Green is in, no doubt about it: going green is the realization that waste and conspicuous consumption just isn’t good for the planet and it isn’t good for your business.

Green is a philosophy.  More than just recycling your shredded documents, or installing CFC light bulbs (but by all means these are good things that you should do!), going green means that you’ve adopted a way of thinking that considers the impact of all the choices you make about running your business.  Going green is a new way of thinking and it requires a careful examination of all your business processes and purchasing decisions.

Green is innovation.  When you learn to think green, you learn to see things in a different light.  By examining all your products, packaging, displays, marketing materials, suppliers, and business processes through “green” lenses you learn to see the impact on our environment.  You learn to ask tough questions:  where did this come from and where will it go?  To carry the color analogy a little further, learning to look green isn’t always easy, after all you are not putting on rose-colored glasses.  Going green means making changes, and we all know that change can be difficult and that despite its constancy, people tend to resist it.  But if you think creatively, you might come up with innovations that make your business run better – on measures that are beyond just protecting the planet – you might end up attracting more customers, saving money, and becoming more adaptable to external forces.  Let’s examine some of these benefits:

Green is going places.  Transportation is a big energy cost, and a green business is a mobile business, eliminating travel “to and from” can yield big savings.  Where does your business have to be located?   Where do your employees have to be, and where are your customers?    If you can innovate so that your business can be done without regard to place, or even time, you’ve increased the opportunities for your work to get done.   Internet service, web-based applications, virtual networks, mobile telephony and web conferencing are all technologies that can contribute to mobility options.

Green is also staying put. If you can set up business processes so that your employees can work from home, you eliminate commuting saving both time and stress for the individuals, and contributing to cleaner air for the rest of us. But more than just telecommuting to let employees stay home, a green philosophy considers localism – can you get materials you need locally, saving transportation costs and building up your community’s commerce? Going green means understanding how much it takes to transport materials to and from your business.

Green is marketing.  Standard rules to marketing really don’t apply in a world of Web 2.0 – ours is now an electronic marketplace in large measure.  People are networked together online or on the phone almost all the time.  Examine your advertising and marketing budget:  does it make sense (cents!) to send print material in US Mail or invest in Google ads? Sure, there is still a huge need for print materials, but are yours being created with soy inks on recycled materials, in a size that is useful and not wasteful?  Customers are savvy to the green movement and are increasingly likely to reject over-packaged products and are becoming more attracted to ‘earth-friendly’ companies.  Can you honestly say that your company is ‘earth-friendly’?

Green is power.  How much do you spend on electricity and what can you do differently to save money?  Beyond new LED or CFC lights, have you considered solar or wind options?  What investments can you make in technologies that will save power –would an investment in new computing systems save money over time? 

Green is good. Consider conducting a “green audit” of your business.  With as much thoroughness as a financial audit, conduct a business process audit to look for ways to save money, make money, and innovate with a green philosophy – it is the color of money, after all.
 
 Trainor is the president of Frontier Trail, Inc.
 Monrovia based consultancy.
Visit Trainor@FrontierTrail.com.