75 Tips to Green Your Business

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75 Tips To Green Your Business

Make the world a beer place

and Increase your boom line.



75 Tips to Green Your Business

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................Page 2-4

WHY GO GREEN?.........................................................................................................................................2

WHAT IS THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE?..........................................................................................................2

TAKING THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY....................................................................................3

BE A SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR...................................................................................................................3-4

25 TIPS TO GREEN YOUR OFFICE......................................................................................Page 5-15

25 TIPS TO GREEN YOUR MARKETING............................................................................Page 15-

27

25 TIPS TO GREEN YOUR BUSINESS................................................................................Page 28-40




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Why Go Green?

Being a green business has become more than the niche market. Big businesses like Walmart,

Nike, Hewle-Packard are embracing sustainability, not simply for altruism—they’ve realized

that going green can reap signicant cost savings, which impacts their business boom line.

Going green in your business is not only good for the environment; it's good for your bank ac-

count. When you operate eciently, less energy and raw materials are required, both of which

cost money. Show consumers how much more eco-friendly and less toxic your product is, com-

pared to your competors, and they will be more inclined to buy from you. Invest in the success

of your employees and the communies you operate in, and you are on your way to becoming a

triple boom line business.

What is the Triple Boom Line?

Also known as 3BL, TBL or the ‘Three Pillars’, the term ‘the triple boom line’ was rst coined in

1994 by John Elkington, who is the founder of a consulng rm called SustainAbility.

Tradionally, companies only took into account the boom line of

prot and loss. However, this narrow perspecve ignores the business

impact on human stakeholders and the environment, such as healthimpacts to local communies, or the long term cost of resource deple-

on.

The triple boom line refers to the three Ps of doing business—

people, prot, and planet. TBL aims to measure the nancial, social,

and environmental track record of a corporaon over me, and tends

to more accurately reect the full cost involved in running a business.

http://www.sustainability.com/






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Taking the First Step Towards Sustainability

Green businesses strive to have lile or no negave impact on the environment, society,

community, or economy. But becoming an environmentally sustainable business may seem like a

daunng task. Face it, producing anything involves consuming resources and energy, in depending

on what industry you are in, zero impact may be impossible.

However, you can lower your impact in small, but signicant ways. On the operaons side, just

about any business can start to go green. Start by turning o monitors or powering down

computers at the end of the day. Set all your printers to print double sided. Start a recycling and

composng program.

On the product side, you might manufacture a more eco friendly alternave to a common house-

hold product, or a more energy ecient machine. You can try to implement cradle to cradle prod-

uct design principles or only work with suppliers that meet certain environmental standards. The

list of ways to go green is endless, and you can start anywhere.

Be a Social Entrepreneur

The old paradigm of prot maximizaon as the sole

purpose of business is being re-examined by a new class of

entrepreneurs—social entrepreneurs. Social entrepreneurs

are mission driven entrepreneurs who seek market driven

soluons for the world’s most pressing social end environ-

mental concerns.




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From developing solar ovens out of cardboard boxes, to portable water puriers, and low cost baby

incubators, creang products that meet urgent needs—which the market wants and can aord - is

oen more powerful than charity.

The fact is, most people who are involved in launching green and social enterprises are oen doing so

more out of passion, and a sense of mission, than a need to earn a living. Passion is an important

metric for any business venture. Life becomes less about work, and more about sharing joy.

I know joy factor can be easy to forget, because an entrepreneur’s work is never done. But even if

you are alone, or working with a team, know that you are part of a movement of entrepreneurs who

are changing the world, and taking names.

Be the change you want to see in the world. Start with these 75 ps to green your business. Even if

you only do a few, you are making the rst steps towards posive change.

To Your Success,

Lorna Li

Founder, Editor in Chief

Green Markeng TV

P.S. Follow us on Twier @LornaLi & @GreenMarketTV

P.P.S. Please Like us on Facebook and you will get a FREE gif

http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2009/11/11/kyoto-box-solar-oven/


http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2009/11/12/lifestraw-portable-water-purifier/


http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2009/12/08/embrace-incubator/



http://twitter.com/#!/lornali


http://twitter.com/#!/greenmarketTV


http://www.facebook.com/GreenMarketingTV












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REDUCE

1. REQUEST A FREE ENERGY AUDIT 6

2. TURN OFF LIGHTS WHEN NOT IN USE 7

3. USE FEWER LIGHTS 7

4. USE ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHTING 7

5. PROGRAM YOUR THERMOSTAT 8

6. TURN OFF COMPUTERS 8

7. INSTALL POWER STRIPS 8

8. ENERGY EFFICIENT MODELS 8

9. FLUSH LESS WATER 9

10. INSTALL A WATER DISPENSER 9

11. PASSIVE SOLAR 9

12. DITCH THE DISPOSABLES 10

13. BRING YOUR OWN LUNCH 10

14. WORK A 4 DAY WEEK—TELECOMMUTE 11

15. COLLABORATE WITHOUT PAPER 11

16. ELECTRONIC BUSINESS CARDS 11

REUSE

17. BUY RECYCLED PAPER 12

18. PURCHASE REFILLED TONER/INK 12

19. PRINT ON THE BACK 12

20. STOP STAPLING 12

21. FURBISH WITH USED FURNITURE 12

RECYCLE

22. CHOOSE GREEN POWER 13

23. RECYCLE YOUR E-WASTE 13

24. SET UP A RECYCLING CENTER 14

25. ASSIGN A SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER 14

TABLE OF CONTENTS

25 TIPS TO GREEN YOUR OFFICE Page 5-14




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25 Tips to Green Your Office - Reduce

Make the dierence where you work

The oce is the hub of a business, the center of communicaon andplanning, as well as being a showcase or example for your customers.

