Green Business Awareness

Odd as it may seem after more than a decade of environmental frenzy, angst, and crisis-mongering; there are those who still treat the problem with only token concern for what is happening.  Even if you are not on the global warming bandwagon, you cannot miss the global implications that are already looking each of us square in the eye.   The global population was about 4 billion in the 1950’s, it moved to 6.8 billion by the end of 2008, and is predicted to go to 9 million in 2025.  That singular fact is not subject to debate and has very real life implications for all of us.

Combine this with the concurrent realization that are now calculating “What’s left” of the resources available to this constantly increasing and resource hungry mega-world, and there are obvious facts that require that we “Get It” now rather than later.  Going Green may at times be trendy.  It may also be a smart marketing decision to show that your company is aware of global issues.   Regardless of the way you get there, it is well past the time that everyone should have a very meaningful Green epiphany, rather than a meager Green twinge of angst.

It is also obvious that most people are still waiting for “Someone else” to solve this crisis.   That reality is that governments do not solve problems efficiently or without laboring them with misdirection, over-regulation, and impossible costs.   We see environmental groups rising up, but they should not be seen as environmental mercenaries doing the job that each of us refuse to do.  Of course, corporations should be making the course corrections that will help us turn the corner on all these issue.  The truth is after more than a decade, we are still waiting on someone else to do what will take the collective efforts of each person, business, and government to accomplish.

We suffer from the fantasy that all this will soon pass like the winter of despair, and better days will arrive of their own accord.   It is only when the vast majority have this personal epiphany that we might turn the corner of all of this, so let me help you out by explaining the real kind of event that will solve this problem if we don’t step up to the plate on this issue.

First of all, we could be fortunate enough to enjoy a true pandemic like the recent scare of the Swine Flu virus, and million of people could die in every country.  In days of old, the population control was effectively accomplished by the Black Plague, cholera, smallpox, or typhus.  Frankly, millions upon millions of people have died from these diseases which gravely reduced world populations.

We could also benefit from a really devastating wars where the lack of vital goods will spark wars and kill off millions, if not billions.  There are already private wars and factions fighting over scare water, food, jewels, and power.  It shouldn’t take too much to destabilize a few more countries.   You will find belligerent countries like Korea, China, Iran and Russia like governments in turmoil and civil war because they can move in and take whatever they want in these situation.  War, if you didn’t know it, can be a very profitable and empowering game for those high enough in the process to take advantage of what they would never get by spreading spreading peace and democracy.

Of course there are the reward for an particularly oppressive series of dictators with a Hitler-like penchant for genocide.   The particularly cruel and purposely violent few like Castro of Cuba, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, Kim Jong-Il of North Korea and Liberian President Charles Taylor are just some of the recent examples of how close we are to allowing these radicals to siezing power anywhere.

If you are a sci-fi buff, there is always the heroing possibility that a comet will strike the earth, a new volcanic era will will out millions and darken the skies for a decade, a rouge country will invent a prolific bacteria that will kill everyone, or that the ice-caps will melt leaving us to survive in floating villages.

Isn’t is infinitely better to respond to the challenges of our hour with our better response rather than a token effort?  This issue will not pass of its own accord.  Innovation will relieve but not dismiss that fact that we must adjust, correct, and do better at every level of our life.  When you think about this global issue demands universal participation.  Everyone needs a hard-hitting and fact-based Green epiphany that set each person, business, and organization on a curative path.   I am pleased to see an army of Certified Green Consultants in place to help homes and businesses take on this challenge in an honest and effective manner.   As part of the Green Business League, any business can earn its Green Business Certification by adopting and installing Green Practices.   Seeing the choices presentled above, Going Green is the right path to a solution that can change to world for the better.

One of the worst feelings in the world is the day a civil lawsuit lands at the doorstep of a business.  Like the diagnosis of cancer, everything is thereafter controlled by the pending threat that embroils every part of our life.   A lawsuit is never kind, and it is almost never a fair presentation of the facts.  It is filled with accusations, horrendous claims, and what seems to be intentionally one-sided lies.   Of course, the is the final section where the “Relief” that is sought from the court is so immense as to be heart stopping.  Reading a lawsuit feels like hearing about a deadly diagnosis from a hateful doctor who hopes that you’ll die a particularly painful death.

