How to Run a Green Small Business Part 6

Like any venture, small businesses are out to make money. Why then as a small business person, should you go green? Self interest – as you get to the point where you want investors, with green policies you’ll attract a whole new realm of potential backers. As one of the leading green venture capital funds, Winslow Management Company puts it the company is dedicated to “small-cap growth equity investing… At the same time, we proactively look to invest in companies that have strong environmental attributes”

If you color your company green, your philosophy will inspire not only investors, but your employees. Here are a few more green steps to take:

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 

   Use water filters on your taps instead of bottled water. Americans spend more than $8 Billion a year on bottled water. You can get comparable purity and taste by installing a water filter that will cost pennies a gallon. One of the worse substances found in tap water comes from pipes that are more than twenty years old – lead which can enter your water supply through corrosion of brass fixtures or solder at pipe joints. Lead can cause adults to experience high blood pressure or kidney problems, which can harm your bottom line as health costs climb. If you have older pipes, choose a water filter that removes lead. Walter filters can also eliminate parasites like giardia and cryptosporidium, which was responsible in 1993, for a massive outbreak of water borne diarrhea in Milwaukee. The reverse osmosis filter is the gold standard. They usually mount under a sink and were originally developed to desalinate seawater. To chill the water, store it in gallon containers in the office refrigerator.

2. Replace your office refrigerator. Today’s models use 40% less energy than those sold as recently as five years ago. Many utilities have buy backs, credits or free pick ups of older models. Even if you don’t buy a new one, you can save energy by defrosting it often and checking to see if your door gasket is tight.

3. 

   Eliminate polystyrene coffee cups. In another posting, “How to use Promotional Items to Grow Your Small Business,” I suggested getting coffee cups made for your steady customers displaying your name and logo, website and phone number. When clients come to your office, offer them a cup of coffee in those cups, which they get to keep. Have your employees bring their own mugs, or give them the company cups when they’ve passed probation. Make sure that the cups are washed with green cleaners and you’ve set the stage for eliminating Styrofoam coffee cups. Perhaps you’ve heard the joke that if you could choose how to be reincarnated, you might want to come back as a polystyrene foam cup. Why? Because they last forever. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency more than 3 million tons of polystyrene is made in the U S each year. Almost all of it ends up in land fills.

4. Buy green coffee. I’m not talking about getting unroasted beans, but in buying coffee that was grown in a sustainable manner. Coffee is probably the most widely consumed foodstuff in American offices. It’s a perk (pun intended) that workers and office visitors depend upon. No coffee is grown on the US mainland. Most of it is imported after being cultivated on small farms in the tropics. For coffee grown to the highest standards, buy coffee that bears the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal of approval. Packages so marked are from farmers who pledged to control pollution, conserve natural resources and wildlife habitat, while treating their workers responsibly.

[Cinadiane]

on 3/5/2008 I'd disagree with Step 4 and reccommend that you look for Fair Trade certified coffee. Not only is most of it organic by USDA standards, but it also ensures living wages for producers. Rainforest Alliance's criteria are not nearly as strong. For a good comparison of certification systems check out Michael Conroy's BRANDED.