Doing Well and Doing Good with Green Businesses
Doing Well and Doing Good with Green Businesses
Rather than costing more, going green can help businesses save money, starting in their buildings. Our buildings waste enormous amounts of energy overall, contributing to climate change, pollution, and resource depletion. A 2008 report from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation confirmed that greening our buildings is one of the most cost effective ways to fight climate change. The opportunities to improve buildings include using energy-efficient lighting, better insulation, natural lighting, cool roofing, and more efficient heating and cooling systems. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has found that green buildings certified at the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold level can reduce overall energy costs by 50%.
In addition to reducing energy costs and helping the environment, green buildings are also a great investment. Although dogma holds that going green makes a building much more expensive, the overall cost of green buildings is estimated to be 0-5% higher than other buildings. Green buildings certified at the USGBC LEED Gold level command higher rent, $11.24 per square foot higher on average, and have a higher occupancy rate (National Building Institute, and the CoStar Group). Green buildings also sell for more, creating more value for businesses.
Wasted water and other resources are also significant environmental problems businesses are acting on. Water supplies have often been taken for granted, but they are increasingly precious in many regions. Wasting resources often costs a business twice; once to purchase the raw material, and again to dispose of it. Ray Anderson, founder and Chairman of Interface Inc. floor covering company, has committed Interface to move toward sustainability, in part by reducing waste. From 1996 to 2006, Interface reduced manufacturing waste going to landfills by 70% and reduced water consumption in production facilities by 62-80% even as the company grew greatly in size. The reduction in waste helped Interface save over $336 million during this time period.
Sometimes reducing waste requires an investment, but the investment in efficiency and waste reduction quickly pays for itself. Efficiency improvements such as sealing air ducts and using more efficient light bulbs can pay for themselves in as short as a few months to 2 or 3 years, providing a much higher rate of return on capital than is possible with most other investments.
A piece of less conventional wisdom holds that every problem contains an opportunity. When it comes to green businesses, this is sounding less crazy all the time. All of the environmental problems we face are also business opportunities for those who are ready to take them on. Coal-fired power plants are causing climate change? Develop and produce cheap renewable energy and investors will beat a path to your door. Not enough clean water for farms and cities? Develop, produce, and market technologies to use the water we already have more efficiently. Our buildings are inefficient? Get to work capturing that wasted value by retrofitting millions of homes.
The list of opportunities is as long as the list of problems we face. Entrepreneurs taking on these challenges are both making money and making a difference in our world. You don’t have to choose one or the other. When it comes to going green in business, you can both help the world and build a strong business at the same time.
Doing Well and Doing Good with Green Businesses - To learn more about this author, visit Glenn Croston's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Conventional wisdom says that you can’t have it all, that you have to choose. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, or so they say. This is the basic thinking of those who still believe businesses can’t go green and make money too, that going green costs a great deal of money, takes time, and is a luxury that successful businesses cannot afford. The problem with conventional wisdom is that it’s not always right. A February 2008 report from the Economist Intelligence Unit found that businesses paying more attention to sustainability issues fare as good as, if not better than, those that do not. You can make money and do the right thing for the environment, and more and more businesses are doing it all the time.
Rather than costing more, going green can help businesses save money, starting in their buildings. Our buildings waste enormous amounts of energy overall, contributing to climate change, pollution, and resource depletion. A 2008 report from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation confirmed that greening our buildings is one of the most cost effective ways to fight climate change. The opportunities to improve buildings include using energy-efficient lighting, better insulation, natural lighting, cool roofing, and more efficient heating and cooling systems. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has found that green buildings certified at the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold level can reduce overall energy costs by 50%.
In addition to reducing energy costs and helping the environment, green buildings are also a great investment. Although dogma holds that going green makes a building much more expensive, the overall cost of green buildings is estimated to be 0-5% higher than other buildings. Green buildings certified at the USGBC LEED Gold level command higher rent, $11.24 per square foot higher on average, and have a higher occupancy rate (National Building Institute, and the CoStar Group). Green buildings also sell for more, creating more value for businesses.
