Green Business

Even if you're not a tree hugger, it can't hurt to help reduce your impact on ole Mother Earth. Following are innovative ways to stage virtual trade shows, increase business productivity, share information with members in your business, while saving you time, money and the planet in the process.Online Meeting Options* Webinars (online seminars) - inform, educate and share information with whomever you choose!* Online presentations - upload your Powerpoint slides and select who you want to see it* Meeting Planning Solutions - plan and manage events, lower expenses, meeting buyers, meeting suppliers* Event Messaging Systems - for meetings, events, trade shows and conferences for 50-50,000 attendees used before, during and after the event.Information Sharing/Communication* Whitepapers - publish your authoritative report or guide that educates others on a specific issue and how to solve it.* Video Presentation/Posting - welcome to YouTube where you can post videos available only to specific people or the world.* Electronic Fax Service - send faxes from your computer and receive them at multiple email addresses. Delivered to your inbox via pdf or tiff format.* Podcasting to share audio of meetings/conferences - publish on iTunes and people can download and listen on their computer, iPod or iPhone.* Video Conferencing - we never thought the "Jetsons" video calls from ...

While many notable onlookers attribute Detroit's decline to being insulated, arrogant, and slow to adapt, having been in the car business right out of college, I see their problems differently.To me, car retailers are hopelessly stuck in a business model that depends on doing business by car. They haven't fully grasped the implications of the Internet, and still insist on seeing prospects face to face.Not only are the gas guzzlers they sell wasting energy and the environment, but by doing business through a traditional retail model, they're forcing their customers to pollute as a pre-condition of buying.Prove this to yourself.Call a handful of dealers to get a quote on a lease or purchase. Sellers will hem and haw and do everything they can to avoid reciting figures, even ballparks, in favor of getting you into their showroom or offices.They believe deals are made face to face and nowhere else.Recently, I left a message for a senior executive at a company that owns several California dealerships. I suggested they consider selling their Prius and other hybrid models by telephone.I wasn't called back, and they probably thought I was a crank.Let's turn the clock back a few decades. I went to work for a Beverly Hills based auto leasing giant. Instead of trying to ...

You can save face as a responsible, "green" corporation while also saving money on buying solvent. In many cases, if you buy a solvent recycler from a knowledgeable vendor, your investment could be paid off on an average of less than one year from time of purchase. Not only will the investment pay for itself, but you can avoid waste removal costs, excessive solvent purchasing costs, and give your company a public profile that promotes your stance on being responsible to maintaining a clean environment.There are obvious advantages to recycling your own solvent. The first advantage stems from the recent positive publicity from "going green." While it is beyond the scope of this article to discuss issues such as global warming or water conservation, these and other environmental issues have taken center stage in the media. If your company already recycles its solvent, taking advantage of your contribution to the well-being of the environment will make other companies want to do business with you. The trend of "going green" will stay around for a while. Other companies such as Wal-Mart and Starbucks ride their green reputations to profitability. Even if you are involved in the B2B community, other companies want to do business with companies that are seen as responsible.While using solvent ...

Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.
-Cree Indian Proverb2001 was when it first hit him. He was in a public rest stop on a highway in upstate New York using the men's room. While there, he noticed a big poster on the wall saying "Proud to be cleaned by Lysol".He thought to himself, "They're proud to be using Lysol? That's horrible!" [Note: Lysol has known carcinogens- chemicals quite toxic to humans.] Cleaners in public spaces should be all natural and non-toxic for all involved. Including the planet.Shortly thereafter he started Ecologic Solutions, Inc.in his apartment. Eight years later it is one of the most successful all-natural commercial cleaning supply companies in the country with 100% annual sales growth for the past three years. Rejecting a corporate buyout offer, they are wrapping up a multi-million dollar round of investment financing.The man who started the company is my baby brother, Anselm.People frequently ask me "Can a business really thrive in being 'green'?" I tell them about Anselm and several of my clients whose companies are all growing at similar rates in their "green" companies.They often also ask, "Is 'green' business just another modern-day gold ...

In the summer of 1989 I was taking a subway home with some friends that I co-founded an environmental non-profit with here in Brooklyn. I remember complaining about how tired I was of having to search and buy eco products in mail order catalogs (this was pre-internet days).Basic eco-products like toilet paper made from recycled and non-chlorine bleached paper.Back then there were no stores in NYC that sold it. In order to get it, you had to buy a case via mail order. A case of 96 rolls.I remember complaining, "What am I going to do with 96 rolls of toilet paper in my small apartment!"And that is when it hit me. What about having a retail store that screened all its products for their environmental impact? The task of researching and learning about the environmental (and social) issues that go into making products can overwhelm most customers.I asked them, "So what if we created a store that did that for the customer? And you did not need to buy 96 rolls of something to get it."At the age of 25, that was the beginning of Earth General, which opened two years later in 1991.Within six years Earth General grew to being one of the largest environmental retail stores in the country ...

