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	<title>Protect the Environment &#187; Greenhouse gas</title>
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		<title>Environmentally Friendly Business Practices</title>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:03:27 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[Business Management]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
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<p>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.</p>
<p>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.<span id="more-146"></span></p>
<p>Many companies are choosing to enact organization-wide policies that take enormous effort and patience, and the results of these efforts are just now filtering in. Leaving the choice in the hands of consumers often results in poor choices, but when companies choose to be careful about what they produce and how they produce it, the impact can be tremendous.</p>
<p>In the Great Lakes area of the United States and Canada, wind energy is becoming an increasingly viable source of power for companies of all sizes. Wind powered electricity costs only slightly more than standard electricity for the consumer, and many conscientious business owners are willing to pay the premium. For the producers of electricity, using wind power makes sense as a way to help reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Reducing dependence on one commodity allows the producers to further diversify and create a more sustainable financial future for their company. Thus, both the producers and consumers of wind powered electricity benefit from the creation of this clean, environmentally friendly energy source.</p>
<p>Pascale Engineering, a producer of portable trade show displays and trade show flooring in the Great Lakes area, has completely converted to the use of wind powered electricity in its state-of-the-art production facility. In addition to being totally wind powered, Pascale Engineering produces recycled and recyclable trade show displays that are quickly making their way into the market. These displays give exhibitors nationwide a green alternative in their trade show marketing campaign, which only serves to further the environmental goals of many companies.</p>
<p>End users are virtually unaware of the progress made by Pascale Engineering, as they notice no difference in cost. In fact, the Exhibit One Display System line or products produced by Pascale Engineering has seen a marketable increase in quality with no increase in cost. Thanks to research into lighter weight plywood materials, the Exhibit One product line has become more durable and more lightweight. This saves end users huge amounts of money in shipping costs each year, and increases their overall satisfaction with the product. In an effort to make their production process cause less waste, many products within the Exhibit One line use the exact same component pieces. In fact, the entire Exhibit One line can now be produced from a catalog consisting of less than a hundred parts. This means that if exhibitors want to upgrade their trade show display package, they do not always need to purchase new components, as the parts can simply be rearranged in many cases. This saves exhibitors enormous amounts of money each year. Positive environmental change does not always have to be associated with negative economic impact.</p>
<p>Simple changes in business practices and purchasing can make an enormous impact on the environment, and the cost of the choices is usually minimal or non-existent. Whether or not you believe that carbon emissions are the culprit behind our increasingly unstable global climate, there are simple changes that can be made that would make a big impact on the health of our planet.</p>
<p>Andy Keeler is the owner of MODdisplays. They specialize in trade show displays and exhibit graphics at and their trade show booths are environmentally friendly. MODDisplays can be found online at: http://www.moddisplays.com</p>
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		<title>Green Investing &#8211; The Gold Rush</title>
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		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:37:07 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[Eco Conscious Consumer]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[photo credit: angela7dreams 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&#8217; wallet share along the way. Inflows into green funds totaled $766 million for the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/72/161870134_03db9a5fc6.jpg" border="0" alt="bamboo forest" width="500" height="422" /><br />
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<p>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&#8217; 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). &#8220;The interest has turned from &#8216;maybe I&#8217;ll dabble in this&#8217; to &#8216;this is an asset class I should include in my portfolio,&#8217;&#8221; says Jerry Moskowitz, president of FTSE Americas.<span id="more-244"></span></p>
