Going Zero Carbon: An Approach for Small Business

August 26

How to make your environmentalism pay!


STEP 1: Figure it out:


Every time that you drive your car you contribute to global warming. The same is true for turning on a light-unless you are purchasing energy from alternative sources.


This article will help you off-set those carbon emissions. It is not that expensive to do this, and you will be helping to pay for some of the environmental cost incurred by your company.


Discovering our carbon imprint wasn’t as easy as we thought it would be. I had heard about carbon offsets opportunities for a while, and we wanted to do it, but we did not know how. Most of the information used for determining the carbon generated is geared to the consumer, not the small manufacturing business.

We found these sites particularly helpful in trying to come up with figures and just having these links might save you hours of time:


http://www.carboncounter.org/


http://www.carbonfootprint.com/


http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator/


http://www.carbonfund.org/site/


Using these sites, our company of ten employees produces carbon emissions from these six sources. The figures are in metric tons:


1. Employee commute: 28.9 tons

2. Employee business travel: 13.44 tons

3. Shop gasses (from soldering): .11 tons

4. Company vehicles: 6.02 tons

5. Electricity: 2.43 tons

6. Natural gas: .47 tons


Our biggest impact is employee commutes and travel. Electricity is low because ninety percent of our energy comes from green sources. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are used in the plant.


The question is, once you are able to figure out your actual offset, how do you turn it into your advantage? That comes with who you choose to work with for your offset.


STEP 2: Choose your organization


You can go on line and see a number of organizations that offer different offset possibilities. From this, you can actually see what you are going to pay for your off-set.


http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/carbon_offset_wind_credits_carbon_reduction.htm


There have been some rumors in the press that question whether money donated to certain organizations for off-set are actually being used for that purpose. Research your choice well.


The company that I chose to work with is not on this list. Forest Guardians, a New Mexico based environmental organization, has been involved with tree planting programs around streams beds in New Mexico, which supports most of biodiversity. Just as I was about to choose where to off-set my carbon, the assistant director, Carol Norton, gave me a call and asked me if I wanted to work with them. I have been a supporter of theirs for many years.


Their mission is:


“To protect and restore the native wildlands and wildlife of the American Southwest through fundamental reform of public policies and practices. Our goals are to protect and restore the native biological diversity and watersheds of the American Southwest; educate and enlist citizens to support protection of the forests, rivers, deserts and grasslands of this arid region; advocate for the principles of conservation biology in plans to restore degraded ecosystems and watersheds; enforce and strengthen environmental laws; support communities in efforts to protect their land and to practice and promote sustainable use of natural resources.”


Since I know the organization has integrity, I can be assured that the money will actually off set the carbon we use through tree planting. Also, I saw a greater opportunity to tap into their network.


One thing that particularly appealed to me about Forest Guardians is that their offsets addressed entire ecosystems. Secondly, they were willing to work with me in a press release. Going green is the right thing to do, but it costs money. So if you can, work with an organization that will give you publicity. Ask for a link from their site and see if they will write something about you in their newsletter.


In this regard, it is great if you can find a local organization because they are going to be more receptive and easier to access.


STEP 3: Write a Press Release


The critical thing now is to get support from the community that shares your green values. This is a huge advantage because socially responsible jewelry, even according to leaders in our industry such as Martin Rapaport, has the opportunity to become the luxury brand. A large number of people in our country, perhaps as much as twenty percent are interested in supporting companies that are socially responsible.


You need to make these people aware that you exist because you need their support. Being socially responsible costs money.


I write a lot of press releases and I used to just write boring ones. Here is an example of what I consider a bad press release.


Then, I realized that editors see hundreds of these a day, probably, and they are looking for press releases which are interesting and even provocative.


My last press release was about how I switched to a Fair Trade supplier in Bali even though it costs more than the people I was working with in India and Thailand.


I got the attention of a senior editor of a major trade magazine who was offended by my-calling Blood Diamonds a “red herring.” I wrote a long response to his protest. In the end, he really appreciated my point of view. I realize it was like playing with fire and fortunately, I was not burned. The release was picked up by JCK.


Here’s my press release for my Zero Carbon. I admit, it is a little zany, and I may modify it for certain editors who I know would not be into it, but for a general release, it might just catch the attention of some people.


Also, here are some press release services that we use:


http://www.prweb.com/

http://home.businesswire.com/

http://www.i-newswire.com/

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/

http://www.pr.com/


After you release your info to these sites, go to Google alerts and trace where it gets picked up. Simply enter your search terms in the box provided and select how often you want updates. Google will then send you emails to the email you provide, with all instances of that search term being used for the time selected.


You can then go through them, one by one and see how many found you or someone else using that term. These are great because though they can take a little time to explore, they can be troves of marketing treasure. If you go about this, please come back to this site and share information, particularly if you are able to find more about going zero carbon. We are always looking for ways to improve.

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Green Your Banking

August 26

With the world’s financial markets in turmoil (and perhaps your own financial woes), everyone’s thoughts are on the color of money these days. But there may be some steps you can take to “green” your banking that may also help save you money, reduce your impact on the planet, and vote for a better, more sustainable future at the same time.

* Switch to online only banking. You can do this with your current bank by using the ATM/debit card they provide and their online bill pay services. Most banks do not charge for this service, or have a way to get around any fees (for example, Wells Fargo has free bill pay service if you have a direct deposit into your account). Also, some banks (like ING Direct) have “paperless” accounts that eliminate checks and paper statements, instead providing a debit card, ATM access and online bill paying service (you can usually have them issue a check for you if you need one).

* Get your bills electronically. Eliminate the shipping, paper statement, envelope (or 2 if they send a return envelope) and any extra leaflets they include. Saves not only paper and gas, but time and money as well (no stamps or trips to the post office). Check with your bank(s), utility companies, credit card issuers and more to see if they offer this option. Then pay through your online bill pay service.

* Nix the receipts. When you have the option, decline a copy of your receipt (i.e ATM machine, fast food, restaurants, etc.) Collectively this can add up to a lot of paper (saving trees and reducing the chemicals like chlorine used in processing), and in your household can leave you with less paper clutter to sort through.

* Buy recycled paper checks. Most banks and check services have a limited number of check designs made from recycled paper content. Choose from these. Or, you can buy your checks from The Check Gallery, Inc. which has a wide variety of designs and images, all of which are made from recycled paper. Another great benefit is that with many of these designs, 10% of profits are donated to environmental, conservation or other social causes.

* Choose a “greener” bank. Local credit unions are one great option. They are member-owned, not-for-profit, and many of them also invest in the local community. You can also find some larger regional or even national banks that follow sustainable and environmental business practices and invest in local communities and/or developing countries. A good place to start a search for these larger banks (also some local banks in larger cities) is the National Green Pages directory.

* Green your investment portfolio. Investments may be trickier in today’s market than your day-to-day banking. We don’t know yet if the market has “hit the bottom,” but when it does economic experts say it will be a great time to buy and get some great deals (some even suggest now may be a good time to buy). There are companies that will screen your portfolio for social and environmental causes (by both “negative” and “positive” screens. Negative screens will eliminate things you don’t want in your portfolio–like tobacco, alcohol, or other factors that may be important to you. Positive screens will include certain things that matter to you–like companies with strong environmental or social commitments.) You can also find these companies through the National Green Pages.

Some of these may seem like tiny steps. That’s precisely the point. If it’s easy for you, you will be more likely to make the change. Added together and multiplied, however, these baby steps on each of our parts can really contribute to a greener future for our children.

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