With this in mind, it should be no surprise that there is now more attorneys studying environmental law than every before in history.  Like tremors before an earthquake, it should come as no surprise that we are seeing a serious rise in environmental lawsuits and an expected surge of new environmental regulations.   Ready or not, we are about to see the enforcement of environmental laws like never before.  For this reason, Going Green is a proactive aspect that should not be ignored.  Businesses are deemed to have deep pockets, and that makes them excellent targets for litigation.  If a business would like to keep the profits that they have struggled to make over the years, it must take positive steps to reduce and eliminate potential liability issues.

Indoor Air Quality is one of those blindsided type issues that most people will never see coming until it hits them hard from behind.   Remember that people spend 90% of their time indoors according to the EPA.   This is day after day and year after year.   Over a 40 year working career, employees have endured prolonged exposure to the recycled air that frankly seems like an invisible, toxic cloud that they cannot escape.   This exposure to poor indoor air quality is yet another liability to the company.

Over the years, doctors have linked more and more chronic diseases to exposure to chemicals in the air.   I am sure that you remember the battle over “second-hand smoke.”  Evidence was clear that non-smokers had impressively higher occurance of lung cancer when exposed to second-hand smoke in the workplace.  This can by way of civil litigation.  Asbestos was yet another ingredient that caused lung disease proven in courts time and again.   You can find other dangerous ingredients in the workplace as well.  There is benzene, formaldehyde, pesticides, cleaning chemicals containing volatile organic compounds, and bad levels of carbon dioxide to name only a few of the bad things found in most businesses.

That “New Smell” of fresh paint, new furniture, glue from the carpet, as well as stains and varnish are not good at all.  they are often volatile organic compounds that will make you ill or dizzy with overexposure.  When you walk into a room cleaned by bleach, do you think that it smell clean and sanitary?  You should also know that it is bad for you.  If you doubt me, try taking a strong whiff our of a bleach bottle.  It will be a rough experience.  Ammonia is not different, but we typically see these cleaning products as healthy when they are actually harmful to us.  The danger is lost in the fact that they are used in diluted and small quantities.  Try eating just a very small quantity of arsenic over a period of time and you will kill yourself.

One of the very real benefits of Going Green is the provision of a healthy workplace and the mitigation of a lawsuit arising from an employee made sick at the workplace.  A six month check up by a Certified Green Consultant is one of the best ways create a paper trail of a health office.   Earning your Green Business Certification may be the prime motivator for improving the office.   Going Green will often provide substantial savings in the budget.  It will likely improve the overall performance of worker and well as their health.  One of the other important benefits to the positive defense when an environmental lawsuit comes your way.  Green Business League encourages businesses to consider working to improve indoor air quality as the first phase of Greening a business.

There is good news for those considering Going Green.  The fact is that the transition to Green is not just more work and more expense for you or your business.  As the Green movement grows, it also matures.  We are finding to our good surprise that there are more and more efficiencies in the Greening process.  In other words, the Greening of your home or office will result in benefits that far outweigh the cost or time it takes to install these programs.

The savings are certainly going to magnify because no one expects costs to go down.  Everything trends upward.  Energy costs will be one of those painful lessons in life that we are about to learn.  The global economy and geopolitics have rudely targeted energy (explained in the form of global warming and carbon dioxide) as the global problem of the century.  Basically, governmental intervention and global population pressure is going to drive up nearly all energy cost up by 100% to 300% in the foreseeable future.   Therefore the smart person is already looking at minimizing energy use in all forms through efficiencies rather than painful sacrifices.

Take for example, the small cost to put in a flow restrictor and aerator on the faucets.  For a little more than $1, you will reduce water use without pain.  The same is true for low flow shower heads and water displacement for toilets. Gradually change to low-moisture plants and use a soaker hose for irrigation.

