Green, the New Black.

Carbon Neutral, Environmental Responsibility, Greenhouse Rating, Sustainability…What does it all mean? How your organisation interacts with the environment is big business. It’s big because Carbon Tax is on the government’s agenda and will ultimately be applied to your business. It’s big because business and industry have a major impact on the environment and here’s an opportunity to significantly change this. It’s also big because more and more customers are making buying decisions based on a company’s environmental responsibility – in today’s business market, your ‘footprint’ has become your image!

When it comes to being ‘Green’, businesses tend to fit into 4 categories:

1. Doing something about it,
2. Would like to but haven’t got round to it,
3. Would like to but don’t know how and
4. Not interested.

A growing number of business experts believe that, given the combined implications of carbon tax and the relationship between environmental responsibility and company image, businesses in group 4 will start to find it very tough indeed. It’s like dinosaurs, don’t adapt and you’ll become extinct, because those that do adapt will take over.

The majority of businesses fall into groups 2 and 3, so the challenge for organisations providing green products and services is to find these potential customers and show them a seamless way to change their output. While businesses in theory may want to ‘go green’ in practice it can be something on a long list of things to be researched, they need to be motivated. For business owners and managers who do want to take the initiative and turn a business problem into a business advantage we hope to put you in touch with people that can help.

There are many ways that you can get involved in ‘being green’, from offsetting your emissions to choosing green, recycled or sustainable materials and supplies. These can differ enormously as some specialise in sourcing renewable resources whilst others recycle materials otherwise destined for landfill. There are also a variety of organisations that conduct energy efficiency audits, carbon footprint assessments and environmental ratings.

In short, there is a genuine effort to tackle the increasing environmental problems caused by business. This new section “Green Business” is designed to help you find out what you can do to make a difference to the environment and to also make your business more attractive to clients, customers, partners and staff. The way we do business is not set in stone and can be changed, for the good of the planet AND for the good of your bottom line.

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