From the Source- A good place to start when looking for a green caterer is to find out what type of food they use. Packaged, frozen and canned food not only lacks the quality of fresh food, but they require more packaging. Look for a caterer who utilizes local, fresh foods that are in season. This will not only ensure the tastiest of meals, but the greenest as well.

What Wares? Another important part of catering is the equipment and wares. An important aspect of green catering is minimal waste. Ask potential caterers if they use disposable chaffing pans and frames. If so, you might want to find a caterer with their own professional equipment. Also, inquire about the dishes. Not only do you want to avoid having your guests easting off of unattractive Styrofoam plates, you do not want to be responsible for the environmental harm. Plus, disposable wares are a good sign of a shoddy caterer.

Location Counts- Just as you do not want your food traveling hundreds of miles, you also do not want your caterer to make a major road trip for your event. Sometimes, setting up an event can take more than one trip from the caterer’s headquarters to the location of your event. Needless to say, the less driving, the better.

What’s Left? Because of Health Code regulations in most states, it is illegal to keep the food that is not consumed at the event. Often times, this means that very edible, totally safe food is thrown away. Not only is this a waste of food, it is a waste of the resources that went into preparing and serving the meal as well. Check with potential caterers to see what they do with left over food. Some caterers will donate leftover food to shelters that take prepared foods.

In the end, it is important to communicate your green desires with any potential caterer. Chances are, they will be willing to try and meet your expectations, even if it means they must adapt they way they do business.

While I was bothered by the amount of money were spending on these methods of advertisement, I was even more disturbed to see the unnecessary waste we were generating in the process. Not only did each method involve a paper product of some sort (non-post consumer recycled, I’m sure), the printing of our advertisement (non-soy based ink, no doubt) and the shipping of the material to our headquarters (and they didn’t arrive in a fleet of Hybrids). Also, I would argue that instead of being read and thus effective, many of our ads fell on blind eyes, or into the hands of the wrong demographic.

Enter MySpace. Given that I don’t have a conscious memory of what it is like not to have a computer, it only seems fitting that the youngest member of the family would be the one to usher the business into the MySpace world. When I first asked the bosses if our business had a MySpace page, they looked at me as though I was speaking another language and, in a sense, I was.

MySpace and other social networking websites are a great way to reduce, if not eliminate, the environmental impact of a business’ advertisements. For those not familiar with MySpace, it is a website that allows users to set up a profile and then find and add "friends." When a friend is added, they then have access to photos, updates and bulletins of all their other friends.

The business advantage of MySpace can be found when the availability of the target demographic is examined. As a restaurant and catering company, I was able to make friends with hundreds of people in my area who fit into my target demographic. The only thing this requires is a knack for keywords and a ton of patience. Once our business had a substantial friend base, we were able to send out promotions, updates and other tools of advertising… for free. Oh yeah, and did I mention, the whole process was totally paperless as well?

Not only did I have more control over to whom we were advertising, if our ads ended up reaching people out of our target demographic, it was no harm- no foul. This meant that we were wasting less money, saving more trees and more effectively getting our message out. Ingenious, no?

Given that my family is in the service and entertainment industry, the MySpace approach worked very well for us. If you are in an industry that is less conducive to MySpace, I urge you to find another social networking site that better fits your business. LinkedIn is a good site for larger businesses, especially those wishing to advertise to the general business community. Bebo is a social networking site with a general user base that is, in general, a little older than that of MySpace. In the end, it doesn’t matter which site you chose, as long as you are decreasing your advertising costs while, at the same time decreasing the environmental impact of your advertising methods.

Image credit: www.myspace.com

Innovest, an investment research firm, launched the study in order to better understand the effect of sustainability upon potential business investment. What they found was a much more substantial difference than most had predicted. In fact, the report found that, "In the longer term, the out-performance potential will become even greater as the capital markets become more fully sensitized to the financial and competitive consequences of environmental and climate change considerations”.

While this may be great news for some, it does not mean happy days for all. The report noted that the ’strong and postive’ correlation between a business’s performance and its sustainability was not necessarily true for every sector of business.

Further, the report found that potential investors are having difficulties figuring out which companies are truly sustainable. Because of inadequate reporting methods, investors have to do a substantial amount of leg work to figure out which companies have a comprehensive sustainability program in place, and this may be a deterrent in future investing. As the report notes, disclosure information is notoriously unreliable, inconsistently reported across companies and over time, and generally not validated by independent third parties… Emissions data alone provides less than 25 percent of the information a sophisticated investor requires."

The folks at Innovest think that the method of disclosure is a pretty big obstacle for investors looking for a truly green company. As founder Matthew Kieman puts it, "It is increasingly critical that performance-driven investors move beyond simply pressing for greater company disclosure," he said. "We are now seeing them begin to demand the sorts of investment tools, research and products they need to turn mere information into superior investment decisions and performance." Superior investment decisions, indeed! As business owners and conscious citizens, we really need to take measure that would ensure that investors looking to put money into a green company had the resources to make informed decisions. Not only will it be good for green minded investors, it will bonly serve to increase the green business edge.

One day at lunch I was looking around my office at the many, many people eating and talking, and it dawned on me: most (if not all) of these people rely on individual transportation to get to work. "What a shame!" I thought to myself. "If there was only a way to reduce the amount that people had to drive to get to work!" With a mass rail or transit system out of the question, because we do not live in a very densely populated place, I began racking my brain for ways to decrease the amount of carbon produce by my office in our collect daily commute.

Inspired by a comment from my mom ("If you are so unhappy with the situation, why don’t you just quit!"), I decided to attempt to not go into work. No, I didn’t quit. What I did do was sit down with my boss and analyze the work I do on a day-to-day basis, and which things I do that could be done from home.

While it was not an easy subject to approach, nor the most comfortable conversation I have ever had, I came out with a totally new work schedule. It was important to stress that I would not be doing less work, nor would the quality of my work decrease. Also, we agreed that if either scenario happened, that I would immediately return to my normal work schedule. Now, instead of driving to work five days a week, arrive at 9 am and leaving around 5pm, I have flexibility in my "office hours."

This is beneficial in two ways: First, I do not have to drive to and from the office nearly as much, as I have days in my week that do not require any "office hours" at all. Secondly, when I am required to be in the office, I do not necessarily have to drive in peak rush hour anymore. This is a significant improvement to my old routine, as I was wasting a lot of gas, and emitting a ton of extra carbon sitting on the highway in traffic.

Now, a friend of mine alerted me to the fact that I might be using more carbon to heat my house in the winter than I would be using to drive to work. This may be true in some cases, but if you take the extra steps necessary to winterize your home, the point should be pretty much null and void.

According to the International Telework Association and Council (ITAC), I am apparently not the first person to love the idea of working from home. If fact, ITAC claims that by 2010, the number of people working from home will increase from the current 26 million to an incredible 100 million. That means there may be 74 million less people driving to work everyday!

