Tips for Forming a "Green Team" at Work

Over the past year I have had the privilege of co-leading the development of a new "green" team at work. Our group is focused on not only educating employees on environmental issues, but more importantly, initiating business activities that benefit the planet AND the bottom line.

With that, I thought I would pass along some tips for helping you form your own green team:

Make the Case for Greening Your Business
Saving the planet is great. Saving the planet AND driving value for your business is even better. Try building your business case and program around the "triple bottom line" of the Corporate Social Responsibility Model: people, planet, profit. Business doesn't have to operate in "value silos". Score bonus points if you can tie "green" or sustainable efforts to your business model, strategy, or value proposition in some way.

Create a Solid Plan
If you cannot demonstrate a clear action plan for achieving that triple bottom line your efforts will fall flat. Our annual plan is primarily comprised of two parts: Business Initiatives and Community Initiatives. The former allows us to identify and execute opportunities that drive business value (e.g., reduce electricity or paper usage); the latter enables us to connect with local non-profits with an environmental focus and help their efforts through volunteering.

Find a Champion
Otherwise known as getting buy-in from the top. Find someone senior in your organization who shares similar values to "sponsor" your efforts. This person can help forward your mission through public (and visible) support and the removal of organizational obstacles that might get in your way.

Measure, Analyze, Improve
Having solid numbers to drive the creation and ongoing execution of your action plan is invaluable. Take baseline measurements such as electricity usage, waste volume, and recycling rates to know where you are starting from. Then as you take steps to improve your performance, you can measure your impact. Regular measurement of your efforts can also help you identify ways to enhance your action plan along the way.

Benchmark and Network
More and more companies are embracing ways to make their business more sustainable. Learn from them what works and what doesn't. B Corporation, Climate Counts, and GreenBiz are excellent sites to start this process. If you find a few companies close to you, consider creating an ongoing discussion series to improve networking.

Be Inclusive
The more people in your company you can connect with who share the same values and enthusiasm for sustainable business, the better your chance of success. Consider creating a grassroots network of "green ambassadors" throughout your company to help spread the message, execute your action plan, and generate new ideas. Need leader buy-in on activities? Consider the formation of a "green council" to help steer efforts.

Be Patient
Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your new and improved sustainable business. Don't take on too much too soon. Remember, you want to demonstrate the viability and value of your action plan. Early on, focus on the "low hanging fruit" -- those opportunities such as reducing waste and energy usage -- to score some early "wins". From there, you can focus on bigger, more complex things like greening your supply chain or manufacturing processes. Good luck!

Farewell Buzzards Bay Beer

With news that Buzzards Bay Brewing Company was stopping production of its signature brews, I wanted to pass along my thanks for what has been an amazing local product. These beers have graced our refrigerator shelves for a long time (the Black Lager is my favorite!) and it will be sad to see them go.

According to the story, BBB will take on brewing some new labels, both their own and some contracted third-party ones. That said, it's good to see this local business -- one that aims to have a carbon negative footprint -- continue amid challenging times.

Now, I need to get down to Westport and see about picking up a few of those last remaining cases...

Makes Sense to Me

Yet another reason to love Tom Friedman at the N.Y. Times.

As my friend, Jamie, aptly asks after reading this, "Why doesn't anyone listen to what this guy has to say?"

This, on the heels of the new report from MIT's Sloan School and The Boston Consulting Group making the case (again) that sustainable business practices are a need-to-have not nice-to-have for today's leading companies.

All of it just makes absolute sense to me. What do you think?

Even a BBQ Joint Can Go Green

It’s always refreshing to read stories about small businesses succeeding. It’s even better knowing that they can prosper while not selling out on their values. Case in point: Local businesses in the Davis Square neighborhood of Somerville, MA, partner with some local environmental non-profits to form GoGreen Davis Square (story). Dedicated to lessening the impact of their day-to-day operations, they are taking real steps to make their neck of the woods a bit greener.

Sara and I used to live in this neighborhood years ago and even then it was ahead of its time. The funky, eclectic fare – from restaurants to theaters to shops – is a magnet for everyone from the locals to the ‘young professionals’ to the Tufts/Harvard crowd.

What is of particular interest is the organization mentioned in the story – the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) – and the carbon footprint study they ran. I’ve always wanted to get a baseline carbon footprint reading for the Sakonnet area so that we could have something to measure our progress against. I’ve sent an email for more information and will keep you posted.

Hmm… Maybe there is a GoGreen Four Corners or GoGreen North End in our future… Having a small business association in town might be a good first step to introduce the concept and build interest. See my earlier post on trying to kick-start a small business recycling program for more thoughts on this.