Plant a tree or two in a strategically placed trees on your property.  First of all, this is very good for the planet since trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen that we all need.  Secondly, the small investment in young trees will protect your building from the sun, cool the area, and reduce your cooling bill.  Believe it or not, trees are one of the best natural solution that we can offer to help global warming.

Saving a hundred or several hundred dollars a year may not seem a big reward for the effort to Go Green, but this is not just about the money, you know?   We are on a global mission that will certainly affect us all in more than a few ways.  What if it was possible to save $25,000 to $50,000 per year in your company by adopting some other Green ideas that work wonderfully well?   It is no joke!  We have found a number of Green innovations that cost a few dollars and a few days to install, but pay back dividends immediately at the rate of hundreds and thousands of dollars per month, and that makes Going Green a surprising advantage that few have considered.

Where do you find these ideas?  You could probably spend time researching and experimenting to discover what a Certified Green Consultant already knows, or you might consider the simple task of hiring a Certified Green Consultant who acts as an outsourced environmental officer for your company.  He or she knows that solution and will work with you or your company to make it more Green efficient and to accumulate points toward your Green business certification.  The savings realized are not just calculated over 10 or 15 years, but the results I refer to are realized in the first and second year.  In tough economic times, have you considered that Going Green could actually make your company more profitable plus provide a great marketing concept for your business.  The Green Business League invites you to find out more about the many benefits for any company in the Greening process.

In all else that is going on in our world, it is worth the time and concern to pay respect and appreciation to those who have served, fought, and died for our freedoms.   Families gave their sons and daughters, wives gave their husbands, and children gave their fathers because of something that we all believe in.

The best form of respect we can offer on our private level is to not let freedom be lost silently, conveniently, or politically.  Why should the brave ones fight on a foriegn field when the rest will not fight just as hard for the freedoms that govern our daily life?

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In terms of certifications, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is well-recognized and a good idea that applies to new construction and existing building renovation.  Therefore, it is fair to say that their primary market is building owners.  Roughly speaking, the LEED certification will add about 30% to the real cost of construction or renovation.   This is counterbalanced by the extrapolation of the projected savings of these improvements over a period of 10 to 20 years.

In the belief that the building dramatically figures into both the Green health impact and the sustainable equation of resource management, it is a good idea to have buildings that are constructed by better materials and that require less energy to operate.

Depending on the number of points achieved, the building can attain Platinum (52 - 69 points), Gold (39 - 51 points), Silver (33 - 38 points) or LEED certified (26 - 32 points) status.  Of course, the compliance required to get the higher levels of certification add to the cost of LEED certification.  In hard economic times when banks are much more tight-fisted, the extra burden of the LEED certification is an idea facing hard times.  More than a few LEED projects have fallen out due to money restraints.

Green Business League offers the “Green Business Certification” that is not tied to the building, and there is good reason for this.  The vast majority of businesses in America (and elsewhere) do not own the building that they are in.   They rent or lease the facility which is often a portion of the building.   Some businesses actually operate out the owner’s home or property, which is a very Green idea.   Not being building owners, they are not allowed to participate in the environmental solution offer by LEED.

The Green Business League considers the “Green Practices” or operation of the building as the primary criteria for Green business certification.   It helps to have a Green building, but Green practices is viewed as a call for universal participation in the environmental process that is desperately needed.  You see, living in a garage does not make you a car.   Standing in a forest does not make you a tree.   Neither does working in a LEED building make your company Green.   Environmentalism is everyone’s duty, and the operation of the  business is a further commitment to the environment.   Whether you business is in a Green building or not, the ability to have a Green operation that has adopted “Green Practices” brings a new and valuable solution to all levels of business regardless of size or real estate assets.

There is a need for everyone to do their Fair Share in the face of an environmental crisis.   It is not the singular responsibility of manufacturer or building owners.   This problem will not be solved by the few, but the many who see that modification of our lifestyle is the preferable solution to the loss of our lifestyle.   Using a simple-to-accomplish system of 100 points and the assistance of trained Certified Green Consultants, the Green Business League is building a national and international network of Green Businesses that will also provide a marketplace where Green Businesses will be encouraged to support other Green businesses.   It is an idea that has come of age and needs to be part of the fabric of a new and Greener generation.

