WORDS Tim Kroenert

It has been nearly two decades since the first Clean Up day was held in Sydney. In that time, Ian Kiernan’s campaign has become a global phenomenon. But there’s still more to be done.

Ian Kiernan’s voice has a wood‑grain coarseness befitting his background as a builder. As part of his trade he specialised in historic restorations. But chances are history will remember him not for his physical constructions, but for the sense of environmental consciousness he has helped build into Australian society.

His credentials speak for themselves: he’s chairman of the Co-operative Research Centre for Environmental Biotechnology; patron of the Enviro‑Finance Association of Australia; Doctor of Science Honoris Causa from the University of NSW; winner of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Trust of Australia (NSW), and the prestigious United Nations Environment Program Sasakawa Environment Prize.

The list goes on. Suffice it to say, Ian Kiernan is as green as they come.

Amid his crowded CV, one role stands out as particularly noteworthy. Kiernan is chairman and founder of Clean Up, whose flagship Clean Up Australia Day is among the best supported environmental events in this country. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Aussies unite under the CUAD banner to clear litter from streets, parks and waterways.

Kiernan suggests it may seem incongruous for a tradesman to evolve into a leading environmentalist. But it was not amid the hubbub of a building site that the green warrior within him first reared its head. Kiernan traces his environmentalism to a time when he was adrift on the open sea.

‘I was a professional sailor’, he explains. ‘When I was competing in the BOC solo around the world yacht race in 1987, I was most concerned by the amount of plastic I was seeing in the world’s oceans. Worse, I realised I had contributed to that problem. As a sailor, the old blokes used to tell us to clean up the boat and throw the rubbish into the ocean. I realised that was an act of vandalism, and I’ve never done it since.’

But simply abstaining was not enough. Kiernan knew action was needed to help rectify the situation. He had grown up near the shores of Sydney Harbour, and what better place to start his clean-up than right in his ‘own backyard’.

The initial Clean Up Sydney Harbour day in January 1989 attracted 40,000 volunteers. The following year, Clean Up Australia Day involved a volunteer workforce of 130,000. It was an auspicious start to a new phase in Kiernan’s life.

Clean Up Australia Day quickly cemented itself onto the national calendar. Today, Clean Up has diversified, and spread its wings in an attempt to reach the planet: ‘Clean Up the World attracts some 35 million people in 140 countries’, says Kiernan.

To complement its standard rubbish-collection days, Clean Up has also commenced waste-reduction campaigns, including Say No to Plastic Bags, Clean Up Mobile Phones (related to mobile phone disposal) and, most recently, Clean Up Our Climate.

‘We’ve got to accept that climate change is a scientific fact, and that we are the major cause’, says Kiernan of the latest addition to the Clean Up agenda. ‘We’ve got to change our behaviour in relation to water management, energy management, waste management and overall consumption.’

‘Clean Up Our Climate has already raised $35 million for water reform projects’, he adds. ‘The animals at Toronga Zoo now drink recycled effluent and recovered storm water. The toilets are flushed with it, the gardens are irrigated with it and the cages are hosed out with it. You don’t need crystal clear drinking water for every purpose.’

Many people are changing their behaviour in a deliberate attempt to make better use of water and energy resources. There’s no questioning the value of such increased consciousness, although some argue that it’s too little too late.

Kiernan is more optimistic. ‘I think if we realise the immense threat of the problem, and start to change our behaviour, we can perhaps reduce the increase in temperatures and curb emissions. And it doesn’t cost a lot of money. If a family is not recycling and then starts to, that’s the same as taking the family vehicle off the road for four months.’

Change is happening, but slowly, concedes Kiernan. Aside from individual behavioural change, he suggests ratification of the Kyoto Protocol is a vital next step for Australia.

‘We’ve got to realise the environment is a primary issue’, he says. ‘There’s no point talking about GDP, job security, profit etc. if you can’t breathe the air, drink the water or walk out into the open air without getting the hide burnt off your body.

‘There’s not a single Australian out there that can’t do something’, says Kiernan.

Clean Up Australia Day is Sunday 2 March.