Green Business is Good for the Bottom Line

Editors note: Start your GreenNonprofits Certification Profile today: http://www.greennonprofits.org

Operating a green business is not only good for the environment but good for your business's bottom line because conserving resources and cutting down on waste saves money. The good news is that whether you run a home-based business or an off-site enterprise, there are simple things you can do to run an environmentally friendly business.

Recycling is the first thing that comes to mind when we think of being environmentally friendly. And recycling is important. But recycling is only one part of the environmentally friendly business equation. We can also take a large step towards being more environmentally friendly by reducing the amounts of waste in our offices and business operations.

Here are just ten easy-to-implement ideas for running a green business from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's Greening Operations guides that you can put into practice right now to make your office a more environmentally friendly place:

1. Turn off equipment when it's not being used. This can reduce the energy used by 25 percent; turning off the computers at the end of the day can save an additional 50 percent.

2. Encourage communications by email, and read email messages onscreen to determine whether it's necessary to print them. If it's not, don't!

3. Reduce fax-related paper waste by using a fax-modem and by using a fax cover sheet only when necessary.Fax-modems allow documents to be sent directly from a computer, without requiring a printed hard copy.

4. Produce double-sided documents whenever possible.

5. Do not leave taps dripping; always close them tightly after use. (One drop wasted per second wastes 10,000 litres per year.)

6. Install displacement toilet dams in toilet reservoirs. Placing one or two plastic containers filled with stones [not bricks] in the toilet's reservoir will displace about 4 litres of water per flush - a huge reduction of water use over the course of a year.

7. Find a supply of paper with maximum available recycled content.

8. Choose suppliers who take back packaging for reuse.

9. Instigate an ongoing search for "greener" products and services in the local community. The further your supplies or service providers have to travel, the more energy will be used to get them to you.

10. Before deciding whether you need to purchase new office furniture, see if your existing office furniture can be refurbished. It's less expensive than buying new and better for the environment.

You can find out more about running an environmentally friendly business in my article, Being Good to the Environment is Good for Business¹.

Environmentally friendly actions don't have to be large to have an impact. Consistently reducing the amount of energy, water, and paper our businesses use can make a huge difference, both to the environment and to our pocketbooks. How much paper would you save over the course of a year, for instance, if you always ran doublesided copies? A small thing - but a big result!

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In partnership with The GreenOffice our 2008 Webinar Series is designed to help you jumpstart your office greening efforts. Whether your interests lie with carbon offsetting, green purchasing, or just the basics, these webinars will provide you with the information you need to ensure a green future for your organization in a convenient, cost-effective manner. Keep an eye out for more webinars on a variety of subjects coming soon!

All you need in order to listen to and view the webinars is a computer with internet access and a phone. 

The centerpiece of the GreenNonprofit movement is for each charity to become certified. This is a process that is both easy to understand and takes time to complete.

The first step is to create your profile and start earning points. You only need 100 points to become certified. You can start earning points right way. 

1. Create a profile
2. See what points you may have already earned with actions you have already taken
3. Review options for earning other points
4. Save your work
5. Engage your organization to make additional changes
6. Come back and add your new points
7. Repeat 3-6 until you have earned 100 points

Go to http://GreenNonprofits.org and click on certification to get started.

Background:

In an effort to recognize and certify outstanding Green Nonprofits and promote their services, GreenNonprofits has established the certification program. By participating in this program and becoming certified, your charity will publically declare your commitment to these principles while joining this unique global group of superior organisations.

The GreenNonprofits certification process is unique to each nonprofit/NGO’s goals to become greener.  To complete the program it could take

IBM Software Group’s vice president, Chris O’Connor recently spoke with ZDNet and offered advice on how companies can green their IT.

1. Compress e-mails and dedupe data. This can lead to a reduction in power usage by 30 to 40 percent.
2. Power down computer resources, don’t turn them off. Aligning systems and power management can save companies 25 to 35 percent on power.
3. Facilities and IT departments need to collaborate to cut down power costs.
4.Utilize power management dashboards which allow power and heat to be measured in real time. This allows companies to find hot spots and analyze why an area’s cooling costs are higher.

Deloitte’s CIO, Larry Quinlan also recently talked about the company’s green IT initiatives.

According to a Digital Realty Trust survey in April, 51 percent of companies have a green data center strategy.

 

One of the steps toward GreenNonprofit Certification is to begin buying office products that are more environmentally friendly. You can earn several points for making the right choices

Purchasing recycled copy paper will earn you 2 points.

92 GE brightness rating. 20-lb., white, acid-free paper made without the use of chlorine or chlorine compounds. (PCF). Offers the same hardworking characteristics and brightness as a non-recycled sheet. 8-1/2 x 11. Recycled, 100% post-consumer content. 500 sheets per ream. Ten reams per carton.

Join the movement! Where Nonprofits/NGO's from around the world are being seen as more GREEN. By becoming a member of GreenNonprofits, Inc. you will reap the benefits of both our online and offline greening programs. Through signing our pledge and seeking certification, you will be joining this unique global group of distinguished organizations.

Start your path today for the low cost of $55 as an individual member or $125 as an institution.

http://www.GreenNonprofits.org click on Member Area