our industry were abysmal and, quite frankly, we didn’t want to run our business like anyone else. So, we focused not on being first but on being better. Could we be more efficient? Were we wasteful? What did indigenous communities truly need and are landowners even happy GreenPoint is here to develop? They were hard questions, but like I said, devil’s in the details. We began working and reworking our processes until they felt right.
Today we’re celebrating the release of GreenPoint’s first mobile-friendly website. While combing over old photos and writing our history, I was reminded where GreenPoint started. This journey has been nothing short of an adventure and looking back, I realized we did manage to achieve a few firsts. Firsts we're proud to share:
GreenPoint is the first company in Papua New Guinea to:
Involve landowners at the project conception stage, giving them planning support and contractual rights.
Provide community access to camp medical facilities and emergency vehicles, including heli-transport.
Offer environmental education information and training on greenhouse and nursery reforestation development.
Hire locally owned businesses for road maintenance, catering, laundry, and other job site services.
Repurpose old construction camp buildings for new community schools, hospitals and other public uses.