Green Business Awareness

Years ago, businesses brought in efficiency experts for a very good reason.  Every profitable company realized that there was waste and redundancy in the system.  Certain tasks were poorly done or involved unnecessary tasks.  The cumulative effect was that a company running inefficiently was not as profitable nor as competitive as a highly efficient operation.

We have all heard of Jack Welch’s commitment to keeping the top 10% of workers and firing the bottom 10%.  It all came down to creating a company that understood that the critical issue of any business is to produce a quality product or service and to create a profit each month.  In this time of economic downturn, there is an urgent need to reevaluate the operation and keep the company profitable or face failure and bankruptcy.

Well, there is a new version of efficiency experts, and they have surprisingly come from an area sometimes considered anti-business.  Regardless of the misconception early in the evolution, the Green consultant has come on the scene as the well-informed environmental adviser.   Everyone knows that there is an immediate need for greater and sweeping environmental changes to the business model, but serious commitment to the project are usually hindered by the cost, interruption, and extra work required to become a truly Green business.

As the environmental program has matured, the Green mandate has discovered that there are more benefits than first considered.  Going Green is also about EFFICIENCIES meaning that concepts like source reduction, sustainability planning, Green Supply Chain, and energy management will actually make a company more efficient consumers and will reduce costs and trim labor costs.   The paperless systems suggested will speed up office operations and reduce costs more than anyone had suspected.  In all, it is possible to see thousands and tens of thousands of dollars saved for nearly any company.  Such savings makes a company more profitable and better able to survive an economically rough cycle.

Going Green, strengthening business, and reducing costs is not something to leave up to amateurs.  Like the efficiency experts once so eagerly employed, the new generation of efficiency experts are Certified Green Consultants.  Do not trust this project to the same committee that plans the company picnic.  By all means, do not turn to Internet websites promising to sell you their logo for a few hundred dollars and a shallow self-assessment form.

The Green Business League and Green Business League International is able to serve your business with the kind of professionalism that it deserves.  In the end, your company will be Greener, leaner, and more profitable.  There seems to be no loser in the Green transition when it is done right.

I have heard from a growing number of people from numerous business types about the establishment of a Green Committee.  What the overall response has been is a kind of underlying “Help me!”  That is because most of the people on these committees are well-meaning and under-informed people who are commissioned with the task of providing guidance or direction for the corporate Greening process.  No insult intended, but environmental progress requires more than the same committee type that plans the office picnic.

I strongly suggest that every Green committee needs the assistance of someone with training and a clear plan for success.  Adding one person to this team could make a huge difference, and that person should be a Certified Green Consultant.  Rather than starting as a near-zero point, the Certified Green Consultant knows how to formulate a Green program that everyone will appreciate.

Knowing where to start  and how to stage the progress of the company’s Greening effort is very empowering for your Green committee.  The committee allows input from the company side that will provide the customized approach to environmental projects.

The other important consideration is “Cost and Savings” incurred or realized by this program.  This is where the Certified Green Consultant shines.   Going Green will improve the workplace, reduce sick time and increase productivity, but did you know that a good Greening program will develop efficiencies that most people miss?  We are not talking of a few dollars that can be realized, but thousands and tens of thousands of dollars that this program will save in company expenditures.

One idea alone from the Green Consultant will guarantee to reduce your electric bill by 20%, and there are many more cost saving ideas that will speed up office productivity and reduce operational costs.  Most people still labor under the belief that Going Green will cost the company in time and money.  This is no longer true.  Going Green has an ROI that can produce immediate and long-term savings that no business should neglect.

In the absence of a committee, I suggest that a key person be appointed who has the ear and measured authority to move the company into a progressive Greening program.  This person should use the resources of the Certified Green Consultant as well.  To be honest, the information download and constant innovations in the environmental sector take more time than the appointed person has readily available.  While installing Green ideas and managing programs currently in place, looking into what is next still requires some teamsmanship.  Adding the Green Consultant as an outsourced Green adviser is a very intelligent thing to do.

