Energy Consultant

According to a study conducted by the American Marketing Association and Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., nearly one in six corporate marketers and communicators think their organizations will increase involvement in environmental sustainability initiatives over the next two to three years, and half believe the economy will actually encourage the adoption of sustainable practices.  Why? Because our business sustainability consulting practice understands that sustainable business strategies are key to creating winning workplaces. 
 
Aside from the positive impact sustainable business practices deliver to the bottom line, today’s employees are looking for more than just the ‘green’ in their paycheck.  “Engaged employees are not just committed. They are not just passionate or proud. They have a line-of-sight on their own future and on the organization’s mission and goals. They are enthused and in gear using their talents and discretionary effort to make a difference in their employer’s quest for sustainable business success”.  - Employee Engagement Report 2008.  

Have you noticed how "green" is everywhere?  Enter a grocery store, and there are "green" products next to traditional ones.  Billboards on the highways promoting “green" homes.  How do you know which products truly embrace sustainability concepts versus traditional products with a marketing makeover?
 
Frequently discussed in our sustainability consulting is that it is often unclear what a green product is.  Eco labels help but still, there is a lack of uniformity in certifications.  In addition, the environmental claims on packaging vary in credibility.  To help clear up the confusion, within our eco friendly training, we define a green product as one that performs as good as or better than the standard product, has less of an environmental impact, and is cost competitive.
 
Access to information has put the consumer in the driver’s seat and for those living a sustainable lifestyle, there's power in leveraging purchases to support sustainable businesses.  Following are 8 tips to enhance eco awareness for the conscious shopper.  
 
 

1. A comprehensive tool that provides reliable sources of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of products is the GoodGuide.
2. Research before you buy.  For larger more infrequent items, set aside time to research your options.  Evaluate products on the full lifecycle.  How much energy was used in producing the product?   What is the energy consumption of your intended use?  How it will be discarded later? Compare products with eco awareness in mind.
3. Buy local and buy in bulk.  Supporting local businesses eliminates the need for products to be transported far distances.
4. Buy organic.  Purchasing merchandise certified with organic labeling is another way to bring eco awareness to your lifestyle.   Buying organic means less pesticides in our ground water and better health for your family.
5. Buy Fair Trade.  Buying Fair Trade helps to end abuses such as child and slave labor.
6. Buy products from sustainable sources like bamboo.  Purchase products not tested on animals, made from renewable sources and packaged with recyclable and minimal packaging.
7. Electronic purchases: Consider buying "Pre-Owned" goods.  Purchasing previously owned products is a great way to implement the sustainability concept of recycling.  Ebay and Craig’s list are two good sources.  Also ask your electronics store about recycling options for older models.
8. Speak up!  Manufacturers are listening! Use social media to connect with business to communicate your preferences and experiences.  Consumers are the biggest drivers of sustainability changes.

 
With a little education and pre-planning, it's easy to maintain eco awareness in your shopping- even during the most inconvenient times.  Sustainable purchasing  is important because it can help you make better choices.  Those choices expand eco awareness within your network of friends and family, positively impact your local economy, reduce your footprint on the environment, and may actually help you save money in the process.

Most companies may recognize the high-level consequences of their decisions; however, not all take the time to evaluate the positive and negative impacts of their choices on the communities in which they conduct their day-to-day business.  The link between business sustainability and a thriving business community is more visible today than at any time in recent past.  What role does your company play in the business community?

As a sustainability consulting firm working in our own community of ecopreneurs, small ‘green’ businesses, and action-oriented corporations, we are constantly reminded of the community benefits to both our professional consulting and the stakeholders who engage with our business.  We recognize that a company and the business community in which it operates are closely and strategically linked.

Taiga Company seeks to be a source of business sustainability information and a positive example of community values.  Our professional consulting focuses on and seeks to partner with individuals and organizations who:

•    Recognize a thriving community as being essential to business sustainability.

•    Incorporate supporting business sustainability strategies and a governance structures into their core business processes.

