Environmental Entrepreneurialism the New Wave of Green Business Strategy

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 rush, like the internet boom in the late '90's and the real estate boom that just collapsed?"My answer usually surprises them, "'Yes', for some. And 'no' for everyone else."Continuing I explain, "50% of the world's wetlands have been lost in the last 100 years, 50% of the world's forests have been chopped down, 70% of the world's major marine fisheries have been depleted, 100% of the world's coral reefs are at risk, and 6.3 billion people on the planet with another 3 billion coming in the next 40 years. This might be a fad for some, and for everyone else this is a permanent change we must address now. By showing businesses how to make money taking care of the planet will be the fastest way we'll reverse these trends."In order to successfully launch a new "green" product or company, the following eight steps might be helpful:1. Pick from the Top Ten Environmental Issues for one(s) you are most passionate about.2. Build your product/service around that issue. If you do not see a relationship between what you know how to do and that issue, create one. For example, you're a chiropractor and you are passionate about air pollution, find creative ways to reduce customer travel to your office, use low energy consuming equipment in the office, start or contribute to a fund for pollution control, or have your office offer discounts to those who bike to your office.3. Define your target customer. Who would be most interested in your new product/service or company? What are their demographics and psychographics (interests).4. Study your competition. What are they doing towards your chosen issue? How are you better or different? In order to avoid "greenwashing" (promoting being "green" without really being "green"), you must be authentic and accurate.5. Establish your credibility. To add to the legitimacy, show your experts on staff, credentials (licenses, degrees, etc.), testimonials from credible sources/clients, case studies of those who have used your product/service (or ones similar), and/or scientific resources backing up your research/claims.6. Determine start up costs. Do you need to finance the project? There are many government-backed financing programs starting now with the "green jobs" initiative being pushed heavily in Washington. An expert on this is Franklin Madison at Industrial and Technology Assistance Corporation here (ITAC) in NYC. Frank and ITAC have a 10 year history of working with and providing access to funding for green businesses (particularly technology-based businesses.)7. Hit the market. Make sure you present your product/service in a way your target customers are going to get it. Speak their language when explaining how it benefits both them and the planet. Use stories and examples. Masters at explaining their products are The Body Shop and Patagonia.8. Have a blast. Make sure it is what you are passionate about. You will get knocked around a lot and when you do, what will get you back up is your passion for making it happen.And by following these steps just might get you to where my brother, Anselm's, business is right now.Action Steps for the WeekAlthough green businesses started gaining traction in the early '90's, only recently has it become a really hot market. For this reason, it will take some serious focus and intention for you to catch up to the wave. Here is what you will need to do ASAP:* Determine what "floats your boat" regarding environmental issues.* Research that environmental topic until you understand the key issues.* Define your product/service new business.* Study your competition. Who is doing this already? How are you unique or better?* Integrate plan into your business.* Write up your marketing strategy.* Got expenses to start? If so, where will you raise the capital?Do not get discouraged or delay on this. The time for this is now, because in this economy and this hot market you can imagine how many people are innovating just like you.Get going and Be UnReasonable!

Green Business is Good Business - Sustainable Resources Keep Businesses Viable

We hear a lot about "green marketing" these days. Small businesses to major corporations are trying to appeal to the greater environmental consciousness of consumers. Why? There's money to be made. Research suggests that eco-minded consumers are willing to pay more money for green products, services, or even to deal with companies that demonstrate having an environmental conscience.It's Not Easy Being "Green"Being a green business can mean much more than making a quick buck because of clever marketing playing on the current social climate. Creating environmentally friendly products or running an overall eco-friendly business can involve higher overhead costs (which may or may not be fully accounted for in increased prices - either way, it takes a bite out of those profits).When a company decides to go green, they also take on a new image and social responsibility. They have to continually live up to the image they create, making sure other aspects of their business aren't counterintuitive to the environmentally friendly mission their customers come to expect. Even one bad decision can become a green PR nightmare that alienates a company's target market.Green Business can be Good BusinessIf going green is more expensive, involves launching completely new marketing campaigns, and has the potential to make or break a company's reputation with each little decision, why would companies invest so much time and money into being environmentally friendly?For some businesses, sustainable resources mean more than happy customers. They mean sustainable business - ensuring that the resources needed to create their products (especially at prices consumers are willing to pay) don't become depleted.Case Study: Faraway FurnitureFaraway Furniture is a UK-based company offering contemporary indoor and outdoor garden furniture. We use grade A Javanese teak in the development of our teak garden furniture, because it is incredibly strong and nearly maintenance-free (making it an ideal choice for customers).While the use of teak keeps customers happy, it's a natural resource, and natural resources can become depleted. If this happened, we would eventually be out of business. This is a reason we only use sustainable plantation wood - limited amounts of trees can be cut down each year, and that must be met with equal restoration. We're not only interested in appealing to our environmentally conscious customers and helping the environment. We know that doing both of those things is actually essential to our survival in business.While going green is good for our business, we also have a genuine interest in the global community and doing our part to help the environment. Because of that, we have so far planted over 2500 trees through the Billion Tree Campaign of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). We make sure our customers keep coming back, and we make sure we'll always have the resources necessary to satisfy their demand for our products. That's what it means to go beyond green marketing and be a truely green business.

