As you are looking for ways to reduce your spending and maximize your profits, you can also look for ways to reduce your waste. The best way to produce less trash is to have fewer materials to start with. Look beyond the office supplies. Think about ways to make your production line more efficient with the raw materials. Look at your shipping schedules. Do not ignore your office entirely. Start wondering how much of the paper is really necessary.

Why should loose leaf paper be purchased? Even writing tablets can be produced in house. Take the paper that gets all wrinkled in the fax or copier jam, cut it up and use it for phone messages. Make sure that both sides of paper are used at all times. Finally, make sure that when it is used, it finds its way to the recycling bin and not the trash.

Look into paperless billing and invoicing. Discuss the topic with other companies that you do business with to gage how feasible it would be to make the shift. Perhaps this could be something you implement over time. Offer it at first as an option, then move towards this being the primary mode of billing or invoicing. If paper copies are requested you can charge a fee for it.

Traveling expenses can add up quickly in a company. Cutting these costs can have a gigantic effect on the budget. If you cut down the number trips taken altogether you also will cut your travel emissions from cars or planes. By adopting web conferencing in your company you can really cut back on those expenses. While this generally does have some cost, it will be nothing compared to what it costs to get people together in one place.

There is a way to lower emissions, boost your image, make your employees really happy, and save money all at the same time. For specific positions offer extremely flexible schedules, including telecommuting options. Where possible, reduce the amount of office space that you have to maintain. Keeping the lights on and the heat running can really be a huge burden. While you may have to contribute some to setting up a home office for your employee, it will be minimal by comparison. You could also split the office into two separate shifts so that people may share office space without having to be in close quarters with other people.

Be sure that you are making the most of your recycling facilities. Make certain that the bins in your office are clearly marked and easy to find. Recycle as much as you can. In some communities there are fines for failing to do so.

The green business movement has some serious advantages. Doing the right thing generally pays off one way or another and this is no exception. If you check into it you will find that there are a growing number of grants and funding opportunities available to people wanting to implement environmentally responsible changes in their companies. Tax breaks are also often available.

When you are looking to start a green business, you may first look to small things that you may do to help the environment. One very small step that you can take is to recycle all of your business recyclables. This is a very easy step, as many things are recyclable and many cities have simple recycling programs.

A less convenient, yet free step that you can take is to compost all organic materials (i. E. Fruit cores, egg shells, etc.) in your office. Some cities have compost bins, and it is important to use them. Compost is organic materials that would normally be thrown into the trash. Instead, items that are composted can be used as nutrients for plants and landscaping. This returns the matter back into the earth instead of storing it up in a landfill.

Another easy step that you may take is to reduce the amount of consumption in your office. You can do this by analyzing how much paper, plastic, materials, etc. You use in your office. You then look for ways to reduce the amount of these items that you use. For instance, if you use ten sheets of single-sided paper to create brochures, you may want to switch to five double-sided sheets to save paper.

Eco-friendly supplies are also something that you can purchase to green out your business. When you need to use paper, recycled paper is a greener option. It can be high quality, so it is an easy switch. Other recycled products can be used, as well as organic, sustainable, and/or free trade products. These changes may help to reduce your impact on the environment.

When purchasing cleaning supplies, it is good to choose eco-friendly ones. These often use organic or natural ingredients instead of harsh chemicals. You can also decide to use recycled sponges instead of paper towels for cleaning up messes. This reduces consumption, and it also saves your business money.

Hybrid or electric company cars are great for larger companies that use company cars. Hybrids get better gas mileage than most other cars, so they are probably worth the investment. If you can afford to go state-of-the-art, you can consider a hybrid/electric car technology. This car is fully electric, but if you run out of power you can switch it to hybrid mode.

Solar power is an investment, but it can have a great pay out. It is ideal if your company building is often in the sun. Solar power converts energy from the sun into electricity using a series of cells. With enough cells you may be able to make your company completely solar-powered, and you may even be able to help the environment by returning extra power back into the power grid. They are expensive, but in the long run can save your company money.