•    Align business actions to support and engage community goals and objectives.

•    Engage the business community as a key stakeholder in corporate planning.

•    Defined internal performance metrics to evaluate ongoing business actions on the community.

As part of our sustainability plan and company core values, we are committed to the empowerment of others.  We believe that we must operate in a matrix of value adding relationships: with employees, with the supporting organizations, and with peer companies. 

Whenever you want to improve in a specific area or program, just the process of increasing awareness will yield improvements.  The same applies to living a sustainable lifestyle.  Most of us recognize that change can be tricky:  habits and convenience make it far easier to slip back into the comfortable way of doing things.  However, implementing effective sustainable change does not have to be a laboring process.  The key is conscious awareness.
 
Awareness is the tool used to help discover the personal patterns of behavior that offer low hanging fruit for a sustainable lifestyle.  For instance, are you aware of your habits related to energy?  Consider how and when you consume the most energy in your day?  How could you be more efficient? What inspiring eco actions could you take? 
 
Conscious awareness is key to sparking the eco awareness in a personal sustainability program.  As noted in our eco friendly training, following are aids to assist in raising awareness:
 
•    Consciously notice what is most inspiring to you about living green and take eco action in those areas.
•    Notice your current patterns and invoke curiosity as to which eco actions would be a sustainable substitute.
•    Applaud your efforts: small changes add up.  In fact, daily habits have the most impact.
•    Observe how new changes become the new habit/ norm.
•    Momentum brings visibility to previously inaccessible ideas and behaviors.
•    Gain speed: There is ease in taking more eco action.
•    Inspire by living the example.
 
Each day we are presented with opportunities to expand our eco awareness and make informed choices.  The trick to capitalizing on those opportunities is being aware.  Conscious awareness offers us the opportunity to make changes that are inspiring and manageable relative our current life and the process of incorporating sustainability becomes much easier.  Being aware of sustainability concepts when shopping, or at work and play, contributes to living a more sustainable lifestyle.

Choosing a business name is one of the most important aspects in starting a business. The name you choose represents the image and label of the business and carries a powerful energy.  In as much as biomimicry is used to inspire sustainable solutions by emulating nature, in a similar fashion, Taiga Company too found its essence inspired from the environment.
 
Taiga, pronounced, tahy-guh is a biome that stretches across a large portion of Canada, Europe, and Asia.  The taiga is truly vast in extent. It makes up 27 percent of the world's total forest and occupies 11 percent of the land area of the Northern Hemisphere.  The taiga's immense oxygen production literally changes the atmosphere and refreshes the plant. 
 
It is this inspiration that Taiga Company was founded and named.  The continuous renewal that the taiga offers our planet has shaped our company vision to drive similar change in the business world.   Collectively, we are entering an age of broadening eco awareness and changing societal expectations: our personal and professional views of the world and of business are changing.  As sustainability consultants partnering with small business to integrate eco awareness, sustainability concepts, and sustainability plans, we seek to transform traditional business processes, to explore, discover, and embrace new sustainable ideas, technologies, and best practices.
 
Business sustainability isn't about sacrificing profitability or becoming an environmental business.  Sustainable business strategies span a multitude of topics: stewardship of resources; best practices; reputation, brand management and customer service; leveraging technology and enable a business to meet goals of growth and revenue generation while simultaneously contributing innovative thought leadership to some of the world’s most complex and pressing concerns.
 
Taiga Company was founded to address the growing need for individuals and organizations to incorporate sustainability concepts into their everyday world.  Through demonstrated eco action and an inquisitive, sustainable mindset, the sustainability consultants of Taiga Company seek to be the "oxygen for your business."

How do you connect with nature?   Does it matter?  Actually it does.  According to Richard Ryan, professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, paying attention to the natural world not only makes you feel better, it makes you behave better. 
 