Strangely enough, Green is now chic, trendy, and relevant.   Before this, it was the domain of long hairs, hippies, and tree huggers.   Years ago, the extreme environmentalist was the “odd man out” and was happy be be so.   Today, environmentalism has gone main stream, and it even enjoys a loyal following that marketers are trying to co-op.

This adoption by the mainstream has brought in a new term called “Greenwashing.”   This is when the Green brag does not live up to the Green hype for a product or company.   With janitorial firms, they have rushed out to buy some “Green Cleaning products,” and then instantly dubbed themselves “Green.”   Instead of learning about Green, going through training and certification; they co-opted the term.  Now, nearly every company in the market has found some way to attach themselves to the Green concept, whether legitimate or not.

That brings us to the topic of “”Token Green.”   This phrase means that a person or business is doing the minimum possible to be called Green.   There are obviously many shades of Green, and some are very mild shades of Green while others are rich in texture.   With nearly every company “Going Green,” there is a large proportion that would fall into the Token Green category.   Sometimes, it’s because they are not sure that ‘this trend’ is going to be around long.   Other times, it is because they care more about the perception than they are for the facts.

As we come of age in a new and Greener world, those that played at Green will pale by comparison to businesses that were “True Green.”   To avoid the pitfalls that will certainly embrace and hurt the “Token Green” firms, make the commitment to start your company’s Green transition.  It need not be instantaneous nor does it need to be expensive.   Hire a Certified Green Consultant to provide the professional guidance that your company needs, and earn your way to a Certified Green Business credential to proudly display.

The Green Business League is a national program with the largest representation in the Green market right now when it comes to Green business certification.  Their 100 point system is the epitome of honest Green certification because, as they say, the GBL certification is “Earned, not Bought.”   Using a well-crafted program, any business can Go Green and earn their certification in just a few months.  More than that, they then participate with a national network of Green businesses to further the sustainable issues of the Green Supply Chain.

Believing that the best and most fundamental of the concept of Green is the health impact in areas that we have influence, the next basic question is “Where do we start our journey to Green?”  This, I believe, starts with the areas most proximate to each of us and spreads out as far as we might have the capacity to influence.  There will inevitably be things that I cannot change, but other person of similar passion could accomplish if they see their duty as well.

Is is obvious that our health, other than was is God-given, is supported by three basic elements.  These are the food that we eat, the water that we drink and the air that we breathe.   While these subject do not represent all that is Green, it does give us a starting point.  What is common to all of us and therefore within our grasp to change is the air that we breathe.  Food and water are more a private concern, but we all share the air, for good or bad.

The Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is the obviously that a cause common to us all and has more influence in our lives than we might imagine.  The unfortunate souls of Love Canal years ago found that the polluted ground, water, and air took a horrible toll in death, birth defects, and untimely deaths.  This ugly piece or our recent history bears record of what we can do to ourselves by neglect and ignorance.  These stories are repeated many times over in America and around the world.  The problem was told in stark reality in the story of Erin Brockovich.  There is nothing more fundamental to us that our health, and this eventually extends from our centerpoint to reach everyone else in the world.

Every Certified Green Consultant is taught the true meaning of Green, where it it starts, and how it is accomplished.  In a world presently driven by necessity to embrace an environmentally friendly lifestyle, knowing the clear answers to these complex issues is incredibly important.  Knowing the definition, starting point, process, and milestones of Going Green offers clarity and a path to an issue that threats our world and our way of life.

It is time to be the ambassadors of environmentalism rather than the spectators to the event.  Governments are not the more efficient or effective way to solve a problem that have come to us as a haunting ghost of our past abuses.  As seen in the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, the abuses and negligences of our past do come back to visit us with condemnation, even as our virtues come back bless us time and again.

