GreenBusinessConsulting.com

I use the Internet to find everything. Even if I think there’s a Kragen Auto Parts a mile away, I’ll verify the location and hours online before getting into my car. I do this because I have zero time to waste purchasing products on the weekends when I should be hiking through the hills.

And when it comes to shopping for green products like a show filter or biodegradable doggy bags, I research them online to be sure that the product is really going to be what I need, that it’s certified green and that I compared the price at a couple sites before buying it.

That’s why it’s so frustrating when most sites don’t even have an email address listed, let alone display it on every page. I want an, “Ask me more about this product” link next to every item so I can email a salesperson and get a response back about the product. If that’s possible offline, why can’t I get as good customer service online or even better since I will have to create an account and provide my name and email just to buy something?

There’s a shop a couple miles from me that sells green building materials, and I was looking for non-toxic epoxy for a project. I visited their website and there was no information about the products they sold – only photos from the stores grand opening. I found an email address and sent an email requesting a list of epoxies they offered, but got no response.

I’m not expecting live chat but I would like to be able to email a question about a product and get a response during the next business day. I don’t even mind if business sends me one of their newsletters once they have my email address as long as there is a SafeUnsubscribe link at the bottom (these are standard when using companies like Constant Contact for newsletters).

Especially if you’re a small business, but even if you’re a larger business hoping to build a mailing list and loyal customers, you’ve got to make it easy for online shoppers to purchase your products without coming into your store or calling between 9AM – 5PM weekdays.

The carbon output related to paper is shocking: I recently worked with a technology company whose carbon output related to paper use was 7,100 lbs. PER MONTH! Even at a company where most work is electronic, they were still going through 100,000 sheets of paper per month.

It’s also shocking how easy it is to reduce this footprint. With just a few small changes, the technology company was able to reduce its carbon footprint related to paper in half. Here’s how they did it:

1. Purchase Chlorine-Free Paper with 30% Recycled Content
2. Default Printers to Double-Sided Printing
3. Make It Easy to Recycle Paper

Purchase Chlorine-Free Paper with 30% Recycled Content
The environmental effects of manufacturing paper include carbon emissions, deforestation and toxic chlorine bleaching.

Traditional paper manufacturing and its waste create 7.1 lbs. of CO2 emissions per pound. These emissions are created by the manufacture and transport of paper, and by cutting trees for paper pulp.

Paper is the largest single use of trees that are harvested worldwide, and the use is growing. Therefore purchasing paper made with recycled post-consumer content emits less carbon and saves trees. One ream (500 sheets) of 100% recycled paper results in 5 pounds less carbon.

Finally make sure your paper is also totally chlorine-free. One of the byproducts of chlorine is dioxide – a bioaccumulative toxin that is harmful to aquatic ecosystems and humans – it’s linked to cancer, birth defects, and endocrine disorders.

The best paper is post-consumer recycled waste paper that is also Totally Chlorine Free (TCF). Here are two companies that offer this type of paper:
Greenline Paper Company
TreeCycle

Even if everyone in your company isn’t quite ready to make the switch to 100% recycled paper, which can be thinner and less white, you can still switch to 30%-70% recycled content paper that looks and prints exactly like traditionally manufactured paper. In the case of the technology company, they switch to only 30% recycled paper and still reduced their carbon output by 1.5 pounds per ream. Over the course of a month, this reduced their carbon output by 300 pounds.

Default Printers to Double-Sided Printing
Ask your IT department to make double-sided printing the default on all company printers. If a user needs to print single-sided for a report, they can easily switch their settings. We calculated that even if only half of all print jobs were double-sided, this would still reduce the carbon output by 1,700 pounds per month.

Make It Easy to Recycle Paper
If the recycling bin is in the copy room, how many employees are going to save their old paper and walk it over to the recycling bin? Fifty million tons of paper still ends up in the landfills each year, so companies need to make it easy for employees to recycle.

I suggested that the technology company purchase nice-looking individual recycling bins that could sit on each person’s desk. They chose the Deep Capacity Recycling Tray from Recy-CAL Supply Company for $4.60 each. They also took the opportunity to do some internal branding and placed the company logo on each recycling bin.

Since the technology company was already paying a cleaning service to empty the trash at each desk every night, for just a little more per month the cleaning company agreed to empty the recycling bins as well.
Just remember that Post-It notes are not recyclable – they gum up the machines that recycle paper.

We conservatively estimated that the technology company would be able to recycle 65% of the paper it used, or 488 pounds of paper. For every pound of paper that’s recycled, 4 pounds of carbon are saved because that paper will be used to create recycled paper. Recycling further reduced the technology company’s carbon output by 1,940 pounds per month.

Altogether, we reduced the technology company’s carbon output per month from 7,100 pounds to 3,150. While the company still had a way to go before it was carbon neutral, it’s moving in a direction that its employees can be proud of, and it motivates customers to choose them over similar competition that aren’t going green.

The City of Los Angeles is currently developing a program for certifying green businesses in Los Angeles. The target date to begin certifying businesses is summer 2009.

The certification will be especially important to retail businesses who depend on customers that can easily switch to another business simply because that store is greener than its competitor.

Long term, the program will be important to all companies as Obama’s administration considers proposal that will tax businesses based on their carbon emissions, pollution and waste.

While the exact requirements of the certification aren’t finalized yet, they would be similar to Santa Monica’s criteria for certifying green businesses. The city will begin by certifying hospitality businesses followed by restaurants, auto repair, retail and office-based businesses.

Until certification is available, the city recommends getting started by following the steps on this page, including an audit of your water and energy use, measurement waste and taking measures to prevent pollution.

Not sure where to get started? That’s where we can help – our consultants have audited a number of businesses. We’d love to put you on the path to being a certified green businesses.

GreenBusinessConsulting.com is a resource for companies or employees who want to learn how to green their business.

What does it mean to be a green business? A green business adds a concern for the environment to its decision-making process. Its products, services and offices are designed to have the least ecological and carbon footprint.

This may sound like a daunting task, but it’s so easy to get started, and the more you know how to green your business, the easier it is to talk to your customers about it.

In recent market research, more than two-thirds of consumers say all other things being equal, a person will choose a product or service that supports a cause. We believe that this will create a virtuous circle – customers will prefer your business, and it will allow your business to grow.

Of course its not just about profits, we all know the earth is in its eleventh hour if we don’t become conscious of global warming and ecosystem decline. We want you to be successful at truly transforming your company into a green company with a lower carbon footprint because we all benefit.

Examples of Green Business Practices
• Reduce waste and promote recycling
• Become energy and water efficient
• Purchase products that are less harmful to health and the environment
• Minimize water pollution
• Improve indoor air quality
• Encourage telecommuting and alternative methods of transportation for commuting
• Educate your customers, employees and partners about green business practices
• Develop products and services that a green by design

An example of this would be our upcoming post on Reducing Paper Waste, which details how one company reduced its carbon footprint by having just by changing its paper purchasing, printing and disposal habit. These changes can easily be done by any business.

Check back soon for more green business tips!