Lean manufacturing takes this one step further and focuses on the elimination of ALL wastes in the production process.  This results in higher value to the customer, less raw materials waste, less wasted worker effort, and an overall greener AND more profitable company!

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Here are some ideas for moving green without any major studies or projects:

1) Switch to eFax and stop using your paper fax.  This way, you have the faxed page readily accessible in your computer and are no longer wasting paper. 

2) Put all desktop PCs and printers on power strips, and turn them off at night. This saves both power and money.

3) Use Webex or Go-to-Meeting for initial sales meetings to save travel costs and the carbon footprint associated with air travel.

4) Email PDF’s of brochures instead of printing and distributing them.  If you must print, use recyclable materials.

5) Switch lights to CFLs or CCFLs instead of incandescents.

6) Use cloud computing to store your data instead of on-site servers or large hard drives.

7) Buy materials and supplies locally whenever possible.

Keep A/C and heat turned down to as low a level as possible to still keep a comfortable workplace.

9) Move to a virtual PBX VoIP phone system such as that offered by Ring Carrier.  This means you no longer have a power burning PBX on your site, and you can also save 60% on your phone bills.  

10) If at all possible, allow your employees to telecommute at least one day per week.  If this is not possible, find ways to incentivize them to take public transportation or ride their bicycles to work.  

Any more ideas?

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 buyers and sellers on eBay have reused over $100B worth of products since 1998.  

Green team members are providing information on buying green, selling green, living green, and shipping green.  Green shipping tips help to reduce the carbon impact of sending stuff across the planet purchased on eBay!  It helps to buy stuff close to home - and eBay also allows you to search each listing by distance.  

eBay also has a new subsite designed exclusively for sellers of green products called Worldofgood.com  If you qualify and can list here - your listing is featured both on this site and the main eBay site, but you only pay one set of fees.

eBay also allows sellers to donate part of all of their profits to green organizations, as well as many other charitable organizations of their choice. 

eBay’s Green Team site in the future will host discussions and give information about green events in your area.  I look forward to seeing its evolution!

Sustainability is a complex topic - and means that the business protects not only its future through ALL activities associated with its operations, but the future of the planet and future generations. 

Not too long ago, most Western businesses saw a large conflict between sustaining profitability, people, and the planet’s natural resources.  Decisions were made on a quarter-by-quarter basis, as the stockholders had to see immediate profit - this often meant sacrificing the future in order to make the financial statements look good.  As the green movement is still young, most businesses haven’t yet moved to sustainability just yet - but this perception of conflict is beginning to change.  

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Green Irene features a nationwide network of trained Eco-consultants - contract employees who will come into your home or business and do a “Green Makeover“.  This reasonably priced service provides end customers with a comprehensive report detailing money and earth saving changes in areas that range from improving air quality to improving energy usage.   Each Eco-consultant has a website from which most recommended products, such as compact fluorescent bulbs with Energy Star ratings and non-toxic cleaners can be ordered safely and efficiently.

If your consultant recommends work that requires a licensed contractor, Green Irene also has established partnerships with many construction companies who use green methods who will give you a bid on your project.  Upgrading to dual paned windows or eliminating energy sapping heat leaks can be well worth the price of remodeling.

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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!

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Green business practices are not limited to factories and buildings anymore.  According to Yahoo Finance, some 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.

Novato based Fireman’s Fund is now offering a 5% discount on homeowner’s policies for those who live in LEED certified homes.   Fireman’s also offers a Green Upgrade, which allows a homeowner the option to rebuild it greener with a slight premium adder. 

Farmer’s Insurance offers up to a 10% discount for drivers of hybrid vehicles currently, and is planning to offer a new Green homeowner’s policy in 28 states by this summer.   

Very soon, it will pay to go green! 

In some cases, technology’s contribution to greening the earth has been largely accidental.  Most of us use our automobiles for only a few things; grocery shopping, going to work, going to visit friends, comparison shopping, and visiting places of amusement.

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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. 

Could this have been prevented?  In my opinion, yes.   Pig farmers today are more concerned about profit dollars and pounds of pork produced than the quality of the meat.  This means pigs are kept in tight quarters, creating an excellent breeding ground for viruses as well as virus mutation.  Flys and other insects that thrive in pig excrement provide a ready medium for transmission of these new forms of “bugs”, completing the cycle. 

There is considerable speculation on the web that this new form of virus originated in the pig farms owned by Smithfield Farms in Perote, Mexico, which is where the disease was first spotted. Over 950,000 pigs are raised in these facilities.  There is no way of proving culpability, of course, but it stands to reason that free range pig farming (and sustainable farming of other food animals), provides a healthier alternative to overpopulated pig “tenements”.  

But until we stop “hogging” profit dollars and see the greener picture, health risks will continue to rise.  I plan to wash my hands often.  
 

The jackets and slacks will be sold as separates under the Sears Covington Perfect brand, and will retail for $175 and $75, respectively.  It will be quite interesting to see if this spawns a new trend in green fashions, or if it will be a throwback to the polyester “leisure suits” of the 70s! 