<p>Surging fuel prices have helped make green technology one of the biggest equity growth areas in the U.S., says John Quealy, a green tech analyst at Canaccord Adams, an independent financial services firm in Boston. New products are keeping pace. Mutual funds represent the largest share of socially and environmentally screened funds, with $171.7 billion in total net assets invested across 173 different funds, according to the Social Investment Forum&#8217;s 2007 Report on Socially Responsible Investing Trends in the United States. Exchange-traded funds accounted for only 1% of the total assets of all socially and environmentally screened funds at the beginning of 2007, but their ranks are growing daily.</p>
<p>The source of investors&#8217; fascination is, of course, the need to find alternatives to oil and other fossil fuels in today&#8217;s environment of scarcity and climate change. We&#8217;ve reached a point where environmental technologies have moved way beyond good wishes for Mother Earth, and are starting to make economic sense. Alternative energy has finally captured businesses&#8217; and investors&#8217; imaginations and the gold rush is on-and so are nascent fears of a bubble.</p>
<p>Oil prices of $140 or more per barrel highlight the scarcity-or at least, the fears of scarcity-of this hot commodity. Global demand for oil will only increase over the short term, even if record gas prices finally cause Americans to curb their consumption.</p>
<p>China and India are expected to more than double their energy use by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. Increasing demand for fossil fuels pushes their prices up, which in turn spurs technological advances across all alternative energies. The world will continue developing better ways to power cars (the next iteration of the Toyota Prius, the ragingly popular gas sipper, will come with solar cells that help run its air conditioning), as well as alternatives to coal and other greenhouse gas emitters. Industry experts say that oil would have to drop back down to $50 per barrel for alternatives like solar, wind and geothermal energies to lose their economic viability.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s a closer a look at the opportunities, and some potential risks, in green investing.</p>
<p>Clean and Green</p>
<p>Investors considering environmental tech should start by defining their terms. For example, some use &#8220;clean tech&#8221; and &#8220;green tech&#8221; interchangeably, while others make a clear distinction. Jack Robinson falls into the latter group. The manager of the $410 million Winslow Green Growth Fund-whose three-, five- and 10-year performance has bested the Russell 2000 Growth Index-defines green companies as those involved in a bona fide, sustainable solution to global warming or other environmental ills; clean companies, in his parlance, are environmentally neutral. One clean company that Winslow holds in Green Growth is Bankrate, a North Palm Beach, Fla.-based online consumer banking and personal finance network. A green company he owns is Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, a Waterbury, Vt.-based purveyor of fair trade organic coffee that is carbon-neutral and donates 5% of its earnings to earth-friendly causes.</p>
<p>Investors must also decide for themselves what constitutes a green company. Quealy identifies four subcategories within the green sector: energy and power technology, which includes fuel cells; water technology; recycling technology; and bioresource technology, which includes ethanol. However, many so-called green companies don&#8217;t draw 100% of their revenues from green activities. Purely returns-driven investors may not care to know the full scope of a company&#8217;s endeavors, but those who see themselves as socially responsible will. &#8220;If you&#8217;re large enough, you&#8217;re going to be doing things some people don&#8217;t like,&#8221; says Peter Kinder, president of KLD Research &amp; Analytics, a Boston-based social research and index firm.</p>
<p>Robinson won&#8217;t hold companies that are at all &#8220;dirty.&#8221; For example, he won&#8217;t own BP, even though the British oil company is also developing alternative energies. Don Rogers, executive director of Virginia United Methodist Pensions, won&#8217;t invest in conglomerates with more than 10% of their income from any combination of alcohol, firearms and gambling. Green investors also line up on different sides of the nuclear power divide, with some embracing the technology as an attractive alternative to fossil fuels and others shunning it as expensive, a cause of toxic waste and prone to accidents or terrorist attacks.</p>