While there is more to do to satisfy the environmental issues that need redress in our homes and our businesses, we must find a starting point or else suffer from confusion and misdirection in our efforts.  Time will bring the issue of Indoor Air Quality back to us in the ghosts of employee illness, productivity lost, and increasing environmental lawsuits that will destroy more than a few unlucky businesses.

The good news is that Going Green will not only preserve our health and help the world as a whole, the efficiencies that are now part of the process will save a company thousands upon thousands of dollars.  The Green Business League offers the smart path to Green business certification, and the assistance of a Certified Green Consultant is an invaluable resource.  They know the true meaning of Green, where it starts, how it is accomplished, and when certification is accomplished.

One might suppose that after more than twenty years of use, the meaning of Green would be as clear as the word Internet.  Unfortunately, it isn’t.  It seems like this favored word has been hijacked by every conceivable market aspect possible.  Green has become the ubiquitous catch phrase for anything tinged with environmental benefit, and that seem unfortunate.  As one concerned for words, definitions, and clarity on this subject, I would like to suggest that there are four words that constitute the broad topic of environmentalism.

Green, in its best definition refers to the “Health Impact” of any practice of product.  I also feel that it has varying impact based upon the proximity that we have to the situation.  The greater our influence, the more responsibility we have to make the changes that can create a healthy environment.  So, if any practice or product has a health impact, it is a “Green Issue.”

Sustainability deals primarily with the “Management of Resources.”   I think like a few others that it should be given the color Blue to delineate this important segment of environmental practice.  Sustainable issues refer to energy, raw commodities, potable water, waste management, and elements of the home and business that consider the full “Lifecycle” of any commodity that we use.

Pollution deserves its own category as well.  This one I would color Red because it indicates a warning that something is wrong and need immediate attention.  This deals with the phosphates in detergents that promotes algae in the rivers and chlorine sued to bleach paper white.  It is how we handle sewage or struggle with what to do with all the “Single Use” plastic products that we discard.

Conservation is the fourth category, and it considers the wildlands and wildlife of our world.  We should be concerned to leave some parts of the world unharmed by artificial invasion.  I suggest that this category would be Yellow.  It is found in a concern for butterflies that charm us all or a forest that sweetens and refreshes our air.  It is not a singular issue that rises above all others, but one that we always want to protect.

So, if there were one grand book on environmentalism, I believe that it should have four grand divisions.  Health, Sustainability, Pollution, and Conservationism.  It is narrow minded to claim superiority of one over another, but it seems obvious that they must be balanced in a full consideration of the environmentally friendly world.  The big question of our hour is how to balance family life and business conduct with these ideas.   There have been times when life in the real world overruled environmentalism, and we found that abuse of any kind cannot be long tolerated.  Eventually, everyone pays a price for abuse because abuse always has a consequence.

The solution is to gradually, but expediciously, install “Green Practices” into your home or business.  The cost and time commitment to do it all at once may be problematic, but it can be done with a little professional guidance and over a span of a few months.  The Green Business League offers a highly respected Green Business Certification or Green Homes Certification to any committed effort to transition to an environmentally committed effort.  Using the skills of hundreds of Certified Green Consultants, any family or business can make the transition to Green and Sustainable Practices without disrupting the necessary duties of life.  We can adjust, we can be more concerned, and we can “Go Green” without tearing down everything and starting over.

Well, it’s started and the Congress is now in the throes of debate and accusations about the real meaning of the next energy bill put forward by Waxman and Markey.  It is obvious that the Obama administration and democrats favor this legislation.  Republicans see this law as a way to chase American jobs out of the country by further hamstringing U.S. businesses while other countries eagerly wait to replace our offerings with less regulated competition.  The question of real cost of these new regulation on a massively injured economy is yet another reason that many will oppose the proposed legislation.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has come out against the Waxman/Markey bill as well, saying:

Unfortunately, the debate in Congress has left the nation with two terrible options: (1) expensive, complicated, regulation-heavy, domestic-only legislation like ACES, or (2) an “even worse” set of mandatory CO2 controls on everyone and everything through existing Clean Air Act programs. The rigid ideology exhibited over the last twenty years of the climate change debate has not only clearly divided the nation but it has failed miserably to produce any results. Congress should stop, take a breath, and consider sensible policy alternatives that increase our energy security, promotes a strong economy, and contributes to a global reduction in emissions.

