Energy Consultant

A business plan is a map that leads an organization on one of an endless number of possible journeys.  It provides a common understanding to internal stakeholders and is a communication tool to the external world of company’s values, goals, and business sustainability strategies.  So what is your plan saying and where will it ultimately take you?

In today’s complex economic climate, companies are redefining traditional business goals to include a broader definition of business sustainability.  Economic objectives are merging equally with environmental and social measures to deliver a more sustainable business future. 

Now is the perfect time to revisit your business plan and make changes for a new business environment.  As sustainability consultant to small and growing businesses, I advise my clients to develop a business plan with sustainability concepts in mind.

• Take the opportunity to change the direction of your company or tweak its current direction to capitalize on growing eco awareness.
• Build business sustainability into core processes to reduce cost, increase revenue, mitigate risk, and increase investment potential.
• Meet with employees, customer, suppliers, and inventors to align the business sustainability plan with align stakeholder concerns.
• Integrate sustainability into your supply chain.

Implementing business sustainability in today’s environment can be a delicate balance between planning for today and planning for the future.  While many organizations are taking more conservative action, our sustainability consulting finds leading companies are reevaluating and retooling for the future.  A business sustainability plan can be the framework that brings it all together.

Not all businesses and individuals are at the same level of sustainability understanding or implementation.  Whether your company is just becoming familiar with the concept of business sustainability or is sustainability leader in your industry, there are sustainable performance improvements that can help move your organization up the scale.

Companies often compromise by focusing on the short-term immediate gains at the expense to long-term value creation.  As a sustainability consultant we encourage clients to realize that the pursuit of business sustainability is a continuous long-term commitment - it's a journey, not a destination. 

Determining the criteria that will move you up the business sustainability scale, from where your company currently resides, is an important distinction. Breaking down a business sustainability plan into manageable steps will ensure that the approach is aligned in with your overall sustainability objectives.  At the same time, it will not overwhelm the business or your employees. 

Benchmarking where your business is on the green road map offers visibility to the eco actions to take and a means to measure and report on your progress.  Moving to ‘Business Sustainability Awareness’ includes:

•    Identify business sustainability potential.
•    Obtain leadership support.
•    Educate your stakeholders.
•    Set a vision for business sustainability.

The true value capture from business sustainability will come from the successful implementation of sustainability concepts and strategies.  Moving to ‘Business Sustainability Implementation’ includes:

•    Develop sustainability strategies linked to business drivers.
•    Clearly communicate an action plan.
•    Engage key stakeholders  in the sustainability plan.
•    Establish business sustainability policies and standards.

Managing a successful sustainability plan is a continuous process  that does not end with implementation.  Engaging with your stakeholders on the outside business world drives continuous improvement in the business.  Moving to ‘Business Sustainability Leadership’ includes:

•    Monitor and review successes and failures with stakeholders.
•    Capture and implement lessons learned.
•    Benchmark progress with industry and cross-industry sustainability leaders.

At Taiga Company, we recognize that each business is uniquely positioned somewhere along the sustainability scale.  Our  business resources work with clients to develop a successful sustainability plan that meets specific business needs- placing your business on the green road map.

When we think of ‘green’ jobs, we often picture a new opportunity, which may require a new set of skills, or a new place of employment with a job title and description that "sounds" green.   This may lead us to believe that ‘green’ jobs are elsewhere - and definitely not our current job.  Frequently, in our sustainability consulting, we are asked, "How do I find a green job?"
 
Keep in mind, every job is a green job: it's all in how you do it.  Granted, there are designated "green" jobs out there.  However, if it is making an impact and making a difference that you are truly after, then transforming your current job into a green job is the ticket.
 
Whether led by a sustainability executive or traditional management, your role in a sustainable organization can have an impact. 
 
•    Supply Chain Professionals: these roles interface with the company’s supply chain and can implement new sources of supply or work with current suppliers to incorporate sustainability concepts that improve operations.  Procurement play a role in coordinating sustainable purchasing practices across various departments within the organization. 
 
•    Environmental, Health, and Safety Professionals: these roles interface with the company’s operations and establish and implement the company’s sustainability policies.  They can also function as a communication vehicle to the organization.
 
•    Sales and Marketing Professionals: these key roles interface with the company’s customers represent the face of business sustainability and communicate the organizations values and commitment to sustainability.  Sales and Marketing link consumer preferences for sustainable products with the offerings of the company.
 
•    Human Resource Professionals: these key roles interface have a key role to play to help a company achieve its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives.  HR professionals are encouraged to check out the new book, CSR for HR by Elaine Cohen for sustainable impact within the organization.
 