While working from home may not be an option for everyone, it is an avenue that I strongly suggest checking out. Before my uncomfortable discussion with my boss, I would never have though it possible that I could work from home.

photo credit- workingathomeopportunity.com

Very recently my boss came to me and said. “Jessica, we need to do something about the graveyard, it is getting seriously out of control”. She was right. The box had turned into three boxes, nearly spilling out into the hallway whenever someone opened the door. So, now I had a mission. I had to figure out someway to deal with the tech stuff that was more sustainable than keeping it a closet (out of sight, out of mind- right?). Well, little did I know, the answer would be waiting for me in my inbox the next day. A friend of mine sent me an article that she thought I might find interesting. And interesting it was! Here is what I found out…

It seems as though “tech graveyards” may be more popular than you think. People all over the U.S. are struggling to find a solution to all the tech stuff that they just don’t know what to do with. Enter: Office Depot. According to this article, Office Depot is stepping up to the plate and helping the people of America find a home for all that obsolete tech equipment. As the article states, “the office supply retailer will offer recycling for tech equipment at all its 1,100-plus stores in North America.” Pretty nifty, no?

From what I understand, the tech recycling program is something Office Depot has been toying with for awhile now. It has been reported that the recycling program began 2006, in nearly 100 stores in the United States. Now, those stores must have done a really good job, because sustainabalebusiness.com claims that “more than 108,000 pounds of technology” has already been recycled. That’s the equivalent of over 15,428 of my office’s ‘tech graveyards’.

Further, according to the Office Depot Website, the company is taking measures in their offices to prevent the buildup of their very own ‘tech graveyard’. As the website states,
“Office Depot has an extensive waste recycling program at our Corporate Headquarters that targets more than 80% of our waste stream. This program includes paper, plastic bottles and cans, ink and toner cartridges, cell phones, rechargeable batteries and computers. Every ton of paper this program recovers has conserved 17 to 24 trees, and each extra ton of aluminum cans and plastic bottles recycled has conserved more than 2,000 gallons of gasoline.”

Now, Office Depot isn’t the only business looking to capitalize on the tech-recycling market. According to Frank Norton, from The News and Observer, “Intechra …{a company out of Jackson, Miss}, recycles tech equipment for major corporations. The company, which operates a logistics center in Durham, removes outdated computers, servers, monitors and other equipment, strips them of all data, refurbishes some and sells the rest as ground plastic, glass and metal on commodities markets.”

So, next time your boss is complaining about the ‘tech graveyard’ in your closet be reassured; there are options outside of throwing it all in the trash and hoping for the best. It is a sad fact that, an estimated 400 million units of obsolete electronics are scrapped yearly. That means that by 2010, three billion units will be in need of responsible recycling. That means we need to find an easier, more comprehensive way of dealing with our outdated gadgets. If all else fails, put an ad in the paper, or on craigslist.org saying you have a free box of out-dated tech stuff that you are looking to give away. I guarantee someone will be glad to get their hands on your unwanted ‘tech graveyard’.

Since 1998, Rev. Charles Morris has been on a mission to make his church a sustainable place to worship, and the results are quite impressive. St. Elizabeth’s Church, in Wyandotte, Michigan, is not only a place of God, but a place of innovation as well. It has taken Rev. Morris almost ten years, and over $150,000 to make his church a beacon of both religion and sustainability, two things he believes go hand in hand.

It all started with a heightened awareness of the harms of global warming, mixed with a responsibility to to his faith. The more educated the Reverend became about peak oil and depleted natural resources, the more worried he became about the prospects for future generations. At the same time, he could not help but feel that every bit of energy wasted was somehow connected to God. As he put it, "I was worried about our relationship to energy, and about our relationship to God… he is the creator of all everything, including life and energy." Instead of preaching from the pulpit, the Michigan priest got involved.

And the result? St. Elizabeth’s is one of the most environmentally comprehensive churches in the United States. On the roof of the building are solar panels and a wind turbine that provide the electricity for the community rooms and for the basement of the church. There is also a solar collector that provides the building with hot water. Moreover, the roof is home to a solar fan, which removes the hot air from the attic of the church.

But, the innovations do not stop there! The church’s 1,400 square feet of stained glass windows are covered with a solar netting that regulates the inside temperature: it retains heat in the winter, and lowers cooling costs in the summer. The church also boasts compact fluorescent bulbs and LED lighting technology throughout the building. Pretty impressive, huh?

Like I mentioned before, the environmental overhaul cost the church about $150,000. While this may sound like a ton of money (which it is!), it is the money saved that made this project economically feasible. Currently, the church is saving about $20,000 per year on energy costs, which means it cut its former energy costs by over half. If you project those savings through ten years, the church will not only make its money back, but it will have saved over $50,000 in utility expenses.

Aside from what he sees as a responsibility to the Lord, Reverend Morris has some pretty persuasive reasons for going green. As he told me, "we have a responsibility to the next generation, and to the generations after that. To ignore the current state of the environment is not only reckless, it is negligent." Sometimes, it seems as though it is the people with the largest sense of imperative that make the biggest changes for what they believe in.

Becoming sustainable has not exactly been a crystal stair for Reverend Charles Morris, though. When asked about the biggest challenge in the greening of both his church and his life, the Reverend tolds me, "lethargy — it is easy to lose momentum when undertaking such a large task. Also, bad habits. I am no different than anyone else: I have parts of my routine that I need to change to reflect my belief [in sustainability]."

Lethargy and bad habits are just the beginning of what Father Morris has had to overcome to get to where he is today. One of the things he claimed posed the biggest hurdle for him, in terms of achieving a higher level of sustainability, was a lack of support and education. When undertaking something like an environmental overhaul, there will always be people who don’t get it, which is why we need to construct an atmosphere that encourages people to try new things, and to take risks.

According to Father Morris, "We must create the conditions that foster green lifestyles, and education is a good place to start." Reverend Morris is a staunch advocate on environmental education and sees it as a necessary step to making this country more sustainable.

When asked what the biggest environmental harm resulting from the way most Americans live their lives, the Reverend responded quickly:

The poor, the invisible people of this country who suffer the most from the destruction of the environment. It is the people suffering from asthma, heart attacks and other health problems. We, as a country do not acknowledge these people. Because of our consumer culture, they are isolated and the only way to fix that is through education

Education is not the only way in which we can decrease our environmental impact though. The Reverend believes that business must step up and take a leadership role in the greening of this country. He explains,

Businesses need to take charge. They need to not only green their own practices and act as a model for the rest of the country; they must provide the capital and incentive to get us to the next level. We are on the cusp of the ‘next phase,’ but businesses must realize that going green can be profitable. When this happens, you will see a shift in the market and the increased affordability of green technology.

While not all of us may have the resources to undertake a environmental overhaul anytime soon, Reverend Morris has some good advice for those people just getting started greening their lives. "Start reading! It is easy to look at your environmental impact and go from denial to despair. Instead, you must go to decision. You need to figure out what you can change, make the necessary modifications and then celebrate your victories." And celebrate he does. Father Charles Morris is not only a wonderful example of what can be accomplished with a little determination; he is man who truly practices what he preaches.

