photo credit: Ajda Gregor?i?

With the current U.S. economic conditions, financial institutions are tightening their grip on funds. Markets have dropped dramatically, foreclosures are popping up like daisies in the spring and small-town banks have gone belly-up to be purchased by larger banks. Every day brings newscasts with more dreadful financial tidings and we’ve been warned that loans will be harder to secure. So, if your business is in need of working capital, you may be thinking that the outlook is pretty bleak. There is hope, however and there are a few things you can do to increase your chances when you sit down in front of that loan officer.

First, you need to develop a positive attitude. That may seem difficult, given the point of view of the media and the general population. It may be easier, though, if you simply remember a few important facts:

Lenders have to lend to make money. Financial institutions don’t simply gather funds. They make money by loaning money. Your finance charges and interest are your bank’s bread and butter. The bank has nothing to gain by hoarding funds because there’s a crisis.

Business is a good investment. It’s obvious that our financial institutions need something other than the housing market to invest in. Businesses like yours contribute to the economy, pay taxes and employ our citizens. Your government and your bank want you to stay in business.

Banks have money to loan. No matter how dire circumstances appear to be, there is money to be loaned. Those banks that survived the initial crunch did so because they’re solvent. Banks that weren’t prepared have been absorbed or supported by bigger, stronger institutions.

So, is a good attitude all you need? Well, it is not quite this simple. Attitude is simply the first step in projecting the right image, and image is the key. To clarify that, we’re talking about image, not just appearance. You and your business need to have the right image. Here are a few pointers on building that image:

Appearance is important. A loan officer is more likely to believe in your success if you look like a success. When the numbers are close, the impression you make will make a difference. With this in mind, pay a some attention to how you dress. Put on a professional looking 2-piece suit and a necktie. Dressing professionally shows that you mean business and it will give lenders the confidence that you will be just as persistent in making your business succeed as you were in getting the loan.

Prepare a business plan. This holds true whether your business is a startup or well established. A solid business plan answers any questions your lender may have about what you do, where you’re going, and why you’re there. Just as importantly, it says, “I’m serious about my business.”

Have your records ready. Making the process easy on the banker is going to do a lot for everyone’s disposition. Get your financial records together and organize them. If you think something might be needed, take it. You can’t have too much information, although you only need to provide what’s asked for.

Be nice. Remember that you’re dealing with a person representing a business. Treat that person with respect and you may earn his or her respect in return.

Will all of this guarantee that you’ll get the loan you ask for? Absolutely not. If your credit score is too low, you can expect to be turned down. If the debt to income ratio is too far off, it’s not going to fly in this economy. After all, that’s how the mortgage lenders created the current crisis in the first place. Following these simple guidelines will, however, start things out on a positive note, and that is half the battle.

Mr. Pohl is the owner and founder of United E-Commerce. When he is not managing his businesses he enjoys sharing what he has learned about starting and running successful companies by publishing articles for online magazines. If you are looking for a business loan and are looking for great ways to dress professionally on a budget he suggests you check out the following cheap neckties and cheap bow ties.

photo credit: Jeramy & the Octoberlings

There was a movie before where fledging companies in common office parks and deep-pocketed shareholders group research labs in Silicon Valley hunting for world-changing technologies and the promise of untold earnings. A few extremely buzzed stock offerings explode in to the market long ago when the immense Wall Street hype machine starts to crank into mechanism. The sector was said as the Next Big Thing in the business magazines. Far away, there was a spoilsport talk about a bubble eventually going out of order.

This time with the green tint, the shades of the dot-com bubble and bust cycle are seen again in Wall Street. Green technology industrialist has succeed in producing billion of dollars in venture capital because of the media blitz about the danger of global warming combined with the tremendous increase in oil prices over the earlier years. Stock investors become scared and overstressed by searching for chances in the down commercialize. A swift look at the Wall Street current favorite shares of the First solar is descriptive. With a competitive value to match, the thin-film solar cell maker made caption as “Google of solar”. It strikes up to 900 percent since the start of 2007 with a share of $288 on July16. Another thin-film player Energy Conversion Devices saw their shares tremendously shoot up to 100 percent this year.