As we emerge from the environmental infancy cycle into an age of informed environmental participant, the value of having a trained and knowledgeable professional is not only smart, but part of a well-run business.   If your company is too small for a Green officer or Green committee, do yourself a favor and bring a Certified Green Consultant along side of your business.  The help that you will receive is worth many times more than you will pay for the service.   Every company WILL GO GREEN.  That is honestly a foregone conclusion.  However, the process can be done in a sloppy and awkward manner that ill-serves all involved, or it can be done professionally so that the process improves the company at every level and saves a ton of money and improves profitability.

Environmental transition is simply not a minor consideration to be handed off to a committee where it will twist in the wind or come back with a less-than-efficient set of solutions.   This is something that deserves the same value that you put on your marketing program because it will affect the future of your business.

It may be that you have not yet heard about the T5 bulbs, but they are the newest flourescent tubes to hit the market.  They are also known as “High Output” bulbs because they put out more lumens (light intensity) per watt (electric power used).

The positive side is that a business will get as much as 44-57% energy savings with the T5 bulb over other typical sources.  These bubs put out plenty of light, reduce ambient heat to lower cooling costs, and are flicker free.  In a normal situation the ROI is about 12 months, and that is really an excellent investment that will pay you back for years to come.

The downside is that the T5 light bulb is about 3 inches shorter than the T8 or T12 currently in most offices and workplaces.  The cost of replacing the whole lighting system can be prohibitive and interrupt the workflow of your office for a week or so.  This has kept the T5 from gaining the ground that it deserves in the marketplace.

As shown in this article, there are now T5 adapter kits that will fit on the end of the bulb to allow it to fit into standard flourescent bulb units.  The T5 light also needs a different ballast which comes with these kits.  In most cases, the process is something that any handyman can install in minutes.  Previously, T5 lights would require a change of the whole lighting system.  This was an obvious hinderance becasue the cost of the next upgrade in lighting included more than bulb or ballast replacement.

It seems obvious that the new T5 fixtures will be part of new construction.  And, it is the next generation of smaller, more efficient lighting.  Eventually there will be a call to retrofit more workplaces.  However, the short-term fix of T5 adapters is really very smart and will allow more people to save a great deal of energy. 

I suppose that it goes without saying that less energy used by the consumer will go right along with less carbon dioxide output.  The movement to reduce energy consumption has several savings factors.   Inefficent lights expense heat as a byproduct.  This means that colling systems must offset the heat from lightbulbs.  Incandescent bulbs put out 15 lumens per watt and the rest of the energy is put out in heat.  A T5 bulb will put out 104 lumens per watt.  A careful exam of these bulbs in operation will reveal that T5 put out a very small amount of heat compared to other bulbs.  Heat equals inefficiency when it comes to lighting considerations.

Greater efficiency means less power used, and that will reduce your electric bill.  Less energy also means less carbon dioxide is created to produce that power.  It seems that there is no downside to better lighting solutions like the T5 except the initial expense.  The T5 adpater kit allows a business to make the transition with only a modest investment that has about a 12 month recovery in savings.

In case you didn’t know it, the old standby T12 will be outlawed some time in 2011-2012.  These were good in their day, but are being phased out.  We are all being moved toward a Greener and more efficient world.  T5 are a small part of the total Greening process.  Companies looking to Green their operation should contact a Certified Green Consultant in their area.  Certified Green Consultants are able to offer Green business certification through the Green Business League.  This is a highly-valued certificaiton that shows that Going Green is more than a token effort.  If you claim to be a Green business, why not get certified and make it official?

When it comes to Green business certification, be prepared to join the ranks of the misled and Greenwashed because there is an army of Green scams ready to take your money.  Well, actually they are the home-brew versions of Green business certification, and there are the rip off versions.  It is obvious that progressive businesses would like to be certified as a Green business.  Therefore, we should not be surprised to see the rise of instant Greening programs offering easy-to-earn certifications.