There are numerous points in any oce operaon where a greener

choice is possible, and many green alternaves do not have a higher

cost associated with them. Start by nding out where you can reap

immediate cost savings, beginning with energy eciency.

1. Request an energy audit from your local power ulity.

A growing number of municipalies oer free audits to help businesses learn how to use power more ecient-

ly and suggest ways to conserve within the oce. US Dept. of Energy review of auding tools.

You can do your own audit, or hire a professional. Here are some opons:

Do-it-yourself energy audits:

Energy Right free audit kit – A step

-by

-step way to assess energy ineciencies.

World Resources Instute – Check out their simple calculaon tools for energy ineciencies related toheang, transportaon, electricity, travel, and commung.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Iniave – There are several calculaon tools for businesses.

Professional energy audits:

Home Performance with ENERGY STAR—a joint ENERGY STAR, and US Environmental Protecon Agency(EPA) program

http://www.energyright.com/audit_kit.htm


http://www.wri.org/

http://www.wri.org/

http://www.wri.org/publication/working-9-5-climate-change-office-guide


http://www.ghgprotocol.org/


http://www.ghgprotocol.org/calculation-tools


http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_hpwes_partners






http://www.wri.org/





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2. Turn o your lights:

Either set your oce lights on a mer, so they get turned o aer

hours automacally, or assign someone to always make sure the

lights are o when the oce is empty. This one takes a lile prac-

ce, for sure, but it brings mindfulness to the pracce of conserva-

on. Check out EarthHour.org for a Global movement.

3. Use fewer lights:

Do you need all of those lights on all of the me? Try using daylight

to lessen the need for arcial lighng. Although somewhat pricey to install, pung in Solar Light Tubes are a

relavely aordable, sustainable and awesome way to bring in the light.

4. Switch to energy ecient lighng:

Buying all new bulbs or light xtures might be an expensive opon,but replacing one light at a me with an energy ecient compact o-

rescent (CFL) or LED unit is an aordable way to transion over.

Don’t know what’s so special about LED lights? Check out this arcle

from Energystar.gov Why use LED lights?

http://www.earthhour.org/


http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=ssl.pr_why_es_com







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5. Program your thermostat

Installing and programming a thermostat to keep temperatures at energy-saving levels is a painless way to

use less electricity or gas while staying comfortable. Set it for at least two dierent schedules: Dayme, for

working hours, and Nighme, during the mes and days that nobody is in the oce. With a manual thermo-

stat, simply turn it down (or up, depending on the season) before leaving for the day or weekend.

6. Turn o oce computers when not in use:

Set computers and other equipment to go to sleep aer a period of inacvity, and turn them completely o

when leaving for the day or for the weekend. Schedule your backups for during the day if you can, and use a

le-syncing service to take les with you avoiding the need for remote access.

7. Install power strips to cut phantom power usage:

Many devices use electricity even when not in use, so put a power strip between the outlet and your equip-

ment so that you can fully shut o anything that doesn’t need to be running. Why power the clock on the

coeemaker or microwave all the me if you don’t have to?

8. Replace oce equipment with more ecient models:

When replacing any piece of oce equipment, ask yourself rst if you really need it, and then choose models

with high energy eciency rangs. Many mes you won’t have to pay any more for a model which has the

lowest energy consumpon, so it’s not necessary to spend more money for energy savings.

Energystar.gov has a ton of informaon, and a prey well designed site.

This list of EnergyStar cered products can help in narrowing it down for new or replacement equipment.

http://www.energystar.gov/


http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product.







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9. Flush less water down the drain:

Put a full milk jug in your toilet tank, or adjust the ll level to use less water for

each ush. If it’s yellow, let it mellow. Post an explanaon nearby about why us-

ing less water makes sense in terms of both the environment and the ulity bill.

10. Install a water dispenser:

Cut out plasc water bole usage by supplying drinking water and reusable

cups. Paying for a water delivery service is a premium that many businesseschoose, but in some cases, the water is no dierent than the municipal tap wa-

ter. In that case, it can be way more cost eecve to install a drinking water lter

for the sink.

11. Use passive solar:

Arrange your oce to best take advantage of any passive solar gains. If you have

south facing windows (in the northern hemisphere), the surrounding areas willbe warm and well-lit throughout the winter. East and west windows will have

morning and aernoon sun, respecvely, so arrange your workspace to best use

the free solar heang and lighng.




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12. Ditch the disposables:

Stock oce kitchen with cups, dishes and silverware. To go an extra

step, buy cloth napkins instead of paper, and take them home to wash

every week. A great place for cheap kitchenware is a thri store, as mis-

matched coee mugs and plates, etc., can be bought there for a frac-

on of the price of new ones.