Photo credit: Detroit MetroTimes

Pull the Plug — Is your microwave being used 24/7? No? Then why is it plugged in? While idle appliances don’t take up a ton of energy, think about all the small lights that shine, blink or flash throughout your office. Each of those displays requires energy to light up. Further, even appliances without lights or displays can consume energy when they are not turned on. Stand-by appliances can add a constant 50-watt drain to your power supply.

Your computer is a big contributor to the problem of wasted energy. Did you know that when your computer is completely idle, even if your monitor is off, it still is probably pulling about 100 watts from the wall.

Stop the Leak — You may not think it considerable, but the amount of water wasted from leaky faucets and other sources really adds up. If you notice a faucet dripping, or a spigot outside that doesn’t quite close, fix it! One drop wasted per second wastes 2,642 gallons per year. Now, that is not only bad for the environment; it is bad for you bottom line!

Make it a Double — While many of us may not think to take the time to change out printer setting, printing on both sides of the paper reduces your paper usage by … 50%! Halving you paper consumption is a great way to make a huge difference in your workplace’s environmental impact. 50% is a significant decrease and the only you have to do is flip the pages!

Cut the Chlorine — When buying paper products, most companies go for the cheapest stuff their suppliers have to offer. I mean, they are just napkins, right? Wrong! Paper products processed with chlorine are more harmful to the environment than those that are not. In fact, chlorine-free paper production uses 20-25 times less water. Moreover, the chlorine used in paper production can create dioxins that are poisonous to fish and can pollute water sources.

If your company is not ready to take the plunge into absolute greenness, you can do these five, simple things, and will be making big steps in the right direction! Hopefully, the energy, water and waste you conserve will help motivate you to do even more to become a sustainable business!

Now, you may be thinking, "green event planning?" Apparently there is an awful lot of environmental degradation happening at the hands of big events. As Seven-Star explains,

As planners, producers and consultants, our job is to provide easy, economical and practical solutions to reduce your event’s impact on the environment and society. Every event has associated negative impacts: Carbon emissions result from shipping, exhibitors and attendees use fuel for travel, waste is generated, electricity is used, the list goes on. Our goal is to reduce and mitigate these negatives, then transform them into more profit for you and positive PR for your event.

Seven-Star has incorporated their sustainable philosophy, known as eR/sR, into their day-to-day operations. eR/sR is an acronym for environmentally responsible and socially respectful. As the company notes, "We coined the term eR/sR to precisely describe the high standard we believe in: true environmental responsibility and social respect. It’s simple, it’s user-friendly, and in the world we live in today, eR/sR is synonymous with a powerful alternative."

Seven Star works to make every event, from street fairs to private parties, as green as possible. They work with their clients to reduce waste, ensure efficient energy technology is utilized, organize event recycling, and even facilitate the use of green decorations. According to Seven-Star,

[We take] a comprehensive approach to transforming an event, one step at a time. We begin by reviewing an events’ ecological footprint, taking energy use, waste stream and the quality of products into account. We then develop and implement an operational and product usage plan outlining steps to green the event on a specified timeline. We identify opportunities for material re-use, carbon emissions neutralizing and product conversion to eco-friendly alternatives.

The list of clients taking advantage of Seven-Star’s services is reads like a list of environmental "Who’s Who." From the Green Fest in Chicago, to the Global Exchange in San Francisco, Seven-Star is working on projects all over the continental United States.

Seven-Star’s committment to sustainability extends into the workplace itself: As the company states on their website,

At Seven-Star, we internalize our commitment and express it in practical ways. Our employees are served all-organic breakfast and lunch each day, and all of our employees are enrolled in a health care plan that emphasizes prevention. Meanwhile, our office participates in recycling and composting.

Needless to say, Seven-Star is a great example of a fully integrated green business plan!

It seems as though Seven-Star has taken the idea of sustainability and effectively woven it throughout nearly every aspect of their business. It takes a lot of planning and dedication to make a business as sustainable, both in principal and practice, as Seven-Star. In the end, Seven-Star not only provides quality event planning services, they also serve as a model for other businesses striving for environmental sustainability.

All quotes in this article can be found on Seven’ Star’s website.

Resources — Just as two heads are better than one, the collective knowledge of several business owners can be extremely valuable. While I may not have known how to install a greywater system in my building, the café owner down the street sure did! By getting together to troubleshoot, you can save a lot of wasted energy searching for answers that your group members may already have. Having trouble finding the right green products for your company? More than likely, other group members will have helpful tips about the green products they use. Also, by combining areas of expertise, business can use each other as sounding boards for new ideas.

Publicity — If what is good for the goose is good for the gander, then to see other local business succeed in going green should do nothing but help your own sustainability efforts. By joining green businesses together, you can use your collective greenness to your advantage. If every small business on your block or in your section of town is taking positive steps towards sustainability, than you can honestly advertise that you operate in a "green friendly zone."

Further, if you and your neighbors join together in a green business group, you can send out a joint press release touting the green-friendly nature of your businesses. Press releases are a great way to let the public know about all the great things your group is doing in the name of sustainable business. Whats more, by forming a green business group, you can create many opportunities for cross-marketing. Does the coffee shop down the street roast their own Fair Trade coffee? Why not use it in your restaurant? By seeing members of your green business group as allies in your struggle for sustainability, you can form a bond that can benefit all business involved.

Group Work — I don’t know about you, but my city’s recycling program leaves much to be desired. Not only do they refuse to pick up the large loads of recycling that my business produces, the times and days they offer pick-up service do not jibe well with my business’ schedule. Because of this, members of my local green business group came up with a recycling program of our own. With our combined efforts, we are able to recycle our waste on our own time, at the recycling station of our choice. The man who owns the business next to mine has a large truck, and every week each business takes a turn picking up everyone’s recyclables and taking them to the recycle station. This is not only time efficient, but it also encourages other businesses in the area to jump on board.

See, peer pressure can be a good thing from time to time- when the other businesses in our area saw the effort we were putting into our recycling program, they were encouraged to hop on the bandwagon! Plus, we are able to hold small, informal meetings to explain to newcomers exactly what can be recycled and in what condition it will be accepted. Talk about a grassroots approach!

Another neat way we all work together is through public education. As a group of business owners, we are able to hold small, fun events to educate the public on the topic of sustainable business. Whether it is a community round-table discussion or a found-objects arts and crafts day for local children, events are much easier to plan and execute when there are a number of forces working towards the same goal. Not only is this a good chance for the public to brush up on their sustainability knowledge, but it is also a great way for us to get the names of our businesses out there.

The first step in forming a green business group is to identify potential members. You can either send out a mass email through your local chamber of commerce, or simply rely on plain old fashioned word of mouth. Either way, the main goal is to attract other green-minded business owners to the group.

