Success for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

You’re a small or medium-sized business owner and you’ve got the green bug: you’ve heard the cries to action by leaders and celebrities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and you’ve heard and absorbed the statistics: consumers seek out green businesses, they will pay more for green products, and being proactive as a business in environmental practice can save operating costs, build employee satisfaction, and even win public recognition and regulatory relief down the road.

You’re ready to take the plunge, but where to start? Your budget’s stretched and there are no employees with the time or skills to be tasked with making the change. Unless you’re in a position to hire a Chief Sustainability Officer (and few medium or small businesses are), you could use some help with greening your business and turning that green to gold. Short of installing photovoltaic panels to let the world know you’re green, there are many easy, accessible and effective options available to you.

If you do not have access to a comprehensive organized green business program, there are some things you can do to green your business and get credit for it, regardless of the business you are in, including:

• Identify a niche specific to your industry that you can occupy - Restaurants are realizing great response to local and organic foods, Realtors and Mortgage companies offer a growing number of green building and financing options for their clients, and conference providers and conference centers now specialize in “green” conference options, attracting a host of related industry and professional groups.

• Assess your hardware: Change out your bulbs for compact fluorescents, install recycled or environmentally friendly carpet, replace broken appliances with Energy Star options, use low-VOC paints and products with high post-consumer recycled content. Keep track of savings in your monthly bills and use it as a point of interest for your customers, who will appreciate both your cost-efficiency and the contribution to environmental health.

• Build Green: If you renovate your space or change spaces, you can get design assistance (i.e. from Xcel Energy’s Design Assistance Program) to plan for energy efficient building materials and fixtures. Rebates may be available for appliances and water efficient fixtures, and, depending on your scale and location, incorporating your own source of renewable energy may be within reach, with a return in as few as 2-3 years. Depending on how far you go with your building or remodeling efforts, formal recognition may be available from EPA’s Energy Star program or the U.S. Green Building Council (LEED products). The Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, with the Colorado Energy Science Center, have produced an excellent study to business investments in energy efficiency, including expected costs and payback periods. CB Richard Ellis is a great success story that relates to that effort.

• Become carbon-neutral in electric use: Buy wind energy from your local utility if they offer it, or purchase credits from a reputable group and post the boast in your window (i.e. “this business powered by 100% wind energy”). Better yet, follow the example of Denver’s Mercury Cafe and install microwind turbines on the roof!

• Ask your commercial waste hauler to offer recycling at rates that encourage the practice. This is not always available, but might be if more customers requested it and competing companies saw the opportunity to gain an edge.

• Offer your customers incentives to walk, bike or take transit to your place of business, including transit passes, preferential parking for fuel-efficient vehicles, bike bonuses, etc. Locate your business in an area that supports multi-modal options.

• Train your employees to “walk the talk” and support them in it by offering in-house trainings, including related goals and metrics in performance audits and providing incentives (i.e. a prize for the employee who logs the most pedometer miles or comes up with the most creative and effective proposal to win green customers). Encourage them to form Green Teams.

• If you’re really ambitious, and want to run like the big dogs (e.g. Aspen Ski Company), adopt a comprehensive Environmental Management System (ISO 14001), or Global Reporting Initiative standards, and get credit within your industry for your leadership and continuous improvement. Look at state and federal programs that reward businesses who show this type of leadership (p2 partners, etc)

Opportunities for Local Governments….

While Fortune 500 companies and big city mayors rush to outdo each other in environmental leadership, many small and medium size businesses (and local governments) are eager to join the trend and realize the competitive advantages of greening their operations (both cost savings and marketing/PR benefits). Many of these would welcome simple, turnkey type information and resources to help make their operations more efficient and environmentally healthy. In addition, many of these companies find themselves confused by the many green certification programs in the marketplace, and seek some reassurance from credible third party sources that their actions really “count” toward priority goals and will be recognized.

Local and state governments are setting greenhouse gas reduction goals that are contingent on successful and widespread business engagement and behavior change. Strategic program design may allow government interests to harness private interest in business greening, to see dramatic growth in business participation and to track and count business achievements toward public commitments. Strong private sector interest should make this easier than ever before and allow for win-win outcomes.

Many cities have already invested considerable time and energy to develop local business greening programs and “green seal” standards. There are many opportunities for a Denver regional program to borrow the best ideas and lessons from these programs. Outstanding examples include those in Boulder, Aspen, Portland and San Francisco.

Last fall the Downtown Denver Partnership’s executive leadership group outlined a proposed approach to a green business engagement program for Greenprint Denver, Mayor Hickenlooper’s sustainability program. Tentatively dubbed “Greenbiz” the proposed program features a tiered achievement structure, a web-based administration and a local advisory council to advance the program’s goals. The Denver Mayor’s Office helped shape the proposal, and a successful program will help them achieve their goals under the Denver Climate Plan.

Also in Denver, the Mayor’s Design Awards recognize outstanding urban design projects annually, including a green design category, and annual events like Doors Open Denver promote architectural awareness of significant local architecture, including green buildings - let the world know what you’ve accomplished in your work environment by offering a tour.

Challenges facing cities that want to develop green business incentive programs include:

1. Developing a clear package of requirements and benefits for participating
2. Defining the means of business engagement and ongoing involvement and reporting
3. Keeping the program up to date and credible/ relevant in a rapidly changing business climate.
4. Administering the program and remaining responsive to businesses that require support
5. Balancing goals of easy entry for a large number of companies, with those of realizing real gains in efficiency and carbon reduction.

It is rare that such a public-private alignment of interests appears - I hope that the public sector will make the most of the chance to change business behavior and achieve more “global” goals while also advancing economic opportunity in their communities.