13. Bring your own lunch:

Eang out, especially take-out, can generate needless waste, and

you oen don’t have the choice to recycle or compost leovers.

Plus, it’s almost always more expensive than eang homemadefoods. Bring a homemade meal in a reusable container for lunch.

Laptop Lunch Bento Boxes are a savvy way to impress your co-

workers and save the planet. Or go with a stackable lunch box like

this stainless steel n set from To-Go Ware.

Bonus: Set up a compost receptacle in the kitchen for organic

http://gmtv.me/laptoplunch


http://gmtv.me/togoware









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14. Work a 4 day week or telecommute:

If you can work fewer days per week, or work from home, you’ll save on transportaon and ener-

gy. Plus, you get to work in your pajamas. ‘Wear your pajama’s to work’ day is April 16th. Awe-

some.

15. Use paperless collaboraon when possible:

Use a cloud based le and project management system to give everyone access to the documents

they need, without having to print all of them out for each person. Google Docs is a great, freedocument sharing tool.

If you are working with a virtual team, try Pelotonics, an inex-

pensive project management tool, with document sharing, task

lists, milestone seng and more. Starng at $9/month, it’s

cheaper than Basecamp and just as eecve.

16. Use electronic business cards:

Having a paper business card can be handy somemes, but you can also use your website or a memorable in-

ternet prole that serves as your digital business card. When receiving a business card from someone else,

scan it into your contacts and reuse the card for scratch paper or recycle it.

http://www.nationalwearyourpajamastoworkday.com/


http://gmtv.me/pelotonics



http://www.prlog.org/10208106-national-wear-your-pajamas-to-work-day-is-april-16th-day-after-taxes-are-due.html






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25 Tips to Green Your Office - Reuse

17. Buy recycled paper products:

Choose 100% recycled content paper, paper towels and toilet paper. For printed

promoonal materials, explore your opons for using post-consumer recycled

paper. Some recycled paper suppliers, such as FutureMark Paper, oer high post

-consumer recycled content products at the same price as virgin pulp, so it’s not

necessary to spend more to make that choice.

18. Purchase relled toner/printer cartridges:

Many of the ink components for printers can be relled, so choose to buy refurbished cartridges instead of

new. Some companies oer a small credit for exchanging old cartridges, making it cheaper for you.

19. Print on the back:

If you must print something out, have a receptacle ready for when you’re done with it. Take these used pages,

ip them over and put into the paper drawer of the printer so you can print on the back, geng two uses out

of one piece.

20. Stop stapling:

Use reusable binder clips or paper clips to join pages, or buy

a staple-less fastener to quit buying staples altogether.

http://www.futuremarkpaper.com/


http://www.futuremarkpaper.com/index.html





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25 Tips to Green Your Office - Recycle

21. Furbish your oce with used furniture:

Shop around at thri stores, surplus aucons, or yard sales for your oce furniture. A used chair or desk will

always be greener than purchasing a brand new ‘green’ model and you’ll save tons of cash as well.

22. Recycle old electronics and equipment:

Don’t just pitch the old version in the trash – nd an oce sup-

ply store that accepts e-waste and disposes of it properly. Some

devices are even worth a small amount of cash in exchange. InCalifornia, a site called Ecollecve will help you nd locaons

that accept e-waste.

23. Choose green power:

Many ulity companies oer a renewable power opon, usually for only a

small increase in price, giving you the opon to sign up for a wind or solar

power opon. One in parcular making a big dierence is Green MountainEnergy, though they only serve a handful of states in the U.S. at this me.

http://myecollective.com/


http://www.greenmountainenergy.com/



http://www.myecollective.com/








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25 Tips to Green Your Office - Recycle

24. Set up a recycle center:

Make a designated recycling staon, with receptacles for paper,

commingled, and compostables, all clearly labeled with acceptable

items. Many trash services supply the bins for free.

25. Assign a sustainability manager:

Giving the responsibility to one person helps to get things done, and makes accountability easy. The coordina-

tor oversees the recycling, energy usage, and gives green purchasing recommendaons, along with imple-

menng new ideas for greening the oce.

This doesn’t have to involve hiring a new employee. With climate change and

environmental sustainability being top of mind these days, chances are you

won’t have to look very far for someone who will embrace the role of sustain-

ability manager.

In fact, the number one way to transion into a green career is to lead a sus-

tainability iniave in your current job. That’s right. You don’t need a Green

MBA or other specialized degree. Create a project, assemble a green team,

and before you know it, sustainability might turn into a full me gig.