At its essence, the desire for a green job is an opportunity for meaningful work.  Specifically, work that transforms our environment and gives back in a meaningful way.  It is the reward of expanding eco awareness through deliberate eco action that generates shifts in business and personal lives.  Follow your eco friendly passions and take on new and exciting opportunities as they become available. Watch your job transform into the sustainability role you have always wanted.        

As any small business owner will tell you, the challenges they face can be very different than larger companies.   Small businesses are often resource constrained and in some cases financially limited.  However when it comes to realizing immediate benefits from business sustainability implementation, small business may actually have an advantage over these large corporations. 

Many small businesses are now subscribing to the idea that they can save money, increase sales, and improve brand and company value by implementing social and environmental business sustainability practices.  As a sustainability consultant working directly with small business leaders, I have personally observed the ability of smaller organizations to quickly respond to changing market conditions to capitalize on opportunities and lower their risk.

In a recent conversation with a prospective client whose objective was to dramatically  change the way their company had been conducting business over the past few years, we discussed the distinct advantages present within a small business setting:

•    Greater flexibility to respond to market changes.
•    Reduced decision chains to accelerate approvals and business action.
•    Closer relations with business stakeholders to capture feedback and address concerns.
•    Greater speed to transform business sustainability resistance into organizational action.

In many cases, small businesses are taking the lead away from larger corporations.  These progressive organizations are creating their own business case for sustainability and defining specific opportunities for improvement.  By leveraging multifunctional resources and close working relationships as a distinct advantage, small businesses are quickly adapting and capitalizing on business sustainability value.

Our small business resources interact with small businesses seeking to build business sustainability plans and strategies to promote stability and growth.  We engage with key stakeholders through a variety of mediums to guide businesses to their unique links between defined sustainability concepts and their business value drivers to positively affect change in the workplace.

When you consider that just in the last few years the world has seen a dramatic increase in public eco awareness, specifically in ‘green’ consumer knowledge, it is no wonder why there have been so many changes on market shelves. 
 
At the PEW Center for Climate Change's Energy Efficiency Conference held in Chicago last April, one of the plenary session speakers stated a remarkable statistic.  Only 8% of what you DO is sustainable -- the other 92% is in the supply chain -- in other words, what you BUY. So in essence, your eco actions add up but the products you purchase really add up because of the cascade affect in a sustainable businesses supply chain.
 
The growing focus on Supply Chain Management (SCM) as a strategic function within the organization has proven to be opportunity to reduce cost and add value to the bottom line.  The recent emergence of sustainable supply chain management provides the opportunity to leverage this progress from an added perspective.  Mainstream thinking is just beginning to incorporate expanding eco awareness to include the role of social and environmental responsibility in supply chain value creation. 
 
However, in recent months, a number of corporate giants like IBM and P&G have announced new initiatives that pressure suppliers to do much more to measure and manage their environmental impacts. With water, carbon, and energy management becoming a critical sustainable business strategy to address internal and external supply issues, businesses addressing these areas are creating supply chain management alignment through increased eco awareness, cooperative business relationships, and applied sustainability concepts that can have immediate business impacts and reduce business sustainability risk. 
 
So, yes, buying green does make a difference.  As a consumer, you can vote with your dollar for sustainable change.

Sometimes when I talk about green living or a sustainable lifestyle to someone unfamiliar with environmental values, I get the "deer in the headlights" look.  You know, the eyes gloss over, there's a lost look in the face, and there's a gentle stare of confusion.  As a green living consultant, I view these moments as a gift in time to share the value of living a sustainable lifestyle for myself  -  with someone else.  
 
In my professional consulting, I've discovered the easiest way to promote a sustainable lifestyle to others is by sharing with friends, neighbors, and in the community.  Sharing is a genuine expression of the value found in the sustainability concepts that are embraced in your life.  It's easier for others to make the connection between the ideas of living green and how it's put into action when examples are shared. 
 
Following are suggestions mentioned in our eco friendly training to help get the conversation going.
 
•    Want to talk about the weather?  Grow that typical conversation about local weather patterns into an expanding discussion about climate change.  Take the lead and solicit opinions about global warming, pollution, emissions, or a host of other environmental issues and opportunities related to the weather.  Explore possible solutions and eco actions to take.
 
•    Want to talk about work?  Turn that uninspiring workplace problem into an exploration of business sustainability solutions.  Leverage those issues into a discussion of business innovation, operational efficiencies, or exciting new technologies.
 
•    Want to talk about family and children?  Explore conversations about green living, eco travel, or fun green activities for the kids.
 
•    Want to talk about projects around the house?  There is a number of topics to choose from, either though personal experience or thoughts of doing in the future.  As a starter, energy efficiency is always a conversation starter for home improvement projects and appliance upgrades.
 
Remember to share what you are doing and why you like taking those eco actions.  If it feels good to preserve natural resources, say so.  Are you saving money? Say that too!  We all have different motivations and your sharing of your sustainable lifestyle may very well inspire your friends, neighbors, and family members to discover the value in green living for them. 

