Last week BusinessWeek published an article: 10 Ways To Cut Business Costs and I was pleased to see that four of the 10 were also green.

It gave me the idea to write about green ways to cut costs in these difficult times. Starting with the four cited in BW, here are some ideas:

Reduce energy use. Energy is the number one expense for almost one-third of small businesses, and whatever your industry, increasing energy efficiency and reducing energy costs is good for business. ENERGY STAR for Small Business has free information, resources and technical advice on hundreds of energy and cost-savings practices.

Telecommute. Telecommuting is often cited as one of the most valuable benefits to both employers and employees. Telecommuting has been credited with improving work/family balance, supervisor-staff relationships, job satisfaction, worker retention, productivity and career prospects, as well as reducing stress, absenteeism, recruiting, office space and parking costs. It may also be one of the most effective greening practices you can embrace: The American Consumer Institute projects that telecommuting alone will cut CO2 emissions by more than a half million tons over the next decade.  Best Work Places has great tools for implementing telecommuting and other commuter benefits program.

Curb travel expenses. Airplane travel, lodging and rental cars can consume almost one-quarter of a business’ carbon footprint and as much as 3% of its revenue. So, reducing the number of business trips you take is an excellent strategy for greening and reducing expenses. (A friend who is an senior exec at a global liquor company told me it cost them $12,000 every time they sent her overseas.) Taking fewer, longer trips is one solution. Web conferencing is another. Its a win for productivity, expense reduction and the environment because not traveling means not having to postpone regular office work, saving the expenses of travel and eliminating the carbon output from that travel.

Read more of this story »

The IRS tax code specifies the following related to business expenses:

IRS Code Section 162(a),Trade or business expenses:
“There shall be allowed as a deduction all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any trade or business.”

IRS Code Section 212, Expenses for production of income:
“In the case of an individual, there shall be allowed as a deduction all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year.”

Read more of this story »