Eco-friendly practices should form part of every business organization. Consumer awareness on anything green; from products, services, packaging to green business practices is pushing businesses to go green,. However, they should not only be treated as a green marketing slogan or practice only up to "packaging" of products and services. They must be deeply ingrained in business culture to be sustainable. Here are 10 of the most fundamentally sound green business practices.
1.) Reduce, recycle and reuse
Recycling and reuse of office and industrial waste materials is one of the most popular ways to lower business expenditures while keeping in line with being environment friendly. A sound recycling program can easily be integrated in all aspects of business processes. It is usually the starting point in any holistic green business program.
Recycling programs start with education to create green awareness in the workplace. Green education is a continually evolving process as new trends and technologies come into light. Sustainable recycling and reuse programs are those which can easily be retrofitted and adapted.
Recycling programs also include waste audit to monitor and determine waste inventory. A "green management team" is necessary to oversee the whole processes. In the end, recycling and reuse directly reduce material acquisition cost; improving profitability.
2.) Water conservation
Water conservation forms part of overall recycling and reuse programs. Utilizing waste water from office and industrial processes is common among many workplaces. It often involves additional capital expenditure but they prove to be cost-effective in the medium and long term. Fresh water is a finite resource and the supply is quickly dwindling. Every little effort to conserve and recycle water is not only vital in business processes but for whole planet.
3.) Environment friendly waste management
According to the EPA, Zero-waste management involves "source reductions to product re-design, to reuse and eliminating incentives for raw material extraction and landfilling. The path to zero waste requires moving beyond recycling to a more integrated and holistic resource management system".
The zero waste philosophy is taking the fight to mitigate climate change to a whole new level. It is a holistic approach which does not only address reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is a very promising step towards efficient recycling, reuse and transformation of waste into usable products and renewable energy.
4.) Reducing energy consumption
Effectively reducing energy consumption also means reducing operating expense. Energy reduction programs can be as simple as lowering the thermostat settings of cooling and heating equipments in appropriate areas. This is an example of a simple yet cost-effective environment friendly business practice which only takes green awareness to implement.
Rescheduling energy intensive business and industrial processes during off-peak hours is a fundamentally sound eco-friendly business practice. It substantially reduces greenhouse gas emissions from power generating plants while reducing energy cost since off-peak power rates are cheaper.
5.) Using energy efficient equipments, appliances and devices
The "true cost" of going green is continually going down as governments around the world are encouraging businesses to adapt to environment friendly business practices. However, many green businesses have considered green investments as part of green marketing campaigns. This is the salient part of going green while government subsidies and tax credits are the tangible incentives to invest in green technologies.
Using Energy Star qualified appliances and other products have become the norm of many businesses. Investing in renewable sources of energy such as solar power, wind energy etc. is now seen as viable alternatives especially with carbon offsetting as an integral part in cap-and-trade economies. Green buildings are mushrooming as proof that using "expensive" energy efficient technologies is becoming part of the mainstream.
6.) Carbon offsetting as vital to be an eco-balance business
The concept of carbon tracking and carbon offsetting is still at its infancy in the US. But it is in full throttle in Europe, Japan, Australia and other parts of the world where cap-and-trade systems of governing greenhouse gas emissions have been implemented. Purchasing carbon offsets helps fund eco-friendly projects such as wind and solar energy farms, carbon dioxide and methane capture, reforestation, renewable fuel sources etc.
Trading carbon offsets as part of green business protocols will continue to grow and be a major component of green economies. Despite the controversial issues surrounding carbon offsets and continuing resistance towards cap-and-trade systems of governing greenhouse gas emissions, businesses need to sustainably fund green projects which reduce carbon footprint.
7.) Tracking down life cycles and carbon footprints
Tracking down the life cycles of products and the amount of carbon footprint in doing business is the heart and soul of green business concepts. Without the monitoring and auditing systems which determine the journey of any business entity towards becoming carbon neutral, everything will just be considered "for show". Green awareness should be based on quantifiable figures which leads to finding better ways to reduce carbon footprint
Local waste material exchange programs is one such way to further cut down on carbon footprint from waste material management. Green purchasing is another growing aspect of green business practices. Becoming a member of the Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN) is a way to sustainable purchasing.
8.) Green meetings and conventions
Technological advancement does not necessarily lead to "unsustainable conveniences". Green meetings and conventions reduces overall carbon footprint while considerably lowering down the cost of doing business.
It involves paperless technology, web base conferencing among other cost-effective ways to hold meetings and transact business. The Internet is proving to be a cost-effective platform to promote and market products and services. There are viral marketing tools such as email marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), affiliate marketing, direct/indirect advertising and online payment schemes to transact business efficiently.
There are also other eco-friendly ways to conduct business including reducing travel distances and patronizing green hotels. These green practices are part of holistic and sustainable ways of running green businesses.
9.) Supporting other green products, services and businesses
Patronizing green products and services fuels the growth of green businesses which in effect hastens the development of green economies. It also builds networks and relationships which strengthens business foundations.
Green businesses have mushroomed in the real and the virtual world. From green web hosting sites, solar and wind farms to other eco-friendly manufacturers and service providers. As more and more businesses make it a part of their green business policies to patronize other green products and services, more and more green jobs are created.
10.) Continually growing green awareness in the workplace
Green awareness builds over time. It should start at the corporate level and if effectively implemented, green awareness should extend outside the workplace and into the communities of each and every individual in the workplace. Growing green awareness in the workplace needs constant care to develop firm roots. They seem insignificant at the start but it could prove to be one of the biggest step that any business organization has to make, in order to survive and be sustainable in a green economic setting.