Stimulate the fire. Although a company is originating wind, advanced bio fuels, solar or any number of rising clean-energy technologies, it is difficult to compete on a long term case against green stocks of the mixture of investor’s interest, global economics and the approaching of pro-green turn by Uncle Sam. That sort of extreme hopefulness itself is a precondition for a bubble.

Before a bubble goes inactive, plenty of money can be earned but this has a long way to go. The senior research director of the Cleantech Group Brian Fan says,” We’re still in the very, very early stage of the game”. “There isn’t a bubble. I think it’s a function of fact that there are too few chances for depositors and there is too much requirements and cravings for exposure to these technologies if valuation in traded sectors is out of order.

Market size is a convincing reason to snatch up shares for Chinese stockers, it also apply the same for green investors. The sheer magnitude of the energy market and the minimal penetration of anyone from green technology are most often boosters tout. At present, 1.5 percent of American electricity produces from renewable sources.

Established venture capital funds like Klener Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Khosla Ventures headed by Sun Microsystems cofounder Vinod Khosla are dispersing vast bets around on a astonishing variety of start-ups in Silicon valley. According to Cleantech Group, in the second quarter phase, around $2 billion of cash gush into the sector overreaching $1.8 billion inflow in the third quarter of 2007. Once markets betters and start-ups begin going public again in full strength, watch the VC funds expenditures for new investment ideas.

The support from U.S. government will soon be improving too. The next administration will be more tolerant to green technology than the present one according to everyone. A $300 million prize is being offered to anyone who can create a battery enough to power a car by John McCain meanwhile Barrack Obama in his economic plan had made investing in clean energy as a core element. Creating a carbon emission cap-and-trade system are both nominees aims but by applying new technologies is an event for green-tech firms as corporations would rush to meet new pollution policy.

Make Mine mini. How should depositors play the bubble? A bunch of mini bubbles in various subsectors would constantly perk up, bubble and pop rather than one mega bubbles need to be understood by investors.

So far, that has been the prototype. In 2005, for example, Ethanol makers saw a vast leap after a huge round of venture funding. For a short term in 2006, Pacific Ethanol (endorse by Microsoft’s Bill Gates before his venture arm begin promoting last year) jumped from $10 a share to $40.the trading is under $2 today. A fuel cell maker, Ballard Power System that symbolizes the primary big run up in project investing in battery sector hopes to win the competition to power the auto sector by rolling to $120 a share. Earlier this year, the trades is at $4 today by putting up for sale its automotive fuel cell business to Daimler and Ford. Meanwhile, VeraSun have seen their shrae sinking for years.

SunPower and Suntech power Holdings are solar companies that have plunged more than 40 percent this year on worries about high value of poly silicon and subsidy cuts used to make conventional solar cells. (First Solar increase happens in part because if\t fails to use the stuff to make its cells). A senior research analyst (Ted Sullivan) at Lux research says that “advanced bio-fuels are starting to recover”, companies are still trading at 100-200 times and the solar is on its way down.” Demand are increasing for ways to hold all the energy developed using greener means and the subsequently miniboom will be in batteries or other storage technologies says Sullivan.

Concisely, green is going to see some acme and valleys. Even with this year’s immerse, analyst who are obsessed with the sectors long term process are not worried with the industries big earnings since 2004 near-term noise. An analyst in Signal Hall, Michael Carboy says that” In the next few years, people will not be grateful of how the solar will be and the role products will have worldwide in the energy of infrastructures. Over the next two years, indication of failing to recognize the chances that solar industry present to the investment societies. Publics will regret not having solar stocks in two to three years time.

The most reputable corner of the green sector, wind power looks less unpredictable with most of the markets in hand of gigantic roles like Siemens, Spain’s Gamesa and General Electric. A consultancy called Emerging Energy Research predicts that in between 2007 to 2020, the wind industry is increasing rapidly at 15 percent yearly rate. Unlike the rest of the market which manage to reverberate, a wide group of green stock, The Cleantech Index, collapsed early this year. Evaluate with a year ago, it was up.

What is the reason that could disrupt the green optimism? The cost of crude oil is the first vague. For the green company’s share this year, where the recent run is nearly to $150 a barrel, it has been only a soft tail wind for them. Even if oil prices fall back, the same can’t be applied for the green stocks. Investing in the oil industry this year will bring enormous gains than most green depositors. The gas exploration exchange-traded fund and iShares oil has improved about 5 percent this year. For 2008, most green ETF’s are in the red.