http://www.cdrecyclingcenter.org/pages/suggested_programs

http://www.zazzle.co.uk/superstar_office_coordinator_button-145769855504418600




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TABLE OF CONTENTS

25 TIPS TO GREEN YOUR MARKETING Page 15-27

MAKE IT DIGITAL

1. TAKE IT TO THE WEB 17

2. PURSUE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING 17

3. OFFER A DIGITAL MAILING LIST OPTION 17

4. SEND E-PROOFS OR USE BICYCLE COURIER 18

5. USE DIGITAL COUPONS 18

6. OFFER DIGITAL DOWNLOADS OF ASSETS 19

7. DITCH PRINT ADVERTISING 19

MAKE IT LOCAL

8. USE GEOLOCATION TO REACH LOCALS 20

9. JOIN A LOCAL LIVING ECONOMY GROUP 20

MAKE IT GREEN

10. CHOOSE A GREEN WEB HOST 21

11. CLEAN UP YOUR MAILING LIST 21

12. RETHINK YOUR PACKAGING 22

13. UPCYCLE YOUR AD MATERIALS 22

14. ECO-FRIENDLY BUSINESS CARDS 22

15. GREEN YOUR GIVEAWAYS 23

16. USE GREEN PRINTING 23

17. CHOOSE 100% RECYCLED PAPER 24

18. GO WITH GREEN CLOTHING 24

19. GREENER PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION 25

DOCUMENT, TRACK, AND ANNOUNCE

20. SET GOALS AND DOCUMENT YOUR PROGRESS 25

21. GET GREEN CERTIFICATION 25

22. FEATURE YOUR GREEN EFFORTS PROMINENTLY 26

23. JOIN ECO ORGANIZATIONS 26

24. MAKE IT EASY TO UNDERSTAND 27

25. AVOID GREENWASH 27




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25 Tips to Green Your Marketing

Don’t Blow Up Your Markeng Budget, Green It Up Instead

Going green with your markeng isn’t necessarily about a huge change in your current campaigns – taking

your markeng eorts green doesn’t have to be a one-shot approach. In fact, looking at your markeng strat-

egies from mulple direcons will not only help in saving the planet but will strengthen your strategy

By implemenng just a few of these green ps on a regular basis, the budget for your markeng campaigns

won’t get blown up, and the cumulave eects on the environment can further be used in your markeng

messages.

Coupled with the huge leverage available to businesses in the digital sphere, going green with your markeng

just might be the key to jumpstarng your business’ sales, no maer what the economic forecasts might say.




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25 Tips to Green Your Marketing - Make It Digital

1. Take your markeng to the web with your own website:

Ditch the paper catalogue and go for a virtual catalogue—a.k.a. your website...tree-free, open 24/7, and much

cheaper than print.

Once upon a me, a professional stac website would cost $5000. Each me you wanted

to make a change, you’d have to call your web developer and pay them for simple up-

dates. Free, open source Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress and Drupal

make it possible to have a robust, beauful websites that anyone can update. All you

need to do is log into your CMS and make the changes through the sites WYSIWYG editor

yourself.

WordPress

For most websites—such as stac websites and blogs - consider going with WordPress. It’s the most user friendly

soluon and you can access thousands of beauful free WordPress templates. If you need a powerful a profession-

al themes, that comes with support, at a low cost. Check out Woo Themes and Elegant Themes to start.

For anything else, such as an e-Commerce site or community, go with Drupal. Drupal requires developer resources,

while WordPress is more DIY friendly.

Greener Web Hosng

Both Bluehost and HostGator oer inexpensive web hosng for under $10 a month, and

both have excellent support. Hostgator also purchases Green-e cered renewable

energy credits, oseng their environmental impact 130% with wind power.

http://wordpress.org/


http://drupal.org/

http://drupal.org/



http://gmtv.me/75woo


http://gmtv.me/75elegant


http://drupal.org/

http://drupal.org/

http://gmtv.me/75bluehost


http://gmtv.me/75hostgator










http://drupal.org/




http://drupal.org/





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2. Pursue social media markeng:

With the huge surge in social networking and bookmarking, your business can take advantage of the new me-

dia landscape as a part of your paperless adversing eorts. Set up social media proles for your business and

start making connecons to customers, suppliers, clients, and your competors. Social media plaorms are

free, however, social media markeng does take me.

Check out this post on How to Measure your Social Media Impact and test the tools that will help you deter-

mine which communies and engagement taccs are yielding results you want.

3. Oer a digital mailing list opon:

If you use direct mail to reach current customers, create a digital version and oer that opon via email to all

new and current subscribers.

4. Send electronic proofs or use bicycle courier:

Does your business have a need for sending documents across town

on a regular basis? Bicycle courier service is quick, green, and usually

cost-compeve with other delivery services. Or consider using all

electronic proofs instead of physical copies. Many cies, large and

small, have bicycle courier services for reasonable fees. How cool is it

to have your product delivered by 100% human power?

http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2010/12/29/10-free-tools-to-measure-your-social-impact/






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5. Use digital coupons:

With the trend toward going digital in many media outlets, digital coupons are an eco-friendly way to give dis-

counts and promote your products without having to print and distribute any paper products. Mobile adversing

is also rapidly expanding with the rise in smart-phones, so mobile coupons can give potenal customers a reason

to shop with you, right from their phone. And as with most things digital, the easier it is to share with others, the

farther your reach will be with these types of promoons.

6. Oer digital downloads of markeng assets:

Make digital versions of all of your markeng materials and be sure they’re easy to nd and download. An elec-

tronic version of your catalog can be easily shared by customers, and can be updated much quicker and cheaper

than a printed one. Plus, it’s virtually cost-free if you already have the les ready to upload.

