Green Business Awareness

Presently, there is no universal standard for what makes a Green business.  In fact, there is a growing cacophony of niche groups trying to install their own version of a Green business certification regardless of the obvious misrepresentation.  City sponsored Green committees are now promoting Green programs that seem like good ideas but lack the scale for this challenge.  The Internet is filling up with Green business certification websites.  Corporations are launching Green programs that are patched together by ad hoc committees.  And, we hear of Green programs promoted by TV, radio, and a variety of commercial Green initiatives.

There are plenty of Green business seminars, a bevy of Green business books, and tons of articles filling our newspapers and magazines.  Yet, what is missing?   There is a need for a national, cohesive and comprehensive Green business model that will literally transcend all the rabble of good Green ideas.  Green business, in case you might have missed the difference, is not the same as building a Green building or buying someone’s Green product.  A Green business is how any business operates, and whether the business owns the building is not critical.

What are the ten best ideas for a Green business?  This will not be your average regurgitation of all-too-familiar Green ideas.  Rather, I feel that it is important to look beyond the superficial elements and talks about what should really matter, as any business hopes to install a Green program in its operation.

First, the Green business program must be holistic.  The present venue of Green programs are unfortunates niched into segments that are worthy but not a complete program.  Even sustainability programs lack the full view, since sustainability is primarily about how we manage our resources.  Other areas of health, pollution, and conservation are outside of a pure sustainable model.

Second, the Green business program must be nationally advanced.  Frankly, as meritorious as local programs are, the diversity of Green applications cannot work well in a national market.  The importance of a broad-based program that carries the same standard nationally is the only way to build a Green business certification that holds up when questioned.

Third, the Green Business program must have an achievement scale.  The Green Business League has a 100 point system for achievement.  While points can be acquired in a variety of ways, there is an infinite combination of Green Practices that allow any kind of business to participate in the program.

Fourth, the Green Business certification must be audited.  Without some validation of the Green Practices, the system is wide open to all kinds of abuse and misrepresentation.  Website certifications are notorious for selling their certifications without any true audit of performance.

Fifth, the Green business should be strenuous.  We find that Greenwashing is a near universal practice in the market right now, and standards must be more than superficial or even artificial.

Sixth, Green business certification must be progressive.  No one should think that a one-time fix is a forever solution.  It is not enough make an effort today and forget about the challenge for the other 364 days in the year.  Worse yet, there are businesses that ignore the fact that this is a subject that must be visited no less than once a year.

Seventh, installing a Green business program should not be an amateur effort.   The sheer size and scope of a true Green project is larger than a volunteer or single employee can master.  One of the realizations is that the planning for a Green business requires training like that found in the GBL Green Officer Training.

Eighth, Going Green need not be a negative investment.  Good planning for nearly any company has numerous benefits beyond the public relations or marketing value.  The Return on Investment can make Greening a business more profitable because the company is more efficient and has less waste.

Ninth, avoid the Easy Green programs that promise a Green certification that is too easy.  This invites abuse, which means that your company will be linked to companies that have little to no Green value.  This is a serious issue that deserves a serious response that is not found in the Easy Green programs.

Tenth, a Green business should make it a priority to buy goods and services from other Green businesses.  When asking your consumers to buy Green, there is an ethical obligation to bring similar requirements to the purchasing department.

These ten principles provide the starting point for the kind of Green Certification that should be sought for your company.  The real work lies in the adoption of Green Practices.  In the Green Business League system, every installed Green Practice has a point value.  Once validated via an audit by a Certified Green Consultant, the integrity of the process can be respected and honorably promoted to the public.  Anything less hurts the environmental cause, in that token efforts can be misrepresented as a serious Green effort.

There is one trend that seems to have enduring value. The environment is not an easily resolved concern, and climate change is an emerging issue that has long term implications.   Yet, there are those who seem to have hesitation about the true impact of these issues on their business.  Rather than embracing this as an opportunity, the default position is to go toward a “Token Green” or “Easy Green” status.  The lesson yet to be learned is that Going Green as a business shows leadership, integrity, and public concern. These are aspects of public perspective that can be faked, but not for long.

