Green Building

Green Business Trends: The Changing Shape of Corporations

Companies are turning green like never before – and we’re not talking money. Green business is now viewed as being cutting edge, environmentally-friendly, and an asset to future growth, all at once. And now is a great time to get involved. Small changes can have a big impact, so don’t think you need to have millions or even thousands dedicated to make a difference. As you’ll see, it’s all about creativity and personalizing solutions based on your specific industry. Read on for inspiration on ways that your company can turn over a new leaf, so to speak. Read more…

What is Sustainable Development ?

Sustainable development is a broad concept that refers to meeting the needs of people without hurting the environment. The concept covers meeting economic, environmental and social needs of everyone without hurting anyone or anything in the process.

What is sustainable development? The concept was brought to life and named by The World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987. Since it’s conception, the concept has become a major focus in the 1990s to the present time.

What is sustainable development related to hunger? The concept would attempt to make sure that all people have enough to eat no matter what their income is. Whether you are well off or live in absolute or relative poverty, you would legally have the right and the ability to purchase foods to provide you and your family with an adequate number of calories each day to maintain health.

What is sustainable development related to economics? All people in the workforce have a right to economic growth without undermining the environment, natural resources and the incomes of the next and future generations. Safeguards are put in place by the world government so that labor standards are put into effect along with mechanisms for compliance internationally. People that work with hazardous materials have rules to follow to keep themselves and the environment safe. People that work in high places must use safety equipment to ensure they don’t slip and fall. Accidents do happen; however, many times accidents are related to human error when the rules of safety are not followed correctly. Read more…

Companies Increasingly Turn to Environmental Actions to Cut Costs

Fom Blog: gbb.org

While this recession has broken the mold in many ways, one surprising outcome is that corporate environmental activity has survived, even thrived during as companies increasingly turn to environmental actions to cut costs, comply with customer demands, and remain competitive, according to the annual “State of Green Business” report produced by GreenBiz.com

You may be inclined to think that the difficult economy of the past two years may have caused companies to put their green initiatives on hold. But, in a recent survey of CEO’s conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, more than 60 percent of CEOs said their companies are moving forward with green initiatives and believe those efforts will improve their company’s reputation. Overall, the recession had little impact on the green momentum: 61 percent of companies with green initiatives saw no effect of the recession on their strategies and 17 percent raised such investment each year.

These companies recognize that consumers’ concern for the environment has morphed into behaviors that are at least somewhat recession-resistant. When public relations firm Edelman surveyed 6,000 global consumers, they found that 87 percent believed it was their “duty” to contribute to a better environment and that even in a recession, 55 percent would pay more for a brand if it supported a cause in which they believed. Plus, as is the case with most corporate priorities, going for green makes sense in financial terms.

When it comes to your invoice, bill or statement, some simple and smart green initiatives can also provide meaningful financial benefits to your company. You can “get green (money) by going green”. Here are some tips:

• Consider changing the layout of your customer document from landscape to portrait. This will reduce the page count and potentially reduce mailing costs.
• Aim to maximize every sheet. Put some thought into your design and layout and consider options such as duplex printing. Again you will reduce production and delivery costs.
• Turn your invoice, bill or statement into a valuable marketing tool. It is the only “must read” document your customer receives from you. You have a captive audience…what are you telling them? Are you taking full opportunity of your upsell and cross sell opportunities? Done right, you can significantly increase your revenues while eliminating the costs associated with direct mail marketing campaigns and other, less effective, sales initiatives. You may even be able to eliminate certain bill inserts, by using effective messaging on the bill, or statement.
• What about converting more customers to electronic documents? This is the ultimate in cutting paper usage, as well as saving on supplies and postage.

These are just a few of the many “go green” opportunities that can translate into cold hard cash for your company. So go ahead…be green!

What is Hubze? Who is Hubze?

By MGJack: www.hubze.mgjack.com

Just imagine this. Would it not be great to have only ONE place you had to go online to be social? Right now many of us have to perform the overwhelming task of signing onto and posting to all our social networking sites. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FriendFinder, Ning and all these other social networks…and the truth is…it is a lot of work. I mean should social networking not be fun and easy to do so we in fact do it. Add to that the fact that many of us use social networking as a business application promoting our business and building are brands.

How do we fix this? Enter Hubze. Hubze plans to simplify your life by giving you a platform where you only have to go to ONE place to enter any content. One place to blog, update, share, chat, email, market and search. One place to simplify your online life.

Hubze is not going to be just another social network. Hubze is not going to be just another online marketing system. Hubze is going to be the ONE STOP SHOP you need! And at Hubze simplifying your online life is only the beginning.

Hubze is all about what it’s founders call “Elegant Organization” This concept allows you to bring all of your social interactions into one place. Twitter, Facebook, Direct Matches, Linkedin, BetterNetworker, Myspace, etc. and post to all of them at the push of a button from one single platform. The Hubze MeCard is only the tip of the iceburg here and will be the first of many other services to come. Recently Hubze let out of the bag that they will provide a service that will allow anyone to customize the look and feel of there Facebook page similar to the customization folks enjoy in MySpace. The HubzeCard will always be a free service for all who sign up. For more information on Hubze and to get the HubzeCard service free go to: www.hubze.mgjack.com  for full details. You must be invited by another Hubze member like me so Click and join for FREE.

