GREEN BUSINESS VIEWS

Posts Tagged ‘green business league’

In 1985, British Scientists found a growing hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica.  The conclusion was that the reduction of CFCs in refrigerants and halons in fire fighting chemicals was the best solution.  We went to work and found better ways to do the job, and now we are hearing that the ozone layer has healed and is doing much better.

The ozone layer is a big part of preventing the ultraviolet light from the sun that causes aging and wrinkle.  I for one am very much against aging and wrinkles.  However, there is always a downside.  The increase of ozone has added to the smog factor as more ozone contributes to smog making.  There is rarely a perfect solution.

The atmosphere outside is actually better than the air inside most buildings.  We spend more than 90% of our time indoors, and the EPA tells us that the indoors air can be 3 to 5 times worse than the outside air.  So, while we may take a moment’s pleasure knowing that the ozone layer is not going to fail, there is a matter much closer to home, and that is the quality of the air our homes, schools, offices, and building.

Let’s start with some basics:

First:  Your cleaning service needs to be Green.  I don’t mean Greenwashed (like so many firms), but honestly Green certified.  Unless your cleaning service has the training, equipment, and product mix required by a Green service; it simply isn’t Green.  We recommend that you require your cleaning services to be Green certified (but not by some sham online program).  Ask your cleaning service if they are Green certified, or find one that is.

Secondly: Use low-VOC paint when you remodel, choose carpet that is recycled, and any glue should be low-VOCS as well.  Be careful in choice of furniture that will continue to dry and outgas for months.  And change the air filters according to the recommended schedule.

Thirdly: Take your company through an assessment process with the Green Business League.  They have consultants nationwide who will help improve the indoor air quality, suggest cost-savings Green practices, and show your company how to Go Green legitimately.  (Avoid Greenwashing solutions that will embarrass your company later on.)

A Green office or building is a healthy building.  We have some lessons to learn about how long-term exposure impacts the workers in any business.  These are a company’s biggest asset.  There needs to be a better program to keep them healthy and highly productive.

It may seem like a old idea, but it is still a good idea. Innovation is a hundred times better than governmental solutions. Proof of this has recently come across my desk as I reviewed the latest wind turbine ideas. A Massachusetts company called FlowDesign has recreated the problematic large-bladed wind turbine concept. This is proof of the fundamental idea that private industry needs encouragement rather than more regulation.

We might note that even the renown T Boone Pickens has all but abandoned the great wind turbine project that he so heartily championed a year ago. The good idea relied on the belief that these huge windmills would produce large amounts of “free energy.”  The cost of installation and the ongoing operational costs made this project unfeasible.  The late-arriving realization is that the huge windmills are costly, unsightly, and not very efficient.

I had long said that the windmill solution is the problem child of the alternative energy sector because it has so many downsides. Windmills can be noisy, visually unattractive, liability threats, and costly to install. Also, they do not work in light wind and cannot operate in high winds. This leaves a smaller window for energy production. Lastly, we must consider the actual energy conversion. Wind power, as much as we like the idea, is not as simple a solution as it sounds.

FlowDesign has adapted the traditional windmill to something that resembles jet engine technology. The unit is smaller, allows wider wind speed margins, and is more efficient in energy production. You have to ask why we spent so many million (or billions) on a solution that seems like a flashback to the Dutch windmill era?

The same question can be applied to the GFL bulb that has minute amounts of mercury in the bulb. We know that the disposal of millions of these bulbs creates yet another ecological hazard. The better solution seems to be the LED lights that have large scale applications in every lighting situtation. Organic LED adds greater reason to put this on the fast track for broad application.

Finally, I have to ask why are we still chasing ethanol from corn? The logic is quickly lost as we realize that it takes food out the of the system to generate fuel for our cars. The obvious genius of hydrogen power calls for a Manhattan-like project to make hydrogen cheap to produce. Thinking of fuel from water is simply too good to bypass.