Next, you need to come up with goals for your group- do you want to keep your group’s purpose internal and really just act as a resource for each other in your attempts to go green, or do you want to focus on publicity and public education? While a green business group can easily achieve both of those goals, it is good to start off with one or the other. As business owners, we have enough on our plate and, if the group gets too complicated or time-consuming, it will be harder to retain membership.

Lastly, try to avoid stark hierarchies in the group. Because this should be seen as a collaborative effort, there is no immediate need for a president, vice-president and secretary. Often business groups do not succeed because of autonomy issues. To ensure effective teamwork, avoid making certain members seem more important than others.

If you belong to a green business group and have other tips for success, please feel free to share them below. Much of what I have learned in this process has been through trial and error, so any additional knowledge is welcomed and encouraged!

According to The Low Income Project Team, food deserts are "areas of relative exclusion where people experience physical and economic barriers to accessing healthy food." This does not mean that people in food deserts do not have access to any food… just the stuff that is relatively good for them.

In fact, a food desert often has an abundance of "fringe locations," or businesses that do not serve the sole purpose of selling foodstuffs, yet where food is available think dollar stores, gas stations, liquor stores, etc.). The type of food sold at these stores is usually the worst type of food, and when the only food available is pre-packaged, and full of preservatives, there are bound to be health risks.

In June, LaSalle bank sponsored a study that explored the nature of food deserts in Detroit, Michigan. Not surprisingly, what they found was a high concentration of food deserts. The report noted that "more than a half million Detroit residents live in areas defined as food deserts — areas that require residents to travel twice as far or more to reach the closest mainstream grocer than to reach the closest fringe food location."

Further, the study found that the people of Detroit were physically suffering because of their lack of access to healthy, fresh food. The study concluded that "as a group, residents in food deserts are statistically more likely to suffer or die prematurely from diet-related disease than residents who live in areas with healthy food options."

I don’t know about you, but these revelations make me profoundly sad. I have never known a life without farmers’ markets, Whole Foods and even the occasional roadside produce stand, so the prospect of living in a place where fresh food is so far away slightly boggles my mind. Moreover, the places that food deserts are the most prevalent are places where people have the lowest incomes, and are therefore more likely to not be able to afford transportation. Talk about adding insult to injury.

While the prevalence of food deserts in Detroit is disheartening, there is a silver lining to this awful reality. Local groups have been responding to the lack of fresh food by producing their own! The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN) operates a two-acre site in downtown Detroit where they operate a very small, city farm.

According to Malik Yakini, a community activist, owner of the Black Star Community Book Store and member of the DBCFSN,

"Our primary work is urban agriculture, urban growing in the city of Detroit…It’s a small-scale farm. We mainly sell the food, although we give some away to people in the immediate neighborhood. We’re trying to create jobs as a result of urban agriculture".

What?! Good for the economy and good for urban sustainability? Now this is an example of people finding environmental solutions to economic problems.

"Where exactly do you find a farm in the middle of Detroit?" one might ask. Well, you make one! The DBCFSN practices soil remediation, or "the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water for the general protection of human health and the environment." In their remediation efforts, DBCFSN’s main project is removing house foundations from abandoned and grown-over sites, in order to prepare the land for tilling. As Yakini notes,

"Given the vast number of vacant lots in Detroit, we’re creating a model of how we can utilize that space…We’re trying to create greater access to fresh produce, generate income and create jobs and to change the community’s vision of what a city is and how space is used in a city. I don’t think we’re going to feed Detroit on vacant lots but we can grow 10 to 25 percent of the food and that’s a significant impact." 10-25% is nothing to shake a stick at! Given the devastatingly low access to fresh food Detroiters are witnessing now, 10-25% is a major improvement that will help to increase the health of Detroit residents.

Like I said before, the DBCFSN is an environmental solution to an economic problem, which is why I believe it should stand as the model for other hurdles faced when trying to improve the quality of life in urban centers. Because conventional ways of approaching problems in inner cities have not led us to many successful conclusions, looking at alternative approaches — like the Local Food Movement — seems to be a proactive way to go about making the necessary changes.

In addition to utilizing the wisdom of the local food movement, DBCSFN is also drawing on staples of the Urban Environmental Movement through the creation of urban green spaces and the redevelopment of "dead sites." Needless to say, the DBCFSN’s efforts should be applauded. Not only are they making large strides for the people of Detroit, but they are also teaching the rest of us how to make sustainability tangible in even the most unlikely of places.

Quotes from Malik Yakini taken from an interview with Larry Gabriel, in his article "Life in the Desert" (Metrotimes, 2007)

Photo Credit: The New Farm

In business, even the most effective environmental program can be held back by employees who "don’t buy into it," or who refuse to put forth the effort required to participate. While educating current employees about the measures they will have to take to help implement the program exists as step one to making the greening of a business successful, step two is just as important. When looking for new employees, it is important that businesses today find people whose eco-values align with that of the company. It is for this reason that I want to outline a few ways to attract and recognize employees who exude the eco-potential necessary to make the greening of a business as beneficial as possible.

Advertise It: Employers usually have no problem identifying the characteristics of the people they are looking to employee. Ads will usually tout attributes like "self-motivated," "independent worker," and "reliable" … so why not "eco-conscious," "green-minded," and "earth-friendly?" If your company is looking to attract people with sustainability on the brain, go straight to the source: the job posting! Not only will a unique and honest post attract the right crowd, but it will also make your business stand out in a sea of potential employers.

Ask the Right Questions: Once a potential hire has made it to the interview process, the employer usually has a pretty good idea about the applicant’s basics: their background, education and similar qualities. It is at this point where it becomes very important to make sure you are asking applicants the questions that tell you the most about who they really are. While, "Where do you see yourself in five years?’" is a pretty straightforward question, it may not tell you enough about their eco-potential. A good way to get a feel for the greenness of a person is to ask questions about their personal life such as, "Do you recycle at home?" Another good question to ask is, "What do you do in your life outside the work place to contribute to environmental sustainability?" The depth of their answer will give you good insight into whether or not the applicant would be a positive addition to the greening of your business.

Make Your Standards Known: Instead of interviewing and training a potential employee only to find that their value set does not match well with that of the company, make your expectations known from the get-go. Although I have yet to see it, there might come a time when you find a candidate for a position who is resistant to the idea of working for a green company or, even worse, is reluctant to participate in the greening process. In place of hiring them with the hopes of changing their paradigm, it is beneficial to both parties involved that the discrepancy in mind-set be known early in the process, as to avoid anyone wasting time or energy. Further, make sure that potential candidates are clear about what is expected of them in terms of the sustainability program. If a potential hire is uncomfortable drinking water from a fountain, as opposed to drinking bottled water, then there might be a company where they would be a better fit.

