BRENT Papadopoulos should have been a barrister or a doctor or maybe a stockbroker — after all, he went to the exclusive Melbourne private school Wesley College and, in his words “that’s what all my mates have done”. But “uni wasn’t for me”.

Moreover, Papadopoulos was determined to work for himself.

He chose to be a plumber, but no ordinary plumber it turns out.

Ten years since walking off the manicured lawns of Wesley, he is running a thriving “green” business — Sustainable Plumbing Solutions.

“It surprised my friends, but I love plumbing. The moment I set up it changed the way I work.” Vehicles run on diesel, an office incorporates recycled timber, there’s even a worm farm in the kitchen — it seems he practises what he preaches.

In the green plumbing sector, Papadopoulos’s company has won awards three years running.

Revenue has been growing at 100 per cent a year, although it has plateaued this year, he says.

SPS has installed “hundreds” of above-ground tanks, greywater and solar hot water systems in past 12 months and expanded its client range to include residential, business, rural and government projects across Victoria.

There’s nothing unusual about being self-employed in the trades — electrical and plumbing contractors are everywhere. Nor is it all that uncommon today to have green credentials.

Some may be greenwashers, but with more than 6000 plumbers representing more than 3700 plumbing businesses now accredited with green plumbing credentials, the green point of difference may be diluted.

“Not so,” says Papadopoulos. Few are totally dependent on green plumbing activities to the degree that his business is, and few have his approach to business.

Rather than remaining on the tools, quoting and bidding for jobs, Papadopoulos has delegated responsibility to trained staff to enable him to focus on marketing the green brand.

“I’ve surprised myself as to how effective my marketing approach has been. The phone never really stops ringing.”

Inspired by his partner, Ruth, a keen horticulturalist and landscape architect, he set up business in 2003, the day he finished his plumbing training.

“She’s very environmentally conscious and motivated. It complemented my approach to sustainability.”

With the water shortage worsening in Victoria and the huge growth in government rebates, the market for sustainable plumbing has taken off.

Papadopoulos attributes his success to his dream of being independent, a focus on a niche in a growth sector, being passionate about what he does, applying state-of-the-art technology such as scheduling software, and an innovative approach to marketing, including partnering with manufacturers and suppliers.

“We qualified ourselves to be agents of a number of manufacturers that are supportive of our green positioning.”

When he started there were few green plumbers around, he says, requiring him to educate his suppliers about what equipment he needed.

“Green became the buzzword about four years ago; now it’s 97 per cent of our business.”

Apart from the strategic marketing relationship with key suppliers, Papadopoulos has taken on the role of advocate and educator, speaking regularly and frequently.

“Consumers are motivated by economic and environmental considerations, and the impact of water restrictions has been huge.

“People often come to us knowing they want to save water but are unclear about how to do it. I speak in order to develop a wider understanding of green technologies and educate people in how they can reduce their carbon footprint.

“I speak at local government information nights, presenting to university students, to professional bodies, sustainability events and the like. Word of mouth is such a great marketing tool.”

Papadopoulos says residential customers are more price-sensitive today, a factor that has shaped his marketing strategy.

“We have traditionally done business in the wealthier suburbs, where we install underground rainwater and stormwater tanks for customers who have invested a lot in large gardens and want to maintain them. A greywater treatment for $10,000 is something people will think twice about. There’s a holding pattern because of the recession.

But “we want to grow in the recession and I’m looking at making changes.

“We’re seeing a trend towards greywater treatment systems.

“None of your plumbing training prepares you for business. It requires a shift of mindset.

“You work long hours but are consumed by non-billable activities. Once you work out that all of this can be systemised, delegated, you can free up your time. I’m learning more about how to make this business more profitable.

“The key is to get the right people and train them to make decisions, to follow a system and to be good with customers.

“I believe we’re only at the beginning of greywater treatment. Systems are good and will get better, more affordable for a bigger slice of the community. Greywater treatment has only been around in production scale for about two years.

“To retrofit an existing home is about $20,000 in order to be able to reuse shower, basin, bath, washing machine water. As costs come down, more people can afford it. It would really change the market.”

Brent bemoans the construction industry’s approach to building houses.

“Right now they build a house on a concrete slab and put all the plumbing underneath, giving no opportunity to harvest the grey water,” he says.

“I’d love to see houses constructed with two separate systems, with greywater and your blackwater (toilet and kitchen water). For the greywater industry a massive proportion of the potential is lost.”

Given this and the rebateD available for domestic water conservation, Papadopoulos not surprisingly is supremely confident.

“Sustainable plumbing gives us an opportunity to develop and brand product. It will move us more away from installation. Perhaps we’ll do showrooms to give us national distribution.

“Water issues are destined to get more acute. In the water preservation industry we’re the front line. That is daunting, but I always love a good challenge.”