Jim

A: I know you will be happy when I say, no, it isn’t. In fact, not only should “Going Green” not entail any major expense, it can actually save your small business money. After all, the whole idea is to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

There are any number of small steps any small businesses can take to help reduce their carbon footprint. Here are some of my favorites:

Change your light bulbs. By simply replacing your standard bulbs with compact fluorescent (CF) bulbs (the squiggly ones), you can reduce your power bill significantly. Added bonus: The new bulbs also provide better color and flicker less.

Use Energy Star equipment. Energy Star certification means that the appliance or product you are buying and using is green, highly energy efficient, and can save you money.

Choose an all-in-one printer. By using an all-in-one printer that offers two-sided printing (also called duplex printing) you can easily and immediately reduce your paper consumption, and costs, in half.

For example, Brother (a company I have done some work with) has a cool printer (the MFC-9840) that automatically allows you to print on both sides of the paper, is super fast, and is Energy Star-certified. I love that printer.

Use timers and motion sensors. Lights are often left on in conference rooms and other offices when they are not in use. By installing occupancy sensors, you will be assured that your office energy use will be efficient and not wasteful. It will save you money.

Similarly, electronic equipment like computers and monitors are usually not turned off when not in use. To remedy this, put a timer on that power strip.

Reuse and recycle. Boxes, packaging, paper, and office folders can easily be re-used. And, if you don’t reuse them, then at least have recycling bins handy so people can recycle them.

Buy recycled office supplies. Paper, pads, sticky notes, file folders, and even ink and toner cartridges can be purchased in recyclable versions, and often at the same price as similar “regular” items.  Indeed, many recycled paper products are now roughly the same price as conventional paper due to increased demand and better production operations.

Use green power. Many local utilities offer customers renewable power from green sources such as wind farms. Often, there are local incentives for using such sustainable energy supplies, and the new stimulus law also includes federal tax incentives for alternative energy use. Similarly, there are all sorts of breaks for investing in green tools like solar panels.

As with many of these ideas, while in the short run these things may seem like an expense, over the long term, such changes don’t cost, they pay.

Let people know what you are doing. Lots of consumers are making purchasing choices these days based upon how green a company is. So be sure to make note of what you are doing, what changes you have instituted, and then be sure to get the word out to the local media and your customers. Many customers will reward your efforts with increased loyalty.

On this Earth Day, remember that going green is your classic win-win: Not only does it help the environment, but it also can significantly lower your operating expenses. Who would thunk that going green actually saves green? 

Today’s Tip: One final idea: Be sure to get your employees involved. No doubt, many will have ideas of their own for how you can do even more in the greening of your business.  Involving motivated employees will allow them to participate in a cause they believe in while also helping the planet, and your business.

But once her family knew what to do – take shorter showers, turn off the faucet while brushing their teeth – Smith still found herself struggling to break old habits of her husband and teenage kids.

“And then it just occurred to me,” as Smith recalled, “it would have been a lot easier to learn those things when you’re very young.”

What could have remained a wistful thought instead became the premise behind one of this year’s most talked-about toys. Both BusinessWeek and Time have taken note of Idbids – the company formed by Smith and fellow mother Sarah Albarez – and their Eco-friendly Starter Kits. Made entirely out of recycled and organic materials, these kits also deliver to children what could be their first lessons in environmentally conscious behavior.

Leading such lessons are three characters – Scout the cloud, Lola the flower, and Waverly the water drop – in a picture book and “field guide” printed on recycled paper with eco-friendly inks. In plush form, they are made entirely out of organic cotton, like the kit’s backpack in which everything can be stowed. These characters, according to Smith, were designed as deliberately as they were made.

“We have made Idbids characters look very simple because kids like to draw things all the time. They may draw that cloud and do the face on it [like Scout],” she said. “The thing is, when they look up at the sky and the clouds, we hope that they will look at it a little differently – that they’ll think it’s something that they do want to take care of and learn about.”

Finding the right cotton for their plush toys – which Smith described as feeling “almost like your lovable ol’ blankee” – became the most difficult part of creating the kit. After the company became a member of the Organic Trade Association, its co-founders researched extensively online to find a manufacturer that grew and processed its cotton properly, with valid certifications.

“Because of the nature of what we’re trying to teach, we are going to strive to make our products in the most environmentally friendly way that we can,” Smith said.

And, as Idbids and its kits rose to popularity, the steps Smith’s family has made to conserve has also amounted up to one very environmentally-conscious household.

“Surprisingly enough, our habits have changed a lot,” she said, “though I still think it would have been easier if I had Waverly when the kids were two or three.”

Idbids, P.O. Box 888405, Atlanta, GA 30356. Call 1-877-443-2437 or visit www.idbids.com .

“Can I take those out of the trash, and fix them up, and resell them to someone on my own?” he asked. When his boss agreed, Lee’s father took them home to be cleaned. For such a task he recruited his son, who at the time was less than 10 years old.

This early employment became Lee’s first experience with recycling. Since then, he, as president of fixtures and supplies distributor American Retail Supply, has successfully implemented many green measures, in retail packaging and beyond.

The company now offers to business owners plastic bags made with at least 25 percent recyclable material, and entirely recyclable paper bags with at least 95 percent post-consumer material. Meanwhile Lee has written and spoken extensively about retail packaging, and will appear next at the Seattle Gift Show, January 24-27.

A lot of issues he addresses today, both inside and outside of his company, first popped up when he began getting involved in community efforts. For example, he joined the King County Council Solid Waste Committee in Washington to protest a bill banning the use of plastic bags.

“Back then, I thought we were just adding again some factual, scientific data to the whole argument, as opposed to emotional and ‘common’ knowledge,” he said of the plastic recycling process, which others perceive as difficult, wasteful and potentially hazardous.