Under the home brew category we will find the “Token Green Option” where the mere fact that a company has a Green anything is reason enough to proclaim themselves Green!  One company might use only Green cleaning products, while another company might have purchased some carbon credits.  A third company contributes to a Green charity and supports the local Green fair.  Can we rely upon these weak self-assertions for Green compliance, or might these Green claims be more about marketing than reality?  In a token Green situation, we find the mentality that does only the minimum required to make the claim of ownership.

The next level up in home brew certification is the “Local Option” wherein more and more cities are trying to adopt the Marin County model of a Green business certification.  The highlight of this project is that it is essentially free and seems to require low level compliance.  Each business applicant is given a list of Green electives that they complete on their own, and then local utilities are supposed to stop by offering tips on Going Green.  These projects are local initiatives intended to encourage businesses to Green up their operation, but have obvious flaws that will eventually lead to embarrassing criticisms.

By now, I think we have all found that “Free” is never a good idea.  Try thinking about the last time that you received anything free.  Did it have any real value, or was it just a way to get you into the real offering?  The simple fact that any business can obtain the same certification whether they comply or not makes it a fool’s errand.  As these regurgitated Green standards are applied in multiple ways in city after city, there is no true standard that we can follow.  Finally, how does a random group of community activists develop a Green business program that is reliable?  The sheer volume of information and questions that are engendered requires more than an amateur approach.  These local programs are offered for free because they are worth nothing, regardless of the good intentions of these groups.

The Greenwashing choice is undoubtedly  the “Internet Option” where dozens upon dozens of websites are appearing on the Internet offering a Green business certification.  Certification, curiously enough, is  based upon the payment of a $400-$700 fee and a handy-dandy, self-assessment form.  Once again, where is the credible validation for these easy-to-obtain certifications?  You may as well get your driver’s license over the Internet or a Cracker Jack box.   Imagine how well that would work?  These are rip off programs that invite abuse and artificial certification.   Paying money is not the key ingredient to certification.

We should all put Internet certifications in the same category as Cyber sex.  They are not right, and they are not real.  Worse yet, what do you think will happen when the customers of a business realize that anyone can buy the same certification without any honest change in their operation?  No one should begrudge paying money for something that is real, but we should be very upset at the Green Internet scams popping up like locust descending on fields of grain.  These Green Internet certifications are a mockery of a very serious problem in our world.

The correct option is the “Authentically Green” choice.  The right way to get a Green business certification is one that is “Earned, and not Bought.”  This is an issue that needs to have integrity at the core and substance all around.  By using a uniform standard of point accumulation, a business must actually install Green practices to earn a certification.  To assure compliance, a national organization of Certified Green Consultants administrate the program.  These consultants actually audit the firms annually to insure compliance.  No company should short-circuit the issue of Green certification knowing that Greenwashing is one of the notable environmental sins that can be committed.

The Green Business League is the only program in America offering an effective Green business certification that is nationally standardized and properly implemented.  Their certification is not free, cannot be faked, and cannot be bought over the Internet.  The difference is like the difference between cutting down a tree or planting one.  No one should hurt our world when they have the change to help it.  Green business certification comes through a GBL Certified Green Consultant who is trained to guide a business into a Green program that anyone can respect.

A word of warning is in order at this early stage of Green awareness.  Do not do this poorly!  Avoid programs that are token and misguided efforts, regardless of their flowery words or claims of being authoritative.  Ask yourself,  how you would feel if it was discovered that the Green certification program was little more than a Greenwashed idea that had little to no truth behind it.   The future of our world deserves better than these Greenwashed programs offer.  I also wonder why these programs have gone unrebuked for so long.  Are we still so unschooled in environmental issues that we can be fooled by imitation Green rather than the real thing?  Does business think that no one will notice that their Greenwashed surface coat will not wear thin before long?  Obviously, they do.

