Green Options

One way in which today’s corporation is becoming enlightened to the fact that green manufacturing CAN equal more profitable manufacturing is through a new concept called “lean manufacturing”. In the 1980’s, JIT, or just-in-time techniques became all the rage in management circles as they shaved costs from production by eliminating the need for high levels of inventories by focusing on using just what was needed, when it was needed.

Although most larger businesses are at least making an effort to greenwash their enterprises, small and medium size businesses are a bit slower to adopt this trend. Largely, this is because they view it as a big project, and just don’t yet understand that simple items can help green their operations in many ways. Greening a small or medium business can also add another element to marketing branding that has been proven to be highly successful!

Several months ago, online auction giant eBay announced its new green team - 1000 employees gathered together to help make a difference in the planet through small steps.

Although it can be argued that the increased use of shippers and shipping of items by eBay is decidedly NOT green - noone can argue that eBay has kept LOTS of stuff otherwise destined for the landfills from being thrown away. The new green site informs us that 86 million [...]

Sustainability is the great new green buzz word in our society - but what does it really mean? Does it mean that a business can use sustainable materials, treat employees well, but not turn a profit? Or does it mean that a business can make all the right noises, recycle products, give to high profile organizations and yet treat its employees like expendable commodities? Most definitely not!

The green movement has fostered many new socially conscious startups , among them is New York based Green Irene. Founded by husband-wife entrepreneurs PJ Stafford and Rosamaria Caballero Stafford, Green Irene’s mission is to green the planet by showing home and business owners simple changes they can make to help save the planet - and save money in the process.

For years, the consumer electronics industry has taken a bad rap with the green community - and deservedly so.  Cheap electronics components eat up considerable natural resources, need cheap labor to produce, and until recently, have been designed to be “throw-aways” when the latest and greatest widget comes along.

Nothing is ever black and white, or all bad without traces of good.  The world is full of grey areas, and electronics also create positive change. 

When driving to an new destination the other day, I noticed that I used much less gas because of my GPS than I normally would.  In the old days before Google maps and GPS technology, I used to get lost at least once, call on my cell phone or stop at the gas station to get directions, and generally take more time and fuel than necessary. 

Some will say this is just spatial ineptness - but I am willing to bet that others have had this problem too!

Green business practices are not limited to factories and buildings anymore. According to Yahoo Finance, soem insurance companies are offering clients who drive green cars or live in green homes a break on their premiums. Still others are offering to rebuild a green home that is lost due to fire or other catastrophes “greener” than it was before.

For years, green activists were “anti-technology”, claiming that technological advances were largely responsible for the polluted state of Mother Earth. This was a fair claim, as yesterday’s technologies only looked at the bottom line, and not the resulting mess. In today’s reality, the words “green” and “technology” no longer constitute an oxymoron, as technologists have turned their attention to cleaning up the mess previous generations have made.

Today’s news is ablaze with stories about the recent swine flu outbreak, an outbreak that may have been fully preventable through the use of green farming practices. At the time I write this post, 50 cases of swine

flu have been reported in the US alone, with one death attributable to the mutated virus. Although most cases have been mild, the fear factor alone is leading to school closures and cancelled vacations across the world.

Department store giant Sears is jumping on the green bandwagon by announcing plans to offer “green” clothing in May - suits made from recycled PET bottles with NO petroleum used in the manufacturing process. Made in partnership with the US arm of Japan based Teijin Fibers Limited, each suit will be 54% recycled polyester, 42% wool, and 4% spandex, and will be fully machine washable.