A challenge with corporate sustainability has been all about changing mindsets and systems.  Businesses often try to sell change to the organization as a way to attain agreement and accelerate sustainable business implementation. Selling change to people is most often not a sustainable strategy for success.  It creates resistance. 
 
Think about it.  When somebody tells you what to do, do you do it?  Probably not.  No one likes to be told what to do - even when they are up for it.  While sustainable business strategies may further the corporate vision and simultaneously create meaningful work for employees, the employees actually have to be engaged and involved for it to be meaningful. 
 
Sustainable change needs be realistic, achievable and measurable. Before taking action, it’s important to ask a few questions.  As mentioned in our business sustainability programs, we encourage business leaders to gain insights and valued feedback from those involved.   
 
•    What do we want to achieve with this change?
•    Why and how will we know that the change has been achieved?
•    Who is affected by this change, and how will they react to it?

 
The traditional methods and approaches of getting employees on board with a corporate program are ineffective.  Sustainability is all about inclusion. By embracing sustainability’s core principals of inclusion, transparency, and engaged communication with stakeholders, sustainable change is not only possible but encourages ownership and accountability within multiple levels in the organization.  

Water, carbon, and energy management is becoming a critical sustainable business strategy to address internal and external supply issues.  Creating supply chain management alignment through increased eco awareness, cooperative business relationships, and applied sustainability concepts can have immediate business impacts and reduce business sustainability risk.  As a result of the business environment rapidly changing, companies not only have to react but also lead by example.
 
But what does leading by example really mean?  From a sustainable business context, proactive businesses like IBM, Walmart, Timberland are applauded by incorporating sustainable business strategies in core operations.   For instance, "Walmart and other major retail and industry giants are driving upstream and downstream performance based changes, designed to reduce suppliers environmental footprints and focused on several key areas:  energy management, fuel cost containment, carbon emissions, water use and waste generation. " That would be the most common example of "lead by example." 
 
But what about the reactors to these strategies?  Are they not leading by example as well?  Considering the larger scope of the business world is without sustainable business strategies or even perhaps an awareness of sustainability, is it possible the suppliers in these supply chains, while reacting to the initiatives of the broader business sustainability initiatives are in fact, leading by example as well?  "Now to that you may say that suppliers are goaded, cajoled, forced, strongly encouraged, or perhaps threatened to comply, or else risk losing millions in contracts."  Quite the contrary, "with the likes of Miller, IBM, Hewlett Packard and others continues to be more of the carrot and less of the stick- more collaboration and performance based incentives coupled with onsite verification- that’s all good because it encourages accountability."
 
Both roles serve a purpose and synergistically perpetuate the proverbial green ball rolling.  What does make a difference? If you’re not on the playing field. As they say, you have to play to win.

According to the post, Who's the Biggest Greenwasher of Them All?, consumers are the biggest greenwashers.  And perhaps, rightfully so.
 
The author, Joel Makower states, "For more than two decades, they've said one thing and done another, making outsized claims about their environmental commitments — and the actions they take where they live, work, and play — with little evidence to back up those claims." “If consumers were a corporation, we'd be boycotting them."
 
Which brings us to the case in point: Sustainability is two sides of the same coin.   Business sustainability and personal sustainability.   Businesses are stepping up to the plate.  As a consumer, are you?  At the PEW Center for Climate Change's Energy Efficiency Conference held in Chicago last April, one of the plenary session speakers stated a remarkable statistic.  Only 8% of what you DO is sustainable -- the other 92% is in the supply chain -- in other words, what you BUY.
 
As a result, we may not always have time to participate in the latest cause or campaign, but we do have one very powerful tool to affect social change… our consumer dollar. How we spend our money speaks volumes about our beliefs and values.
 
Noted in our sustainability consulting, sustainability needs educated consumers.  Everything you buy affects the Earth, but some choices have a lesser impact. Educating yourself about the products you buy can empower you to make a difference in protecting the planet. It's called "green purchasing," and it's easy to do. As a green living consultant, I've found the problem is, most people are simply not aware of the problems associated with purchasing less sustainable products, let alone the solutions.
 
So if the problem is a lack of education, then who is responsible for fixing it? We are.  Individually, we have a responsibility to seek out information on sustainable products and companies.  The easiest way to promote a sustainable lifestyle is by living your values. Sustainable purchasing is one way to demonstrate that value.  In fact, getting others involved in your purchasing habits is a great way to spread eco awareness to friends, neighbors, and others in your community.   