BTW – Redbones (see picture posted in the story) is a fantastic BBQ place. Just typing this has me thinking of their cornbread!

Small Business Recycling is Needed, But How?

A few weeks ago, the ProJo featured an article about the RI DEM finally practicing what it preaches and hopping on board the recycling bandwagon at their offices. While that’s somewhat humorous, the article does go on to give an update on the state’s renewed effort to get businesses to comply with current recycling laws.

That got me thinking: How does a small business here in Sakonnet actually go about complying with that law? If I’m looking at the right one (and I might not be), all businesses regardless of their total number of employees are required to separate out their recyclables from their trash. The kicker comes if you have 50 or more employees – then you are required to submit a yearly source reduction and recycling plan to the state.

According to the article, 60 percent of the 700,000 tons of waste that go to the Central Landfill each year is generated by businesses. That’s a lot. And I’m willing to bet that a good chunk of that could be recycled in one way, shape, or form. From office paper to bottles/cans to toner to e-waste, there is quite a bit that could find new life via the recycling bin.

But the challenge is making it easy and economically feasible to actually recycle. Larger business might have more resources to throw into making this happen, but small businesses are maxed out with multi-tasking and budget squeezing as it is. I grew up in my family’s small business and can speak first hand to that. Even nowadays, I know people who bring home paper or cans or bottles from their offices to throw in their home bins because they can’t stand to see the stuff stay in the trash.

But as with many things in business, there are both hard and soft benefits to any action. And when the two can find middle ground, it usually indicates a win-win situation.

Take for instance recycling: If given a cost-effective solution for recycling those items typically found in the workplace, the benefits of reducing your trash removal costs could be justified. Now, once you make that part of your business’ M.O., you can tack on the ability to market yourself as an eco-friendly business. As more and more consumers align their values with the purchase behaviors, this begins to bode well for your shop as you can leverage it to boost traffic and sales.

Back to my original question, though. How do you make it viable for small businesses to recycle? Taking a queue from the insurance industry, one business alone may not be able to get the best rate from a recycling vendor, but a group of businesses under the guise of a small business association might drive a more attractive rate. So, does anyone know if we have any kind of small business association here in Sakonnet?

Any small business owners out there willing to share their stories about trying to make recycling work for them?

If all else fails, I guess there is the potential bottle-bill-as-recycling-catalyst to fall back on…

Greening Our Businesses

Thanks to the Sakonnet Times and Newport Daily News for running the letters I submitted to their respective editors to promote the launch of Sustainable Sakonnet. It’s great to know that our local papers support environmental initiatives such as this.

The letter to the Newport Daily News referenced Gov. Carcieri’s State of the State address, specifically highlighting his ambitious goal to supply 20 percent of the state’s energy needs from renewable resources by 2011. That’s only four short years away. Four years.

It’s important to note, though, that renewable energy is only part of the solution to our energy woes. The other big part is energy conservation – using less to begin with. So what are we here in the Sakonnet area going to do to help on both of these fronts? Let’s talk about each opportunity:

Renewable Energy
It was ironic that the top business story in that same edition of the Newport Daily News was about Newport Harbor Corp.’s move to get all their power from renewable sources. Yes, going all-green adds a bit more to your yearly costs (for Newport Harbor it was about 2.6% of their overall energy costs); but when you are taking steps to conserve and limit your usage to begin with (e.g., replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent ones), it helps to net everything out. Here’s a list of resources small business owners can use to explore green energy alternatives:

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership

• National Grid’s Renewable Energy Page for Business Owners

• If you’re interested in pursuing the installation of your own solar array, send an email to sustainablesakonnet@yahoo.com and I can forward you a list of local resources.

Energy Efficiency
Waste not, want not, right? Just like at home, businesses can take steps to use less energy to begin with. Replace old bulbs with CFLs, insulate hot water heaters on premise, insulate. Again, some resources:

• National Grid’s Energy Efficiency Page for Business Owners

I know of one business in Tiverton who has embraced renewable energy. Citizens Union Bank (on the corner of Bulgarmarsh and Crandall) installed solar panels as part of their original design. What a statement.

Are there any others? Are you a small business owner interested in learning more? Leave a comment. Committing to more sustainable practices can even be a marketing tool. Many communities across the U.S. have created affinity programs in order to promote and reward green businesses. Just look at San Francisco’s Green Zebra Book or Bellingham, Washington’s Where The Locals Go Coupon Book.

We need Sakonnet area business owners to step up to the challenge. Who wants to take the lead?