Go green and save a buck
Author: Recession the time to green business
“There is a larger segment of the U.S. population that is demanding green products and services.” Carlson
INTERVIEW. If you’re a business owner, you’ve probably heard by now — it’s not the best time to be a business owner.
From mom-and-pop shops to big corporations, the recession is caving
in businesses’ bottom lines as consumer spending, sales and,
consequently, profits are falling through the floor. So how do you save
it?
Well, necessity is the mother of invention, and author Kim Carlson
is here to explain how to reinvent the wheel for your business.
In her new book, “Green Your Work: Boost Your Bottom Line While
Reducing Your Carbon Footprint,” Carlson says that implementing
environmentally friendly policies can keep your business above water.
[Q] How can businesses actually increase profits by going green?
[A] Profits are increased by
decreasing expenses and/or finding new sources of revenue. There are
three areas of any business that can be greened: the facility; the
people, policies and procedures; and the product or service. Here are
some simple examples:
[1] Reduce energy use. Turning off
or managing computer power can save $100 a year per computer. So don’t
leave the office without powering down.
[2] Improve lighting. Switching to energy-saving bulbs or natural lighting can save up to 30 percent annually.
[3] Duplexing copies can cut paper cost by 35 to 45 percent.
[4] Healthy indoor air quality from green building products will keep worker sick days low.
[Q] Has going green become such a popular concept that custom-ers are actually seeking green businesses?
[A] There is a larger and larger
segment of the U.S. population that is demanding green products and
services. Though we haven’t reached the height of green demand that
some of the European countries, Canada, Australia and Mexico have
reached, there has been movement in the direction of more green
consumers in the past few years. According to a 2008 study by
Information Resources Inc., “half of U.S. consumers consider at least
one sustainability factor when selecting brands to buy or stores to
shop.”
[Q] What do you think the business models of the future will look like?
[A] Resource savings will be
part of every business model. It will no longer be defined with a label
like “green business” because the green business model will be the only
business model that makes sense. Green will be the responsibility of
every committee and every employee within an organization. Green will
permeate every functional area of every business.
GRAHAM WOOD
Source: www.metro.us