Is apathy and infighting the biggest threat to the HIP and EPC industry?

‘The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems' (Mohandas Gandhi).

Never a truer set of words spoken and a quote which is apt when we look at the efforts of those who are working hard to educate and inform those who are determined to destroy an industry for no reason other than political gain.

People like me work tirelessly to do all we can to ensure the thousands of people working in the HIP and energy assessment industry stand some chance of safeguarding their investment and preserving their livelihoods. It is for most of the time a thankless task but one that is necessary as without it the true picture of the benefits of the HIP and the EPC could be violated by the increasing silence and inactivity found in some quarters.

Though encouraged by feedback and support received by many, I am constantly left cold by the amount of infighting and apathy I come across each day. I suppose that when one takes on the challenge of addressing the attack on our industry, adverse comment and questions about motive are all part and parcel of the overall package. However what I find abhorrent is the clueless comment and personal attacks that are raised and debated on certain so called professional forums. It’s not so much the personal related comment as one can live with that, it’s more to do with the signal it gives out to those watching and making assessment of our industry. At a time when there is a need to present a united front how damaging it is to find certain members of the industry looking at the debate as some kind of ‘game’ in which point scoring seems to be the only priority.

Surely the time and effort devoted to debating the efforts of some very committed people would be better spent focusing on how as an industry we can demonstrate to those who count that we are an industry worth saving. Has the time not come for use to all join together and make our voice known as one?

Perhaps this is asking too much and it may be that those who are looking to frustrate the efforts of the majority have a hidden agenda or are spurred on by political motivation. Who knows? Hopefully when these people speak what they regard as words of wisdom, the majority also speak up and continue to provide their support.

I am not so self righteous to believe that all these efforts are to everybody’s liking, however at least they are pro-active steps and do have the support of most people within the industry. It is so easy to criticise and much more difficult to find time and devote resources to taking steps to do something positive.

There is only a short period of time left between now and the Election. All of us need to do more to make sure we still have an industry in place in May and unless we join together and start pulling in the same direction, the apathy and in fighting could very well mark the end of all of us. Please therefore can I call upon you all to register your support with the HIP Reform Group (http://bit.ly/5wkVNA) and other any other group promoting the same objective? Your support could make a big difference.