photo credit: DocBudie

There’s no question that consumers are starting to pay attention to eco-friendly companies. With the threats of global warming, over-filled landfills, water shortages, and many other environmental concerns looming on the horizon, some businesses that want to make a difference in the world-and attract a large amount of consumer goodwill-are choosing to go green.

There are plenty of reasons to consider environmental factors when planning for your next exhibit. If your industry is not traditionally linked with environmental movements, having a “green exhibit” is a great way to stand out from the crowd. Add to that the fact that you’re doing your part to make the world a better place, and you’ll feel less guilty for blowing your competition out of the water. Here are ten tips for going green at your next exhibit.

Building a booth? Use eco-friendly materials. If you’re building a custom booth this year, you have several options for greener materials. First, try to avoid wood. The earth’s forests are nearly 80% depleted, and that’s bad news for our atmosphere. Trees breathe in carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen-so they may be our first line of defense against global warming. Leave a few trees standing by choosing another material to build your booth.

One more eco-friendly choice is recycled metal. While this may not seem like the most biodegradable choice, it’s much better than using non-recycled metals. For example, the process of recycling aluminum takes about 95% less energy than it does to create new aluminum from ore. Recycling steel uses about 60% less energy than making it from scratch.

Another option is wood/plastic composite. This building material is made up of sawdust from lumber and furniture companies mixed with fragments of plastic trash, such as soda bottles and garbage bags. There are many different brands, and the wood comes in colors ranging from deep ambers to espresso browns-as beautiful as natural wood, without the environmental price tag.

Consider your paints. Oil and latex-based paints are toxic to the environment-they contain poisonous chemicals that can’t be removed at a treatment plant. Leftover paint is often poured down the drain, and it gets into oceans and waterways. It also leaches from painted items in landfills, further damaging the environment. Even worse, VOC’s-volatile organic chemicals, such as cyanide-in paint evaporate at room temperature, contributing to global warming while coating your booth.

Instead of traditional paints, look for non-VOC paints made by big-name paint manufacturers such as Sherman Williams and Behr. Other eco-friendly paints are made from talcum powder, clay, and chalk.

Get green giveaways. When looking for a good giveaway item, choose with an eye toward minimizing trash. Avoid items that come in plastic packaging. Avoid plastic altogether, in fact, unless it’s recycled. Good ideas include cotton or hemp tote bags, food in recycled-paper wrapping instead of plastic, recycled plastic Frisbees, pens and other items, and ceramic mugs. Stay away from plastic bags, wood, and non-recycled materials.

Use energy-efficient lighting. Incandescent light bulbs are notoriously inefficient. They emit only 10% of the energy they use as light. The rest is given off as heat-which is why these bulbs can catch your lampshade on fire if you’re not careful. Instead, use fluorescent bulbs. These are much more energy efficient.

Use recycled paper. There are a lot of paper products involved in a typical exhibit: business cards, signs and displays, brochures and promotional materials. Why not use recycled paper? While most people think of rough, textured and off-white paper when it comes to buying recycled, there are many companies that make smooth, bright-white papers that are comparable to virgin papers.

Consider green printing. Some inks can be as toxic as paint. You can go green with your printing by choosing a green printer. Not all are created equally; their commitment to green printing can range from using energy-efficient operating procedures to printing with soy-based inks on recycled papers. Be sure to shop around when looking for eco-friendly printers.

Talk to your vendor. Some booth vendors are more eco-friendly than others. Some may operate under environmentally mindful conditions-using alternative energy and energy-efficient practices, for example-while others may have pre-fabricated booths built from eco-friendly materials. Be sure to ask your vendor for more advice on how you can create a green display for your next exhibit.

Going green doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. While you may have to buy a custom booth to go green, recycled and eco-friendly materials sometimes cost less than their non-recycled alternatives. Talk to your vendor, research your options, and take your time in designing an approach to green exhibiting that works for your company. No matter how far you go with it-from using recycled papers to building an entire booth from eco-friendly materials-you’ll be making a positive contribution.

G Green is director at http://www.justdisplays.co.uk/ based in Essex, UK. For a wide range of information on producing exhibition stands including a range of folding panel stands visit http://www.justdisplays.co.uk/folding.asp

photo credit: James Cridland

While planning your 2008 business goals and objectives, why not plan to go green and pocket more profits at the same time?

When it comes to the environment, being a good global citizen starts in your own business.
From recycling to using alternative cleaning products, minor changes can add up to real benefits for the planet. Not to mention your own health and happiness.

And every little bit helps.

1) Telecommuting: Video Conferencing can be used for telecommuters in your business. Employees will be able to work from a home office and still be able to meet face-to-face and collaborate in real time just like they would if they were in the office.

Did you know that Americans waste an average of 47 hours every week during rush hour traffic? That’s 23 billion gallons of gas wasted and thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide pollution.

Not only is the reduction in weekly travel time beneficial to the environment, but the added time to their day will improve worklife balance.

2) Board of Director and/or Sales Meetings:It’s challenging for businesses to arrange meetings around everyone’s schedule. By moving just one sales meeting or presentation online, you’ll save the environment 2,690 pounds of carbon dioxide pollution.

Two people traveling from Chicago to San Francisco save 4,696 pounds of carbon emissions. If every business canceled one business trip alone, carbon dioxide pollution would be hugely decreased!