<p>The growth of green tech investment vehicles mirrors the increase in individual companies in the space. When Robinson first began investing in the category 15 years ago, he had only a handful of stocks to choose from. These days, he says, &#8220;the universe has expanded dramatically and a lot of the small caps have become mid-caps or even large caps.&#8221; One stock that graduated from small cap to mid-cap on Robinson&#8217;s watch is Itron, a Liberty Lake, Wash.-based company that produces electricity, gas, water and heat meters. When Robinson first invested in the company in early 2006, its market cap was under $1 billion, and today it&#8217;s about $3 billion.</p>
<p>The Al Gore Effect</p>
<p>Many credit Al Gore and his 2006 Oscar-winning movie, An Inconvenient Truth, for the uptick in consumers&#8217; desire to go green. &#8220;He&#8217;s had a major impact on educating the public,&#8221; Robinson says. And today, more consumers are gaining access to green mutual funds through their 401(k) plans, he notes.</p>
<p>Christopher Manning, a financial advisor in Houston who focuses on SRI, says alternative energy investments are the most popular SRI category among his new clients this year. He uses Green Century mutual funds with his clients, as well as two PowerShares ETFs, Global Water and WilderHill Clean Energy.</p>
<p>Before he launched his own SRI-focused firm in 2005, Manning worried about how it would play deep in oil country. While he hasn&#8217;t encountered any outright hostility toward his mission, he says, he has found plenty of educational opportunities among potential clients. He&#8217;s also found himself quite a niche. &#8220;In this area, I&#8217;m the only game in town&#8221; for clients interested in SRI, Manning says.</p>
<p>Justin Harris, a financial advisor in Seattle, says few of his clients come in with specific requests about green investing. Most request a general negative screen that weeds out tobacco, gambling and alcohol stocks. While many advisors adopt SRI vehicles at their clients&#8217; request, Harris went the opposite route: About seven years ago he set a mandate that all assets his clients invested with him would be in socially responsible investments. &#8220;I saw I wasn&#8217;t gaining anything by divorcing my money from my values,&#8221; he says. Harris didn&#8217;t lose any clients as a result of the mandate, and clients embraced the cause. &#8220;I find that people really want to be fully engaged,&#8221; he says. &#8220;They want to walk their talk.&#8221;</p>
<p>Policy Watch</p>
<p>As with so many issues in this election year, market watchers wonder how the new occupant of the White House will affect green technology next year and beyond. Both the presumptive Republican and Democratic nominees, John McCain and Barack Obama, respectively, support a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, so it&#8217;s likely this initiative will move forward regardless of the election&#8217;s outcome. A system adopted by the European Union several years ago, a cap-and-trade system creates market incentives for reducing carbon emissions. Companies are allotted a certain number of permits to release carbon gases, and if they can figure out a way to reduce their emissions, they can sell their excess permits for cash.</p>
<p>When investing in individual securities, investors can analyze how well companies are preparing themselves for these coming regulations, says Todd Larsen, spokesman for the Social Investment Forum, a trade association of the U.S. social investment industry. Companies will incur greater costs as a result of cap-and-trade regulations, and they will pass these costs along to their customers. For example, a one-cent increase in the cap-and-trade cost per ton of carbon translates into a 33% increase in the end consumer&#8217;s electricity costs, Robinson says. Investors interested in carbon as a commodity also have expanding options: In June, Barclays launched the first exchange-traded note offering investors pure exposure to the global price of carbon.</p>
<p>Many assume that a Democratic administration will be friendlier toward SRI principles. For example, conventional wisdom holds that Obama would be more likely than McCain to increase incentives for environmentally friendly corporate behavior. But in some ways, among individual investors the opposite may hold true. &#8220;SRI is demand-driven, and there&#8217;s nothing like a Republican president to drive demand,&#8221; says one prominent industry participant who requested anonymity for fear of being perceived as cynical. Indeed, frustration at President George W. Bush&#8217;s dismal environmental record has contributed to the popularity of alternative energy investments in recent years.</p>
<p>Investors or Believers</p>
<p>While the next occupant of the White House may affect certain environmental policies, SRI and green investing has enough momentum that it should make progress no matter who wins this November. &#8220;There has been a sea change at work,&#8221; says Calvert CEO Barbara Krumsiek. Corporations have embraced positive change on environment, social and governance issues (also known as &#8220;ESG&#8221;), she notes. Large institutions like public pension funds have taken up SRI investing, including shareholder advocacy, and investors are expressing unprecedented interest in SRI, Krumsiek continues.</p>