Switching promises by governments is a huge concern which eventually pays for renewable today. New carbon-friendly technologies basically can’t contend on the value of burning coal or fossil fuels regardless current development. National plans in Spain, Germany and U.S. investment tax-credit stays on uncertain factors of the industries destiny, until that the government subsidies. There will be a tight bad shakeout when all the hype and investors eagerness bidding shares to extreme level. We’re not there yet and not even near to it.

DIY Finances: Financial Responsibility

photo credit: fogcat5

In this changing world investments can seem a risky business. Some currencies are a bit unstable at the moment, and with a decrease in natural resources and the call to go green it is natural to worry. How secure are investments in new technologies? Is it still safe to invest in less green ventures? If tempted to go the green route, which green route should you take?

At this point I guess it is safe to say that nothing is certain. However, some avenues seem more secure than others. Bio fuels may have a short-term appeal, but in the long run may prove to be unsustainable. Too much land and too many resources are needed to provide for the increasing demand for fuel. In the short term money can certainly be made from this trend, but if you are in for the long term I would advise intense research into this field.

There is a huge call for energy efficient transportation and out of these the electric cars look promising. These cars can be charged using green energy and the demand for them is likely to be higher than for the hybrid cars. It is certainly likely to be higher than for cars using fossil fuels – with fuel prices on the increase, people are shying away from using their cars and looking for an affordable, green alternative. Public transport needs to be reformed to meet the potential demand. If a green car comes onto the market at a tempting price it will certainly catch a huge interest.

The public is becoming aware of environmental issues, and the majority wants to take the green route. This is, after all, our planet, and people like to feel part of making a positive change. Eco-homes and green energy enterprises are receiving mainstream attention. Courses in straw bale housing are gaining popularity, and although wind farms are still meeting controversy in some areas, the interest is there.

Is it then possible to be environmentally friendly and still make a profit? I think it is, and many experts appear to agree with me. You might be interested in socially responsible mutual funds – although not everyone agrees which companies qualify as socially responsible (it will be up to you which policies you agree with, and which you don’t), it is entirely possible to help make the world a better place and still earn competitive returns.

Again, if you do your research, some decent investments could be made in line with the green trend. Whilst non-renewables are waning, sustainable and renewable is on the up. Of course, an additional benefit to this is that you are making an investment in the future of our planet, and the future of humankind.

This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.StockBee.Com/ which is a free online stock ticker quiz.

photo credit: thingermejig

Good health never sounded so good… especially when you can actually earn money while buying your own all-natural “green” health and spa products. If you’ve always dreamed of financial freedom, you can now work from home and earn a residual income simply by buying green health and spa products and possibly recommending them to others.

If you’ve been searching for an online business endeavor for very long, you’ve probably heard of home business opportunities that require you to purchase high-ticket items at wholesale prices such as cars, boats, TVs, furniture, and even $1,200 pots and pans! The company asks you to persuade others to sign on under you and purchase these products for themselves, earning you an added commission and them a savings on these items. The problem is many people who want to start a home business are looking because they need money – not because they already have lots to spend. These high-ticket products – even at wholesale – usually cost more than many can afford. That’s why some aspiring business owners drop out of the race so soon.

With “green” health and spa products, things work a little differently. These are actually products you use daily and might even already purchase on a monthly basis. They are affordable, below $100 monthly for entire supplies, and might possibly benefit your health, particularly if you have allergies. One opportunity such as this is with Ultra International, a manufacturer of health and beauty products called Ultra Selects, such as shampoos, body soap, hand soap, and other 100 percent green products. There are also weight loss products, nutritional super drinks, and other health-related products you can try while earning money with this company.

Perfect Timing

The green products opportunities could not have come at a better time. Almost every advertisement or commercial you see today has something to say about the environment and how to use products or grow foods without chemicals. Also, many people are concerned about detoxifying their body to help prevent diseases and improve overall health. With many companies and products going green, you’ll be able to gain financial freedom under their large umbrellas of advertising. When you mention these types of products to your friends, some will likely say, “Yeah… I was wondering where I could buy products like that!”

Maximize Your Profits

The best way to gain financial freedom is to have confidence in what you’re offering. Use the products for a little while; observe their affects on how you feel. Once you feel confident that the products can and will help others, you’ll be able to boldly recommend them to friends and loved ones. You can even advertise them online through your own website to enjoy the freedom of totally working from home while earning a residual income.