As a green living consultant, it's interesting to note that while the salubrious effects of nature are well documented, from increasing happiness and physical health to lowering stress, this study shows that the benefits extend to a person's values and actions.  Exposure to natural as opposed to man-made environments leads people to value community and close relationships. 
 
For those living a sustainable lifestyle, the message is meaningful.   Lead author Netta Weinstein says the take home message from the research is clear: "We are influenced by our environment in ways that we are not aware of," she says. Because of the hidden benefits of connecting with nature, people should take advantage of opportunities to get away from built environments and, when inside, they should surround themselves with plants, natural objects, and images of the natural world. "The more you appreciate nature, the more you can benefit," she says.
 
The question I ask as a sustainable living consultant is: How do you connect with nature? What do you appreciate about it?  Eco awareness is an attitude; while it's easiest to appreciate our natural environment in scenic settings, even city dwellers can appreciate the natural world.  Perhaps it's the cardinal that chirps outside your window or the wind that caresses your face as you bike commute.  Or, maybe it’s the budding leaves on the trees as spring approaches. 
 
Connect with nature, invite eco awareness to your thoughts and enjoy feeling better and connecting with all that is. 

If you knew you were paying too much for something and could get the same thing right down the street for the same price, what would you do?  The answer is that most people, when given access to information, will make the best personal choice.  Now if told to buy it down the street, or else, would the same motivation be present?

Too often discussions around sustainability focus on pressing issues, risks, and negative outcomes as the primary drivers for change.  According to Peter Senge, Senior Lecturer in Behavioral and Policy Sciences at the MIT Sloan School of Management, fear-driven behavior change only motivates for as long as people feel the issues are pressing on them. As soon as the fear recedes, so does the motivation.

So rather than focus on consequence from a predetermined choice, why not focus on expanding eco awareness  through accessibility to information.  Our professional consulting resources finds this practice currently working with individuals and business seeking sustainable change.

In just one example, utility companies across the United States are beginning to install smart meters which will provide greater visibility into home and office energy consumption.  These devices provide our energy conscious clients with real-time information on electricity usage and cost. 

Armed with insight, consumers are able to make eco living and business sustainability choices to consume less.  Applied broadly, visibility to the right information can provide businesses and individuals the opportunity to make more informed, personally-driven, and sustainable choices. 

Experience has shown that it is sometimes easier to focus on the negative outcome of not pursuing sustainability.  By directing attention to the other side of the equation, the pursuit of business sustainability or a sustainable lifestyle is in direct alignment with positive gain.  Our sustainability consulting encourages others to focus thoughts and actions on the value of sustainability and watch how effectively it impacts our world.

Work over the past few years reveals that supply chain improvements are driven by a wide variety of business sustainability goals and objectives.  Although, businesses across all industries have one thing in common, the search for greater supply chain value.  However, the question that looms on our minds as sustainability concepts find their place in the supply chain: Are suppliers engaged in the value discussion or is this a one-way conversation?

Wal-Mart made the business sustainability headlines again this week with an announced goal to reduce their supply chain greenhouse gas emissions by a 20-million-tons by 2015.  The retail giant continues to set the mark for corporate commitment and supplier performance from which we can all leverage.  As a sustainability consultant, I am encouraged by Wal-Mart’s step forward and take note of opportunities for further expansion.

Procurement organizations view environmental and social responsibility actions within the supply chain as both a risk mitigating strategy and a business opportunity.   Companies are creating strategic sourcing and procurement guidelines aligned with their business sustainability strategies.  The next step, even beyond the Wal-Mart model, is expanding a one-way conversation to include active engagement with all key stakeholders.

•    Supply Chain Alignment: All business partners have input into the business sustainability direction and have equal value opportunity.

•    Supplier Integration: Integrated processes with supplier to improve communication, increase efficiency, and ensure common sustainable processes.

•    Customer Expectation Translation: Sustainable product expectations clearly communicated down the supply chain to material and service providers.