Token Green refers to the rather universal tactic of doing only the minimum required to thereafter dub themselves a Green business.  Such timid efforts to represent a Green business on the most superficial efforts will eventually fall prey to the same embarrassment as the “Emperor’s New Clothes.”  It is adverse marketing to make claims as a Green business when the commitment level is about the same effort as planning the last company picnic. We are all familiar with the saged remark, “If its worth doing, its worth doing right!”  This is definitely true of the environmental issues of our day.  No business should claim to be a Green business using token Green tactics.  The need for an authentic Green business certification is the smart choice to curb abuse and misrepresentation by any good business.

Easy Green comes from the new and novel offerings that allow a business to gain a Green business logo from an amateur operation.  As a child, who hasn’t bought a plastic badge and pretended to be the sheriff?   What child hasn’t put on the shoes and clothes of their parents pretending to be “all grown up.”   Who of us hasn’t bought a watch or piece of jewelry thinking that these items have improved the opinion of others about who we are?  Buying your way into a program is not the same as earning your way to pubic respect.   Therefore, it seems basic intelligence to avoid the Easy Green programs and elect for something that has obvious merit.

The obvious choice for any business is to work toward an “Authentically Green Business.”  This authentic status means that Green is not superficial nor a one-time effort.  Such authenticity starts with the understanding that Green is progressive.  A serious program does not happen once or in sporadic efforts. It is a kind of behavior modification effort that pervades the total business operation.  The effort is not a token or an easy buy in.  The value is found in the willingness to demonstrate a whole-hearted commitment to become an authentically Green business.

The marketing aspect of an authentically Green business is obvious.  The Green business certification can be validated by audits, national standards, and an ongoing program of operational improvement.  The one program that offers this level of Green business certification that reflects a full scale commitment comes from the Green Business League.  This program provides professional guidance and nationally recognized through more than 250 Certified Green Consultants.   Using a 100 point systems that is accomplished by the adoption of a variety of Green Practices to literally earn a Green business certification that is audited and honest.  That is something worthy of marketing and promoting to the consuming public.

Marketing, as we have been told, comes from an understanding of branding.  Building your company’s public reputation on Token Green or Easy Green efforts is an incredible mistake.  Knowing that there is a way to implement a Green program that can be validated and certified is the starting point for the Green marketing that will follow.  Once the foundation of the marketing plan is in place, a public relations campaign has the legs needed to gain public support and loyalty.

Amidst a multi-national and international global economy, there is something to be said for buying from a business within a modest proximity of your operation.   Transportation costs are a hidden cost that is offset by reduced wages in another area, but what is the real impact of buying from low wage countries?  We are presently in a recession, and that recession has been made worse by rampant unemployment that has not been seen since the Great Depression.  A little common sense appreciation of our economic woes should bring us back to an old concept that deserves to be resurrected.  That concept is “Buy American.”

This is not easy, because every store and many of the most available products come from China, India, Mexico, and Taiwan.  We have, quite frankly, exported a lot of our manufacturing to countries who are more than happy to do the work and send it back to us.  Therefore, we have become more of a service and business nation that has less and less exportable goods, except for farm products and minerals.  It remains to be seen if what we still have to export will sustain us as we continue to become more of a debtor nation year after ignorant year.

With the rise of a new and Greener theme of Green Supply Chain, the government and business should realize that transporting goods across the globe and over thousands of miles is contrary to the environmental good.  Every mile of transportation requires energy, and the great majority of that energy comes from fossil fuels.  Simply stated, all that transportation adds millions of tons of carbon dioxide to the air.  Therefore, saving money by importing and transporting goods could be causing more carbon dioxide than if we made these items locally.

The other tragedy is that imported goods have left us without the diversity of employment that we used to enjoy.  When the financial sector failed, we lacked the stability to sustain our economy because the financial sector was such a huge portion of all our national economy.   Banking, the stock market, and real estate should not be our dominant businesses.  Diversity is a stabilizing factor for any economy.  Money is no good to any nation that lacks the basic commodities necessary for life.  Without the staples needed for daily life, inflation is the only expectation that people can expect because money is meaningless without some commodity that it can purchase.  Therefore, simple economics tells us that we must encourage the industries that produce products and employ people.

The many-fold benefits that we get back are the lowering of transportation costs, less CO2 emissions, and we will see more jobs that will drive the economy and pay taxes to reduce our national debt (hopefully).   Buying locally, has an unfortunate bypass value.  If you can’t find it locally, there is the expected allowance to buy it from “wherever.”   In the drive to reduce the global climate change issue of carbon dioxide emissions, we need to encourage and incentivize new businesses to produce things in America.

