This past week we recognized Earth Day. I think of Earth Day as a good reminder to refocus on the on the green associated with our businesses.
The color green has long been associated with the currency of the United States. Even though in recent years it has undergone a number of enhancements including color, a “dollar bill” is still a “green back” to me. However, green has also become associated with various efforts to be more ecologically sound. The challenge for all organizations is how to be ecologically and be dollar bill green at the same time.
The marketplace has a way of shaping and, with regard to ecology, reshaping our behaviors. As I have written in this column recently, when fuel prices soar our behaviors change. When utility bills increase, we find ways to reduce our usage. In fairness to the utility companies, they have attempted to educate us about behaviors that reduce our usage of their products. Utility costs make it easy to make the connection between ecological green and dollar bill green.
If you watch any of the numerous home improvement television programs, you will see a large number of ecological or green products. You get the impression that if you could just utilize all of the techniques and products, your costs of home ownership would go down and your ecological footprint would be smaller. “Smart Growth” is another related land development topic that makes sense for all of us and that combines both greens.
The connection between green benefits appears to be growing. As businesses we must justify all expenditures. A key item in most cost justification is how long it will take you to recover your investment. If you have not already done so, you should include an ecological component in your evaluations. Some ecological points to consider are reduced waste in a process, better ecological design and recovery of recyclable items, among others. Being ecologically green can also meet the test of good management by translating to being efficient and effective.
Make an inquiry with your favorite search engine for green products, and you will have enough hits for a weekend’s worth of reading. Every one of those products is a business opportunity for someone. It feels as though we are at the beginning of the green ecological movement. As an indication of where we are, The Wall Street Journal recently reported on individual eating utensils to replace those disposable plastic items we receive from take-out restaurants. Just think how many plastic knives, forks and spoons you have discarded. This small action can reduce the dollar bill green to restaurants and be ecologically green. At the same time, what about taking your own bags to the store, or at least taking the empty bags back to the store and reusing them?
If you feel that we are at the beginning of the green movement, then the business opportunity for each of us is how do we participate in the trend? I was speaking with an engineer recently and he felt that we could, on a large scale, make productive green and business use of hydrogen to power our vehicles. The details of that discussion are above my pay grade, but his point was that the United States could be a world leader in this area if we did a better job of combining the ecological and “dollar bill” greens as they relate to hydrogen fuel technology.
The current ecological green wave is one that we should not miss. Why should we let California or some other state have all of the green fun, health benefits and profits? Let’s make Connecticut the ecological green state and grow our businesses by becoming “dollar bill” green in the process.
The color green has long been associated with the currency of the United States. Even though in recent years it has undergone a number of enhancements including color, a “dollar bill” is still a “green back” to me. However, green has also become associated with various efforts to be more ecologically sound. The challenge for all organizations is how to be ecologically and be dollar bill green at the same time.
The marketplace has a way of shaping and, with regard to ecology, reshaping our behaviors. As I have written in this column recently, when fuel prices soar our behaviors change. When utility bills increase, we find ways to reduce our usage. In fairness to the utility companies, they have attempted to educate us about behaviors that reduce our usage of their products. Utility costs make it easy to make the connection between ecological green and dollar bill green.
If you watch any of the numerous home improvement television programs, you will see a large number of ecological or green products. You get the impression that if you could just utilize all of the techniques and products, your costs of home ownership would go down and your ecological footprint would be smaller. “Smart Growth” is another related land development topic that makes sense for all of us and that combines both greens.
The connection between green benefits appears to be growing. As businesses we must justify all expenditures. A key item in most cost justification is how long it will take you to recover your investment. If you have not already done so, you should include an ecological component in your evaluations. Some ecological points to consider are reduced waste in a process, better ecological design and recovery of recyclable items, among others. Being ecologically green can also meet the test of good management by translating to being efficient and effective.
Make an inquiry with your favorite search engine for green products, and you will have enough hits for a weekend’s worth of reading. Every one of those products is a business opportunity for someone. It feels as though we are at the beginning of the green ecological movement. As an indication of where we are, The Wall Street Journal recently reported on individual eating utensils to replace those disposable plastic items we receive from take-out restaurants. Just think how many plastic knives, forks and spoons you have discarded. This small action can reduce the dollar bill green to restaurants and be ecologically green. At the same time, what about taking your own bags to the store, or at least taking the empty bags back to the store and reusing them?
If you feel that we are at the beginning of the green movement, then the business opportunity for each of us is how do we participate in the trend? I was speaking with an engineer recently and he felt that we could, on a large scale, make productive green and business use of hydrogen to power our vehicles. The details of that discussion are above my pay grade, but his point was that the United States could be a world leader in this area if we did a better job of combining the ecological and “dollar bill” greens as they relate to hydrogen fuel technology.
The current ecological green wave is one that we should not miss. Why should we let California or some other state have all of the green fun, health benefits and profits? Let’s make Connecticut the ecological green state and grow our businesses by becoming “dollar bill” green in the process.
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