Just like any home business, there’s a lot of hard work involved to get started. But fortunately, there are mentors to lead the way and companies that make it very easy to work from home while selling their products. Ask questions and be ready to try out all a company has to offer before making a decision. With green health and spa products, you can realize financial freedom while enjoying all the fine benefits of chemical-free products!

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Learn more about Buy Green and Earn Some Green!

photo credit: sgs_1019

More and more these days’ people are worried about the environment. You will find that many more companies are now launching public relations campaigns in order to show their customers and the rest of the potential customer market that somehow they are changing their ways and going green. This is a great move for companies to show that there is more to worry about than just the bottom line.

If you own a business and you want to let your customers know about your new green strategies, environmental public relations will come in handy. This is more than just regular PR; instead, it is a type of PR that is focused solely and preparing and presenting your company with green initiatives.

There are many companies that believe that green marketing would be a competitive advantage, yet many companies are still avoiding coming up with a green marketing plan that will prepare their customers for the possibility of higher prices in products, inform them of the company’s green initiatives, and provide updates on how these green initiatives are working.

Environmental public relations are something that every company should consider. You will find that with environmental public relations, the company you own can now be well prepared for the possibility of questions about the environment. You will also be able to prepare all of the evidence of your green initiatives. This will come in handy when you are asked about it from the press at any given time. With environmental public relations, you will have a friend in your corner.

Many of the questions that the press will ask to companies that have not already announced that they are going green usually deal with the company’s future plans. Even if green initiatives are years away from being present or implemented in your company, you should still create a plan and get it out to the public before the press comes knocking at your door. What the press wants to know is if you take part in corporate social responsibility. Make sure to them know that you are responsible and have the evidence to back it up.

Your specific environmental PR team will be able to aid you in all of the issues that come along with going green initiatives. Not only will they help you to understand the impact of your choice on the public, they can also find ways to let the customers know that because of these environmentally friendly choices, prices might be going up. It is important to let an expert in environmental PR prepare your company to answer all of the important questions that will not just come from the customers, but the press as well. This preparation will make your company knowledgeable about your projects and have a leg up on most of the competition that have yet to use the services of environmental public relations.

Jordan Mcpelt is a professional author who specializes in Environmental PR and Green PR. For more information on Utah PR please visit http://www.pilmerpr.com

photo credit: Orin Optiglot

Everyone is concerned about the effects of global warming and protecting our environment, and avoiding the dangers posed by the continued abuse of the environment. Individuals and businesses are finding ways to be more environmentally conscious. The buzzword on being proactive for the environment is Green.

Go green with your business promoting. Show your customers that you are as concerned about conserving natural resources and protecting the environment as they are. Show them your willingness to do your part to reduce the amount of waste you create that ends up in land fills and adds further harm to natural resources and our environment.

No one who is in business would argue against the need for you to promote your business to be successful. They are under the same pressure as you to promote their businesses well in order to be successful and prosperous. Promotional mugs are the perfect and affordable way to promote your business while also demonstrating the green consciousness of your business.

The trees which filter pollutants from the air are cut down in disastrous numbers to make paper products like paper cups for coffee drinkers. Saplings are planted to replace the trees that are cut down to make paper and other products but it can take many years for a sapling to reach full maturity. Meanwhile, our environment is further compromised by pollutants because there are not enough mature trees to filter these pollutants from the air.

The rubbish created by paper products leeches unwanted manufacturing chemicals into soil and groundwater. It also overwhelms municipal resources for the retrieval and disposal of that rubbish. That is certainly not a green activity by today’s standards. Trees are not cut down for use in the making of promotional mugs. Go green in the name of saving vital tree numbers, making less rubbish that needs disposing of, and in the name of promoting your business in the best light. Do this by offering your customers and employees the better- for -the -environment alternative to paper cups for drinking coffee. Give them promotional mugs to drink their java from.

Promote your business in the glowing green light of integrity and customer respect with promotional mugs. You may be surprised to learn, but promotional mugs are actually a very affordable way to promote your business with. You can get ceramic, glass, and metal, promotional mugs for business promoting and gifting at very low prices. Rest assured that the low prices of these promotional mugs are not a reflection of their quality. On the contrary, these promotional mugs are made only with the most durable and highest quality materials.