Now, let me add that there will be those suffering from the “Not in my back yard” (NiMBY) syndrome.  They do not want to despoil there community with manufacturing companies.  But wait a minute.  If this is a global issue, why is it okay to send these nasty programs to Mexico, India, China, or South America?  Instead of solving the problem and making it work right, is it okay to make these things outside of the U.S. and buy them back once they have been sanitized?

I support “Buy America,” and as hard as it is, I make the effort to find something that I can purchase that is made in the U.S.  The current status is a trend that is hard to reverse and will cost us more to accomplish than we might like.  But, there are some things that are just the right thing to do.  We cannot be purists about this matter, but we should be better than we have been.  Buy American and start the turning of the tide because the market is determined by the buyers, not the sellers.  If we create a demand, business will respond.  It may be with an American car.  And yes, I have bought a foreign car in my life, but that is something that I regret as I see American auto workers struggling with unemployment.  We have all bought the cheaper and more innovative products from other countries, but this is a habit that can be changes simply by looking a little hard at the tag and for the American option.

I believe that a Green world also means a Green America.  That Green America puts a preference and emphasis on buying locally, and buying American.  This concept is echoed by the EPA in their “Environmentally Preferred Purchasing” that asks that we buy from companies that promote Green principles.  Unfortunately, we can no longer tell which company is Green and which one is a Green pretender.  There is no standard, no auditing, and no certification of 98% of all businesses in our country.  Without a standard, Greenwashing and Green hype has flourished, and as the American consumer figures this out, their disappointment will be profound.  The sheer fact that more than 96% of all Green products on the shelves are Greenwashed, according to TerraPass, is shocking and stupid.  Isn’t it time that we got honest about environmental commitments?

The Green Business League is the largest certification program for Green businesses offering a an audited and certified Green business certification.  With more than 250 Certified Green Consultants nationwide, the Green Business League is a leader in what has been a poorly led effort.  Going Green as a business has often fallen prey to niche promotion, “Easy Green” websites offering their logo for a fee, and businesses who prefer the price of Greenwashing over Green certification.  Find a Certified Green Consultant in your community who will assist any business in a well-constructed process of Green business certification through the adoption of Green Practices.  The business need not own the building, as required by LEED, because Green Practices deal with the operation and how to run a Green program.

Has the combined power of a major recession, indications of global cooling, and the resignation of Van Jones sent a signal that the Green bubble has now burst?  It could be argued that our world will wobble a bit, but will return to a homeostasis that allows the hard-working people of the world to regain a sense of normalcy and reprieve.  Every issue has a kind of zenith that it hits that is followed by a more moderated cycle.  Just look at the charts of Wall Street and the Dow Jones average.  It seems that many huge issues have their trends and episodes of crisis and calm.

If there is any truth to the argument of declining environmental concern, it is both unfortunate and misleading.  Few people can read Thomas Friedman’s book, “Hot, Flat, and Crowded” and come away unconvinced.  The recession has produced a tight-fisted approach to spending by many companies, and that has frankly hurt the environmental cause.  Businesses, especially small to medium sized businesses, realized that surviving a recession meant holding onto every dime was the order of the day.  Therefore, Greening a business was deferred or turned into token Green efforts.

As the recession gives way to a better economy, the believe that we can start the return to business as usual brings along an artificial belief that the environmental issues will likewise pass in importance.  It will not!  Certain factors are already at work that will not pass like an ugly storm through the night.  World population is a constant issues with no reprieve in sight.  Our growing world population is compounded by an emerging multi-national middle class that demands more goods and resources.  So, regardless of your believe about climate change, the environmental will continue to impact our lives in major ways.

Walmart is a leader in environmental commitment.  Some believe that Walmart’s environmental is a smart marketing effort to defer the employee pay issues of the recent past.  Nonetheless, Walmart has found a winning issue here and set a tone that others must follow or be left in the dust.  Michael Dell of Dell computers has taken a similar tact hiring a bevy of Green advisers to move his company into a zero impact company over the next ten years.

T Boone Pickens has just mothballed $2 million of his hyped wind mills, but that was the result of miscalculation rather than environmental trend.  The car industry is now committed to building more sustainable cars, and school age children are being ardently taught to be serious environmentalists.  There is no possible way that environmental causes can be continually deferred into the future.  The time is now and the tipping point is happening in our generation.