Instead, there should be a source of pride in honestly earning a Green business certification that comes from a commitment to change and improve the Green practices of a business.  Early on, a decision was made by the Green Business League that any certification awarded “…must be earned.”   GBL committed to building a field force of hundreds of Certified Green Consultants to assure continuity to Green standards in every state and city.  Finally, audits of Green practices were required annually.  Believing that “You can’t Expect what you don’t Inspect,” the need for annual reviews required more than a signature on a form.  If your company wants to Go Green or work toward its Green business certification … there is really only one choice.  Anything less is worse than an insult because of the seriousness of the issues we face and pass on to our children.

Let’s take a lesson in Green practice.  The common misconception is that nearly every Green project is expensive, an imposition, and poorly executed.  One of the newer discoveries about Going Green is that it will save your company money month after month and year after year.  When you understand the full impact of Green, the rewards will make a believer out of the most resistant critic.

One idea that illustrates my point is the bottleless water dispenser.  Let’s get price out of the way, so we can start this process fully informed.  A quality bottleless water dispenser will cost about $500 to $1000 if you buy it straight out.  It will last for 10 years, at least, with only an annual service requirement.

If your firm is using a bottled water system, it is easy to run up a $50 to $75 monthly charge.  Over a year’s time, the total outlay is $600 to $900, so the program is cost neutral at about 12 to 18 months.  Any business person knows that a one to two year return on investment is a good deal.

Bottleless water dispensers allow a near unlimited water supply which is a good idea for workers.  But, let’s now consider the other issues for a Green operation.  Think of the fuel spent and CO2 created hauling water around the city.  The five gallon bottles are a plastic waste, and the sheer liability of hauling water to the workplace is totally unnecessary.  If your firm is trying to be carbon neutral, these water dispensers are a good help.

Once the cost of acquisition is satisfied, a company is able to put the $900 per year back into the bank.  In ten years, a firm is likely to save $10,000 with the expected price increases.  But, this is just a small piece of the overall Green strategy.

Take the paperlesss system for an offce as an even greater financial impact.  It should be obvious that creating files, handling files, and updating files is a huge manpower drain and literally very expensive.  While it takes a while to upload these files to a paperless system, the speed of your business will be, quite frankly, amazing.  The cost of the system if about $2000 to $3500 per year, but you will find that three people can do the work of five.  Just one employee not hired can be a $30,000 to $40,000 savings.

Paperless systems operate fast and never lose or misfile your records.  Customer service is very fast, and you can access files from the office, at home, or while travelling.  There is no need to take files from the office.  Security is better, records are never lost, and everyone is impressed with speed of access to any record.

What would a 30% to 40% reduction in the electric bill mean to your business?  What if your heating or cooling bill was reduced by 20%?  Would a 50% reduction in the waste disposal bill help your company’s profit as well?

Green offices are also healthier places for employees.  The employees will be more productive.  There will be less sick days, medical claims, and eventual chronic illnesses.   These are hard to calculate, except that the U.S. Department of Labor estimates a $40 billion loss in actual cost from unhealthy offices.

There are more money-savings ideas that will impact any office that goes through the Greening process with a Certified Green Consultant.  The average person will not know how to make Going Green pay, and they will probably to it badly anyway.  It is true that Going Green is more than an environmental issue.  It is a smart economic decision.  The best advice, however, is not to take on this challenge in a half-hearted manner that will be a disservices to all involved.

We live in an era that may be called the “Wild West of Green.”   There is no common law in this territory, and everyone is trying to claim prime ground while shooting at others who are doing the same.  It is, quite frankly, still early in the Green cycle which presents challenges and opportunities for everyone.   What is needed, therefore, is the establishment of measures and standards that define what Green is and how it can be verified.  Small mindedness and niche interests (like carbon credits or solar power) should not become the sole criteria for Green business.

To state the issue in broad terms, the environmental problem is a “Universal Problem that needs a Universal Solution.”  Currently, we find a wide variety of environmental options that appeal to a narrow area, meaning that only a few are able to participate.  If a company offers a product, such as a cleaning solution, it can be evaluated and certified as Green or environmentally-friendly.  If a business owns their building, it can be graded for construction material and design for certification.  What about all the other businesses that do not offer a product or own the building?  Less than 10% of businesses own their building, and even fewer have a product that could be appropriately called Green.