Green Business - Saving the Planet for Profit

Question? If you could start a green business for very little money up front that included making a great living, gaining a new level of vibrant health and your efforts went toward saving the environment would you think that was pretty cool.I thought a lot about how much meaning and passion I had working at a job I didn't like just solely to make some money. I think about most people who work at jobs they don't really like. How they spend the majority of their time ( usually at least 8 hours a day) for most of their lives wishing they were doing something else that has more meaning, something they could be passionate about doing.Years ago I made the decision that doing something positive for saving the environment and for helping people could be very satisfying and should be profitable. Why not? Why shouldn't doing something that is a great benefit to the planet and other people also make me money.Unfortunately we live in a culture today that is far too cynical and does not often view business profit and being socially and environmentally conscious (basically doing good in the world) as being compatible. The dog eat dog mentality has gotten way out of control. Today there is very little respect or loyalty for the worker, there is very little concern coming from business about the consequences of their actions. As long as it's profitable, that's the main or only concern, the bottom line.I think there has to be a new way of thinking in the business world if we humans are going to survive what business and industry has done to the planet so far. It is also critical that people who want to take the entrepreneurial initiative, believe that there is profit and a promising business future in saving the planet.There are opportunities out there right now for people who have a passion for helping the planet and their fellow man. It is possible to start and grow a green business that provides a good living and is a part of the solution for human sustainability on earth.Job security and jobs that pay enough for the basics, has become very uncertain. Just getting by while you go to work at a meaningless job you don't like with no end in sight is not really a great life experience.Working in your own business helping to save the planet, being of service and making a good living doing it is worth working toward. The really great thing is, its possible with very little up front capital, working at it in a way that allows you to keep the meaningless job till you have replaced that income.It makes total sense to do something where you can work yourself out of a meaningless, just get by job, into your own business that you can be passionate about knowing what you are doing is good for you, the planet and everyone you touch.I know that's what occurred to me and I took action and made it happen, you can to.I've written a Report that you can get for FREE that gives you some valuable insight into how to go green with your own green business. It's available through my website.