Democrats aren’t winning all the hearts and minds, though. Indiana’s governor sees dark plans afoot, in the WSJ: “It looks like imperialism. This bill would impose enormous taxes and restrictions on free commerce by wealthy but faltering powers — California, Massachusetts and New York — seeking to exploit politically weaker colonies in order to prop up their own decaying economies.”   House Democrats secured the support of Virginia Democrat Rick Boucher for the energy and climate bill—thanks to generous support for “clean coal”—bringing the bill one step closer to victory in committee.

The concern for global warming and energy independence is the driving force.  These concerns are real and need solutions.  That is not the heart of the debate, however.  It is the wisdom of heavy-handed, revenue-rich, government-controlled bills that further expands the Big Brother concerns of those who see their freedoms under attack once again.  Hard line environmentallist celebrate this bill, while struggling business and financially-crunch families fear it.

The 1000 page bill is likely to grow into a monster bill by the time it is done.  The revenue to the treasury is the prize at the end of the beaucratic maze.  And though the promise is that there will be tax relief given to the average citizen, I am still waiting for the toll roads (promised to be freeways in ten years) to remove the tool boths.  This bill is destine to become a Frankenstein that the villagers will wish to kill before it ravages the villagers once again.  I am lost on the logic that more regulation, taxation, and complication will help a problem that really calls for leadership that leads instead of dominates.

The environmental dicotomy is the position of supporting environmental causes, but resisting govenment intrusions that penalize society into conformity.  This is a return to the classic B. F. Skinner “Behavior Modification” that uses punishment and reward in uneven proportions.  Behavior modification always ends up punishment heavy and reward light.  The enlightened view is encouraging by leadership, and incentivizing through tax credits and increased opportunity those that you wish to change.

The Waxman/Markey bill should be killed at birth, and a more reasoned and simplistic solution may arise in the second round of bipartisan revision.

So far, getting a Green business certification comes through a few limited options.  Green Seal certifies cleaning products and other commercial products.  LEED certifies buildings, newly built or renovated.  Then there are the website knock offs that sell their logo for several hundred dollars and a weak promise to be Green.  What happens if your business was not based on a product or don’t own the building?  The certification choices are poor indeed.

The Green Business League has set out to create a new benchmark in the industry.  First of all, this is a certification that requires that the certification award must be ”Earned, not Bought.”  Secondly, this is the fastest growing and most prominent business certification in the market.  The Green Business League offers more than a trademark.  It boasts the largest field force of Certified Green Consultant, a standardize criteria for certification, and local Green networking chapters across the country for networking of Green Businesses.

The environmental crisis requires that every family and every business participate.  A criteria of participation and standard of certification allows everyone to get involved and demonstrate that they have made valuable strides against environmental issues that seems incredibly immense when viewed individually.  With thousands of Certified Green Consultants, and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses helped by these trained professionals, the impact is multiplied many times over.  This will make a big dent in a stubborn issue, and the continued success of so many people could help turn the tide of world environmental threat.

The certification process is not complex.  It is a guided process, that requires a company to earn 100 points by actually adopting Green Practices into the business operation.  Green Practices are actual changes in the business operation that have universal application that are not necessarily tied to owning a building or selling a product.  Therefore, this is a method of certification that has broad appeal and great rewards for everyone.

My advice is don’t be fooled by Green certifications that are website driven alone.  These come up in a night and disappear just as easily.  Those that were committed to the cause go beyond the superficial to create real momentum in the community.  They have real people doing real work as well as a national presence.  The Green Business League stands out as the bona fide choice for certification that is destine to set the standard for Green Business Certification.  To find a Certified Green Consultant in your area, visit Green Consultant Directory and make a real commitment to a Green Business Certification that offers so much more than a logo and a website.