Finally, hiring green-minded employees should really be every company’s dream. Not only can they be valuable resources when it comes to the development and implementation of sustainability programs, but they can also act as catalysts for enthusiasm about the project. Just as a stubborn employee can sink any good sustainability program, an eco-conscious employee can make it that much better.

Are you an Eco-Minded Employee looking for a job? Here a some good places to find work:

Eco-Employ- a site with a searchable database of green jobs, resume-tips and career advice. Bonus- it is updated frequently!

Green Jobs- a great resource for people looking to work in the alternative energy sector.

Sustainable Business- In the "Green Dream Job" section of the site, you can find a database of green jobs that is searchable by catagory, skill level and region — very comprehensive!

Whether it is Portland, Burlington or San Francisco, some cities just seem to give out that green vibe. So, what exactly makes a city green? Is it the number of farmers markets? Is it the quality of public transportation? Does it have something to do with the number of residents and businesses who recycle? Sometimes it is difficult to tell weather or not a city is truly green, or just gives out that crunchy, eco-friendly feeling.

Well, thanks to the United Nations, cities worldwide have a guide on how to become more authentically sustainable places. Drafted in 2005 and endorsed by the UN, the Urban Environmental Accords serve as a set of 21 principals by which to make an urban center more eco-friendly. Originally promoted by a group of mayors at the 2005 World Environment Day, the Accords have now been enacted in over 100 cities worldwide.

Acting as a manual for urban sustainability, The Accords outline a 21-point program that guides cities on both small and large things they can do to green their spaces. The 21 points are broken down into seven categories: Water, Transportation, Waste Reduction, Urban Design, Environmental Health, Energy and Urban Nature. An example of an action under the category of "Urban Nature" is "Ensure that there is an accessible public park or recreational open space within half-a-kilometer of every city resident by 2015." Further, cities earn stars for the number of actions, or points, they achieve, and the actual sustainability of a city can be judged based on how many stars they have received.

Unlike most other programs of its type, The Urban Environmental Accords are an effort that spans continents. By identifying urban residents with a movement much larger than most, The Accords foster a broad sense of involvement in and commitment to the worldwide community.
Aside from authentically accepting some responsibility for the environmental conditions of a city, The Urban Environmental Accords can actually help cities make some money. As Mark Weiner, a staff writer for The Post-Standard in New York puts it in his article, "City Saves $1M,"

A new effort to turn Syracuse into a green city is starting to pay big dividends, saving the city almost $1 million per year through environmentally friendly practices, city officials say. Those savings are expected to grow as Syracuse moves forward with a seven-year program spelled out in an international accord Mayor Matt Driscoll signed in November.

More specifically, Syracuse made an immediate move on some of the actions in order to compensate in the budget for the cost of others. Basically, the city temporarily robbed Peter to pay Paul, but there were no economic causalities. Put simply, while the initial investment cost that goes into enacting the Urban Environmental Accords can be considerably high, certain aspects of the program have quick turn-arounds and even quicker pay-offs. As Weiner explains,

At least $537,000 of the project costs have already been returned to the city through a state energy-saving program. Syracuse recently finished installing energy-saving equipment and new insulated windows in City Hall. The city now buys all of the energy for the historic building from alternative sources such as hydro and wind power.

Needless to say, sometime you have to go green to make green.

In the end, The Urban Environmental Accords are a concrete set of guidelines that really advocate the eco-principals that can make city truly sustainable. So next time you are wondering, "How sustainable is my city?" check and see how it stacks up with the points of The Accords.

Also, for more information on The Urban Environmental Accords, check out:

San Francisco Mayor Proclaims Urban Environmental Movement (CityMayors.com)

The Urban Environmental Accords — Environmental Justice for Some (Joel Makower: Two Steps Forward)

The Urban Environmental Accords

Note: The full text of Mark Weiner’s article, "City Saves $1M" is only available through the Post-Standard’s paid archive. Anyone interested in the full-text content can contact me, and I will be happy to dig through my archieves and send out a copy!

For those of you who do not live in Michigan, or keep up on its politics, it may come as a surprise to find out that our economy is pretty much in the gutter. Our unemployment rate is the highest it has been in nearly six months, and it seems the bad news keeps rolling in. With large cuts in the automotive industry, coupled with the dissapearence of jobs from such powerhouses as Pfizer and Visteon, the future for Michigan looks bleak at best… or does it?

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has some progressive ideas about how to get Michigan economy back on track. Recently returning from a brief stint in Sweden and other Scandinavian contries, Granholm reiterated her commitment to making Michigan a green state. Going above and beyond the usual ecopolitical jargon about how Michigan should be harnessing wind and hydroelectric power, Granholm went straight for the gold and put things into a perspective that matters most to the people of Michigan right now: economics.

Citing the creation of a new economy for Michigan, Granholm discussed her plans to compensate for the lagging automotive industry by strengthening Michigan’s alternative energy sector. She also made sure to note that she was working very hard to attract outside investments to increase the rate at which the sector can feasibly grow.

A good example of her commitment seemingly coming to fruition is the Memorandum of Understanding that was recently signed by a Swedish company, Chemrec AB, and NewPage Corporation, an Ohio-based business with mills and factories in Michigan. The memorandum outlines each company’s commitment to working together to develop plants in Michigan that would produce renewable biomass-based fuels in Escanaba, Michigan. According to Governor Granholm,

This partnership between Chemrec and NewPage is a great opportunity for us as we work to make Michigan the North American hub for alternative energy production…With its potential for biomass-based fuel production, this plant in Escanaba could put Michigan at the forefront of renewable next-generation fuels, helping to end our dependence on foreign oil while bringing jobs and investments to the community.

But not everyone in Michigan sees Governor Granholm’s vision as positively as she does. As Leah Burcat, writer for the Michigan Land Use Institute states, "Governor Jennifer M. Granholm’s efforts to make Michigan the ‘alternative energy epicenter of America’ is yielding some progress, but not nearly enough to keep Michigan competitive with other states, according to energy experts, academics, and government officials in and out of Michigan." In her article "Michigan’s ‘Energy Epicenter’ Turing Black, Not Green," Burcat discusses what many in Michigan believe to be Granholm’s biggest hurdle: the coal industry. Burcat goes on to explain that,

Many of [these] same experts and officials interviewed by the Great Lakes Bulletin News Service also pointed out that the two-term Democratic governor chooses not to talk about a very different, more potent trend taking shape in the state’s energy markets: The proliferation of new proposals to build coal-burning power plants, the dirtiest way to manufacture electricity… Citizens are already battling proposals for multi-billion dollar coal plants in Rogers City and Midland because such facilities cause acid rain, smog, mercury pollution, and contribute heavily to global warming.

So, the question many Michiganders have for Governor Granholm is, "Has your pledge to ‘go anywhere and do anything’ for jobs led us down a contrarian’s path? Are we preaching one thing, and doing the opposite behind the closed doors of big business?" As Burcat puts it, "The question… is whether that pledge should include using 19th-century boiler technology and an 18th-century fuel source to power a 21st century economy-and whether that will do nearly as much for Michigan as conserving energy and developing cleaner sources of electricity?"