<p>Calvert doesn&#8217;t track how many of its investors are purely returns driven, as opposed to those who invest according their beliefs, but Krumsiek believes that both groups are well represented among her shareholders. The venerable SRI fund family ventured into the green tech space last year with the launch of the Calvert Global Alternative Energy Fund. The fund was down 12.1 % as of June 30, negative 0.2 points below Standard &amp; Poor&#8217;s 500 results for the same period, according to Morningstar. Calvert plans to launch a Global Water Fund in the third quarter.</p>
<p>Bill Crager, president of Envestnet, a Chicago-based provider of investment management products and services, envisions a day when information on companies&#8217; environmental, social and governance track records will become more readily available. One day, he predicts, clients might receive, along with their quarterly returns statement, a statement of their holdings&#8217; sustainability efforts. This could take the form of a report on individual companies and how they help or hurt the planet during that time frame, by opening up a water filtration plant, say, or by polluting a local river, Crager says. Envestnet&#8217;s products include Veris Sustainable Strategies, mutual fund portfolios for socially conscious investors.</p>
<p>Potential SRI investors will invariably ask whether investing with their hearts-and their attention on ESG reports rather than earnings reports-will damage their wallets in the form of lower returns. &#8220;My experience is all investors are returns driven,&#8221; says Dan Porter, founder and vice president of marketing for IW Financial, a Portland, Maine-based provider of environmental, social and governance research, consulting and portfolio management solutions. &#8220;When I want to incorporate my values, the question is, can I do that at an acceptable level of cost?&#8221; The answer will vary from client to client.</p>
<p>Ready to Boil?</p>
<p>Only a handful of green mutual funds and ETFs tracked by Morningstar have even a five-year track record. &#8220;The jury is still out about performance of SRI funds in general,&#8221; says Stephen Horan, head of private wealth and investor education at the CFA Institute. &#8220;Both sides can cite studies to support their case.&#8221; Not surprisingly, of those that do, some have underperformed and others have outperformed the broader market. Those in the latter category include Winslow Green Growth, with 11.2% five-year returns as of June 26, compared with 7.4% for the Standard &amp; Poor&#8217;s 500; and the New Alternatives Fund, which invests in alternative energy and boasts an 18.1% five-year return as of June 26, according to Morningstar.</p>
<p>Outsize returns like those may prompt the question of whether alternative energy is entering bubble territory. It&#8217;s never an easy question to answer. &#8220;If it pops, we&#8217;ll know,&#8221; says Johann Klaassen, vice president of managed account programs for First Affirmative Financial Network, an independent investment advisory firm in Colorado Springs, Colo., that designs green investment portfolios. That said, Klaassen believes alternative energy is still in &#8220;the opportunity phase.&#8221;</p>
<p>Robinson says solar companies got &#8220;priced to perfection&#8221; recently but have since receded from their highs. It would be wrong to avoid the category altogether, he says: &#8220;Long-term, solar is a part of the solution.&#8221; Oil prices will not likely make a big retreat, he believes, and demand for alternative energy sources will only grow.</p>
<p>After all, it&#8217;s not as if the world will stop using energy. FTSE&#8217;s Moskowitz says green tech companies are reporting solid earnings that are reflected in FTSE&#8217;s environmental indexes, the FTSE ET50 and the FTSE Environmental Opportunities All-Share Index. &#8220;They don&#8217;t look wild,&#8221; Moskowitz says of his indexes&#8217; components.</p>
<p>Even so, green tech investors must have a strong stomach to weather the sector&#8217;s volatility. Some of that volatility comes from the fact that most green tech stocks are small-cap growth companies, which are among the most mercurial. In addition, Quealy says, &#8220;We live in an unbelievable bull market for commodities, where geopolitical discussions swing the price of oil two to three bucks daily.&#8221; This adds another layer of volatility to green tech stocks that other sectors don&#8217;t share, he notes.</p>
<p>Quealy still thinks green tech companies rank among the best secular growth opportunities for the next five to 10 years. Stock pickers would do well to study the management, market and marketable technology of the companies they&#8217;re considering, instead of blindly investing in the sector as a hot growth prospect, he advises. &#8220;The passive investment approach is likely to be a risky one as Wall Street decides who the winners and the losers are,&#8221; Quealy says.</p>