When you are looking to start a green business, you may first look to small things that you may do to help the environment. One very small step that you can take is to recycle all of your business recyclables. This is a very easy step, as many things are recyclable and many cities have simple recycling programs.

A less convenient, yet free step that you can take is to compost all organic materials (i. E. Fruit cores, egg shells, etc.) in your office. Some cities have compost bins, and it is important to use them. Compost is organic materials that would normally be thrown into the trash. Instead, items that are composted can be used as nutrients for plants and landscaping. This returns the matter back into the earth instead of storing it up in a landfill.

Offices use a lot of materials – so you can take the easy step to find ways to reduce the amount of consumption of materials in your office. Reducing consumption means thinking about how much paper, plastic, and other materials (even ones that can be recycled) that your office uses, and trying to reduce that amount. One idea is to switch from single-sided pages to double-sided pages. This will cut the amount of paper that you use in half, which will also save your business money.

There are also office supplies that are more eco-friendly. If you must use paper, it is better to use 100% recycled paper for printing and other uses. There are high quality recycled papers available today. When purchasing products, look for recycled, organic, sustainable, and/or free trade items. Purchasing these items can help to make your business greener.

Another way to go green is to purchase green cleaning supplies. These are usually labeled as such, but generally they are considered cleaning supplies that use natural ingredients rather than chemicals. Other green cleaning supplies include recycled sponges. If you use sponges instead of paper towels for cleaning, you can save money and paper by not purchasing as many paper towels.

If your company uses cars, you may want to switch to hybrid or electric ones. This is best for larger companies. Hybrids are a good choice because they get better gas mileage than similar types of cars, and may be a good investment. To go even greener, you can opt for a more expensive hybrid/electric car. These cars can be plugged in and run as electric, but if you run out of electricity you can switch them to hybrid mode.

Solar power is an especially good option if your business is in a sunny area. Solar power uses a grid of cells to take energy from the sun, which is then converted to electricity. If you use enough solar power cells, you may (may being a key word) even be able to make your business completely solar. This means that, while you will have to pay a hefty amount initially for the panels, eventually you will be getting your electricity for free. This is amazing for the environment and can help out your budget as well.

photo credit: robertnelson

As any experienced marketer knows, differentiating your business from your competitors is a primary key to attracting new prospects and customers and retaining them once they decide to become your customers. But will the same “hook” that attracted them to become your customer be enough to maintain their loyalty? Let’s examine a few strategies:

Low Price: As people are always price conscience, especially in this slow economy, this can be an excellent method to attract new customers. However, unless your company plans on being a “discount house” operation, you will need to evolve a different strategy to retain those customers, otherwise they will simply seek out the next big discount elsewhere.

Great Products: Every business advertises great products. Why is your product better than your competitor? Provide your prospects with a reason to walk in your door. Then make sure your products are updated and tweaked regularly to ensure a competitive edge.

Great Service: This strategy typically does not attract new customers, unless you detail how your service will exceed your competitors. On the surface, there is nothing to differentiate your company from your competitors. Of course, great service is a major key to customer retention.

There are many other innovative marketing strategies being employed in the marketplace which are based upon surveys. These studies can give you an understanding of your target market’s concerns as well as focus on the latest trends. One such trend which every major survey (Harris, Nielsen, Mintel, Intellitrends) has been following is Going Green. With unstable fuel prices, new energy tax credits, and the promise of an upcoming New Green Economy, there has never been a better time to incorporate Green into your company’s business practices and products.

Will Going Green help attract new customers or members? According to Intellitrends, nearly 35% of those surveyed considered a company’s environmental policies before purchasing. Monster Trak reported that, for college graduates, this number was above 80% and 92% of these “Gen Y’s” were seeking to work for a company with a solid environmental and corporate social responsibility policy.

