Green Options

I’m reading an advance copy of Auden Schendler’s “Getting Green Done,” coming out next week. It’s filled with lots of wisdom from the front lines and its a great read. It has also given me some great insights for the book I’m writing on greening small businesses. I thought I’d share three nuggets of wisdom with you here:

1. Sustainable practices are proving to make business sense—but ethics also have to play a role. We all know that sustainable business, is good business. For example, a recent Aberdeen Group study of green practices among retailers found that green mandates were “essential cost control and customer service practices.” On average, best-in-class retailers achieved a 20% decrease in energy costs, an 8% decrease in their overall logistics and transport costs, and a 5% decrease in merchandise costs through their green initiatives. But, Schendler says, ROI is not enough:

“Ethics have to play a role…an economic pitch in a vacuum may not make sense to managers if there’s no context, no broader environmental mission within the company.”

His point is that it may be easier to “sell” sustainability when you start by getting everyone at the table to agree/admit that businesses have a responsibility to help protect the environment.

2. Do a sexy project. Schendler’s advice is to start the greening process with things that you will find fun to implement. Things that interest you. Things that are sexy. This will get everyone engaged.

In the tiny Aspen sleeper community of El Jebel, Colorado, a man is on a mission. Jim Duke has always been known for his environmental streak — back in the 80s he spearheaded efforts to establish recycling and composting programs for Aspen and surrounding communities.

Now he’s spent $84,600 to install a large array of solar panels on his ranch capable of producing 15,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually — and he’s giving away the power for free to charge any electric cars who’s owners show up on his doorstep.

I just met with Auden Schendler, Director of Sustainability for Aspen Ski Company. I had some questions for him about the book I’m writing on greening small businesses and he was kind enough to spend a good deal of time with me discussing small businesses and climate change.

Schendler, a charismatic, hunky guy, politely suggested that talking about greening business operations was a distraction from the real issue. Helping small businesses implement recycling programs and change their CFLs let businesses off the hook for doing the tough stuff: effecting public policy change. My book would be insignificant. Ouch!

After further discussion, Schendler begrudgingly conceded that greening your business was necessary and also essential for lending yourself credibility.  His bigger point, however, was that greening should be done concurrently with higher order activities.  He wants to make sure that before we discuss how to green your business, we discuss how to effect public policy or how to green all your customer’s activities.  In other words, since we can’t all afford to install solar panels, we all need to make climate change policy our business. In fact, it seems like Schendler believes that your time may be as valuable to environmental progress as your CFLs.

While in Aspen last week for a fundraiser at the Aspen Institute, Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain met for breakfast with Texas billionaire oil man turned wind energy advocate T. Boone Pickens. Asked specifically if he was for renewing tax breaks for wind and solar that expire this year, he surprisingly said, “of course.”