With all potential hypocrisy aside, let just say for a minute that the alternative energy sector really was on the verge of taking off. Who would be qualified to work for these companies? See, the job diversity in Michigan is not what it is in other states- we have a very heavy concentration of workers, especially those over the age of 40, whose professional specialization lies somewhere within the production of cars or trucks. Therefore, to "boost the alternative energy sector" will mean much more than attracting new alternative energy companies; it will entail the retraining of nearly an entire section of our workforce, and that just covers the short-term.

In the long run, Michigan will need to adapt all aspects of its economy that funnel people into working for the automotive industry. Maybe this will mean modifying high school shop programs to include lessons on maintaining a wind turbine, or maybe it will require the creation of trade schools whose entire focus is various careers in the alternative energy sector.

Either way, training programs and specialty schools will both help to create a pertinently educated workforce and, in doing so, create a strong base for the expansion of the alternative energy sector. Yet, that leads us to the question of whether we run the possibility of educating these people just to have them leave for more desirable state economies. I don’t think so. I think that an educated workforce, along with an honest commitment to the alternative energy sector will give Michigan the help in needs to overcome the economic slump that is currently keeping us from being the economic powerhouse we once were.

While many say the trend began with the communes of the 1960s, the eco-village movement within the United States gained most of its founding momentum in the early 1990s. Since then, people have been attracted to the communal nature of the villages and the quality of life they offer.

While ecovillage enthusiasts are quick to point out that these groups are not communes, one can see why the assumption could be made. The members of EVI share nearly everything- from transportation to food production; ownership is not the name of the game in these communities.
In fact, EVI now runs its own independent organic farm that supplies most, if not all, of the community’s produce needs. Members share all the gardening work, including planting, tending and the final harvest. Further, the collective also cooks and eats together several times a week, reducing the energy that goes into food preparation and clean up.

Spanning 175 acres, EVI has everything from individual homes and a small pond, to community spaces and ‘green places’ for the kids to roam free-range.

Founded in 1991, EVI has since grown to over 160 members and 60 homes. Most of the homes are duplexes, to save on energy, and many share amenities, such as a root cellar for storing their harvested goods. The houses also utilize passive solar design, energy efficient lighting technology, double insulated windows and a recycling and reuse program that dramatically reduces the amount of waste they produce.

As one can imagine, the chance to belong to such a community does not come cheap. In EVI, homes can reach as high as $300,000.00, but many residents say the quality of life is well worth the money. Aside from providing a place to live, EVI provides its members with something much more valuable: a sense of community and shared ideals. Being part of something they can be proud of is one of the trade-offs that make the price to live in EVI that much more acceptable.

As great as EVI is for its members, it also contributed to various community outreach programs and even works with nearby Cornell University. At Cornell, members of EVO teach classes on subjects like environmental collectives, hoping to open the eyes of as many people as possible to the wonders of living in an ecovillage.

Like I said before, EVI is not the only Ecovillage out there. According to the Global Ecovillage Network, a global organization dedicated to the living of sustainable lives, (GEN), there exists over 379 ecovillages worldwide, with over 47 located in the United States. Further the GEN website states that "ecovillages, by endeavoring for lifestyles which are successfully continuable into the indefinite future, are living models of sustainability, and examples of how action can be taken immediately. They represent an effective, accessible way to combat the degradation of our social, ecological and spiritual environments. They show us how we can move toward sustainability in the 21st century."

A large part of what the ecovillage movement is about is setting examples. Many members if the ecovillage community want people to know that living a sustainable life is not only possible, it is also rewarding. Ecovillage members chose to see what they are doing not as an isolated, righteous action, but as a guide for others.

Further, many Ecovillage members believe that an ecovillage is a paramount place to raise a family. As one author puts it,

An ecovillage is a place where being a kid is fun - where children may roam all over, without fences, without danger from fast-moving vehicles; where they may learn from just being, watching and participating… [an] ecovillage envisions a world of people living sustainably, an Earth based education, thinking independently, making decisions cooperatively, and nurturing healthy children. Living in [an] EcoVillage offers children (and adults, too) a great opportunity to experience natural environment and life lessons that will enhance their emotional intelligence and observation.

Above all, I believe that an ecovillage provides a community in which to raise a new generation of environmentalists. A generation who not only believes in sustainable principals, but also who knows little else. By creating this generation of "eco-children," ecovillages are helping to ensure a future generation of progressive minded adults with the skills and mindset to promote sustainable living on nearly every level.

To Learn more about EcoVillages, or to find one in your area, check out

Global Ecovillage Network

Wikipedia: Ecovillage

Answers.com: Ecovillage

Beginning in the world of business with absolutely no training, Roddick opened the first Body Shop in England in 1976. At the start of her business, Roddick made all the products herself, using only natural ingredients. After opening her first shop, she opened her second shop just six months later. Fifteen years down the road, the Body Shop had 700 branches and Roddick was awarded the 1991 World Vision Award for Development Initiative Award.

Needless to say, the immediate success was just as much a surprise to her as it was to the rest of the international business community. In 1993, in an interview with Third Way Magazine, Roddick explained,

The original Body Shop was a series of brilliant accidents. It had a great smell, it had a funky name. It was positioned between two funeral parlours - that always caused controversy. It was incredibly sensuous. It was 1976, the year of the heatwave, so there was a lot of flesh around. We knew about storytelling then, so all the products had stories. We recycled everything, not because we were environmentally friendly but because we didn’t have enough bottles. It was a good idea. What was unique about it, with no intent at all, no marketing nous, was that it translated across cultures, across geographical barriers and social structures. It wasn’t a sophisticated plan, it just happened like that.

During her long career as both a businesswomen and an activist, Roddick stayed true to her roots, playing a hands-on role in operating the business. In her conviction, Roddick was unwavering. In fact, her business was one of the very first to ban the use of ingredients tested on animals and to promote fair trade with Third World countries.

Aside from activism within her business life, Anita Roddick also went out of her way to champion of the causes that were dear to her. In 1990, Roddick founded Children On The Edge, an organization that works to help disadvantaged children affected by natural disaster, AIDS/HIV, war and disabilities. It is here that I am reminded of the famous words of Mrs. Roddick: "Pray for the dead, but fight like hell for the living."

Only confirming her commitment to benevolence, it has been reported that Roddick gave away her $104 million dollar fortune in 2005.

In the wake of the death of an amazing leader in business, philanthropy and activism, we can all be reminded of the impact one small business owner can have on the world. Let us all take this loss as a call for action, a call for greatness. If every business owner could act with half the conviction of Anita Roddick, imagine what massive social change could be actualized.

photo courtesy of AnitaRoddick.com

No manager or owner with even the best of intentions can successfully green a business without the cooperation and participation of their employees. Given that employees have a host of other things to deal with while at work, motivating them to work towards environmental sustainability can sometimes be a task. Because of this, I have come up with a few techniques to help any business get their employees excited about going green.