7. Ditch print adversing:

Do you really want your business associated with media made

from dead trees? It’s also much more expensive than digital ad-

versing, so try banner ads, PPC, or Facebook ads. These opons

oer beer demographic targeng, with near-instant campaign

metrics at a fracon of the cost of print. Split & mulvariate

tesng allows you to ne tune your ads and landing pages. Don’t

forget directory lisngs, as well as local directories, like Yelp, Best

of the Web Local, and local search lisngs, especially if you are a

brick and mortar business. Read more about Local SEO




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25 Tips to Green Your Marketing - Make It Local

8. Use geolocaon apps to reach local customers:Reaching the right customers at the right me is a key component of any

green markeng campaign. Use popular geolocaon apps like Gowalla,

FourSquare, Booyah, and Loopt to boost the eecveness of your paper-

less adversing programs.

Geolocaon is a great way for local businesses to be discovered, aract

and retain customers through special deals oered through geolocaon

services. But social cause organizaons are using geolocaon as well.

Check out 10 Ways Geolocaon is Changing the World to learn how geolo-

caon is changing the way we discover our local world.

9. Join a local living economy group:

Band together with other local independent businesses through organiza-

ons such as the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) to

help build lasng, protable, green partnerships. Local networking can

pump up your green markeng at the cost of me, not money. Wondering

What is a Local Living Economy? It is closer to the idea of a market econo-

my as envisioned by Adam Smith, who wrote Wealth of Naons, than the

capitalist economy of today.

http://gowalla.com/

http://gowalla.com/

http://foursquare.com/


http://www.booyah.com/


http://www.loopt.com/


http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2010/07/27/10-ways-geolocation-is-changing-the-world/


http://www.livingeconomies.org/building-blocks/what-is-a-local-living-economy


http://www.livingeconomies.org/






http://gowalla.com/




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25 Tips to Green Your Marketing - Make It Green

10. Choose a green web host for your site:All hosng companies are not created equal. Does your web host use renewable energy purchasing? Do they

buy carbon osets? You may be surprised to nd out that many green web host have compevely priced

hosng plans, as low as $4 a month, without skimping on customer service. For a list of green web hosng

services, check out the Ulmate Guide to Green Web Hosng.

11. Clean up your mailing list:

How oen do you update and clean your mailing list? With so many people

on the move each year, you’re bound to end up with duplicate or wrong

addresses. This translates to wasted resources during mailings. Use a ser-

vice or soware to regularly clean your list, and make it easy for customers

to update their contact informaon with you. The potenal savings here

for businesses with large lists is quite high, especially when considered in

conjuncon with having a digital mailing list.

i G i

http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2010/06/27/guide-to-green-web-hosting/






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12. Rethink your packaging:

Does your product even need packaging? In general, the less packaging you need,

the cheaper it is on a per-unit basis, so losing the packaging might be a savvy nan-

cial decision as well. If it does need a package of some sort, can you connue to

make it greener? Packaging that can be repurposed or recycled ads to your green

credibility, and if you can use 100% recycled materials, you’re doing even beer.

If you are not sure about what green packaging opons exist, check out 5 Ways to

Green Your Packaging to start.

13. Upcycle your adversing materials:

Look into upcycling or repurposing your adversing and markeng materials, such as having your old bill-

boards turned into shopping or messenger bags. Use those products as great green swag for events or con-

tests. In fact, if you really get into upcycling, you may even consider Launching Your Own Upcycling Business,

a business you can start from home.

14. Eco-friendly business cards:

Even if you choose recycled content paper for your cards, what happens to it when someone no longer

needs it? Print your business card info on seed packets or paper containing embedded seeds. Print some-

thing extremely useful on the back, like a reference chart for your industry or niche, so it gets kept and used.

To oset any cost dierence, don’t print thousands of cards that will get tossed away, but instead print fewer

ones of higher quality and impact.

75 Ti G Y B i

http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2010/07/20/5-ways-to-green-your-product-packaging/



http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2010/09/21/how-to-start-a-home-upcycling-business/









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15. Green your giveaways:

What kinds of schwag do you give out at conferences or to customers? If they are meant to be disposable or

only single use, it just creates more waste. Products such as cloth shopping bags with your logo are not only a

useful item for customers, but they serve as mobile billboards for your business. Consider the environmental

eects of your promoonal items before comming to them, and instead of giving away four throwaway

items each year, focus on one quality free item. Sites like Ecobunga.com and arcles like this one about Green

Freebies will give you a beer idea.

16. Use a green prinng service:

Going truly paperless isn’t really an opon for most businesses, so when you have prinng jobs, choose an

eco-friendly prinng service. What kind of recycled paper do they oer? What kind of inks do they use? Are

they powered by renewable energy? Award-winning companies like Greenerprinter.com and BareFoot-

Press.com have set the bar prey high.

75 Ti t G Y B i

http://ecobunga.com/


http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2010/09/27/freebies-increase-traffic-green-business/



http://www.greenerprinter.com/grp/welcome.do


http://barefootpress.com/












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17. Choose 100% recycled content paper:

When prinng promoonal yers, mailers, business cards, brochures, orother paper products, opt for a paper stock made from 100% post-

consumer content. Not only is the cost only a lile more than other paper

choices, but recycled paper only uses half as much energy to make as vir-

gin pulp. To make up for any extra cost, consider prinng only what you

need, or print fewer than your usual amount and make it clear that a digi-

tal version is also available.