<p>Jan Bryan, a planner specializing in SRI out of Prescott, Ariz., reports that while her clients expect competitive returns from their investments, these long-term investors also understand and accept cycles of underperformance. For example, when defense and big oil are doing particularly well, portfolios that eschew them will miss out on those gains. Her clients have found other kinds of rewards in SRI and green investing. &#8220;Clients absolutely love it when you ask them their views on social issues,&#8221; she says. &#8220;They feel respected and heard, and these are the most loyal clients.&#8221; Klaassen also notes the phenomenon of &#8220;sticky clients&#8221; in the space: &#8220;They get invested in us, as well as with us.&#8221; First Affirmative does get some returns-driven investors, but they generally don&#8217;t stick around for long. &#8220;Hot money flows in and flows out,&#8221; Klaassen notes.</p>
<p>Elizabeth O&#8217;Brien is an author with Financial Planning magazine. For more information, please visit http://www.financial-planning.com</p>
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		<title>Biodegradable Products Online &#8211; The Green Business That Helps Other Businesses Go Green</title>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:22:13 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[Eco Conscious Consumer]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignright" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2220/2402980874_15f53487cc.jpg" border="0" alt="iHnDustRy." width="332" height="500" /><br />
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<p>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.</p>
<p>&#8216;Eco-friendly&#8217; or &#8216;Environmentally friendly&#8217; 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.</p>
<p>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:</p>
<p>Time it takes for garbage to decompose in the environment:</p>
<p>Glass Bottle &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;1 million years</p>
<p>Monofilament Fishing Lines&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;600 years</p>
<p>Plastic Beverage Bottle&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;450 years</p>
<p>Disposable Diaper&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;450 years<span id="more-171"></span></p>
<p>Aluminum Can&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;80-200 years</p>
<p>Foamed Plastic Buoy&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-80 years</p>
<p>Foamed Plastic Cups&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-50 years</p>
<p>Rubber-Boot Sole&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;50-80 years</p>
<p>Tin Cans&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-50 years</p>
<p>Leather&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;50 years</p>
<p>Nylon Fabric&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;30-40 years</p>
<p>Plastic Film Container&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;20-30 years</p>
<p>Plastic Bag&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-10-20 years</p>
<p>Cigarette Butt&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-1-5 years</p>
<p>Wool Sock&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-1-5 years</p>
<p>Plywood&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-1-3 years</p>
<p>Waxed Milk Carton&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;3 months</p>
<p>Apple Core&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-2 months</p>
<p>Newspaper&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;6 weeks</p>
<p>Orange or Banana Peel&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;2-5 weeks</p>
<p>Paper Towel&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;2-4 weeks</p>
<p>Information Source: U.S. National Park Service; Mote Marine Lab, Sarasota, FL.<br />
Humans are producing more garbage than the earth can handle. Waste has gotten harder, and harder to decompose since the Industrial Revolution. Thanks to modern science, a new type of plant-based plastic has been formulated that quickly and completely decomposes. Biodegradable plastics are the solution for environmentally-conscience homes and businesses to reduce landfill waste, and reduce green house gas emissions. In the right conditions, they decompose like fruits and vegetables because they are derived from raw renewable materials. With the same reliability, look, and feel as traditional plastics, corn fiber products can decompose in less than 2 months in the right conditions. An example of such online distributor is SunTerra.us. They offer the following Biodegradable Products: Biodegradable clear plastic cup, eco-friendly plastic bag, environmental friendly plate, trash bag, biodegradable packaging, plastic deli container, leaf bags, garbage bags, biodegradable cleaner and solo cups</p>