Creating supply chain management alignment begins with increased eco awareness, applied sustainability concepts, and corporate commitment.  However, increased value can be realized by active engagement and two-way communication with key business stakeholders.  Our sustainability consulting provides information and business resources to clients of all sizes seeking to make incremental steps towards a sustainable supply chain.

Do you know why the recycling symbol has three chasing arrows? Each arrow represents one step in the three step process that completes the recycling loop.  The first arrow is the collection step. The second arrow is the manufacturing process in which recyclable materials are converted into new products and the third arrow represents the step where consumers purchase products made with recycled content.
 
We've found in our eco friendly training, that most people living a sustainable lifestyle help the recycling effort by putting materials in their recycling bin but fail to realize the importance of completing the recycling loop by purchasing recycled products. 
 
Buying products made from recycled materials is a key step in supporting recycling programs and resource conservation. Water, energy, and environmental resources are saved when recycled products are purchased.  Not to mention products receive a new life and a different purpose. 
 
You can do your party by taking eco action and purchase recycled products.  Next time you are ready to buy, educate yourself with eco awareness.  Those choices expand eco awareness within your network of friends and family, positively impact your local economy, reduce your footprint on the environment, and may actually help you save money in the process.

Spring is right around the corner.  The anticipation of sunnier days and fresh air inspires many to do spring cleaning.  Whether you're looking to freshen up your home or add some spark, why not opt for eco friendly options?   Sustainability concepts of energy efficiency, water conservation, and eco awareness can not only save you money and brighten your living space, but also reduce the load on the environment.
 
Transform your home into an eco haven.  Express your unique style and with eco awareness.  Following are resources offered in our eco friendly consulting classes to help you on your way:
 

• Decorate the Eco Friendly Way
• Eco Friendly Painting: A Breath of Fresh Air  
• Top 10 Plants to Reduce Stress, Cut Toxins, and Live Green
• Splish Splash: 20 Ways to Green your Bathroom
• Transform your Home Office to a Green Office
• Clean Green

 
Using sustainability concepts to guide you in your home decorating assists to reduce personal energy consumption and preserve natural resources.  All eco actions add up and make a big difference.    

Is it living off the grid? Living in a green house? Working at a green job?  What exactly does it mean to be green?
 
At its essence, a sustainable lifestyle, or living green, refers to a lifestyle and set of choices that minimizes a person's environmental impact.  While living green embraces sustainability concepts of efficiency, organics, waste management, and so forth, the mindset is more important than the eco actions.  Why?  Because life is dynamic.    As expressed in our eco friendly training, applying sustainability concepts one way today may not be the sustainable solution of tomorrow.  Your life circumstances change so it's in your approach to life that matters.
 
Being green is a continuous improvement process that challenges us to expand our own personal eco awareness and experiment with new ideas and sustainability concepts in our lives as they unfold.   The essence of a sustainability mindset reflects one of wholeness and appreciation for natural resources, communities, and the gifts our planet gives to us.   A personal sustainability plan is a journey: you never get it done. 
 
Green homes, eco gadgets, living off the grid, and all of the many "demonstrations" of a sustainable lifestyle are the results of a mindset framed with eco awareness.   From the perspective of a green living consultant, what is considered to be green is continuing to evolve.  Our personal consulting practice encourages all to keep up with evolution by embracing a sustainability mindset.  

Did you know that approximately 80 percent of pollination by insects is carried out by bees?  Maybe that's why the call them busy bees.   Perhaps, but curiously, what would our world look like today if those living a sustainable lifestyle were as busy as bees in sprinkling or "pollinating" our daily lives with eco action?
 
While escalating conversations on topics such as climate change, carbon legislation, energy independence, and growing consumer eco awareness generate forward eco movement for some it simultaneously creates confusion and skepticism for others.   To address these complex issues, it's going to take all of us demonstrating eco awareness in our daily lives.  As a sustainability consultant working with businesses and individuals, I encourage our clients to lead by example. 
 