Even with all of the news and surveys on Going Green, business journals have estimated that less than 2% of all small and medium sized companies in the U.S. have begun any green initiatives at all. Pity. According to the Makovsky Green Gap survey, people are looking for businesses to take the lead in improving the environment. That could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to differentiate and really make a difference.

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

photo credit: The Blue Shoe Project

There is a new workforce brewing as we move into the green business movement with many challenges between employees and employers.

The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) set out to gauge earlier this year, in 2008 “how leading companies approach internal employee education and engagement.” As part of a larger study on corporate environmental and sustainability education it surveyed more than 1,300 people.

Now the numbers may be skewed because the respondents came from a largely environmentally minded audience. The study found that 51% of small company respondents and about 30% of medium and large corporations engage in offering advanced or very advanced environment and sustainability education.

It is also interesting to find that 65% of them value job candidates’ environmental and sustainability knowledge, with 78% saying this knowledge will become a larger hiring factor within the next five years. Companies with no environmental education programs believe they will be beginning them in two years.

So, should the employee bring environmental and sustainability opportunities to the company, especially those who are practicing green-minded activities in their personal lives? Or, should it be the sole responsibility of the company to create programs, identify the tasks and educate their employees.

Perhaps it is both and has the opportunity to allow for employee ingenuity. Employees can be encouraged to heighten a company’s environmental performance, particularly when this engagement has the possibility of building and maintaining a profitable company with long-term employment security.

To bring about a culture where environmental and sustainable values are part of our everyday living means that companies and employees need to build a seamless path from their personal lives to the workplace.

It is very discouraging to practice recycling at home and feel the waste pile up around you at your desk knowing it will fill another dumpster. Purchase greener goods and services and see your company leave the lights, computers and other machines burning 24/7.

The disconnect a company feels when the employees lack of environmental awareness and personal habits thwart the building of green ethics is frustrating and squanders opportunities for both sides to bring job ideas and inspiration to create a greener, sustainable and more profitable company.

Empowering employees to identify opportunities to cut waste and improve their company’s environmental performance allows them to step up to the task and companies can benefit by having employees who are educated and engaged. It can be a win-win for both.

Tana Dean is an ecopreneur, author and speaker. Her book, Your Money, Your Power: 10 Ideas for Mindful Spending to Create a Healthy Green Planet empowers us to create a more healthy, peaceful planet using our daily financial decisions and actions. She designed and developed her internet eco business TanaDean.com focusing on Abundant Lifestyle, Green Living and Healthy Body. The website includes articles, her book, personally selected products (books, CDs, DVDs and Certified Organic Personal Care) and website resources for education and personal growth. Her personal and business mission is to help Create Abundance, and a more Peaceful, Green Planet, One Person at a time. She is a Reiki Master in the Usui Shiki Ryoho tradition.

photo credit: stephentrepreneur

During the past year, news outlets have been littered (forgive the pun) with stories highlighting Fortune 1000 companies investing in new green initiatives. Throughout 2008, numerous surveys released by Harris Interactive, Intellitrends, Bentley, and Mintel indicate an increasing consumer awareness in going green. Similarly, a growing consumer segment now assesses a company’s environmental policies before making the decision to purchase a good or service. This trend has not gone unnoticed by professional marketers. “Grey” companies, those publicly displaying a cursory interest in environmental sustainability, are surely receiving briefs involving these surveys. In response, many are scrambling to repaint their products and corporate images to match the expectations of a Green business. World-renowned names including CitiBank, Bank of America, Wal-Mart, and Clorox each have allotted billions of dollars into various ecocentric technologies and strategies. Industry experts see this transition of capital funds not as a simple fad, rather, a long-term trend in the way business will be conducted beginning now and stretching far into the future.

Companies engaged in a restructuring of their sustainability policies are reaping the benefits by virtue of an increasing sales volume, a decreasing employee turnover rate, and, of course, diminishing energy costs.