<p>Composting is a vital part of maintaining our environment&#8217;s balance. Now that scientists have formulated biodegradable materials, almost anything can be made from it such as eco-friendly: trash bags, cups, cutlery, deli containers, packaging and more. Starch and limestone have also become popular replacements for traditional paper plate products and soup bowls. These products look and feel just like old non-biodegradable products, but reduce your negative impact on the earth. Take advantage of environmentally friendly products online and go GREEN now!</p>
<p>For more information on biodegradable products, visit</p>
<p>http://www.sunterra.us</p>
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		<title>The New Green Language</title>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:05:52 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[Green Business 101]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green Business Basics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green Industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carbon dioxide]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[photo credit: Spigoo Embracing new, environmentally sustainable ideas is often confusing. New terms like &#8220;Greenhouse Gases&#8221;, &#8220;Carbon Footprint&#8221;, :Greenwashing&#8221;, and even the &#8220;Three R&#8217;s&#8221; (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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/8/10718913_7383cd2151.jpg" border="0" alt="Serres Royales de Laeken" width="500" height="419" /><br />
<small><a title="Attribution License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank"><img src="http://blackteacentral.com/wp-content/plugins/photo-dropper/images/cc.png" border="0" alt="Creative Commons License" width="16" height="16" align="absmiddle" /></a> <a href="http://www.photodropper.com/photos/" target="_blank">photo</a> credit: <a title="Spigoo" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/89793512@N00/10718913/" target="_blank">Spigoo</a></small></p>
<p><small><a title="Spigoo" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/89793512@N00/10718913/" target="_blank"></a></small>Embracing new, environmentally sustainable ideas is often confusing. New terms like &#8220;Greenhouse Gases&#8221;, &#8220;Carbon Footprint&#8221;, :Greenwashing&#8221;, and even the &#8220;Three R&#8217;s&#8221; (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.</p>
<p>Let&#8217;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&#8217;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.<span id="more-39"></span></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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&#8217;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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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:</p>
<p>jwinn@greenprofitsolutions.com</p>
<p>http://www.greenprofitsolutions.com</p>
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		<title>21 Or 22 Good Reasons To Be A Green Business</title>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:16:36 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[Green Business 101]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[photo credit: hueesI t&#8217;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&#8217;s environmental policies in the selection process. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3090/2681718115_40fb35303b.jpg" border="0" alt="Oude Haven" width="500" height="334" /><br />
<small><a title="Attribution License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank"><img src="http://blackteacentral.com/wp-content/plugins/photo-dropper/images/cc.png" border="0" alt="Creative Commons License" width="16" height="16" align="absmiddle" /></a> <a href="http://www.photodropper.com/photos/" target="_blank">photo</a> credit: <a title="huees" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43429682@N00/2681718115/" target="_blank">huees</a></small>I</p>
<p>t&#8217;s More Than The Environment!</p>
<p>INCREASED REVENUE</p>
<p>• Client base</p>
<p>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&#8217;s environmental policies in the selection process.</p>
<p>• Reputation and public image</p>
<p>Employees, executives, business partners, clients, shareholders, family and friends want to align with an environmentally responsible business</p>
<p>• Industry trends &amp; competition</p>
<p>Being aware of industry trends is smart business. The marketplace rewards best practices, separating leaders from laggards.<span id="more-9"></span> Competitors are aware of marketplace trends and will implement sustainability measures if they haven&#8217;t already done so.</p>
<p>REDUCED OPERATING COST</p>
<p>• Energy costs</p>
<p>Reduced energy use and cost results from green business operation. Lowering peak energy demand results in outsized energy cost reductions.</p>
<p>• Water costs</p>
<p>Ensuring adequate freshwater supplies will become increasingly difficult over the coming decades. Water conservation strategies can reduce water use by 50% or more.</p>
<p>• Cleaning and maintenance costs</p>
<p>Carefully selected, green building materials and products require less maintenance or reduce the need for cleaning. Smart landscaping with native plants typically requires significantly less maintenance than conventional turf and shrubbery.</p>