Of course, a business may conduct an energy audit to reduce energy use.  It may also hire someone to do a carbon footprint calculation that will provide the foundation for the purchase of carbon offset credits.  A company may also hire a sustainability specialist to conduct a sustainability assessment and assist in the Green Supply Chain review.  To assist in reducing the electric usage, a firm may be hired to install solar or wind power units.   Whatever the interest, any company should make sure to hire a Green certified janitorial service.  While the list of possible Green solutions can become onerous, there are still more options that might be necessary to operate a Green business.

What if these services could be coordinated, measured, and certified so that a Green business certification could be more than a clandestine effort in self-promotion?  The Green Business League offers what may be the best comprehensive guidance, assessment, and certification program in the country.  Each and every Green improvement has a point value that is certified by a professional Green Consultant.  Better yet, the process of Going Green is orchestrated to allow a business to address all segments of the environmental issues in a easy-to-accomplish fashion.  Instead of a haphazard approach to environmental compliance, there must be a broad scope and standardized process that can be applied to any kind of business.

Green Practices are the universal applications that allows anyone and everyone to participate in the environmental.  While giving credit for Green products, and Green buildings, the intelligent approach is to assign points to every reasonable Green Practice that can accumulate toward a certification award.  Why not open the door to anyone willing to step up and put forth an effort?   Green practices apply to households, schools, office buildings, governmental buildings, manufacturing and any kind of industry.  Why not give credit to those using home offices as a very Green idea or for the inclusion of VOC eating plants in the workplace?  There are hundreds of Green practices that may be adopted allowing a unique range of options for any home or business to apply.

The Green Business League uses a 100 point system regardless of how the points are accumulated.  Any program that can include sufficient activities that build the 100 points can be certified.  Homes and residences are certified through the Green Homes League.  Any good idea can be misapplied and abused, so the fact that the awarding of points and certification can only be given through a Certified Green Consultant is very important.  Right now, there are clandestine websites offering greenwashed certification where the payment of the fee is the sole criteria other than a pledge or self-assessment form.  Any authentically Green program will do more than collect a fee and hand out their logo without verification of the activities.

The good news is that most homes and businesses already have a variety of Green practices in place but get no credit for them.   There will be the tendency to take the self-directed approach to Green and subsequently claim that the business has Gone Green, but you have to ask yourself, “What happens when everyone does the same?”   When every business has “something Green” and claim to be Green, what is the difference?  This is called the “Green Equalization factor.  It is at this point that the businesses that have verified and certified their Green practices will stand out like the moon against the stars.

In summary, as this generation moves out of the infancy of environmental concern to a generation of environmentally aware consumers, it will not pay to be a Green pretender.  To be authentically Green, it is time to install Green practices and become certified by a reputable organization like the Green Business League.

Perhaps you missed the news, but it snowed (or iced) in July in Yonkers, New York.  After a colder than normal winter and a delayed start of summer; it is more than odd to hear of a snow or ice storm in July.  Nonetheless, on July 7th and 8th, the snow moving equipment was called out to clear away as much as 6 inches of a July ice storm.

As President Obama continued expanding the discussion on global warming at the G8 meting in Italy, confusing climatic signs leave many wondering about the realities that they are facing.  The stone wall of finality has some controversial cracks that leave open a question previous closed.  Is global warming anthropogenic (man created) or repeating earth cyclical?

Hard core global warming types argue that we are experiencing extremes as global warming runs its course.  The opposition find ground to believe that they cycle of global warming is self-correcting and now beginning it move back.  Who’s right?  The truth is that there is science on both sides of the debate.

Global warming has been happenings, and this affects the global climate.  Greenhouse gases are good for us since it keep us from a freeze and thaw like other non-atmosphere planets, but it out of balance will cause the dual effects of global warming or global cooling.  You may recall that concerns over volcanic ash could blot out the sun causing a global night that would freeze us in our beds.   This and other doomsday mal-predictions have left a fair amount of skepticism in the radically-based threats.