Green Business Strategy - Getting Employees Engaged in Sustainability

Give the company a green boostTrying to persuade your business colleagues to go green can be tough. Yet we know environmental consciousness is not only good--it is good for business. Customer loyalty, public credibility and investor confidence are gained by companies that do things right.The majority of leading companies have made public commitments around sustainability - whether it is lowering their carbon footprint, investments in communities or ensuring sustainable sourcing. Yet, we see that their internal practices do not necessarily measure up to their public commitments - which leads to skepticism amongst their customers and employees about how truly green they are. This can impact the bottom line from reputation and loyalty to attracting and retaining the right talent.In order to be taken seriously and perceived as an environmentally-friendly enterprise, you should establish credibility and follow through on public commitments for sustainability. The added benefit for you is that sustainability in business means operating more efficiently...in other words, driving expense out of the business.There is a way you can significantly improve the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives and ensure that the environmental culture permeates throughout the organization: by framing them properly and getting employees engaged. Though simple in concept, it requires expertise in practice to get the best results from sustainable business initiatives.How to sell sustainability within your organizationThe single most important factor for success is executive sponsorship. It is required to ensure the success of sustainable practices within your company. However, changing your organizational culture and perception of the company's values also requires contribution from everyone within the organization. In order to do so effectively, it is important to understand the unique perspectives of senior managers and benefits to each area in addressing sustainability. In turn, senior managers will be able to frame the objectives within their functional areas in a way that is relevant to each employee, creating a more comprehensive and effective implementation. Some of the key functional areas to get on board include: Finance, Marketing, HR and IT / Operations.Defining the need for the finance department:In order to influence the finance department to direct resources toward sustainability efforts, it is important to focus on what is most relevant to them. Expense savings are a huge focus in business right now and finance departments are constantly looking to the business to do more for less. Often times it leads to internal cost cuts which translates to reduction in headcount - something which may impact the effectiveness of the business (less headcount to do the work and morale impact on productivity) and public perception on the viability of the business.However, supporting green initiatives is a great opportunity for those in the finance department to get employees excited about and supportive of internal cost cuts. By identifying ways for employees to help reduce energy consumption - such as turning off the lights, changing screen savers and shutting down computers at night, stocking the refrigerator, cutting down on paper waste, etc., you can save money and increase morale as employees unite in doing something good.Defining the need for HR:HR departments are typically concerned with attracting and retaining top talent. However, when the business is focused on saving money and potentially reducing headcount, it can be challenging to maintain employee satisfaction. Additionally, they need to stretch their budgets farther, making recruiting and retention ever more difficult.A focus on sustainability can be the basis of attracting talent and may help smaller companies, which are often at a disadvantage when recruiting employees, attract creative and talented staff.- Highly educated/talented prospective employees, especially Generation Y, are seeking the opportunity to work in a company focused on sustainability.- Employees look to work for companies with a strong brand reputation - and a focus on sustainability could be a key point of differentiation in creating a positive brand image.From a retention perspective, current employees will be more engaged and productive. Employee productivity and morale typically impacted in the current cost-cutting environment. However, by focusing on cost-cutting through sustainable business practices, a culture focused on "doing-good" - employees will be more engaged and able to focus on productivity instead of the stress typically associated with cost-cuts.Defining the need for IT / Operations departments:IT and operations groups tend to be the most resource / energy intensive groups within an organization and they are constantly being asked to do more with less - causing frustration amongst the groups who use the IT resources. While it is challenging to get employees on board with IT cuts, IT groups can be influenced to get on board with sustainability with knowledge that by getting employees engaged in green IT initiatives, IT departments will be able to more effectively drive their cost-cutting initiatives and maximize results without sacrificing efficiency. Additionally, IT will have the support necessary to implement policies and practices that--while reducing energy and resource consumption--may generate resistance among employees.Defining the need for the marketing department:Sustainability initiatives can address two key focal areas of the marketing department - getting and retaining customers and brand advocacy. Research indicates that companies whose employee practices do not align with green marketing claims will drive consumer skepticism and be perceived as cynically taking advantage of environmental concerns. Marketing leaders have the opportunity to engage customers and employees on a new dimension by demonstrating commitment to sustainability - thereby making employees into committed brand advocates and creating loyal customers by living up to public commitments.Aligning the rest of the organizationOnce Executive Sponsorship is in place and Senior Management understands the benefits of embracing sustainability within their functional areas, it is time to align the rest of the organization and embed a true culture of sustainability. Since employees, like consumers, have different attitudes and perceptions around sustainability programs and can be segmented as such, it is important to design programs that address the unique segments within your organization. The steps below outline what is necessary to fully engage your employee base to achieve your ongoing sustainability commitments.1. Survey employees to segment on attitudes, perceptions, behaviors2. Conduct moderated discussions to get a deeper understanding and to develop communication, persuasion, and engagement strategies3. Design promotions and track behavior to add a dimension of competition and tangibility-and go beyond traditional directive style4. Create a holistic program to achieve stated green business goals while identifying incremental performance opportunities using employee inputBenefitsThe benefits of embedding a sustainability culture within your organization are clear: greater efficiency, lower costs, positive PR, easier recruiting and retention and of course, the positive impact on the environment. By understanding the unique perspectives and needs of everyone within the organization and ensuring the organization is fully aligned, it is easier to communicate your overall strategy and identify and transfer knowledge of successes across the organization. This enables a more comprehensive implementation of your sustainability programs, thereby multiplying the effects of any programs designed.EvaluationImplementing sustainable business practices is a process--not an event--and ultimately should become part of the way the company does business. In order to ensure ongoing success, tools should be established to track and share progress. Start by investigating what can be measured, including electrical and other energy consumption, and resources consumed. Then establish a baseline from which goals can be set and progress tracked. Measure very frequently at first to create continuous feedback on relevant behavioral changes; as those changes become habituated, you can measure less frequently. Conduct root cause analysis on both positive and negative performance so you can replicate the positive and avoid the negative.Use employee engagement programs to achieve these goals and help celebrate success across the organization.