So what exactly is a Grey business? In the past, the terminology “grey to green” referenced initiatives for river cleanup efforts stemming the negative effects of storm water runoff. As with many words and phrases over time, the modern meaning is shifting; it now relates best with environmental sustainability. In the growing “green” diction, a Grey company may either represent one which is not sustainably producing environmentally friendly products (and may be engaging in greenwashing), or simply a conventional business that has yet to adopt more sustainable operating practices. A continuously updated Green language dictionary may be found on the GreenProfit Community Portal.

Too often, media attention gravitates towards either large Grey companies announcing enormous green investments, or on new environmentally focused startups. Left out of the spotlight (and the green movement) are existing small and medium sized companies, representing 90% of the nation’s enterprises. Currently, most are simply weathering the economic slowdown, and few, if any, possess the assets to duplicate the initiatives of certain Fortune 1000 examples. However, if expert claims and public surveys are correct in predicting the continued growth of environmental sustainability from a growing trend to a human necessity, companies not adopting sustainable practices may suffer.

Fortunately, modifying a company’s environmental policies and practices does not necessarily require any large investments. Likewise, once a company has adopted a series of guidelines, their marketing efforts can be modified accordingly to take advantage of these changes. Businesses seeking advice and assistance may smooth the process by taking advantage of packaged programs available through firms specializing in shifting towards greener operations.

With both national and international attention now firmly set on efforts to mitigate and reduce climate change, increase sustainability in all regions, and create energy independence, going from Grey to Green is a strategy every business should consider.

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

photo credit: Melissa Goldstein

We hear a lot about “green marketing” these days. Small businesses to major corporations are trying to appeal to the greater environmental consciousness of consumers. Why? There’s money to be made. Research suggests that eco-minded consumers are willing to pay more money for green products, services, or even to deal with companies that demonstrate having an environmental conscience.

It’s Not Easy Being “Green”

Being a green business can mean much more than making a quick buck because of clever marketing playing on the current social climate. Creating environmentally friendly products or running an overall eco-friendly business can involve higher overhead costs (which may or may not be fully accounted for in increased prices – either way, it takes a bite out of those profits).

When a company decides to go green, they also take on a new image and social responsibility. They have to continually live up to the image they create, making sure other aspects of their business aren’t counterintuitive to the environmentally friendly mission their customers come to expect. Even one bad decision can become a green PR nightmare that alienates a company’s target market.

Green Business can be Good Business

If going green is more expensive, involves launching completely new marketing campaigns, and has the potential to make or break a company’s reputation with each little decision, why would companies invest so much time and money into being environmentally friendly?

For some businesses, sustainable resources mean more than happy customers. They mean sustainable business – ensuring that the resources needed to create their products (especially at prices consumers are willing to pay) don’t become depleted.

Case Study: Faraway Furniture

Faraway Furniture is a UK-based company offering contemporary indoor and outdoor garden furniture. We use grade A Javanese teak in the development of our teak garden furniture, because it is incredibly strong and nearly maintenance-free (making it an ideal choice for customers).

While the use of teak keeps customers happy, it’s a natural resource, and natural resources can become depleted. If this happened, we would eventually be out of business. This is a reason we only use sustainable plantation wood – limited amounts of trees can be cut down each year, and that must be met with equal restoration. We’re not only interested in appealing to our environmentally conscious customers and helping the environment. We know that doing both of those things is actually essential to our survival in business.

While going green is good for our business, we also have a genuine interest in the global community and doing our part to help the environment. Because of that, we have so far planted over 2500 trees through the Billion Tree Campaign of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). We make sure our customers keep coming back, and we make sure we’ll always have the resources necessary to satisfy their demand for our products. That’s what it means to go beyond green marketing and be a truely green business.

S. Aharony is the Director of Faraway Furniture (http://www.FarawayFurniture.co.uk), a UK-based online indoor dining and garden furniture company dedicated to creating a greener and more sustainable business through the use of sustainable resources.