Education is Key

It is difficult to get people to rally behind something they are not fully informed about. Unless your employees understand the reason why your company wants to go green, they will never put the full effort into achieving that goal. Currently, there are a whole host of resources for employee education.

A good one for the restaurant industry is a book called "A Guide to Creating Environmentally Sustainable Restaurants and Kitchens." Made available by the ingenious people from The Green restaurant Association, this publication serves as an excellent guidebook to the major environmental problems and solutions for the restaurant industry.

Another comprehensive resource that can span many industries is the Personal Sustainability Project. The Personal Sustainability Project is a program offered by Act Now, a green consulting firm out of San Francisco, that was developed for Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. Taking an alternative approach to employee education, The PSP works to integrate sustainable practices into every facet of the employee’s life. Accords to the Act Now website,

The Personal Sustainability Project (PSP) .., has touched more than 1 million people, guiding them to easily incorporate sustainability into their daily lives. By making small, yet meaningful changes at the personal level, a person can also attain a higher sense of purpose and connectedness to their community and planet.., PSP enables an organization to instill within its employees a lasting congruence of personal and professional life. The result is a healthy and happy workforce that strives to create a more sustainable and profitable organization.

Basically, PSP is an attempt to change the employees’ habits from the inside out, incorporating more eco-friendly ideals into every aspect of life.

If you have a smaller company, employees can dramatically benefit from some recreational, yet educational, reading. Walking the Talk: The Business Case for Sustainable Development is a book brimming with good ways a company can go green. Further, the book includes detailed case studies of how other companies have achieved their sustainability goals. Providing employees with informative reading material is not only a good way to bring them up to speed on the changes occurring within the company, but an excellent way to do something nice for the people who work for you.

Regardless of the resource you choose, it is very important to make sure your employees get the full gist of the environmental harms of your industry, as well as the necessity to compensate for them.

Listen Up!

Often times, employees have a valuable view into the environmental problems within a business. After all, they are the ones who experience the day-to-day operations of the company and thus can have very important points to make when it comes to the topic of sustainability.

Instead of simply telling your employees about the changes that are being made and what they have to do to comply, ask them about what areas of the business they see problems in. This will not only ensure that your sustainability program is as comprehensive as possible, but it will allow the employees a hand in drafting the direction of the company. In doing this, you are allowing your employees to take ownership of the sustainability program and, in turn, making them feel more connected to, and responsible for, its outcomes.

A Little Reward Can Go a Long Way

A creative way to get employees involved in greening a business is offer incentives to those who help actualize sustainable practices. Now, I am not advocating eco-bribes, but instead ‘eco-challenges’ with exciting pay-offs. Whether you want to see a reduction in food waste, or an increase in recycling, setting achievable goals is a good way to motivate people into action.

As an employer, you can institute fun contests to see which employee, or group within the company, can be the first to reach their target objective. Also, incentives are a key component to this method of motivation- it never hurts to offer small bonus to those employees going the extra mile. You can offer rewards like the right to wear jeans to work, or an extra day off at the end of the month. Whatever type of reward you chose, make sure your employees understand that you appreciate their effort.

Employee participation in any type of sustainability program will greatly increase its chance for success. While managers and owners may their heads wrapped around a sustainability program, without the support of the employees, efforts to go green may very well be all for naught. Plus, uniting all employees under a common goal is a great way to build cohesive unity among all levels of staff.

Given that environmental issues top the list of concerns for generation Y, it makes sense that businesses should consider going green as a way to become more attractive to potential employees. According to the Harris poll, "33 percent of Americans would be more inclined to work for a green company compared to an organization that does not make conscious efforts to promote socially and environmentally friendly practices."

Aside from drawing in new employees, going green can also breed company loyalty. Today’s employee is looking to contribute to something they can be proud of, and to be a part of a company that they can feel good about. Incorporating environmental sustainability into the workplace is not only a good way to bring in new employees, but an excellent way to keep them!

New hires are not the only employees looking for more eco-awareness in the workplace. According to a poll by Mortgage Lenders Network USA (MLN), 94 percent of employed Americans prefer to work in a building that is designed to be energy efficient and ecologically sound.

Because job satisfaction greatly affects productivity, businesses tend to take into consideration the desires of their employees. Oftentimes, it takes only one major business implementing a new green technology to get many others to fall into line. Because no one likes to fall behind in the world of business, ‘keepin up with the joneses’ may actually work in the Earth’s favor on this one.

The fact the green building has experienced a growth in popularity is reflected in the 2006 figures from the U.S. Green Building Council (GBC). The GBC has seen its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications for newly constructed green buildings jump in the past 3 years by 150 percent, from 167 to 417. If this trend continues, more and more business will feel the pressure to build in a more eco-friendly fashion.

The increase of eco-minded employees can also be seen to benefit consumers. By using environmental sustainability to gain an edge in employment appeal, companies have the obligation to live up to their claims. While customers may not always know what goes on behind the scenes, employees see it first-hand. Employees hired under the pretense of working in for an eco-friendly company will not take kindly to waste and overconsumption. Moreover, eco-employees can be seen as a good resource for new ideas about ways to make their workplace more sustainable.

While the reasons to be a greener business are nearly innumerable, companies can now add ’strengthening the employment base’ to the list. Because Americans are looking to work for greener companies and in greener work environments, the motivations for businesses to become more environmentally conscious are now imperative to the bottom line.

More and more, small and mid-size business are turning to ‘green professionals’ to help make their business more eco-friendly. As one questions often begets another, such is the case here. If businesses are increasingly looking outside of their staff for help greening their establishments, where can they find a reliable source for green consultants?

Well, Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) in Seattle, Washington is a pretty good answer. Founded in 2002 by Elizabeth and Gifford Pinochet, Jill Bamburg and Dr. Sherman Severin, the university sprung out of the desire to have people with the "global values become good at business." Today, the university boasts an accredited Sustainable MBA program and two certificate programs: one in Sustainable Business and one in Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurship. Thought to be the first university of its kind, Bainbridge breaks the mold of traditional graduate schooling.

The academic programs offered by Bainbridge are, at the same time, cutting-edge and pertinent. The university is the perfect solution for any kind of student looking for graduate coursework in sustainable business. Whether you have three years to dedicate to an MBA, or just a few months to devote to a sustainable business certificate, there is something for everybody.

The caliber of faculty at the university only serves to solidify the authenticity of Bainbridge’s commitment to sustainable education. Besides having PhDs, the teachers at Bainbridge are also small business owners, corporate business moguls, and qualified specialists who have all dedicated their professional lives to sustainable business practices. Who better to learn from than people who have been through it all before?

Aside from its academic focus in sustainability, the BGI is run according to sustainable principals. Students in both the MBA and the certificate programs meet as little as possible (anywhere from once a week to once a month), with most of the course work being done over the internet. This is to decrease the amount of energy used in transportation to and from the university, as well as to decrease the amount of energy used in the university’s facilities.