Another interesting point is that it takes 25 PET bottles to make one suit.  Every 100 suits sold will keep 2500 bottles from hitting the landfills!  These suits are looking better already…

In the State of Iowa, pigs outnumber people by 8:1 - there are 20M pigs living in this Midwestern state.  Hog odors are nauseating, sulferous, and hard to get out of clothing, vehicles, and carpeting.  Iowa Senator Tom Harkin is proud of getting this earmark passed through, and his Iowa constituents view as his bringing home the bacon to his home state.  Per Sen. Harkin (as quoted by mgwashington.com):

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Tater Ware is heat stable to 375 degrees, meets FDA requirements for direct food contact, freezer safe, microwarmable, and suitable for both hot and cold foods. 

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But planting new trees in a deforested area takes time - years.  The earth’s atmosphere needs a more immediate solution.  This is why researchers at Berkeley Labs in California are working on recreating the photosynthesis process - and are half way there as they have been able to duplicate the first step - breaking up water molecules by using photons found in sunlight.  Nano sized crystals of Cobalt Oxide - a photo reactive metal oxide catalyst, have been found to do the job more efficiently than Mother Nature herself!  

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Keynote speakers are from Terracycle and McDonough partners, and corporate attendees include Microsoft, Walmart, HP, BP, 3M, Dell, Dupont, and General Motors.

Unfortunately, the early bird discount deadline is past - and the conference now costs $1999.  The good news is that if your company registers 3 people, the 4th is free!

Last years conference was rated very highly - and this looks like a MUST ATTEND for any business wanting to harness some of the green economic momentum that is gathering daily.

Home Depot collection bins will take caulking tubes, paint brushes, saw blades, nursery pots and furnace filters - some of which will be turned into clocks and art, while flimsy plant pots will be turned into sturdier versions that customers actually want.  Petco bins will collect pet food bags and plastic shopping bags - both of which will be recycled into tote bags. 

Terracycle plans to have collection bins in 10,000 locations by mid 2010.  Wouldn’t it be nice if other companies started popping up with uses for other things we usually just throw away?   What about a use for old fruit cakes after the holidays?  Or the ubiquitious dry cleaning tags - and coat hangers?

Looking at the overall package - most of it (34%) is much-needed tax relief which should help stimulate the economy.   But $308B of this bill is so called “discretionary spending”, which is where pork usually hides.   $48B of this $308B goes to the Department of Transportation for overall infrastructure improvement - another necessity that was brought blatantly to the public eye by the bridge collapse in Minneapolis last year.   This leaves $260B earmarked for what some consider necessary, but others consider pork.  Some of the most heavily contested portions of this bill are:

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These ClimateSmart loans represent a $40M program for the county, which hopes to fuel job creation through its broad scope and easy application process.  It is estimated that 800 new construction sites will be created by this program - and now, there are 17 out-of-work construction workers for every one job available in Boulder County.

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In order to capitalize on the up-and-coming ecotourism business, Bonaire agreed to the installation of a 11MW wind farm, 14MW biodiesel plant and a 3.5MW backup battery in 2007 with the end goal of completely unyoking itself from fossil fuel dependence.  Spearheading this project are Ecopower Bonaire BV, a consortium of Dutch-German companies, Evelop, Enercon, and the local Bonaire water and energy company. 

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It’s about time! So far, the response appears to be positive, from the site:

90,053 people have submitted 64,645 questions and cast 3,976,522 votes… 

The top two running questions (according to popular vote) so far in the Energy and Environment category are:
“William McDonough has designed self-sustaining communities and cities with green technology. Will the new administration seek innovators like Mr. McDonough to help pave the way for infrastructure building in the 21st Century?”

And…..

“Will transit and intercity rail projects be a major component of the infrastructure stimulus package, rather than focusing on highway projects?”

These are both excellent questions, and I firmly believe that if we are to practice what we preach with respect to green economics, we MUST improve our public transportation systems.  In Europe, you can get anywhere you want to go using public transportation.  Here in the Silicon Valley, the BART doesn’t extend from the East Bay down to San Jose and the voters have been arguing about it for ten years.  It is very difficult to get from point A to point B using public transportation in the Bay Area.
It will be most interesting to see what new questions get posted, and the new administration’s answers to these questions.  It does feel like at last, the American people are being listened to.

For the last 15 years, Eaton has proven that traditional industry CAN focus on sustainability and still remain in business.  Although a press release in early December mentioned a sizable reduction in employee force, the company still projects a positive Q4 net income per share of between $.90 and $1.00.  This is a guidance revision, which Wall Street never enjoys receiving, but is better than most in our current serious economic situation. 

Most recently, Eaton Corporation has added a sustainability section to their website which details the practices and policies they are implementing - and have implemented in the past.  The corporation has set an aggressive goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 18% by 2012 (GHG emissions were reduced by 9.2% in 2007 as measured against 2006).  Other steps that have been taken or are currently planned include:

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