What is the best way to introduce friends and family to organics?  Or recycling?  Do others notice when you practice energy efficient measures?  Are others inspired to bike commute when they see you enjoying the outdoors while running errands?  Those living a sustainable lifestyle with the intention of sparking green enthusiasm in others can answer these questions. 
 
When others see you living a sustainable lifestyle, and see that you are enjoying it, it inspires them to make similar efforts for themselves.   How do you plan to BEE an eco inspiration today? 

Whether you work from your home office full time or part time, by working at home you’re reducing the use of fuels and limiting the amount of pollution generated by traditional means of transportation.  Your environmental efforts are worthy, but as we share in our eco friendly training, there are more eco actions you can do to help protect the environment.
 
Looking for ideas?  Following are some suggestions offered for consideration:
 
Furniture / Building Material used:
•    Opt for furniture made from local, sustainably harvested resources when possible.
•    Select carpet and rugs made of natural fibers or recycled materials.
•    Flooring options include bamboo, recycled/ reclaimed wood, or ceramic tiles made from recycled glass.
•    Decorate your walls with low VOC paints.
 
Heating/ Cooling/ Lighting:
•    Sign up for sustainable energy sources: renewable energy credits, wind energy, and home solar systems are a few ways that you can use sustainable energy sources in your own home.
•    Use natural lighting as well as compact fluorescent bulbs.
•    Insulate well.
 
Transportation:
•    Use public transportation or commute by bike.  Other options include teleconferencing and video conferencing.
•    If travel is required, travel with the environment in mind.
 
Waste:
•    Invoke the sustainability concepts of the three R's: reduce, reuse, and recycle and apply it to everything: paper, print cartridges, office supplies, etc.  Remember to reduce waste by limiting what you purchase.  Purchasing less means less waste.
•    Leverage technology to go paperless.
 
Energy efficiency:
•    Reduce unnecessary electrical consumption: unplug seldom used devices.
•    Utilize power strips for commonly used devices.  Choices include Watt stopper and Bits limited.
•    Unplug chargers (think cell phones and iPods) when not in use. Only 5% of the power drawn by a cell phone charger is used to charge the phone. The other 95% is wasted when it is left plugged into the wall.
•    Remember to purchase energy star equipment.
 
Improve indoor air quality:
•    Plants and natural / non toxic cleaners contribute to improve indoor air quality encouraging good health and improved productivity.
 
Purchasing:
•    Establish environmentally responsible purchasing guidelines for supplies and criteria for vendors.
•    Source eco friendly office supplies.
•    Purchase and dispose of electronic equipment responsibly.
 
By implementing some or all of these sustainability concepts, you are well on your way to a sustainable home office.  

Business leaders are often so busy conducting their day-to-day operations that they fail find time to work on their business.  As part of true business sustainability growth, executives are encouraged to ask: How are we performing in relation to other businesses- specifically those of sustainability’s best in class? 

The characteristics chosen to create a comparison can lead to different conclusions defining progress.  Our professional consulting finds sustainable business leaders are evaluating new markets, developing new products, and leveraging the most innovative people.  Do you want sustainability to work for you?  Start by asking your organization a few questions:

•    Does your company have a genuine commitment to sustainability at the highest level of in the company?

•    Do you have a clear sustainability governance structure in place to facilitate effective organization and stakeholder engagement?

•    Do you know who your business sustainability stakeholders are and how to engage them to create alignment across the organization?

•    Do you promote consumer engagement in your product development or enable sustainable innovation?

•    Are your supply chain partnerships aligned with our corporate objectives to enable environmentally conscious and ethically responsible supply?
 
At Taiga Company, our professional consulting provides information and resources to clients interested in integrating environmental and social responsibility actions across the entire value chain to make sustainability work for them. 

Did you know the White House is going paperless?  In fact, The White House recently released the nation's first paperless budget.   And the good news?  The Office of Management and Budget estimates that this year's 2,200-page paperless budget will save 20 tons of paper (about 480 trees).   If the government can go paperless, then you can too!
 
