Green Options » green businesses http://greenoptions.com/tag/green-businesses Posts tagged 'green businesses' Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:38:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Thinking of Starting a Small Green Business? Start by Interning for One. http://ecopreneurist.com/2009/03/31/thinking-of-starting-a-small-green-business-start-by-interning-for-one/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2009/03/31/thinking-of-starting-a-small-green-business-start-by-interning-for-one/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:38:02 +0000 Scott Cooney http://ecopreneurist.com/2009/03/31/thinking-of-starting-a-small-green-business-start-by-interning-for-one/ There can be no greater thrill in the world than watching your hard work pay off in the form of a successful green business venture.  But how to learn about the world of running a small green business before simply launching in?  Try doing a green internship.  The connections will be tremendous, the learning opportunities varied and interesting, and the work gratifying.

Companies looking for highly skilled, motivated and energetic interns may find volunteers coming out of the woodwork if they are in a green industry and can help train the next generation of ecopreneurs.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecopreneurist.com/2009/03/31/thinking-of-starting-a-small-green-business-start-by-interning-for-one/feed/ Is It Green? http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/07/16/is-it-green/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/07/16/is-it-green/#comments Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:23:43 +0000 Jake Kulju http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/07/16/is-it-green/ Rather, IzzitGreen.com, the new Boston-based web site is asking that question all over the city. Regular columns, reviews and business spotlights give information about how green the places Bostonians frequent really are.

Users can search for businesses by name, or they can search neighborhoods for businesses that are on IzzitGreen’s green list. One of the web site’s most helpful aspects is its “Guides” page. From pizza places to used bookstores, IzzitGreen posts information about the percentage of green businesses there are in each category, where you can find the ones that are green, and they go for the dirty details…or clean in this case.

For example, if you own a business in Boston, chances are that IzzitGreen has found out what kind of lightbulbs you use, whether or not you recycle any of the materials your business or your employers use and will have a comment on what working conditions are like. And that’s just the beginning of the list.

A lively discussion forum will soon be debuting on the site. For now, all registered users are listed under the People section with varying levels of contact information.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/07/16/is-it-green/feed/ Five Green Things About the Green Festival http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/06/04/five-green-things-about-the-green-festival/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/06/04/five-green-things-about-the-green-festival/#comments Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:15:42 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/06/04/five-green-things-about-the-green-festival/ navy pierAs I strolled through the Great Hall at Navy Pier a few weeks ago, trying out samples of raw carob cookies from Karyn’s, a raw/vegan restaurant here in Chicago, I thought that I had died and gone to green heaven.

Crowds of people were walking and riding their bikes to the biggest green celebration to hit my city every year, and I just could not get enough of the samples of vegan food, the representatives from green non-profits explaining what they do, and the friendly green business owners promoting their products.

Yet the Green Festival has its detractors. Some people say it is not green enough, others say that just the idea of a green trade show is hypocritical. After all, how can an event that burns fuel to promote the environment really be good for the Earth? Here are the five things about the Green Festival that I think are truly, remarkably green (and one issue that still needs a lot of work).

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/06/04/five-green-things-about-the-green-festival/feed/ The Green Business Soapbox http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/04/26/the-green-business-soapbox/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/04/26/the-green-business-soapbox/#comments Sat, 26 Apr 2008 13:10:26 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/04/26/the-green-business-soapbox/ streetpreacher.jpgI have strong opinions, and I rarely suppress them (just ask my husband). During political campaigns, I show support for my candidates with buttons and yard signs. I have plastered my car with progressive bumper stickers. Before I have even started sipping wine at parties, I am already loudly proclaiming the beliefs I hold on important current issues. Lately, I have been taking my strongly-held opinions to the next step: I am becoming a green business proselytizer. Like a lot of people who become religious missionaries, I can not help it. I believe that I have found my calling.

My preaching, my free advice to business owners, my reaching out to people who never consider their carbon footprint–it all happens spontaneously. But it keeps happening, and it feels like the right thing to do. A few months ago, while shopping and talking to the owner of my two favorite women’s clothing boutiques here in Evanston, IL, where I live, I started explaining to Kelly how she could make her businesses greener. I gave her standard advice: install compact fluorescent lights, change to low-flow plumbing, get a more efficient heating and cooling system, recycle more. Even though I have no official training in how to green a business, the ideas popped into my head, and the conversation flowed naturally. As I presented the options to her, she listened.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/04/26/the-green-business-soapbox/feed/