I guess the summation of these contradictions is that we really don’t know the cause and solution of global warming except by educated guesses.  When it starts and when it ends may not be ours predict.   As I observe the ones who are supposed to know, I detect a bold front and a nervous uncertainty on both sides of the debate.  Everyone wants to be right, or at least to convince everyone that they have the answers.  I’m am not so sure.

About the time I think I have resolved the matter, there is a snow storm in July, a blistering cold winter, and reports of global temperature decline.  It is frankly not only too big a question for me.  I think is is too big a question for any of us though we may postulate with our most learned scientists.  Privately, I hope that global warming has reached its azimuth, and the world will rotate back into a cycle that we all hope for.  Though I may enjoy the occasional doomsday movie, I do not want to live it.

Predictions often prove to be conjecture and hyperbole, and I for one hope that the global warming fear-mongers are wrong again this time.  I also hope that this near miss has taught us a little more about our stewardship of this earth so that we will live a life less wasteful and abusive.  Step up to the precipice and looking over the edge may be good medicine for us.  It is far too scary to anticipate toppling off the edge and falling to my horrible end.

So, it is my fondest wish that we have a reprieve from the pending judgment of human extinction from all the horrible deaths predicted by those who extrapolate the end of the world from newly-complied data.   I also pray that we will learn about the demands of our stewardship in a world that belongs to generations after us.

I’d like to correct a common misconception although I do not imagine that these comments will actually have far reaching impact.  The well-entrenched concerns for global warming have designated greenhouse gases as the culprit for this global phenomenon.  In particular, the anthropogenic contribution of Carbon Dioxide (co2) to the atmosphere due to the use of fossil fuels must be reduced according to the Kyoto Protocol.  At the start, it should be stated that the issues of global warming are not a debated issue.  Neither is the impact of greenhouse gases under question.  This world has seen more than a few global warming and cooling events, and there will be more to come.  Also, the greenhouse effect is the fundamental reason that we have a habitable planet that retains a proper amount of heat in our atmosphere. 

It is the imbalance of the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere that is of concern right now, and the debate that rages is whether mankind can make the difference in how it operates.  That is not the debate of this article.  The point of this offering is the questions of the application of “Green” when it comes to a “Carbon Neutral” status of a business.  Is is fair or correct to apply the term Green to a carbon neutral business?  Well, it all depends on how the terms are defined. 

If Green means “anything environmental” no matter how extended the connect, then it is probably allowed to call a carbon neutral company Green.  If Green is best defined as the “health impact” of what we do, then Green is misapplied to carbon neutral applications.  I subscribe to Green as meaning health impact, but I also believe that sustainable issues are what should be a Blue issue.  Pollution is a Red issue, and Conservation is a Yellow designation.

Given these definitions, carbon-neutral is a pollution issue and obviously a sustainability issue.  In the proper sense, being carbon neutral does not make a company Green.   Frankly, the “carbon neutral” designation deserves to stand in its own right as a positive environmental contribution.  It need not be relabeled as Green.  It compliments the Blue sustainable issues, the Red pollution concerns, and even the Yellow conservation issues since we are concerned about the atmosphere (a natural resource).

Buying carbon credits to offset the calculated CO2 output is both somewhat trendy and helpful.  These carbon credits are ostensibly a method of funding the capital needs of environmental projects like windmills, solar installation, hydro power, methane energy production, and reforestation.  All worthy causes as long as the underlying cause it legitimate and verified.  The carbon neutral status shows a consciousness of the CO@ problem and a willingness to make a contribution to the better solutions that are yet to make it to the profitable status.

So, there is no criticism on our part concerning the carbon neutral status or the need to be better environmental citizens.  The reduction of our dependency on oil is yet another problem that needs our collective support.  The mislabeling of everything environmental demonstrates the unfortunate lack of definition in this cause.  The fact is that there are four great areas that compose the environmental topic, and each deserve our attention.  The blurring of these subjects leave the public in disarray and confusion as to what needs to be done and the associated impact on the greater environmental challenge.