As we face an energy crisis in the foreseeable future, the government’s penchant for throwing money at pet projects, pork barrel dead ends, and faulty ideas should stop. I advocate that the smart money should go to create tax incentives and funding for smart technology that will break the back of the the ugly issues threatening our livelihood on many levels. The current administration has already eclipsed the spending mania of past presidents. Congress has passed budgetary bills that had made our national debt a nightmare, and the public voice seems lost on those we voted into power. This frustration should lead to a mid-term election change where Americans will speaks their mind.

What is needed is not more regulation, taxation, and misguided solutions; but the smart kind of solutions that will take our country to the leaders of the Green technology and innovation. With the loss of manufacturing jobs and the large unemployment rate now hurting our economy, it is time to take a strong leadership position with great ideas that will make our country better, not poorer. I sincerely hope that we see more innovation like the ideas coming from FloDesign.

Any company looking to radically improve their Green IQ should work toward their Green business certification by contacting the Green Business League. If any firm wishes to send their in-house staff to Green Officer Training, consider an upcoming three day training event. In other words, let’s take on the challenge as smart business and do not wait for legislation to make a needful task into a loathsome and expensive burden.

The present environmental issues are haunted by several preconceived beliefs that unfortunately hinder the wide-spread acceptance of a more evolved process now in market today.  These prevailing concerns are that Going Green is both inconvenient and a larger bite into available dollars.  These threats are often pushed aside because of the greater challenge of saving the world from environmental disaster and the anticipated calculation of savings realized over the next fifteen to twenty years.  These reasons were enough of a rationale for the environmentally-concerned, but it did not convince the rest of America to change their lifestyles.

Let’s consider another prevalent issue, which is the natural penchant we all have for convenience.  The last few generations have passed through an extended period of throw-away possessions and single use everything.  Convenience has become as integral part of our lifestyle as red meat.  We have left behind a period of time when we casually adopted the concept of “planned obsolescence.” Conservation, recycling, or stewardship were not common words.  We were literally “Consumers,” and everyone liked it just that way.

Here’s the ugly, present truth!  Our lives are no longer about convenience, but now require that we do what is the right thing to do in a world predicted to expand to a population of nine billion people.  Our habits are no longer about convenience in a world that now calculates “what is left” of our worldwide resources.  And, our future is not longer about convenience, as we find that our trash and polluted waste threatens to return to us in very unfriendly ways.  Life, in all its many variations, is now about stewardship and doing the right thing.

People and business everywhere are now facing a lifestyle renovation that will either be voluntary, or be mandated by regulations if we cannot change on our own.  Change is now a great deal more than a political slogan.  It is where we are in this point of world history, and those who cannot change will eventually bemoan the fact that government will happily and awkwardly enforce.

My report, however has some very good news.  Change may be the new rule as this generation willingly adopts the new patterns of a more environmental lifestyle, but costs are no longer a real barrier to anyone.  We are now learning that Going Green actually brings new efficiencies that will increase the bottom line of a home or business.  The return on investment need not be a 15-20 year calculation, but can be a 1-2 year reward.  For example, a 25% savings on electric can be a big help to almost any budget, and that is easy to accomplish with proper guidance.  Green businesses need not change much of what they do in life; but if they take this change seriously, it is possible to realize a 30-40% energy savings.  The fact is that Going Green can save money in your office supplies, manpower costs, water, and heating bills to name a few ideas.  A professional Green renovation can save not merely hundreds of dollars, but thousands of dollars each and every year.

We have all heard the recent predictions of our energy future.  We are regrettably being told to expect 100%, 200%, and even 300% increases in the cost of energy. This fact will magnify the savings of what is done to improve our consumption today.  So, the best question is, “What is holding us back?”  It is most likely our mistaken beliefs that becoming a Green business is a sacrifice that we must make without a solid reason for making the sacrifices needful at this time.  But, this type of thinking is a throwback to an era when Green was relatively new and immature.

A Certified Green Consultant has been trained to do more than guide a business in the adoption of Green practices and the certification of Green businesses.  They also know how to create strong savings and beef up the profits of a Green motivated company.  These savings are magnified many times over as years pass and prices go up.   Going Green is no longer the venue of amateurs because doing it badly is both costly and inconvenient.  An authentically Green business is the kind of program that pays the best dividends to those install Green practices the right way.