Wasted water and other resources are also significant environmental problems businesses are acting on. Water supplies have often been taken for granted, but they are increasingly precious in many regions. Wasting resources often costs a business twice; once to purchase the raw material, and again to dispose of it. Ray Anderson, founder and Chairman of Interface Inc. floor covering company, has committed Interface to move toward sustainability, in part by reducing waste. From 1996 to 2006, Interface reduced manufacturing waste going to landfills by 70% and reduced water consumption in production facilities by 62-80% even as the company grew greatly in size. The reduction in waste helped Interface save over $336 million during this time period.
Sometimes reducing waste requires an investment, but the investment in efficiency and waste reduction quickly pays for itself. Efficiency improvements such as sealing air ducts and using more efficient light bulbs can pay for themselves in as short as a few months to 2 or 3 years, providing a much higher rate of return on capital than is possible with most other investments.
A piece of less conventional wisdom holds that every problem contains an opportunity. When it comes to green businesses, this is sounding less crazy all the time. All of the environmental problems we face are also business opportunities for those who are ready to take them on. Coal-fired power plants are causing climate change? Develop and produce cheap renewable energy and investors will beat a path to your door. Not enough clean water for farms and cities? Develop, produce, and market technologies to use the water we already have more efficiently. Our buildings are inefficient? Get to work capturing that wasted value by retrofitting millions of homes.
The list of opportunities is as long as the list of problems we face. Entrepreneurs taking on these challenges are both making money and making a difference in our world. You don’t have to choose one or the other. When it comes to going green in business, you can both help the world and build a strong business at the same time.
Doing Well and Doing Good with Green Businesses - To learn more about this author, visit Glenn Croston's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
| |||
 |
No article feedback found. | ||
|
Leave Your Feedback | ||
|
|||
 Beware greenwashing your business
| |||
| Greenwashing, the practice of using the term 'green' just to score points, will fail you and your business. |
|||
|
Green Biz Idea #32 - Certify Your Business as Green
| |||
| If you’re wanting to green your business, one avenue you could take can be in the form of certification. A few local (and some national) organizations exist that will help you in greening your operations and practic... |
|||
|
NBC Goes Green
| |||
| On Monday, November 6, NBC Universal kicked off a week-long buzz marketing campaign dedicated to Going Green. |
|||
|
Green Jobs: It's about growing your existing employees too
| |||
| Looking to green your workforce? Perhaps the perfect candidate is already in your workplace, just waiting to be unleashed to help green your environment. On-the-job learning is still a major factor in the growth of ... |
|||
|
Should You Switch to Selling Green?
| |||
| Should you switch to selling green products? It depends. |
|||
| |||
Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
|||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
 Glenn Croston (Visit Glenn's Website) Glenn Croston is the author of the book “75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make a Difference”, coming out in August 2008 with Entrepreneur Press and available on Amazon.com. The green economy is estimated at $300 billion and growing quickly as businesses in many industries go green, building a sustainable economy and a healthy environment. 75 Green Businesses give entrepreneurs from many backgrounds the starting point to join the green economy, describing innovative green business opportunities in renewable energy, green building, food, water, farming, transportation, services, recycling, and other fields. For more information about the book, see: www.75Gr eenBusinesses.com Even with a great idea in hand, green entrepreneurs often need help starting their business and keeping it growing. Currently the author is developing Starting Up Green to help green entrepreneurs succeed by connecting them with resources and expert partners in fields such as promotion, financing, and human capital. To find out more about getting involved as a partner providing services, sponsor, or entrepreneur seeking help, go to: www.Start ingUpGreen.com.
|  |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
 |
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 |
 Mirror Marketing Million $ Interview Disappearing Leader Instant Direct Mail Venture Capital Guide |
|
 | ||
 |
Top Social Business Blogs
Top Social Entrepreneur Blogs | |
 |
Top 50 Diversion Blogs
Top Diversion Blogs of 2008 | |
| ||
 |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||
