Growing Green

It is possible to save the environment and show a profit.

If you're concerned about your company's environmental impact, you're not alone. A recent survey by Women Impacting Public Policy and the Women's Council on Energy and the Environment found that women business owners are trendsetters in environmentalism:

• 79 percent have made their businesses more environmentally friendly.
• 77 percent have cut their businesses' electricity use.

Women are not only greening their own environments. Survey respondents also indicated strong support for government policies aimed at clean energy and environmental preservation. And many are launching entrepreneurial initiatives to tap into growing environmental awareness.

SETTING THE EXAMPLE
For Chicago-based Aimee Heilbrunn, the idea for Ecoscene, an online publication that offers independent reviews of green consumer products, began to form when she tried to buy an environmentally friendly dog bed. "This was back when there was a lot in the news about dangerous products from abroad, and I didn't want the standard polyester from the pet super-store," she explains. During her search, she had an epiphany. "I realized that if I wanted product information like this, other people would, too."

GOING GREENER
Heilbrunn has become an expert in going green. Here are her tips for your business:

Create A Policy. "A corporate sustainability policy is an important gauge of a company's commitment to environmentalism and a benchmark to measure progress," she says. It should outline specific goals and initiatives, from energy savings to recycling, so that every member of the organization is aware of his or her responsibilities.

Reap the Savings. When implemented well, going green can positively affect the bottom line. Heilbrunn points to the Klimpton Hotel Monaco in Chicago, whose recycling program reduced trash pickups and saved $400 to $500 a month, while the switch to an environmentally-friendly cleaning service saved $25,000 through more judicious product use.

Be Transparent. With consumers growing leery of "greenwashing" (the practice of overstating a company's sustainability initiatives), it makes sense to make public not only your organization's sustainability policy but also your progress toward its goals. This might include sharing the percentage reduction in paper waste, carbon emissions or energy use. Third-party organizations such as Green Seal provide standards-based environmental certifications that can help you achieve transparency.