Promotional mugs can promote your business beyond your customers. Promotional mugs can generate prospects for your business, and encourage them to consider you first when looking for the goods or services provided by your business. Promotional mugs are not difficult to tote around with you to give away when the possibility for earning a new prospect for your business pops up. A promotional conference bag would be perfect for toting your promotional mugs with you where you go. A promotional conference bad promotes your business even before you give a promotional mug to someone to take home. They also permit enough added space to carefully wrap and protect your promotional mugs.

Go green with your business promoting. Become environmentally proactive by using promotional mugs in place a paper drinking cups. This will show your customers your concern for the environment and your willingness to help protect it. Use promotional mugs to successfully promote your business the green way and an increase in greenbacks will find their way into your financial account.

Gareth Parkin is the co-founder of Ideasbynet.com, the UK’s leading online promotional mugs and printed mugs supplier based in the north of England.

photo credit: lmeurs

In recent months, it seems that the trend of “going green” – living in an environmentally friendly way – has caught on with mainstream America. Clorox has started advertising green cleaning supplies. Paper towels and toilet paper made of recycled paper are cropping up on store shelves. Car companies are advertising hybrid vehicles, and celebrities boast about their extravagant eco-friendly lifestyles.

As a practical retailer, joining the green trend may seem too expensive or too difficult. You care about the environment, but you don’t have the time to install solar panels, grow grass on your roof, or conserve water with fancy plumbing. However, “going green” can be as simple as changing the store bags you use.

Enhance your image

Consider how many store bags go through your doors every day. Dozens? Hundreds? By changing to eco-friendly custom print bags, you can help the environment, and also brand yourself as an environmentally conscious retailer. Like businesses, consumers are starting to recognize the ecological benefits of green lifestyles. They’ll be more apt to do business with a company that shares their philosophy.

Saying your company has “gone green” is one thing. Showing your commitment to the environment with every custom print bag that leaves your store is quite another.

Eco-friendly options for custom print bags

Paper bags usually come to mind first when people think of eco-friendly bags. Paper certainly has built a good reputation for itself over the years. Paper bags are both biodegradable and recyclable, making them a very good choice for the green retailer.

Some suppliers offer paper bags incorporating 30 percent to 50 percent recycled content on a regular basis at no additional cost. If you decide to go 100 percent recycled paper in your custom print bags, talk to your bag supplier about options. And yes, that 100 percent recycled content bag will cost a little bit more.

Plastic bags, on the other hand, have built a negative reputation because, until recently, they have been non-biodegradable. If custom print plastic bags are a necessity for your business, discuss with your bag supplier the many options that are available.

Some of these options include using 100 percent recycled plastic for your store bags, or purchasing plastic bags with an additive that makes them biodegradable. You could even institute a recycling program right in your store. All of these options keep your business eco-friendly without limiting you to paper bags or the more expensive reusable bags.

Challenges with eco-friendly bags

The biggest challenge retailers will face with eco-friendly custom print bags is the cost. Unfortunately, eco-friendly bags tend to cost a little more than regular custom print bags.

Factors influencing the cost of your custom print bag are the size of your products going into the store bags, the percentage of ink printed on the bags, and the number of colors printed on the bag. Store owners can lower their cost for store bags by ordering in larger quantities, taking advantage of price breaks. For paper users, instead of going with 100 percent recycled paper bags, use less expensive recycled paper bags with 30 percent to 50 percent recycled material.

Overall, the costs for going green are small. Consider it an investment in future generations, and an immediate investment in customer goodwill toward your company.

Help the environment one bag at a time

By becoming a green business, you open yourselves to some great opportunities. For one, you will be doing your part to help the environment and maintain the planet for your children and grandchildren. You will attract more environmentally conscious consumers, which can give you an edge over your competition.

Choose eco-friendly custom print bags today and create a new name and image for your business.

About the Author:
Want to go green today? Visit BagsOnTheNet for a free quote on eco-friendly custom print bags.

Iran Schwartz is the president of BagsOnTheNet, an online bag supplier. They’ve helped clients as diverse as the WWE, Rosemount Wine and WestPoint Stevens to fulfill their bagging needs, including custom bags and printing on tight deadlines. Visit them online at http://www.bagsonthenet.com to see how they can help you.

photo credit: 2493™
photo credit: lmeurs

photo credit: Torley

Take Your Company’s Green Initiatives, Make Them Work for You and Add Green to Your Bottom Line.