18. Go with green clothing:

Do you have company t-shirts or uniforms? Make the choice to have them pro-

duced from organic coon or an alternate ber such as hemp, bamboo, or even

recycled PET boles, and let people know why it’s beer for the planet.

This arcle with Mark Ellis of ECO360 talks about the movement.

19. Greener product distribuon:

If your product gets delivered to customers, how can you lower the environmental impact of the transporta-

on? Alternave fueled vehicles or bicycle delivery are two ways to address green delivery of products. This

may not be a viable opon in some areas due to availability or a big cost dierence, but for those with the op-

on, it can become another selling point for your products.

75 Ti t G Y B i

http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2010/12/21/green-t-shirts-eco360-trust-interview/






26

25 Tips to Green Your Marketing - Document, Track, and Announce

20. Set goals and document your green progress:

Public accountability can add loads of credibility to your green markeng, so

assess your business’ current ‘state of green’ and set goals to further your

sustainability eorts. Have you made large strides in reducing your carbon

footprint? Have you lowered paper consumpon and transioned from

disposable kitchenware to reusable kitchenware. Track your sustainability

progress on your website and in email updates with your customers.

21. Get green cercaon for product:

Does your product qualify for a green label? Get it cered and add the cercaon logo of an organizaon

to your markeng materials, along with an explanaon of what it means to your customers.

Do some research to nd out which cercaons are meaningful and relevant, instead of taking on the cost

and paperwork for labels that your customer doesn’t recognize and understand. Confused by the world of

eco labels? Check out this basic Guide to Eco Labeling to get started.

75 Ti t G Y B i

http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2010/03/16/guide-to-ecolabeling/






27


22. Feature your green eorts prominently:

All things being equal, consumers prefer to buy from companies that are

ethical and environmentally friendly. If your business has a strong environ-

mental commitment, don’t keep it a secret. Only buy FSC cered wood?

Made from local organic produce? Showcase your commitment on your

website and in your markeng collateral, like Rainbow Play Systems does.

23. Join green business associaons:

Membership organizaons such as the Green Business Bureau will not only help your business go green, it

provides tools to help you assess your eco footprint, come up with tailored plan to reduce your environmen-

tal impact, and allows you to display their GBB cercaon badge. The Green Chamber of Commerce is an up

and coming green business associaon. Headquartered in San Francisco, it provides members with business

resources, promoon, networking & educaonal opportunies for green business leaders.

Green America, a nonprot membership organizaon founded in 1982, is one of the

oldest green business associaons, and has acve program promong Green Business,

Fair Trade, Green Energy, Social Invesng and more.

Many associaons provide lisng in their members directory, which has SEO benets

for your website. For an addional web directories, check out this list of

10 Green Business Directories and Networks.

75 Ti t G Y B i

http://www.rainbowplay.com/index.php/green/


http://www.gbb.org/

http://www.gbb.org/

http://greenchamberofcommerce.net/


https://www.greenamerica.org/


http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2011/01/25/10-green-business-directories/





http://www.gbb.org/





28


24. Make the green aspects of your product easy to understand:

By being clear about the environmental benets of your product or service, you’ll give customers another rea-son to choose your business over a competor. Are your ingredients 100% biodegradeable? Is your product

more energy ecient than generic brands? Is it made from post-consumer recycled materials? A comparison

chart of your brand versus competors on your website or packaging makes it easy for buyers to evaluate

your product at a glance.

25. Follow the guidelines for environmental markeng claims:

Are your green markeng claims valid? Make sure you’re not trying to 'green wash', and that you’re withinthe FTC guidelines for environmental markeng claims. It’s beer to be honest about the green benets of

your product rather than make environmental claims that can’t be substanated.

Customers will appreciate you more for your honesty. Green wash has become so

prevalent that many organizaons, like Greenpeace, have gone to great lengths to

educate consumers on the loads of trickery

Here are some real-world examples of corporate green washing. Check out these

sites for more informaon companies doing it right, and who are the worst

oenders:

Stopgreenwash.org by Green Peace

Greenwashingindex.com by Enviromedia

Corpwatch.org

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/grnrule/guides980427.htm


http://greenwashguerrillas.wordpress.com/

http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2010/07/06/real-world-examples-of-greenwashing/




http://stopgreenwash.org/


http://greenwashingindex.com/


http://www.corpwatch.org/


http://greenwashguerrillas.wordpress.com/












30


You don’t run your business just for kicks. You do it for an income, to create reve-

nue for yourself and your family, and to have an eect on the world.

Going green doesn’t have to run counter to that purpose – going green in your

business can go hand in hand with making more money through cost savings,

increased sales, reduced waste or by increasing the value of your product of ser-

vice.

In some cases, reducing costs through eciency or waste reducon can allow your

business to invest in other green technologies not aordable previously. You can

green your business and save money, then spend some of that to green your

business further.

Communicang your green message also helps to create a compelling argument for customers to choose your

company over a competor, and might just lead to opening up new markets for your products or services.