<p>• Waste reduction</p>
<p>Offices and entire buildings can be designed to reduce waste generation and incorporate facilities for recycling waste. Coffee break and lunch areas can use reusable dishes and utensils.</p>
<p>• Employee recruiting</p>
<p>Recruiting quality employees is a challenge. Workspace quality including such features as daylighting, views to the outdoors and indoor air quality can have a significant impact. Prospective employees are attracted to employers who are concerned about employee health and are committed to sustainable business practices.</p>
<p>• Employee turnover</p>
<p>Not only does a healthy, comfortable office environment and a commitment to sustainability attract quality workers but green employers experience lower employee turnover. How long does it take and how much does it cost to replace a productive employee?</p>
<p>PRODUCTIVITY</p>
<p>• Health</p>
<p>Since Americans spend approximately 85% of their time indoors, indoor environmental quality is extremely important. Green buildings and green offices are healthier workplaces which help keep workers healthy. Reduced absenteeism contributes to productivity.</p>
<p>• Recovery from illness</p>
<p>Indoor environmental quality, outdoor views and connections to nature have been shown to promote healing while reducing the spread of illness through airborne viruses and bacteria.</p>
<p>• Comfort</p>
<p>A well-insulated building reduces energy consumption but also increases comfort. Eliminating drafts, minimizing temperature variations, and controlling noise also improve occupant comfort. Increased comfort also contributes to productivity.</p>
<p>• Learning</p>
<p>Studies show a distinct, positive correlation between learning rates and daylighting, comfort, noise control and outdoor views.</p>
<p>THE COMMUNITY</p>
<p>• Municipal services</p>
<p>Green businesses use less water and produce less wastewater. In many U.S. communities, increased capacity is simply not available. When it is available, reducing sewage volume reduces the use of energy and chemicals in sewage treatment plants.</p>
<p>• Automobile use and traffic congestion</p>
<p>Green business operations consider how the office is integrated into the community and public transportation. Reducing dependence on automobiles has high priority. Locating near public transportation and providing facilities and incentives to encourage commuting by walking, biking and public transportation help reduce automobile use and traffic congestion. And reduced traffic congestion improves quality of life, increases productivity and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>• A sense of community</p>
<p>Employee mobility and 20th century suburban development trends contribute to a loss of community. Green community development help reverse these trends, creating neighborhoods in which residents interact with their neighbors. Safety and security within these neighborhoods improves while automobile dependency decreases.</p>
<p>THE ENVIRONMENT</p>
<p>• Global warming</p>
<p>Everything we do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has global benefits. Green businesses consume less energy and generate less carbon dioxide, require less transportation energy for occupants and visitors and avoid release of other greenhouse gases. Green businesses tread lightly on the environment.</p>
<p>• Ozone depletion</p>
<p>Green buildings minimize release of ozone-depleting substances by using environment friendly materials.</p>
<p>• Distance, Transportation and Energy</p>
<p>Shipping materials and products great distances uses more energy with corresponding environmental impacts. Green business operations strive to use local materials.</p>
<p>• Local and regional air quality</p>
<p>Reducing energy use in offices and buildings and in transporting occupants and visitors to and from these offices help improve local and regional air quality.</p>
<p>• Environmental Awareness</p>
<p>Green business operations make a clear and obvious statement about environmental stewardship. They set an example to employees and visitors, each of whom may become a strong advocate, affecting community attitudes and practices, in business and at home. Children raised in a green home will view the world with a green perspective.</p>
<p>SOCIETY AND COMMUNITY</p>
<p>• Support of local, sustainable business</p>
<p>Use of local supplies and materials and local agriculture invests in local companies which support the local community and encourages further investment.</p>
<p>Stan Gassman, BSC Sustainability Services Copyright 2008</p>
<p>Stan Gassman is a co-founder and principal of BSC Sustainability Services, http://www.bscsustainabilityservices.com a consulting company devoted to helping clients increase marketplace value by incorporating sustainability within their culture and operations.</p>
<p>Contact Stan via email, sgassman@bscsustainabilityservices.com</p>
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