So, your company has a Green Initiative. Maybe you’ve started recycling paper and other products, utilizing biodegradable and renewable resources, choosing sustainable sources for the materials you consume, utilizing energy saving devices or solar powered energy or begun working to reduce your carbon footprint another way. Even if you’re only taking part in one of these initiatives today, it’s likely that your company has invested time, effort and funds into the program – which, by the way, is a lot of additional work you were not doing five years ago. Working to preserve the environment is a noble cause that many companies are making part of their business plan or social responsibility plan, but it also provides those companies a big opportunity to reach out to green consumers and promote their products and services.

Now that your company is putting forth all this extra effort, it’s time to examine your environmental practices and take the positive steps that can help you add profits to your bottom line. Kermit the frog said it best when he coined the saying “It ain’t easy being green”, but even Kermit knew that those who take on the challenge of preserving the environment through their business practices will have a new audience of Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability [LOHAS] consumers. LOHAS consumers value environmentally friendly companies and their products and services, and represent a new marketing avenue for your business. In short, yes, being “green” can certainly bring in more “Green.”

This new audience of LOHAS consumers along with your current audience of customers and prospects want to work with and buy from companies who have a strong background in environmental responsibility. Your new green initiatives are a great way to build a bridge with prospective and current customers, but they won’t know you’ve gone green unless you make it a point to let them know. Getting out your green message can be done through traditional marketing channels, but is much more effective if communicated through “green marketing.”

Green marketing is the practice of using eco-friendly materials to deliver your marketing message. It is based on the principle “actions speak louder than words,” because it helps you demonstrate your green commitment through the actual marketing vehicle instead of through your marketing message alone. Green marketing can involve all phases of your marketing and promotions, from your marketing materials and promotional products to your direct mailers and executive gifts. Every marketing initiative that your company undertakes, from a branding campaign to a new product or service launch, can be produced using eco-friendly materials to underscore your green message.

Green marketing is in and of itself a green initiative. Using recycled, organic and energy-saving print and products in your marketing campaigns will lessen your carbon footprint. Your audience will be able to recognize immediately that you are a company that is serious about protecting the environment, and if the piece you have sent is creative and useful enough, they may keep it even longer than a non-green marketing piece. With all of the great opportunities to brand your business as an environmentally responsible company and make your target audience aware of your green initiatives, green marketing should be a no-brainer. But is it? Many businesses find green marketing to be a daunting task. Where do they find the materials? How do they know what’s green and what isn’t? Are they green enough to say that they are green? Don’t get overwhelmed yet; green marketing is within your grasp!

Green Marketing Made Easy

So, what is your green ability? Can you market green? The answer is: yes. Green marketing has become very accessible over the past ten years. The materials are much easier to find and the marketing and promotional industry has developed standards and certifications to let you know which materials are authentic and how authentic they are. Today there are many resources for attractive promotional products and printed pieces that are healthy for the environment and your marketing campaign. From recycled leather lap-top bags and Forest Stewardship Council [FSC] certified paper brochures printed with vegetable inks to biodegradable tradeshow bags and bamboo polo shirts with performance fabrics, the options are endless. When you think of green, you might visualize a plain brown product, but many of these items are also extremely stylish and attractive – even more so than their “non-green” counterparts.

Start by creating a green marketing plan. Identify all of your annual marketing programs and opportunities and evaluate how they can become more “green.” If you usually give out a corporate gift during the holidays, look for one crafted of attractive recycled leather – or choose a solar-powered computer bag that can power their lap-top anywhere the sun is shining. If you always do a direct mail piece around a product launch, choose FSC certified materials for the packaging and print it with vegetable inks. If you are concerned with sourcing the products, contact your local promotional products professional and ask for their assistance in choosing the perfect green products. Once you have identified the annual projects for which you will use green marketing materials, consider the marketing message that you will include. Sometimes it is effective to call attention to the green materials and make your green business practices a focus where other times it makes more sense to allow the eco-friendly construction to speak for itself and use the marketing copy to promote your company, product or service. After your messages are crafted and polished, you are ready to begin marketing “green.”

