Bunning's DIY

I have recently returned to my high school part-time job at Bunnings Warehouse and after reading the MCA article 'Environmental Audit' that talked about hypocrisy it made me think about Bunnings DIY clinics that they put on free for the community teaching them about grey water, herb gardens, composting etc.

Why do Bunnings do this?

probably because by providing services for their local communities they establish good will, good reputation, and extra service for their customers at a relatively low cost. if One member of staff can take give advice to 20 - 30 customers then there are 20 - 30 interactions on the floor that don't need to occur.

I would also think that there are significant pressures from the public when a company heavily dominates the market. Bunnings would be continually under scrutiny about how green they are? how much they support Australian products etc.? i'm sure that these activities are as much about holding up an image as they are about keeping criticism off their front door. Kudos to Bunnings for figuring out a way to display an image that is benefiting their wallet.

My feeling on this is simple, Bunnings purpose is to provide retail products to the community in a way that they profit. they are a business thats what they do. every little bit extra they do like the DIY clinics and primary school working bee's is a bonus... if a couple of people get inspired to start composting and recycling rain water then its a small win for the environment.

I guess the difference between Bunnings and environmnetal art is their ultimate goals are not the same. by Bunnings falling under the category of "Business" not "Art" they manage to skip criticism of hypocrisy and money grabbing. Informing the public about the environment becomes byproduct of making money where as an Artist might hope to make money or a name out of aiding the environment.

Luke Turner