In fact, going green might be the determining factor you need to increase sales or decrease costs, making it

an important piece of your business plan.

The key element to remember is that you can build on every lile step you take in the direcon of going

green, taking your business' sustainability eorts to new levels at every point within the business. From

concept to producon to sales and delivery, going green builds healthy, sustainable businesses.





31

25 Tips to Green Your Business - Passion and Planning

1. Write your environmental mission statement:Cra a green mission statement and display it prominently, periodically reviewing

it for relevancy. Having a clear vision helps to dene how and why you try to be

greener and it helps to communicate it to customers as well.

Even if you have been doing business for some me, wring out a plan of intent

can help in many ways. From generang posive press to beer integraon with

your company culture, wring a mission statement is the rst step towards imple-

mentaon.

2. Integrate green into your business plan:

Start designing green into your business from day one. Include the envi-

ronmental aspects of your product or service in your business plan. If you

have been in business for a while, take the opportunity to review the

pracces of the past and see what can be shied. There are too many fac-

tors to take into account in the beginning. A review of past acons and

pracces can give you a beer idea of how to shi your business into the

green.





32

25 Tips to Green Your Business - Passion and Planning

3. Appoint a sustainability director:

Assign one person in your business the responsibility for coordinang

your green eorts. With one person accountable for sustainability,

you’ll be beer able to track your green projects. In the past few years

the emergence of a C-level ocers such as Chief Sustainability Ocer,

has emerged as a viable eld. In response, service and training compa-

nies have begun to oer courses and cercates to truly add value to

your team.

4. Conduct a life-cycle assessment for your product:

Taking to the me to do a ‘cradle-to-grave’ assessment of your product can net in some prey powerful re-

sults. Also called ‘sustainable product cycling’, this method allows your product to keep out of the landll as

long as possible.

Your manufacturing process might have unnecessary steps or materials, and assessing the life-cycle of your

products and processes can help to idenfy cost or me savings.

Currently, one company ceres products and services as Cradle to Cradle (C2C).

With hundreds of products listed, it’s worth checking out how to take advantage of

this mindset of product creaon.


http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2011/02/17/sustainable-product-cycling/


http://www.mbdc.com/detail.aspx?linkid=2&sublink=8


http://mbdc.com/default.aspx






33

25 Tips to Green Your Business - People

5 Educate employees on green pracces

Those of us who are passionate about being green take for granted the fact that other people might not be as

educated about environmental and ecological pracces. So educate your employees. Let them know what the

pracces are in a simple and easy to follow format. Throw a contest or idea fair and let them share what they

know or understand about ‘being green’.

6. Build a company culture conducive to reuse andrecycling:

Making recycling and reuse the norm within your business

means it will ourish without having to force those habits

on people. It’s never easy to build company culture. Because

of the upsurge of interest in being ecologically sound, many

people can come together over common pracces. This not

only creates an environment where green atudes ourish,but may help make posive connecons between your em-

ployees.





34

25 Tips to Green Your Business - People

7. Encourage ridesharing and alternave transportaon:

Giving employees incenves to share rides or ride their bikes, coupled

with telecommung opons, will help to green your business.

Many states or cies even support a Bike-to-Work week and will pro-

vide incenves, such as a free bagel breakfast, for any employee will-

ing to bike the commute.

Try a google search with the terms ‘Bike to work week [your town]’

8. Join green business groups:

Join green business networks, such as Green America to learn from other successful green businesses or to

form partnerships or collaborate with them. In an eecve network, any cost associated with joining will

probably more than pay for itself through increased knowledge, customers, or collaboraon. In addion tomembership, a number of green business networks also oer green cercaon programs.

By meeng their cercaon guidelines, you can qualify to display the associaon’s badge on your business

website and other markeng materials. Some organizaons have strict guidelines, others are more lax. It’s up

to you to decide which associaon you want to be aliated with. Typically, the stricter the guidelines, the

higher the trust.


http://www.greenamerica.org/greenbusiness/network.cfm

http://www.greenamerica.org/greenbusiness/network.cfm




35

25 Tips to Green Your Business - Planet

9. Choose renewable energy:

Power your operaons with renewable energy, or consider invesng in alternave

power for your business. In many places, an alternave energy opon is available

from the power company, usually for a small price premium above regular rates. If

using green energy can be a bigger selling point for your business, consider thinking

of the premium as part of your markeng budget.

10. Consider alternave materials:

When sourcing materials make sure to invesgate the not-so-obvious alternaves, considering the eco-

friendliness of each one. It might be that the greener opon doesn’t have a signicantly higher cost associat-

ed with it, and can be used as a green markeng hook.

A good place to start is by greening your product packaging. Currently, you can nd many sustainable productpackaging opons that can replace the more commonly used Styrofoam and plascs. Recycled cardboard CD

covers are a great example of an eco alternave to plasc jewel cases.

Do some research on which material you use most frequently to nd out if there is a green opon. Perhaps

there is even a hole in the market that you can ll.








36

25 Tips to Green Your Business - Planet

11. Clean green:

Purchase eco-friendly alternaves for cleaning and maintaining your busi-

ness oce and manufacturing site. In some industries, it may not be possi-

ble to get around the heavy industrial cleaners, yet. However, more and

more green cleaning services are cropping up, making the shi to a

nontoxic oce a whole lot easier.

