‘Designing Strategies’ eNewsletter
May — June 2008 Volume 5 — Issue 22
Exactly how green is GREEN? Regardless of your views of Al Gore and his global warming crusade, he is managing to bring a topic that long bubbled in the background to a full boil. It’s impossible to pick up a magazine or newspaper, turn on a TV or radio, or log onto the Internet without being confronted about global warming, sustainability, green design, green products or green companies. Have you thought about how your organization can become a green company?
Before the recent flood of information, there were a few companies within the design and furnishings industries making major progress on the sustainability front. Then, seemingly overnight, virtually every company on earth claims they have become green. How many could possibly have completely turned themselves completely around overnight? Even Jim Henson’s Kermit the Frog knew “It Isn’t Easy Being Green.‘ It’s hard to believe all those claims of becoming a green company overnight. Much of the advertising and marketing for ‘green’ products at best stretches the truth.
What Does It Mean to Become a Green Company?
In the broadest sense, sustainability is about seeking to reduce negative impact on the environment. The General Services Administration (GSA) further cites, regarding sustainability and design: “The basic objectives of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimize waste, and create healthy, productive environments.” Simply changing a few incandescent lamps to fluorescent tubes, switching to recycled paper for your copy machine or putting a container in the employee lounge to recycle aluminum soda cans hardly makes a firm green. That doesn’t mean you cannot plan to help your company become green.
You might be surprised how many companies make minimal changes, then advertise and market themselves as having ‘gone green’. While these are just baby steps in the right direction, these firms may find themselves under the scrutiny of today’s savvy consumers. They may also find themselves under the microscope of one of the pro-green groups that investigate alleged new ‘green’ products and manufacturers, for accuracy and honesty.
Manufacturers across a broad spectrum of industries are anxious to cash in on the green movement. Large numbers of new green products have hit the market in the past five years, many of which are far from truly being green. To match this influx of products, certification groups are popping up like furry critters in a Whack-a-Mole game. It’s not surprising that all the standards and certifications are not created equal. In many cases they only serve to confuse consumers. Hopefully over time the numbers and types of certification groups will be whittled down to a few valid and recognizable certifications.
Are You Ready to Become a Green Company?
OK, it’s time to ask: just how green is your company? Have you committed yet to becoming a friend of the environment? What changes have you made in your operations and facilities to reduce your carbon footprint? Have you done anything to reduce energy usage for lighting, HVAC and plant operations? Have you seriously implemented recycling in your workplace?
What about your company’s products? Are they as green as your marketing leads people to believe? Can you incorporate eco-friendly or recycled materials into your product lines? Have you managed to lower the VOC levels in your products? Has your firm found ways to comply with cradle-to-cradle or cradle-to-grave standards? Find innovative ways to eliminate waste, recycle it or find ways new to use it. That said, it’s not hard to see how many facets there are to become a green company.
As the saying goes: “Anything worth doing is worth doing right.” It takes time and planning to change a company’s culture, its facilities, operations and products into a completely environmentally friendly organization. It takes time and effort to do the necessary research or engage specialists to move in an eco-friendly direction. If you have not yet decided to undertake changes to save our environment, today is the day to begin.
By all means, take those simple baby steps. They are a good way to get going in a green direction. But, don’t stop there. It is beyond time to include goals and objectives in your strategic plan for becoming a truly environmentally responsible firm. Leave those strategies and budgets in place for as long as it takes to accomplish full compliance. You know it is time to become a green company – one that you can be proud of.
Email Inquiries…
Recently someone wrote and asked for some complicated. advice on issues related to internal communication and employee engagement. One of the biggest issues that affects both internal communications and employee engagement is generational diversity. There is no longer a ‘one size fits all’ approach that will work for the four different generations currently working together in the workplace.
Methods of recruiting and managing these diverse groups are also different. Things have definitely become more complex and complicated – NOT IMPOSSIBLE – just more complex and complicated. Two of my most popular training programs are, “Managing An Age Diverse Workforce” and “The Changing Marketplace: Selling To The Generations.” Both are well received at regional and national conferences. For more information on these and other available Business Success programs, please contact Terri Maurer by phone at: 330.666.0802 or email.