The right response is to step up to the issue, and the recovering economy should provide new opportunity for moving forward with Green improvements.  Adding even more opportunity to the Greening process is the Green Business League’s program of Green Practices that provides a readily-accessible standard for any business to earn a nationally recognize Green business certification.

Every business can do the right thing and contribute to the larger solution of environmentalism.  The Green practices allows any company to accumulate points toward a Green business certification.  Since the environmental crisis is a universal problem, it requires universal participation.  While not everyone can own a LEED certified building, it is true that anyone can install Green practices and contribute to a massive, worldwide improvement campaign.  If you need help with installing Green practices in your business, contact a Certified Green Consultant from the Green Business League. Those wishing to roll up their sleeves and act as the Green Officer for their company should attend one the regionally offered Green Officer Training events.

The recession has had a definite impact on the environmental progress of many companies.  First of all, there is a lot of loose information in the media today, including the Internet, that is only marginally helpful.  Unfortunately, most of this easy-to-find information is mostly superficial and very, very, very redundant.  How often can we hear about CFL bulbs, programmable thermostats, and turning off lights and equipment when we leave the area?  The whole Green movement has what feels like a false bottom that is very shallow, but the full subject matter is much more comprehensive and involved than most care to consider.

The recession has had an adverse affect on our collective program because the transition to Green Practices goes much deeper than strained budgets and time may seem to allow.  This is, of course, a mistaken and misguided approach to the genuine efforts that care called for at this time.  Nonetheless, it seems that nearly everyone agrees that individuals, families, agencies, and business needs to be fully committed to a cause that threatens our lifestyle and our lives.  As the recession loses its stranglehold on the economy the need to continue the environmental conversion continues to be a bigger and more demanding necessity.  Humble and well-intended efforts are often just that.  What is needed is a smart and honest program that will bring businesses to a point of solid operation.

There are two reliable methods for improving the Green IQ of any business operation.  The first is to request that a Certified Green Consultant complete a free assessment for the existing and proposed Green practices that will earn the company a Green business certification through the Green Business League.  The second method is to have one or more persons go through the Green Officer Training which is offered regionally or online.  One of the new wrinkles in the Green certification process is the realization that your firm need not own the building to receive a Green business certification.  The Green Business League is one of the most respected national organizations that promotes Green Practices for Green businesses, and their 100 point system focuses on the daily operations with secondary interest on building requirements.  While a Green building is valuable, a Green operation is even more valuable since there are none exempt from participation.

The Green business certification process is provided only through the two options listed above.  A worksheet that guides the trained Green Consultant or Green Officer provides a thorough review of nearly all possible environmental solutions.  No two businesses will earn Green business certification the same way, every business can make the necessary strides to become certified with a very modest investment that often pays off in as little as 12 to 24 months.  It is gratifying to learn that Going Green is not just a cost factor, but there are real and substantial savings that any business can realize by a properly implemented Green program.

Unlike some certifications, the Green Business League offers an independent, third-party certification that can be respected.  This program proudly declares that this certification is “Earned, and not Bought.”  Greenwashing seems to be the default process in business today.  Businesses often make a token effort to install a few Green ideas, and summarily declare that their company is now a Green business.  Self assertion is no proof of genuine compliance.  Neither does it allow for a standard to be set for achievement.  By setting low or no credible requirements to post a Green claim (or buy one off the Internet), everyone qualifies regardless of the flawed efforts made to make such a claim.

The only way to end Greenwashing is not to advertise more boldly than the competition, but to set a standard of performance that can be measured, audited, and certified.  Until any business meets an industry-wide standard for Green, their process is horribly flawed.  The fact that the recession has slowed the commitment to become more environmentally engaged, it should not simply become a laizzez faire of half-hearted efforts that masks the authentically Green businesses that the public will respect both now and in the years to come.

Prepare yourself for a barrage of “Gone Green” promoters who see the Green movement as a brand new marketing opportunity.  The new group of promoters are chemical manufactures trying to convince the world that a Green product will also produce a Green program.  Therein lies the fatal flaw as company after company adopts the belief that a Green program comes in a bottle.  Could it be that simple?  Buy a Green product and magically the whole nature of the company is transformed.  At least, that seems to be the message!

Green is not found in a bottle of reformulated cleanser, but in the practices of the janitorial workforce that are frankly the last and lagging piece of this puzzle.  To illustrate, could a person buy a great set of tools and immediately become a great mechanic?  Or, could a person buy a high quality set of golf clubs and enter the Masters Tournament?  Could a lady buy a size two dress and magically fit her size ten body into it? What this illustrates is that buying an item does not make you something that you are not.