No green cleaning service near you? Maybe you should consider starng an

eco cleaning service of your own.

12. Green the air:

Clean the air in your operaons by using live plants, and consider installing an air ltraon system to protect

employees and customers. Some plants do a beer job of ridding the air of pollutants and toxins than others.

Here’s a great list of house plants that do a great job in keeping indoor air clean and pure.

Encourage employees or customers to bring in plants for your oce, and ask the resident green thumb to

take on watering responsibilies. Or, you can rent oce plants, and the plant rental company will handle the

watering for you.


http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2010/03/26/how-to-start-a-green-cleaning-service/



http://www.care2.com/greenliving/top-ten-houseplants-for-cleaner-air.html








37

25 Tips to Green Your Business - Profits

13. Combine manufacturing processes:

Does your business have mulple steps in manufacturing? An audit to see about combining two or more pro-

cesses may save you money and energy in the long run.

14. Use waste as resource:

What types of waste does your business generate? Can any of it

be repurposed or used in any way as a resource for the compa-

ny? What about for another business? In the beer brewing in-

dustry, for example, spent grain is used to feed livestock, and

make mulch.

Here’s a creave idea for you: turn trash into a resource by

using a waste management broker like RecycleMatch to help

you buy, sell, or give waste and recyclables.

15. Eliminate all disposables from company operaons:

What items do you regularly purchase for your businesses that are considered disposable? Can they be re-

placed with a durable or permanent opon? Invesng in a longer-lasng version might also be a way of

cung your costs over me. A big part of thinking green is long term sustainability.


http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2010/11/05/save-money-and-go-green-with-recyclematch/


http://www.recyclematch.com/







38


16. Maintain all equipment for maximum eciency:

How long has it been since you’ve last cleaned out the fans and lters

on your equipment? Do you have a regular maintenance schedule for

your devices? Well maintained equipment will pump up your energy

and me eciency.

17. Source your materials from green suppliers

Invesgate your opons for sourcing your materials and give more weight to green businesses. Purchasing lo-

cal or from a green business doesn’t always carry an extra cost – in fact, it might make more sense in terms of

overall impact to make those choices. Again, it can all be a part of your business’ unique selling points.

18. Source materials and services locally:

Can you source the materials or services needed for your business from the local area? Local sourcing helpseliminate any excess transportaon impact, while supporng businesses located nearby. It also helps connect

you to the community in which you live and strengthens your business.





39


19. Paperless banking and billing:

Choose paperless statements from your bank, your suppliers, your ulies, and pay your invoices electronical-

ly to save on paper waste. It’s a small change, but really adds up in the long run. Many companies give incen-

ves to use paperless banking such as addional website features and small discounts.

20. Ditch the fax machine:

Opt to send incoming to faxes to your computer instead ofprinng them, and send your faxes that way as well. It’s one

less piece of equipment to maintain and supply power to. Most

new printers allow a ‘Scan to email’ feature which works just as

well, or beer than, a plain fax.

21. Choose green phone and internet service:Explore the opon of geng your phone and internet services from a green or socially responsible company.

Making the choice to patronize another green business says a lot about a company, and can be used promi-

nently in your green markeng eorts. Progressive organizaons like Credo Mobile allow you to put your

money towards ecological issues by funding non-prots and polical organizaons.


http://www.credomobile.com/






40


22. Use teleconferencing instead of physical meengs:

Does your company really need all those face-to-face meengs, or could they be held virtually? Use telecon-

ferencing or video calls to conserve on transportaon, and explore the many free opons available to you,

such as Skype or Free Conference Call.

23. Make an everyday item green:

Is there something we use all the me that could be mademore environmentally friendly? New niches pop up all the

me, so don’t be afraid to explore green opons of mundane

objects. When it ts in with your business products and ser-

vices, creang a more ecological version of something simple

could become another protable product.

Some recent examples have been, stainless steel reusable

water boles and paperboard take-out containers in place of

Styrofoam.


http://www.skype.com/


http://www.freeconferencecall.com/







41


24. On-site rainwater collecon:

Install rainwater collecon equipment for watering your landscape. Low

-cost alternaves might be landscaping with water harvesng in mind,

or nding used 55 gallon barrels instead of purchasing new containers.

Either method can be used to collect enough rainwater to support the

watering needs of your landscape plants, company vehicles, or building

and street washing.

Grey-water systems are also an amazing way to go green, and spend

less on watering.

25. Green your commercial landscaping

Green landscaping techniques such as Xeriscaping (dry gardening) or Per-

maculture can signicantly reduce the costs of landscaping while improv-

ing soil, and reducing waste. Landscaping with methods that are ecological

take advantage of your local environment to provide plants that need lileor no watering, and lile cleanup. Combine that with the suggeson

above, and your landscaping bills will drop while, at the same me, in-

crease your green image.

http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2010/08/30/how-to-start-a-grey-water-recycling-systems-installation-business/




http://www.greenmarketing.tv/2010/07/05/how-to-start-a-xeriscape-landscaping-service/




Documents

75 Tips to Green Your Business