One question that many businesses ask is “am I “green enough” to market green?” As long as your business has undertaken a green initiative that has a significant impact on your footprint, it is acceptable for you to let your audiences know that eco-friendly initiatives are important to you and that you are taking steps to become more environmentally friendly. Even if your initiative is small, it’s still ok to market using green materials and let your audience know that the environment is important to you. Where businesses get in trouble is when they make claims like “Our oil refinery is a green oil refinery” or “We have become an eco-friendly company.” If either of these companies is doing just one thing that harms the environment, they could lose their credibility with their customers and be perceived as engaging in “Greenwashing.” Greenwashing is the practice of telling the public that you are greener than you actually are.

In order to avoid Greenwashing, make your marketing message very specific. For instance, you might say “To show our concern for the environment, Bio-Tech has implemented our first ever paper recycling program,” or “Our company pledges to add one new eco-friendly business practice every quarter this year – why don’t you join our green revolution.” Also be careful that any products and services you are marketing as green have been verified by a reputable third party source. The moral of the story is that, yes, anyone who has implemented an eco-friendly business practice can use green marketing to grow their bottom line, but crafting the message honestly is the key.

Whether you are a green company who wants to communicate your eco-friendly message or a company who is just dipping their toe in the environmentally friendly waters, integrating green marketing materials into your marketing plan can really help you take your green initiative to the next level – and grow your bottom line. Your green-ability is strong and the time for green marketing is now!

Chris Morrissey is the Owner of Proforma Big Dog Branding, a premier provider of printing services and promotional products, with expertise in eco-friendly marketing practices.

To reach Chris: chris@bigdogbranding.com – http://www.bigdogbranding.com/

photo credit: Flyinace2000

1. Create an environmental impact statement. If you want to host a green meeting, you’ll need to get buy in from all your stakeholders. The best way to do that is to create an environmental impact statement. Don’t worry. We’re not suggesting a long legal document. In fact, we suggest creating a short description with a couple bullet points to highlight the areas that are important to you. For example, you may say that your organization is committed to reducing solid waste and conserving energy at the event. Share this information with other stakeholders at your event.
2. Use paperless technology to manage your event. In the past, organizing an event meant folders full of paper and piles of lists. Not anymore. Web-based registration and attendee management solutions are making it easier to manage any type of event online in a paperless environment. Take registrations online, send automatic emails to follow up and share reports digitally through a web link. Not only do these practices reduce your environmental impact, but they also reduce your workload and expense.
3. Use paperless channels to market your event. In the past, most event organizers reported that direct mail or print advertising played a major role in their invitation process. This has changed. In fact, at a recent event planning users event, less than 10 percent of the room reported using direct mail. Consider relying more heavily – if not completely – on paperless technologies to solicit and collect registrations. Email is, in most cases, more effective and less expenses than mailers, and even the most traditional event organizers are moving quickly to email technology to cut costs while reducing their environmental footprint.
4. Stay close. Try to reduce travel emissions by reducing travel needs at your events. If you have people traveling to your events, try to book venues close to the airport. And if you have a large event, book all your sessions close enough that people can walk from venue to venue. If you have events that force your attendees to travel long distances, you may want to consider having more regional events that only require air travel for a few of your staff members.
5. Choose a green hotel. Before you select a hotel for your event, take the time to understand their commitment to the environment. More and more hotels are crafting environmental impact policies. Make sure your hotel and venue are committed to green policies, including recycling and energy conservation. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has created a policy called “Eco-Meet,” which pushes its venues to provide things like waste-free food and beverage, recycling bins in every room, recyclable amenities and organic cuisine. To better understand the policies in place at your hotel of choice, create a survey to poll the hotel on its adherence to different elements of your own impact statement. You may want to ask them if they recycle or if they apply water conserving fixtures, for example.
6. Eat green. Look for a green caterer when planning your event. Many caterers are adopting green business practices, which include everything from cooking with seasonal and local vegetables to using recycled and compostable materials. A Spice of Life catering in Boulder, Colorado has a zero waste policy, which means the organization serves its food on compostable cups and plates made from corn and uses only 100% recycled materials for things like garbage bags and to-go containers.
7. Go digital. One of the most expensive, and environmentally impactful, pieces of an event is the stacks of hand outs that organizers and presenters print for attendees. Many event organizers are getting away from this wasteful practice by sharing the information digitally. Some organizations provide it on their web sites so attendees can review it online – or pick what information they would like to print. Other organizations have placed hand outs on a USB flash drive that attendees can take home with them. Whatever you decide to do, find an alternative to handing out paper that many people don’t use.
8. Reuse. And Recycle. When choosing materials for your conferences and meetings, focus on using materials that can be reused or recycled. Ask your caterer to use washable plates and silverware when possible. Create printed materials that can be used for multiple events. And when selecting hand outs, look for items that are printed in vegetable-based inks on recycled paper. For example, The CERES Conference used binders that featured 60% post-consumer paper content in the frame and 39% post-consumer steel in the rings. Plus, the conference printed its brochures with soy ink on recycled paper.
9. Bulk up. Providing bulk food and condiments for your events can dramatically reduce your environmental footprint. Serve meals buffet style and provide things like salt and pepper, milk, ketchup and beverages in bulk, re-usable containers. If you have leftovers, consider donating those items to a local food bank or homeless shelter.
10. Pass it on. The best way to guarantee a greener event is to share your knowledge with others. Make sure your vendors, exhibitors, presenters and staff all know what they can do to reduce their environmental impact. They’ll thank you for it because it may also save them money.