Five Ways Going Green Can Help Your Business Save Money

Top 15 Green Blogs

Reposted from: GBB.org

There are over 6,000 blogs related to the environment on Technorati, and countless more news feeds, and webzines.. There are hundreds of high-quality, well-written green blogs, so it’s very difficult to limit the list to just 15. This list seeks to balance depth with breadth and rankings popularity with diversity. These blogs represent many different topics, from general interest to news to lifestyle to tech.

1. Treehugger - Launched in 2004 by serial entrepreneur and designer Graham Hill, Treehugger defined a new online green space and quickly ascended to the ranks of the web’s top blogs. With radio, forums, video, television, its own social bookmarking network, and more than 30,000 posts, Treehugger is a comprehensive resource for sustainable modern living. Treehugger publishes posts by over 30 writers around the world updating 24/7. Discovery recently bought Treehugger and the site is now partnered to Planet Green. It’s not hard to see why: with over 2 million unique visitors per month and a Technorati rank of 19, Treehugger is by far the biggest green blog online today. The content is focused on green news, products, and events. Read more…

Deloitte: Best Practices for Going Green

By Deborah Fleischer

What do you think of when you hear Deloitte? You might think of a professional services firm or Big Four auditor. Today, the company has also put a big green stake in the ground, both looking internally to green its operations and as an offering in its consulting practice.

Two aspects of this work are worth noting: Deloitte’s internal green team, working to engage employees in sustainability, and its Green Sync™ tool.

I had the chance to have an e-mail exchange with Thomas Dekar, vice chairman of Deloitte LLP, regional managing principal of the North Central Region and corporate responsibility officer for the Deloitte U.S. Firms. He shed some light on the origins of Deloitte’s programs and offerings.

Read on to learn about Deloitte’s best green business practices for engaging employees in sustainability. Read more…

The Age of Sustainability: Why ‘Less’ Should Be More of Your Business Strategy

By Mahesh Pethe 

Business has officially entered “The Age of Sustainability.”

Most people relate sustainability to climate change and our efforts to sustain Earth’s limited resources.

In the corporate world, it means businesses are being asked — or even expected — to take Earth’s climate into consideration in normal business operations. In this new age, business strategy has been required to adapt to profound changes in how consumers and partners buy, use, interact with and view their products and services. This is particularly true over the last 10 years and will likely continue for at least the next 20 to 30 years.

We have all heard of the phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle,” as the call to think about environmental sustainability when making decisions about products and services. But have you considered that this directive may be in conflict with the common business goal of selling more to achieve higher revenues and profits? Read more…

Where Are the Green Jobs?

by chris santiago

If, like me and millions of other Americans, you’ve recently lost your job due to Economageddon, you may be wondering where these Green Jobs are that everyone keeps talking about. News reports say green is the fastest sector of the jobs market; the White House says it’s creating more and more green jobs. Well, where are these jobs, and how do you get one?

I could give a quick, snide answer and tell you to use something called a search engine. Or I could be a little more helpful and point you in the direction of a couple of good job boards, like Greenjobs, or the Green Jobs board at TreeHugger.com.

But what if you’re not a scientist, architect, or engineer?

What if you don’t have the skill set to start developing biofuels or teaching environmental science? As a recently laid-off print editor, for example, I’d love to jump into a growing (as opposed to a terminally ill) job sector, but how do I leverage the skills and experiences I already have and get a green job?

The good news is that most green companies—solar, wind, and biofuel outfits, for example—have plenty of non-technical positions that need to be filled, just like any other company. A green collar economy calls for an army of green accountants, green marketers, green PR flaks, green human resources reps, and so forth.

The even better news is that, just like your high school basketball coach told you, it’s the fundamentals that count. Networking (including meeting, greeting, and going to conferences on green subjects that matter to you) is much more likely to get you your next green job than sending out blind emails. Research and creative thinking won’t hurt either.

And of course there’s always that possibility of going back to school to get more green schools, although some would argue that you don’t necessarily need it.

Here’s my last piece of advice (and take it with a big, fat grain of salt, since I’m still looking for my next full-time gig myself): If none of these answers satisfies you, be an entrepreneur. Start your own green business, based on your own skills or inclinations. After all, as Gandhi said, if you want change in the world, you’ve got to be that change.

Photo Credit: Hillary Birch Vanaria

The 20 Most Popular Stories of 2009

By GreenBiz Staff

Oakland, CA — What to make of the 20 most-read stories among the 2,350 (or so) articles and blog posts we ran during 2009 on GreenBiz.com,ClimateBiz.com, GreenerBuildings.com,GreenerComputing.com andGreenerDesign.com

It’s hard to make head or tails of them, in terms of the themes, interests, or. Yes, packaging and Walmart seem to be two recurring themes. Rankings and ratings stories always rank high. Beyond that, 2009 seems a muddle — as, perhaps, in real life, it was. After all, what links termites and windvertising?

Themes or not, here are the stories of ours that you, dear reader, clicked on, Googled, Digged, Scribd, StumbledUpon, tweeted (and retweeted) and linked to the most. Do you see any noteworthy patterns or trends herein? Let us know if you do. Read more…