GREEN Signage and Display Solutions for BusinessDid you know?Many people do not realise the impact to the environment that a simple sign, display or graphic has to the environment. Let me start by saying that i am not a scientific expert and have no collected data, but i will tell you what i know and what practical steps and questions you can undertake the next time you advertise. WHY? because the Earth is OUR HOME!What Impact?For an Example, let's start with a basic product that is used commonly in nearly every store in nearly every part of the world. A Perspex board sign with vinyl lettering.Ok, so at the factory in Malaysia, they will use acrylic resin (a byproduct of oil) which may be useful instead of putting it in the ground. Each sheet has a low tack PS or PE mask to protect the sheet (please use PE or plastic masked as it can be re-cycled and is easier to peel off).Next we come to the vinyl lettering, A real environmental disaster. Most advertising signs use this product which involves a wax coated liner and a pre-mask that gets thrown away and can't be re-cycled. On top of that, eventually the actual signs get thrown away and the vinyl itself can't ...

With the environment being a hot topic these days, any business would do well to see how it could reduce its carbon footprint. Customers are currently seeking out greener companies and there is a demand for greener products.Even as a small business, there is a lot any manager can do reduce waste and be more energy efficient. Going green does not need to be a chore.One easy solution is to switch to energy saving light bulbs wherever possible. Energy saving bulbs last longer, which means you are saving money and reducing waste. They also do indeed save energy, which will have a positive impact on the company’s electricity bill.Any business, even a small one, tends to go through a lot of paper per year. A lot of paper is used just for the scribbling of notes and reminders. This amount can be reduced by using the backs of paper thrown away because of failed print-outs and faxes. If the printed material is not of a sensitive nature, it will do just as well as using a whole new sheet simply to note down a thought or to scribble down the time someone called. Afterwards, the paper can be shredded like always.In the long run, this will save on paper and is therefore ...

The present version of Green business is generally very motivated to promote any Green virtue to the buying public. Thousands upon thousands of businesses have learned the popularity of Green marketing is working, and yet the quality of the environmental commitment supporting those Green claims is often very shallow. This is why the phrase Greenwashing has become a backlash issue that will continue to embarrass more and more companies as the buying public looks a little closer only to discover that they have been deceived.Take for example, the purchasing department of the ostensibly Green-promoted company. Regardless of the boasts made by the Green company, it is interesting to scratch the Green surface to see if it is more than a Greenwashed coat of marketing hype. Does the company asking the public to "Buy Green" also "Buy Green" when the public is not watching? In most cases, this breach of Green ethics is completely ignored, and that is more than unfortunate.In order to perpetuate a Green marketplace, vendors must do more than sell Green, they must also buy Green. Buyers must have sellers as certainly as sellers must have buyers. This cycle of market integrity cannot be ignored. Any company that cannot sell its goods or services will go bankrupt. This is a ...

I had occasion today to encounter a question that was very simple yet profound. It was "What is the standard for Green?" The EPA has recorded the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry, but these are not universal. If you ask a person interested in the biosphere type of Green, the phrase "Sustainable" is the major issue, questioning whether will an item's use will be depleted or can it be sustained naturally. Sustainability is a big issue in a world of consumerism, but does not encompass the definition of Green for other areas of Green concern.Those interested in the oceans are concerned about "Marine Life" and how man has impacted the animal life in the oceans. It looks at the discharges poured into rivers, lakes, and the oceans asking if we are harming the animals that feed us. If mercury goes into the water, will it return to us in the tuna we eat at lunch? So, the pollution of the water is a part of the Green definition."Green House Gases" seem to preoccupy those concerned about the atmosphere. In an industrial world, the manufacture of the things we wish to market creates a lot of waste that we need to dump somewhere. The EPA has long fought the dumping of chemicals from ...

Go Green, this subject is becoming familiar to everyone, and as well it has created an impelling buzz all around! Getting started with a green business can also be a way to make good money. Green business is not only a profitable practice, but also it pays attention to the many needed environmental awareness issues of today. While a lot of businesses are adapting this principle, there are still a few others who are having trouble on getting started in terms of going green. Manufacturing businesses, for example, will have higher cost for the reconstruction of their daily operations. However, they have to understand that the benefit of going green will far outweigh the cost in the long run. You will be able to serve happier customers and at the same time, live in a healthier planet.If you are planning to start your own business, make it a green business from the initial stage of your project. The first thing you have to do is to devise a well thought and well researched plan. It is important to put the plan in writing so it will serve as a guideline for you and your business.Know your target market. Once you know what target market you want to service, you will then find ...