GREEN BUSINESS VIEWS

Posts Tagged ‘cso’

There are good reasons to considered a Green business certification and installing a sustainability officer.  People think they’re healthier and more productive after moving their office space into “green” buildings, according to a recent study published on the American Journal of Public Health’s website.  This is according to a USA Today article taken from Associated Press.  There is more than perception involved in this equation because we know that poor indoor air quality is part of good health and good productivity.  Everyone has felt the afternoon dip in energy, the nagging headache, or even sleepiness that comes without good cause.

The same article says, “The authors estimated a small benefit to employees suffering from asthma and respiratory allergies. Those people would gain 1.75 more work hours per year working in the new building because they would take less sick time.  The biggest boost comes in perceived productivity.  The study’s authors extrapolated that employees could each work about 39 more hours a year in the new building because of different working conditions such as better light, air quality and ventilation.”

This is not only from possible outgassing from building components and furniture in the office.  Bad air is the byproduct of the cleaning service, pesticide use, poor ventilation, pollution infiltration, and the daily wear and tear of every business.

However, getting an building or office on the path to improvement does not come from casual concern.  One of the notable efforts to the sustainability officer is to address the IAQ along with the many issues of making a company Green.  In a holistic approach to environmental improvement, IAQ, energy reduction, water and waste management, lighting, supply chain, and numerous other issues are brought into the planning.  The air quality is a factor, but so is the quality of the lighting.  We have not yet touched on the carbon footprint issue or Green IT.

To solve these issues before the government start clamping down on compliance, more and more Fortune 500 companies are developing Certified Sustainability Officers (CSO) and getting them into a good training program.  The best training program for any level sustainability officer is found at http://www.CertifiedSustainabilityOfficer.com or http://www.CorporateSustainabilityOfficer.com.

The die is already cast, and it is only a matter of when (not if) your business will Go Green.  There is also a question which program will provide that Green certification.  The Global GHG Climate Initiative is quietly setting the expectations as the agenda targets 2017 as the year that we will turn the corner of climate change.  There is also an earlier target (2012) for programs to be deployed to make this happen in about a five year time frame.

For those who haven’t been paying attention, the failure of the Cap and Trade bill will not change the larger agenda.  The EPA has been given the power to control greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

These and other pending legislation will catch many ill-prepared business in an expensive game of catch up as the Fortune 500 companies are already shifting gears for business in this new economy.

What to Expect:

Greenhouse Gas Accounting (Measuring your Carbon Footprint):  You are already hearing about your carbon footprint.  This is a cumulative assessment of all the ways energy is used by your company (directly and indirectly) which converted into a carbon equivalent.

Energy Management is part of the carbon consideration, but is is also an issue of concern in it’s own right.  More than token efforts, businesses will feel real pressure to get “Lean and Green.”

Go Paperless now and cut operational costs.  36% of municipal solid waste in paper and paper products.  The upstream impact of paper mills and downstream burden on our land fills makes paper the “love/hate” issue of every business.  But, the facts reveal that paperless data and retrieval systems cut manpower costs by 25% and greatly speed up the business operation.

Indoor Air Quality is the other environmental sleeper.  Your employees are one of your greatest investments, and one of it’s greatest liabilities.  The indoor air quality is often far worse than you think, and it will impact employee productivity.  Environmental lawsuits are up by over 300% and growing.

Every company needs to train an in-house Certified Sustainability Officer (CSO) to act as a kind of compliance officer.  Larger companies are already doing this, and it seems certain that the burden of carbon and environmental compliance will make this office a standard for all businesses.

The Sustainable Forum offers the perfect solution for developing a sustainable officer for any company.  Using a unique local development event and online training, anyone of your staff can earn the CSO designation and bring this skill to your business in a seamless manner.  The primary duty of a CSO is to develop a tailored plan for the company that provides a holistic plan for environmental compliance with a secondary focus on cost savings.