A truly Green program means that the workforce needs a working knowledge of Green practices along with the new supply of Green products.  The fact is that the workers in a janitorial service are far more important than the choice of products.  There are dozens of new procedures that are required for a Green janitorial service that include “Dwell Time,” microfiber use, and how to handle dusting an office.

Greenwashing is a trend across America.  Like working on your own engine, it is not as easy as it sounds.  The process is broad and the application require some understanding of the whole concept.  In most janitorial services, Going Green seems to be passed on to the workers by kind of osmosis and undefined training protocol.  This, quite frankly, means that most Green janitorial services are well-intended frauds to the customers that they serve.  Their Green status is little more than a false veneer that has little depth in the character of the people charged with carrying out the Green mandates being passed down to these ill-equipped workers.

There is only one true Green Clean credential in the market today is the federal trademark offered by the Green Clean Institute.  It is necessary to understand that the janitorial world is in transition from a “task oriented” business to a superior “service oriented” business.  Janitorial services have new mandates, higher expectations, and are expected to provide Green program that will protect the safety, health, and future of all those who inhabit our buildings.

The word custodian has renewed meaning as we realize that we are expecting this often-ignored group to handle the challenges of our day and render services at a higher level than ever before.  There is a charge to keep, a duty to render, and a lot at stake for any janitorial service in this new and Green age. Green janitor fraudsters are going to eventually hit the wall as questions of reliable performance are asked and evaluations become more common.

I advise you not to simply stick your toe into the Green Clean program.  It is the smart choice to realize that a Green program is a long term commitment to a new way of doing business.  We are not talking about saving the whales, trading your car for a bicycle, or turning vegetarian.  It is obvious that the Green movement is a permanent direction that places more emphasis on the health of the workers than the shine of the floor.  Businesses are now including a Green Clause in more and more RFPs that require that janitorial service have a reputable Green certification.  This is not something bought for a few dollars online or manufactured by the janitorial firm internally.

Greenwashing is in vogue, and most businesses find Green hype to be a convenient marketing tool.   The majority of businesses are so anxious to capture the positive public opinion as an environmentally-conscious company that they are willing to grasp at any option.  The reason that this is so prevalent is that there seems to be no true standard for the meaning of Green.  Without some standard for a Green operation, nearly anything will qualify for a Green pretense.

Perhaps one of the more laughable and sad offerings for Green certification are the Internet sites that offer a well-designed logo for a fee and an unreliable self-assessment form to be completed.  Could anything be more blatant and embarrassing when the public looks into the certification?  There is no criteria for these websites.  It seems that a chemical dumping company could pay the fee, complete the forms (while lying), and get the same logo found on your store or business.  Is having very low standards any better than having no standards?

The mindset that believes that a company can Go Green on its own merits is also missing the point.  Even the best company claiming to be Green is on the same ground as the company that is heavily greenwashed.  How does the public distinguish between two companies that are boasting of their Green qualities when one is lying and the other is trying?  They can’t, and the growing perception is that most Green claims are purely marketing ploys continues to grow.

There is a loyal following of people who will drive an extra mile and pay an extra dollar to patronize a Green business.  The number of people willing to frequent Green programs is growing.  That is because there is a maturing of the consumer, and they now know more about such subjects as greenwashing and how it works.  If they find that your company follows the same path of Green hype and false Green associations, it will cause a very unwelcome backlash.

There is frankly only one way to completely defeat any question of greenwashing.  Companies that are willing to comply with a standard of Green practices and go through a certification process by a true independent third party demonstrate a Green integrity that cannot be questioned.  Certification, however, does require honest environmental improvements, independent audits or those improvements, and an unbiased review of the progress for certification.  This is not found anywhere else than by such programs as the Green Business League.

The Green Business League has more than 250 Certified Green Consultants nationwide who are able to assist, review, and eventually certify any Green business that earns 100 points by properly installing basic Green practices into the daily operation.  Businesses need not own the building as required by a LEED certification.  Because the focus is on Green practices, businesses that rent, lease, or own can eventually earn their GBL Green Business Certification.  Yes, every business needs to be Green, and it seems inevitable that all businesses will join the effort.  Since this seems to be the right things to do, doesn’t it make sense to do it right?