Further, the Bainbridge campus, Islandwood, a large, LEED® Gold-Certified campus on Bainbridge Island, is "home to 240 acres of trails, sustainably designed meeting spaces and lodges, locally raised food and state-of-the-art classroom technology."

Aside from working with the students of Bainbridge to further sustainable ideals, the university also reaches out to the community on a monthly basis. According to Bainbridge Graduate Institute, the Sustainable Business Speaker Series brings "sustainability thought leaders, business executives and social entrepreneurs" to Islandwood’s Great Hall to give lectures and provide inspiration to both students and members of the general public.

Of course, Bainbridge isn’t the only game in town for graduate-level sustainable business education. The Presidio School of Management’s Sustainable MBA program also provides the convenience of low residency requirements with a distinguished faculty. The biennial Beyond Grey Pinstripes report ranks more traditional MBA programs "that are integrating issues of social and environmental stewardship into curricula and research." Graduate work in sustainable business may be as close as your local college or university.

(photos courtesy of bainbridge Graduate Institute)

At the Waveney Greenpeace festival this weekend, Brother Sutch will be on hand to hear people’s tales of over consumption and waste.

Thought to be the first confessional of its kind, the eco-fessional is made from recycled materials, such as doors and other found objects. Further, Sutch will be decked out in a specially designed robe made from recycled curtains.

While the good father has given up his weekend to promote environmental sustainability, his commitment to the environment extends much further than just a two-day jaunt at a festival. In fact, Sutch has taken his commitment to the environment so far, that some of his parishioners have started to complain. In an interview with The Times he explains, "I try not to turn on my heating but people come and stay with me and demand it. I get attacked for having a cold church. I have cut my electricity bill by 30 per cent." It is at this point that one must ask, "which is worse, a cold church or a wasteful congregation?" Obviously, Dom Anthony Sutch prefers the former.

While the first religiously motivated confessional of its kind, the eco-fessional is said to be loosely modeled after Earthly Sins, a popular sustainability campaign. As the people at Earthly Sins put it, their booth is a "non-judgmental environmental advice installation”aimed at getting people to sign a pledge promising to reduce energy consumption and engage in socially sustainable practices, like ethical banking. Although Earthly Sins made its first debut at the Glastonbury festival, it has since established quite an impressive presence on the net.

The Earthly Sins website is a fun and interactive way to become environmentally pious. The site includes a Temple of Sustainability, where you can learn about ways to live a more eco-friendly life, confess your eco-sins and meet other disciples.

So, whether you are a devout Catholic, a staunch atheist, or something in between, it looks as though there is a way for everyone to find environmental salvation. Thanks to people like Dom Anthony Sutch and groups like Earthly Sins, we have new creative and interactive ways to view our commitment to environmental sustainability and that is truly a blessing.

Image Source: Earthly Sins

As an Eco-entrepreneur, I often find myself wishing I had more control over my surroundings. From despising the carry-out containers used by a favorite restaurant, to wishing the local baker would stop double-bagging the bread, there are certain areas of day-to-day life that we just have to deal with. Or do we?

The reality of the situation is that there are steps you can take to urge your favorite businesses to go green. Now, trying to tell any business ‘what to do’ can be a tricky thing. Owners and managers have worked very hard to establish their business and suggestions, when not correctly framed, can come across as unsolicited advice or criticism.

On the flip side, it is not impossible to make constructive suggestions to your favorite business. When approached with the right attitude, recommendations from customers can be a great tool to any business. After all, the customer is (almost) always right!

While a consumer can always approach a manager at their favorite business and attempt to explain why it is absolutely necessary to use only chlorine-free toilet paper, more than likely the message will fall on the wrong ears, or get lost in translation altogether. There are ways to go about greening your favorite business that will yield much more success than simply trying to lecture your way to change.

Make a Suggestion- Because yakking at the on-duty manager may not get your message to the person who needs to hear it, suggestion cards are a good way urge your favorite business to employ greener business practices. Currently, there exist places where you can find pre-made suggestion cards aimed at greening businesses. These are simple, print-and-place style cards that explain why you want greener business, and how the establishment can go about becoming more eco-friendly. If pre-made is not your style, feel free to draft your own suggestion cards, and do not hesitate to be creative! Often times, a personal approach can be very effective.

Leave It to the Pros- If you have exhausted the possibility of achieving change through the use of the suggestions cards, you can always call on a professional to help you spread your message. The people over at Thimmakka.org are true professionals who have experience influencing businesses like restaurants and bars to go green. Also, the have a special focus on restaurants that serve various types of ethnic cuisine. Thimmakka is a group dedicated to environmental resource education. Although they concentrate mainly on the Bay area, they are able to work their magic all over the country! Oh yeah, did I mention most of their services are free?

Write it Down- Another good way to reach your intended target is by going through a round-about channel of communication. Letters to the Editor of a local newspaper can serve as a great platform from which to spread your message. While you might want to generalize you message to include a call to action from many local businesses, it never hurts to make a special request for your favorite establishment to become more sustainable. Often times, this will put a spotlight on that specific business, which can act as the catalyst for the action you have been pushing for. Also, a business might be grateful for this exposure, and for a chance to make a very public positive change. While there may be no such thing as bad press, good press is absolutely priceless.

Make a Statement- A good friend of mine recently told me about a very creative way he urged his local ice cream joint to stop using Styrofoam bowls in their shop. This particular friend of mine works full-time as a daycare and after-school care provider. One day, he had his class make a HUGE card that explained all the reasons the kids wanted the ice-cream shop to go green. After the card was completed, the class took a field trip down to the shop to hand deliver their sentiment to the owner. Long story short, the ice cream shop hasn’t used Styrofoam since. While not everyone has access to a group of children to help make giant cards, a similar action can be equally effective. Like I said before, be creative!

Do the Math- If creativity has failed in producing the change you whish to see, you can approach the situation more pragmatically. If the ‘bottom line’ is what matters to most business people, try and speak their language. If you would like to see more sustainable materials being used, ask one of the managers who supplies the business with the products in question. After that, go to manufactures website and figure out how much they are paying for that particular product. If you can, find a supplier with an alternative, more sustainable product and then compare the prices. If you present these facts when speaking with an owner or manager, it can make your requests seem more manageable and your goals more achievable. The last thing you want to do is to overwhelm the people you are trying to influence.

No matter what method you chose when trying to urge your favorite business to go green, the number one rule is to be persistent. While your message might not reach the right people on the first try, the second, third or fifth time might be the charm. Also, combining different methods is a good way to increase the chances of your message falling on the ears of someone who has the power to make the changes you are aiming for. Above all else, be patient and understanding- major changes can take a while. Also, if you see positive changes occurring, do not forget to follow up with the business to let them know how much you appreciate their responsiveness and their commitment to the environment.

Image source: The Green Restaurant Association