As discovered in our business sustainability consulting, most business leaders identify cost savings as the driver towards moving towards a paperless office.  Granted, reduced consumption and eliminating storage space does save money.  However, the added bonuses of increased productivity and the availability to work remotely make moving to a paperless office appealing. In fact, it's the triple bonus of reducing environmental impacts that makes going paperless the winner.
 
If you aren't sure about the benefits of paperless for your business, ask yourself,
How does your company manage the influx of emails, reports, and information from social media sites?  Did you know that approximately 90% of electronic content coming into an organization is unstructured data and about 80% of that is unmanaged.  Well, considering that about 30% of a worker's time is spent searching for a document or recreating it, paperless document management systems become an appealing alternative.
 
Building a sustainable business and going paperless doesn't have to be hard.  Shared in our eco friendly training are some of the benefits you can expect by going paperless: 

•    increase productivity
•    eliminate storage space
•    reduce expenses
•    create the ability to work remotely
•    enhance customer service
•    increased security
•    better disaster recovery protection
•    reduces your environmental impact
•    improve your competitiveness in the industry
 
Looking for resources?  Check out: A Guide for SME's: How and Why to go Paperless or The Paperless Office.

Work over the past few decades by academia, professional consulting firms and solution providers has primarily focused on providing businesses with cost savings incentives to invest resources in the supply chain. Popular practices such as Lean, TPS, Total-System-Value, Just-In-Time, and Six Sigma have been used to create efficiencies and reduced total supply chain costs.  While these practices provide great insight into cost reduction, our professional consulting believes the next generation of supply chain management will include integrating sustainability concepts into traditional practices to evaluate risk and create value. 

According to many leading business consulting firms, it is often practical to consider risk categories as a starting point for an initial value assessment of a supply chain.  Recognizing and understanding risk opens the door to implement measure to improve performance.  As we move into the discussion of applied sustainability concepts in the supply chain, this line of thinking becomes even more relevant.  The questions becomes: what process, best practices and tools will we be talking about in the future that address supply chain sustainability risks such as:

•    Globalization has extended the once arm’s length supply to sources from around the world, in many cases decreasing process control.

•    Proposed regulatory measures imposed by government entities, is raising awareness of carbon emissions and other waste streams.

•    Increasing eco awareness and shifting expectations among consumers is creating market risk for many traditional businesses.

•    Supply side capacity constraints on sustainable supply could make it more difficult to meet demand requirements.

Within our sustainability consulting practice, we considers risk along with other categorization methodologies, including spend classification and functional categorization, as a means of identifying sustainable value in the supply chain.  We believe successful implementation of any sustainable supply chain process requires visibility, engagement, and alignment with all process stakeholders. 

With the second blizzard in less than a week covering most of the East Coast in snow, many living a sustainable lifestyle may be wondering how to spend their time. 
 
Personal sustainability can touch every area of your life and usually encourages others to become involved.  Consider incorporating the sustainability concepts that bring you joy into your winter shut-in.  Not only will it create fun activities for everyone, but what better way to raise the eco awareness in your household than to engage your children and family in the process?
 

1. Determine your carbon footprint and create an action plan to reduce it.
2. Go paperless  for the entire day.
3. Practice energy efficiency: unplug seldom used appliances and use as much natural light as possible.
4. Clean around the house with natural, biodegradable, phosphorous free cleaning solutions.
5. Attack your closet!  Apply the 3 R’s : reduce by removing clothes you no longer wear, reuse and recycle by donating to a local clothing donation.
6. Do crafts with reusable household items
7. Sustainability is a kid-friendly concept so teach them about recycling by using disposable materials to create something beautiful and new.
8. Create projects around the house to make nature part of your daily living: bird houses, bird feeders, lady bug houses.
9. Tune Into Green TV: “Animal Planet” or "Discovery Planet" and allow the family to soak up the eco awareness.
10. Share with neighbors what inspires you most about green living. Together, look and see what value there is for them and create some eco actions to do together.

 
Have fun! Stay warm! Live green!