3) Access to Remote Clients or Customers: Business employees often drive across town or travel across the globe to meet with clients to go over important documents or to give powerpoint presentations.

Video conferencing can eliminate that business trip and allow you to meet face-to-face to mark up architectural CAD files or present that new marketing campaign in real time just like would in person.

And you won’t have to fight long lines, delays, and tight security at the airport.

Your business can make a huge impact on lowering carbon dioxide pollution in the atmosphere by staying off the road and out of the skies.

These are just three ways your company can use video conferencing to go green – starting tomorrow. To get your company ahead of the curve, consider implementing a video conferencing solution now to do your part in saving the environment.

photo credit: CD_Photo

Have you ever wanted to start your own home based business, and go green in the process? Each day we hear how much we contribute to green house gases and global warming. The daily commute to work, with the carbon dioxide emissions from our automobiles, is just one of the contributing factors.

The consumption of energy involved in running a traditional brick and mortar business can be drastically reduced by starting a home based business.

Here are a few green benefits by working from home.

Measuring Your Carbon Footprint

Energy costs are reduced by 30% with a home based business according to the experts. Install energy efficient LED light bulbs. Use as many recycled products for your home office as possible.

The most attractive home business is where most, if not all of your work is done online. If you were to start an online business such as online marketing, you can go green by reducing the consumption of paper.

Online marketing allows you to operate the business through the use of a website. This eliminates the cost of paper for invoices, newsletters, and marketing messages. All your communications are now through email, and a marketing tool called an auto responder. An auto responder permits you to deliver frequent and timely messages to your customers or prospects.

Cost Reductions By Going Green

Have you ever considered the cost of clothing when you work outside the home? A home business will allow you to work in your pajamas if you so choose.

Since you no longer have that daily commute, and you are going green, think of the cash savings on gasoline. Not only can you leave your car parked most of the time, but if you do travel, consider it a business deduction.

By working at home, your meal cost is reduced. You may decide to go out for lunch, but many find it easier, and cheaper, to eat at home.

Going Green And Earning Green

Convinced that working at home helps save the planet, how will you decide which business best suites your needs? By now you understand some of the benefits of an online marketing business. Marketing online can reach millions with your product or service.

You can expect a learning curve with online marketing, but as you begin to utilize the various techniques and methods of marketing, your financial returns can be very rewarding.

Most home businesses require an up front investment. The key in selecting the right business depends on your research. Choose a business you will enjoy, and treat it as a business, not a hobby.

Look for a company offering a good training program for their products. Training is vital in learning how to market online. Along with training from the company, seek the help of a mentor, or coach. It is no fun to try something new on your own. Have someone with experience in the aspect of marketing show you the ropes.

In conclusion, our concern for the environment continues to grow. Do your part in helping to save energy. Starting a home-based business with the idea of going green will make a lasting contribution to our society.

Author: Jerry Gibbs is an internet marketer with a strong desire to coach and train others toward their individual success.

If you want to make money online, visit Jerry’s Perfect Wealth Formula website.

photo credit: Spigoo

Embracing new, environmentally sustainable ideas is often confusing. New terms like “Greenhouse Gases”, “Carbon Footprint”, :Greenwashing”, and even the “Three R’s” (nope, not what you learned in school) are tossed about by a new generation of green techies but for most of us, they may as well be speaking in Latin. Before a company can truly become green, the principals must understand the dynamics, procedures, and the corresponding terminologies.

Let’s start with Recycle. Sounds easy. Most of us are familiar with recycling glass bottles, plastics, and newspapers. The confusion starts with plastic coding, that little number inside the recycling logo on the product. All recyclable plastics are now coded with a numerical value between 1 and 7, representing the type of material used to produce them. However, in most parts of the country, only plastics coded 1-3 are generally being recycled. The others end up in a landfill for the next eon or so. So, instead of simply recycling, we now use the 3R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Carefully consider the waste before purchasing an item; try to purchase an item that can be reused at least several times; and, of course, continue to recycle what you know can be recycled.

Greenhouse gases refers to all gases in our atmosphere, but generally refers to the elevated amount of carbon dioxide (CO2 ), a major contributor to global warming. A carbon footprint is a measure of human activity on the environment in terms of greenhouse gases produced, in units of pounds of carbon dioxide. Just about everything we do, from washing our clothes to driving a car to lighting an office building, increases our impact or carbon footprint. The major environmental goal in Going Green is to become as close to carbon neutral as possible.

Greenwashing is the intentional or unintentional misleading of consumers into believing their product or service is environmentally sustainable and comparable or more effective than it’s conventional counterparts. Companies must take extreme care to not overstate, and make sure to back its claims, or consumers may lose faith in green purchasing, setting back the entire movement.

These are just a few examples of the new green jargon. A more complete listing can be found at our online Green Business community portal http://www.greenprofitcommunity.org. Learning the new green language can not only make you green savvy, but can also help you to develop a healthier and greener business environment.

Joseph Winn is the President/CEO GreenProfit Solutions, Inc., an environmental consulting and benefits firm specializing in assisting small and medium size companies in Going Green. You may contact Joseph at:

jwinn@greenprofitsolutions.com

http://www.greenprofitsolutions.com