A Certified Green Consultant can assist your business in its pursuit of an environmentally-friendly status.  There are many things that a company may do to become a Green company, and carbon credits are a helpful part of the larger project.  Many companies now proudly display their Certified Green Business status having earned 100 points in the Green Business League program.   Several points are added for being carbon neutral, but there is more than can and should be done.  Working with a Certified Green Consultant makes this complex and involved process simply.  Never accept a one-sided solution as the full solution.  The Green Business League is the best Green business certification in the industry.

This Fourth of July, we played host to our developing family as our three sons now have families of their own (or nearly so).  It is a far different world that many of us knew twenty or more years ago.  We saw a period of prosperity that seemed to have no end, and there were fewer worries in those days.  Now, we are hopefully emerging from a recession of serious depths, and emerging into a generation that runs on a different set of rules.

I have concluded that in the hectic and developing world of my past, the emphasis on “Convenience” was very important.  We were busily building a progressive economy, transitioning to a rapid-paced society, and emerging from a rural mentality.  The world sped up, and we had to speed up with it.   Microwave ovens replaced traditional one, because they were so darn convenient.  Everything was disposable because there was always a newer, better version of whatever it was waiting to be bought at the store.  We lived in a throw way society that cast off anything “out of style” to buy whatever was in style regardless of whether the former item was still in good shape.

Disposable diaper compared to the smelly diaper pail was just the best invention ever.  Then, of course, we had the invasion of the drive-through restaurants that gave us food within seconds of ordering.  How good was that?  As life sped up, everything we encountered was always about convenience, and price didn’t matter nearly so much as expediency.

Today, I saw an add for Green diapers, which gave cause to these thoughts, and where we find ourselves today.   It’s true.  There are Green diapers that you can flush, compost, or toss away knowing that they will break down into something that will compliment the earth.  It is decidedly a new, and Green day that is now rising on the horizon as we seem to increase in our Green appetite.

We are starting to think about responsible Green Practices rather than simple convenience.  Tossing trash on the ground is more than a misdemeanor violation, it is a symbol of environmental disrespect.  Dragging home dozens of plastic bags from the store is what studies tell retailers that we want, but energy concerns now tell us that the oil used in plastic bags and plastic bottles could literally end our oil crisis.

I believe that we are ready for the change, but I really hope it is because we have matured rather than being herded like cattle by governments and agencies.   Every where I turn, I see companies and families “Changing the Way they do business,” and I am impressed that we can enter this Greener world as committed earth citizens ready for the task.   I am not for big government, unlimited reign for politically-bent solutions, and resolved that only governments can solve this problem.   We got ourselves into this mess, and we can get ourselves out, if given the chance.

The Green Business League promotes a program of Green Practices, and this is also the mission of hundreds of Certified Green Consultants who work diligently to help businesses and families certify their Green status.  It is no longer enough to claim to be Green.  There is a dire need to measure up to a standard set by a independent source like the Green Business League.

In a Greener world that we now face, I feel a sadness that convenience pressed such a heavy hand on our lives.  We are not weak that we needed extremes of convenience items, but it was part of life in America as well as nearly every country in the world.  McDonald is everywhere, you know!  We are in a time of “Reality Check” to realign our thoughts, our priorities, and our practices.   Make Green Practices something that will become a constant part of your daily habit.

Finally, I like the new era that we face, although we will all chaff a little at what is required of us.  We have learned to be more frugal, more willing to use up what we have before we throw it out, and to share what we have with others.  I anxiously hope that the lessons learned are lessons of the heart as well as life lessons.  Some endure challenge to return to normal, while others endure challenges to get better.

I describe the early stages of environmentalism as a kind of “Rockfield of Green Ideas.”  Everyone generally wandered about picking up good ideas like rocks, and tended to think that whatever they had in hand was the primary issue of environmentalism.  The various issues might be carbon neutral, solar and wind power, sustainability, polar bears, or the rain forest.  There was frankly no criteria to what was generally termed Green.  It seemed that all issues and concerns were all lumped into one Green description.  This analysis was the genesis of my journey to find out the meaning of Green that has a meaning that is suitable for everyone, and then how to define the journey that lies before us.

