Environmental Business

Business Loans, Angel Investors, Venture Capital and Start Up Capital for Environmental Businesses

photo credit: Gustty

Instituting environmentally friendly practices does not mean sacrificing your competitive edge. Business owners are realizing that they can make a bigger impact by changing their business policies than by changing their personal behavior, and this has lead to a change in corporate culture over the last few years that has resulted in a notable environmental impact.

In the past, efforts to institute eco-friendly business practices were admirable, but these efforts appear negligible compared to the changes that are being made today. Minimizing the consumption of paper products and electricity are still effective ways for companies to save money and help the environment at the same time, but many companies are stepping outside these standardized boundaries to effect big changes.

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Green investing is growing up. Previously the province of a small number of investors who chased an even smaller number of companies, the market for environmental technology has expanded dramatically in recent years. And it has captured investors’ wallet share along the way. Inflows into green funds totaled $766 million for the year ending May 31, according to Morningstar, compared with $37 million in net outflows from religious funds over same time period. (Morningstar tracks these two subcategories under the umbrella of socially responsible investing, or SRI, funds). “The interest has turned from ‘maybe I’ll dabble in this’ to ‘this is an asset class I should include in my portfolio,’” says Jerry Moskowitz, president of FTSE Americas.

photo credit: MK Media Productions

Many online biodegradable product distributors are strongly committed to environmental sustainability. Their major focus is the slow decomposition of garbage in landfills and its devastating affects on the environment. That is why they sell 100% biodegradable, eco-friendly products to speed up the breakdown of trash and to reduce our negative effects on the earth.

‘Eco-friendly’ or ‘Environmentally friendly’ means that their products pose no harmful effects on the environment or its inhabitants. This includes the methods being used to produce merchandise. Unlike petroleum-based (traditional) plastics, biodegradable plastic does not produce greenhouse gases as it is formed because it is made from plant fibers. Since the aim to have as little affect on the earth as possible, these companies ensure that all products are made in a way that avoids clear-cutting forests, wasting water, using insecticides, burning fossil fuels, etc. They support the use of eco friendly products and encourage others to pave the way for a brighter, cleaner future.

Did you know that a plastic beverage bottle takes roughly 450 years to decompose? Take a look at the numbers found by the U.S. National Park Service:

Time it takes for garbage to decompose in the environment:

Glass Bottle —————————1 million years

Monofilament Fishing Lines——–600 years

Plastic Beverage Bottle————–450 years

Disposable Diaper——————–450 years

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.

photo credit: hueesI

t’s More Than The Environment!

INCREASED REVENUE

• Client base

Clients and prospective customers prefer to do business with companies with common values. Client retention will increase while the base of new clients will expand. Public and private sector purchasing practices will increasingly consider a company’s environmental policies in the selection process.

• Reputation and public image

Employees, executives, business partners, clients, shareholders, family and friends want to align with an environmentally responsible business

• Industry trends & competition

Being aware of industry trends is smart business. The marketplace rewards best practices, separating leaders from laggards.