One of the common myths around business sustainability is that it is just too hard.  In speaking with business leaders, they sometimes believe that sustainability will come at a cost and is most often a long and laboring process.  While all change comes with its own unique challenges, sustainable development can be a path to engage your organization, develop talent, and celebrate the success of the business.

At Taiga Company, our professional consulting services recognize that one of the keys to a successful implementation of a sustainable business model is the management of change.  However, effective change management does not imply one-way communication. Our sustainability resources work with organizations to actively engage stakeholder in the process and to celebrate their contributions along the way. 

•    Cerebrate and communicate the company’s sustainability strategy, including clearly stated policies, integration into core business, links to profitability

•    Announce regular updates to program management and tracking systems, including training and or certification opportunities for employees and other key stakeholders.

•    Recognize and reward the creation of specific value from sustainability defined from within organization.

•    Celebrate, acknowledge, and promote the creation of a group or individual sustainability plan that succeeds.

•    Reward value creation and business sustainability within the company’s supply chain.

•    Re-engineer the business and performance metrics of the organization, creating a direct tie to compensation.

Whether implementing a single sustainability concept or a broader business sustainability program, sustainable development often requires a mindset shift across the entire company.  Change will require the engagement and active involvement of internal resources and key stakeholders.  This stakeholder buy-in will most definitely make or break your business sustainability efforts. 

Setting milestones is often a great way to engage the organization around common goals as well as define marks of accomplishment.  But don’t stop there!!!  Acknowledge and reward sustainability efforts continuously within the organization. 

The business world has traditionally recognized, to some extent, the social impacts of their decision making.  However, not all organizations have seen the value in proactive community engagement. 

The growth in social and eco awareness has made the link between business sustainability and a thriving community more visible today than it ever has been before.  Companies are more directly tied to the sustainability of the community in which they operate.

The corporate leaders of today are seizing the value of the community.  Companies like Timberland are taking a step beyond philanthropy to leverage the value-ties to the local communities. 

Our sustainability consulting and small business resources focus on the engagement of the local community as a key stakeholder in long-term business sustainability.  Our efforts help organizations:

•    Recognize a thriving local community as being essential to business sustainability.

•    Incorporate socially responsible strategies and a governance structures into their core business.

•    Align business actions to support the local community goals and objectives.

•    Engage the local community as a key stakeholder in business planning.

•    Embrace long-term partnerships within the local community.

•    Defined performance metrics to measure the impacts on the community.

From a business sustainability perspective, no one company can stand alone.  Business exists in a matrix of business and community stakeholder interactions.  These value adding relationships include the interests of employees, supporting organizations, and the community as a whole. 

Did you know, each year, 180 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged in the U.S. with approximately 65% of American households participating in Valentine’s Day by buying  gifts such as chocolates, a plush toy, flowers, or jewelry?  It's well known that Valentine's Day is a commercial event, but conversely, it's also an opportunity to share the green love. 
 
Share the green love?  Kindness, generosity, and willingness are 3 essential qualities of sustainable living and incidentally, aren't they the very qualities of love expressed on Valentine's Day?
 
•    Kindness in living green is not only being kind to our planet, but kind to each other.  Compassion for where each of us is in relation to the green path.
 
•    Generosity in green living is not only sharing eco awareness and eco resources, but also going above and beyond to inspire, promote, and encourage others on the green path.
 
•    Willingness in green living is demonstrating your values through eco action and generating results.
 
A sustainable lifestyle or green living is an attitude.  It's an attitude of appreciation.  Sure, it reflects sustainability concepts of efficiency, organics, waste management, and buying local.  But, at its essence, sustainability reflects a mindset of wholeness and appreciation for natural resources, communities, and the gifts our planet gives to us. 
 
How to express love to your sweetie while taking eco action this Valentine's Day?  By making purchasing choices with eco awareness in mind.  Learn to shop green  and express your love eco style.   Not only will your sweetie feel the green love, but the planet will too.