Jeramiah Demery is an online event specialist for RegOnline.com the leading event management and planning software company. To date, Regonline has hosted over 3 million registrants and over 100,000 events. Create custom event websites, online registration forms, and manage event attendees and registrants from one easy to use web-based system.

photo credit: Melissa Goldstein

You can save face as a responsible, “green” corporation while also saving money on buying solvent. In many cases, if you buy a solvent recycler from a knowledgeable vendor, your investment could be paid off on an average of less than one year from time of purchase. Not only will the investment pay for itself, but you can avoid waste removal costs, excessive solvent purchasing costs, and give your company a public profile that promotes your stance on being responsible to maintaining a clean environment.

There are obvious advantages to recycling your own solvent. The first advantage stems from the recent positive publicity from “going green.” While it is beyond the scope of this article to discuss issues such as global warming or water conservation, these and other environmental issues have taken center stage in the media. If your company already recycles its solvent, taking advantage of your contribution to the well-being of the environment will make other companies want to do business with you. The trend of “going green” will stay around for a while. Other companies such as Wal-Mart and Starbucks ride their green reputations to profitability. Even if you are involved in the B2B community, other companies want to do business with companies that are seen as responsible.While using solvent recyclers helps your green profile, your bottom line should also be helped in a more concrete way as well. Whether your company uses solvents in the manufacturing process or in some other manner, solvents cost money. Disposing of used solvent also costs money. Not only is the price of solvent going up, but the price of disposing also goes up. By recycling solvent, instead of procuring new solvent, your company can reuse over and over. Also, since regulations require that used solvent be disposed of in a lawful manner, you become dependent on your waste hauler to take care of this service. Waste haulers can end up charging you a lot for this service, knowing that you are in position to not be able to refuse. Your supply of solvent can be reused with solvent recyclers. You also lose your dependence on waste disposal businesses.

Solvent recyclers generally pay for themselves within the first year. A competent, professional vendor of solvent recyclers can help you determine the type of machine appropriate to your operation. There are no “one-size-fits-all” solutions to recycling your solvent. Each industry and each business within an industry uses various amounts of solvent. A machine that is too small will be inconvenient while a machine that is too big will be wasteful overkill. Also, some businesses want a solvent recycler that can be automated to a large degree. After all, these organizations are not in the recycling business. They want to spend as little time as possible having to mind the recycling machine. Your solvent recycler should work within your organization. It should dovetail with your company’s processes. Contacting a supplier of solvent recyclers should help you achieve this end.

Owning a business in these times is more challenging than ever. You not only have the responsibility to your bottom line, but now there is the added responsibility of being a good corporate citizen. The good news is that you can balance these needs. Regardless of your industry you can save money through the use of solvent recyclers. Not only can you save money by reducing the costs of purchasing new solvent, you can also control your waste disposal costs. The added benefit of having these machines also comes from your ability to promote your business’s ecological consciousness. By contacting a qualified vendor of solvent recyclers, you can get the machine that fits your business and reap these benefits.