But now – after helping to introduce King County to a curbside recycling program and a “reduce, reuse, recycle” campaign – he finds that issues are rising again more so out of pure curiosity than ignorance.

When Lee wrote about recyclable retail packaging in a “marketing tip of the week” e-mail a few months ago, his customers responded in record amounts.

“It was a hot button to touch,” he said, later adding, “I was being asked about this for forever – I first got involved 20 years ago. I guess it was just an overwhelming response.”

With such demand in mind, Lee thinks that manufacturers will work harder to make sure recyclable retail packaging materials are readily available. In the meantime though, he says that he will continue to do what he has done over the years.

“Part of my job here is to be a responsible supplier of these products – to know the truth, and to try to use as environmentally conscious of products as we can."

Governments, businesses, and individuals are all on the green train, but there is a new worry on the horizon: will people eventually tire of being told what to do in order to save the planet?

There is a curve when it comes to marketing of any product or idea. First, the idea starts small, then gains momentum. Eventually the idea has the support of thousands of people, but then a funny thing happens: all of a sudden, everyone gets tired of hearing the same old message.

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

This has happened time and again in marketing, but the problem with consumers and so- called eco-fatigue is that the very life of the planet depends on people continuing to live greener – and supporting businesses that conduct business in a greener manner.

In other words, no one can become eco-fatigued enough that they actually fall asleep, or the result may be a permanent coma.

So how does a business go about helping others, and the business itself, to avoid eco- fatigue? Well, first of all businesses need to be leaders in the area of green living. Businesses need to show people, through example, that their impact on the environment is important to them.

They can do so by using recycled and recyclable packaging with the recycle symbol on it. Refusing to use too many supplies – and making sure those supplies are eco-friendly – will also send the message that your business cares about the environment.

Use A Light Touch

And that is really what avoiding eco-fatigue is about; staying away from the point where people begin to feel as though they are being bullied into inconvenient behaviors in order to circumvent a catastrophe at some point in the distant future.

The campaign surrounding green living has traditionally centered around fear and guilt, and people just can’t take that kind of treatment for long (just look at how effective it is on your teenager!).

Sooner or later they rebel, and it usually happens in a big way; while they may have done little things before to help out, now they do nothing because they are just tired of being pushed into it.

The way to avoid this problem lies in the way we state what green living is all about. It is surprising how little of the ‘living green’ campaign focuses on how smart green living actually is; it is not just about the environment, it is about the bottom line.

Turning off lights, using less water and driving less means a far less outlay of cash. It is just more convenient to do paperless paper work; much easier to send messages wirelessly, and much easier to keep records.

In order to avoid eco-fatigue, then, it is important both to lead and to emphasize the positive. Doing so will be good for your business – and good for the planet.

Rachael

A: I would have to say, I get more variations on this question than any other: “Where the heck can I get some of this free government startup money?”

I’m not exactly sure where this urban myth comes from, this idea that there are government agencies out there just waiting to give out free money to start a business.

I suspect that the main culprit is Matthew Lesko. You know, the wacky guy on those infomercials with the question mark suit who is always talking about free government grants and programs.

Do they really exist? Are there free federal grant dollars available to fund a business startup? Let’s find out.

Lesko received his MBA from American University and his company, Information USA, has published many books on the subject of “free” government programs over the past few decades. His books generally point out programs that people may or may not know about which offer some sort of assistance – everything from Medicare and Medicaid to SBA loans, energy assistance, and farm subsidies.

But actual free money turns out to be a pretty rare thing.

Indeed, the York State Consumer Protection Board issued a report in 2004 stating that some of Lesko’s claims of free money are exaggerated (in relation to his book, Free Money to Pay Your Bills.)

This is not to say that grants are not available on the federal level. They are. Indeed, the federal budget is chock-full of programs that grant funds for such things as:

* Scientific research
* Educational endeavors
* Defense services and products, etc.

Moreover, there are plenty of programs that help minority, veteran, women, and disabled business owners, but again, none that I could find offer actual free start-up capital for individuals. Most of this assistance is technical and advisory in nature.

When the federal government does offer grant money to promote small business, it almost exclusively goes to state and local governments. According to the smart folks over at About.com, “By far, most government grants are applied for and awarded to other federal agencies, states, cities, colleges and universities, and research organizations.”

So it seems that free federal money to start a business is more myth than fact.

Next then, let’s consider programs on the state and local level. Here we find a bit more help. For instance, many communities offer incentives for small businesses to set up shop in economically distressed areas, although these incentives often take the forms of tax breaks or rent subsidies rather than grants per se. There are also plenty of incentives today to make your business greener, but again no, no free money.

What about private, non-profit grant makers? These are organizations with very specific goals in mind, who work hard at fund-raising, and who fund only the most worthy, cost-effective programs. Some may help with business capital if that is the business they are in and you meet their very specific criteria and stringent prerequisites. No one gives money away willy-nilly. Expect to be thoroughly vetted to make sure that what you are proposing is what they want you to be doing.

Expect to also spend a lot of time and effort in the process. Applying for and getting grants is a difficult, rigorous process, often requiring expert assistance. “Grant writer” is a job for a reason.

And understand this too: Grants come with strings. In the remote chance that you do find and get a business grant, you will also be expected to thoroughly account for whatever money you get and spend it exactly in accordance with the strict guidelines of the grant maker. Failure to do so will land you in plenty of legal hot water.

At a time of huge federal government deficits, an incredibly expensive war with no end in sight, and recession, you are looking for free government money? Think again.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Today’s Tip: One place to find out what state and local assistance is available to your business is the online Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance; a database of all federal programs available to state and local governments, organizations, various groups, and individuals. Once you locate a program that may be a fit, contact the office that administers the program and learn about the application process.