Here is a question that is very simple, yet profound.  It is “What is the definition of Green?”  I did some research and even asked a few people who had a fair knowledge on the subject.  To my disappointment, there was no clear definition to be found.  Mostly, it was the belief that Green was something we did to help the environment.  It took some Internet research to dig out the answer, but here it is.  Green is best defined as primarily about the “Health Impact” of whatever we do.   In fact, when the Green issue is fully understood, the closer we are to the issue (proximity) the greater our duty to address the health issues around us.  It is a kind of “Brighten the corner where you are” that frankly means that the solution is something that we all must share as part of our collective journey.

My gift is to assemble information and make a difficult subject simple.  So, regardless of others who like scoffing more than sense, I invested into making sense of the environmental rockfield of ideas.  It soon became apparent that there were four broad categories of environmental concern:

1. Health and Safety (Green),
2. Sustainability to Manage Resources (Blue),
3. Pollution Issues (Red), and
4. Conservation to protect wildlife and wildlands (Yellow).

Each deserved more clarity than the mashing of terms to fit some one’s personal agenda.  So, we have to incorporate all these ideas into one confluent process that brings us to a fair treatment of the environmental demands of our day.

Defining Green, therefore, requires that the basics are made clear.  So, water conservation, energy management, reforestation, and hybrid cars are not actually a Green (health and Safety) issue.  They are a Blue (sustainability) issue and deserve to be properly addressed under that topic.  Why confuse people any worse then they already are by calling everything with an environmental twinge “Green”?  it seems that we are trapped in a cycle of environmental baby talk because, we haven’t learned to call each item by its correct name.

Each of these four corners of environmental concern are a complete and profound area of information and worrisome issue on their own.  And, each of these issues deserves to be treated with intelligent answers for the critical issues that they represent.  Pollution is an urgent issue that calls us to react with defined and smart solutions, but these issues are only tangential to the other three areas … not a solution in and of itself.  The same is true of energy concerns that contribute to the global warming issues.  They are yet another environmental issue that demands that we allot time, resources, and efforts to solve our energy issues.  These are again, Blue or sustainable issues.  While the four corners of environmentalism are complimentary and tied to the whole environmentalism issue, they need to be addressed in an orderly way.

Once we have a working definition of Green, the second logical question that presents itself is “Where do we start the Greening process?”   There seems to be no pre-defined path we can take, nor are there milestones that tell us that we are making progress.   In this rockfield of Green Ideas, it is usual to simply wander about picking up rocks of well-intended Green issues until our arms are full.  No one seems to care that is seems like a futile effort in such an immense project.  We are all “Doing our Best,” even if it is disorganized and random.

The Green Business League believes that the starting point is something common to all of us, and that is the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), which is under the Green category of health-related.  So, we have a starting point of universal concern and application by defining Green and the common connect with air quality.  Once we have a common starting point for our journey, let’s turn these good idea rocks into a path that will take everyone progressively to a Environmentally-Friendly future.  To help, the Green Business League has made milestones at the achievement of 100 points in accumulated Green Practices.

Finally, let me also explain along this road are Green rocks, Blue rocks, Red rocks, and Yellow rocks.  They all count for points in the system, and they takes us eventually to the Emerald City (Oz metaphor) where everything seems to work in harmony with the rest of society.  Industry is not the enemy of mankind, and mankind is not the enemy of the world at large.  Though mythical in its Utopian perfection, there should be at least a better world for us all, rather than the Orwellian future of total control of man or the cataclysmic predictions of worldwide disaster due to mankind’s provocation of innocent nature.

To guide you along the way, it certainly helps to have a knowledgeable guide who puts your company on the road to a Green certification process.  It beats the random approach that others seem to try because they believe that this is a project that can be done by amateurs and committees that lack training or a defined plan.