For many businesses, it is that time of year when businesses are beginning their budget planning for the coming year.  Companies, large and small, are laying out budgets, strategies and work plans that they feel will help their businesses prosper in 2011.   Generally, most companies aspire to grow in size and increase profitability each year.  In some cases, through divestitures or restructuring, a company may also choose to decrease in size based on its annual business strategies.  In both cases, financial success is not exclusively evaluated, internally or externally, based upon an absolute comparison to the previous year’s results.  Like these financial measures, shouldn’t business sustainability targets be evaluated in the context of business growth?
 
The post, Choose the Right Flavor: Ice-Cream, Sustainability & Business Innovation, the author and green supply chain expert, Dave Meyer, equates choosing your flavor of ice cream to choosing your brand of business sustainability.   In a nutshell, act on what inspires your organization to get the proverbial sustainability ball rolling.  Specifically applied to small businesses owners concerned about resource constraints (falsely) associated with implementing sustainable business strategies, it's about taking it bit by bit but incorporating environmental and social awareness as both short and long term planning.  "The “look” and “feel” of sustainability then, depends on the level of enlightenment that a company has, the desired “end state” and on the depth of its resources to execute the change (see Joel Makower’s recent post in Two Steps Forward)."
 
For larger organizations, how does planning factor into the 2011 budget?  "One way is through a systematic framework like an ISO 14001-based Environmental Management System (EMS).  While ‘sustainability’ is a guiding principle to keep organizations on track as an EMS is executed, an EMS is the framework – a set of processes and tools for effective mission accomplishment".
 
Our business sustainability consulting experience at Taiga Company has shown that each business has its own focus and value drivers, which give a company a unique view of sustainability.  Our sustainability consulting practice works with clients to build a focused business sustainability plan and sustainability concepts into a company’s long-range business objectives.  We work with business leaders, work groups, and stakeholders to recognize the importance of business sustainability as a critical value component of company growth and success.  Contact us to include sustainability programs in your 2011 budget planning. 

Sometimes, corporate sustainability is like playing telephone.  Witnessed from a high level, a company's corporate sustainability plan may embrace all the right frameworks, include the buzz words, and authentically and credibly, embrace sustainability initiatives.  However, witnessed from the employee level, all that jargon and vision may be lost. 
 
While there may be a disconnect  between a corporate sustainability plan and the practical application in an employee's day to day activities, perhaps energy efficiency measures is one way to connect the two while simultaneously improving productivity by creating meaningful work. 
 
Employee engagement is an effective, but possibly underutilized strategy for improving energy efficiency.  In fact, energy efficiency can be a gateway to wider business innovation and engage stakeholders in broader process evaluations.  Suggestions made in our eco friendly training include:

• First establishing a baseline of consumption for benchmarking efforts.
• Create an energy policy for the business.  Using your consumption information, you may want to identify areas of improvement.  
• Implement behavior and usage modifications. 
• Measure and monitor your progress.
• Communicate your success and appreciation to employees for taking eco action.

 
Tying corporate sustainability initiatives to day to day processes makes CSR more personable to an employee and helps employees to identify their role in corporate responsibility.  Additionally, energy efficient  programs educate and inform workers of best practices in reducing energy consumption that can be applied at home and in the community expanding eco awareness and sustainability concepts from the workplace into the community for even greater energy savings.

How does your business view the current economic, political, and socially conscious business environment?  Are you taking advantage of the sustainable business strategies available to your business to increase productivity as well as stay a step ahead in the business sustainability conversation?
 
For many business executive searching for answers, now may the perfect time to revisit traditional business plans and strategies.  Our professional consulting finds progressive companies are considering changes that more accurately reflect current business sustainability risks and opportunities.
 
A business sustainability plan can be a road map for a company to truly differentiate itself in an increasingly competitive and consumer conscious market.  It is also an opportunity to communicate to stakeholders and the broader business world that the company is headed in a positive direction, responsive to change, and committed to addressing current expectations. 
 
As a sustainability consultant to small and growing businesses, we advise our clients to continuously review their business plans, keeping stakeholder expectations and sustainability concepts in mind.  Businesses looking to reduce cost and integrate sustainability concepts in business operations are looking to commuting alternatives to do the trick.
 
Telecommuting is working from a remote location (generally ones home workstation) using computers and telephones rather than commuting via automobile or other mode of transportation to and from an employer's work site to perform equivalent work. 
 
A second option: coworking.  Coworking is a gathering spot for individual entrepreneurs or employees from multiple companies sharing a common work space.  Coworking works in a variety of ways with facilities offering a personal desk or workstation for a few hundred dollars a month.  Not only do you get a place to sit, but also a range of business services and equipment at your disposal, including fax machines, photocopiers, printers, and wi-fi Internet access.   In addition, many coworking facilities provide free coffee and snacks, lectures and workshops, and group activities. Some have conference rooms available, phone and receptionist service, mail delivery, and other amenities more typical of an office suite.
 
A personal favorite: bike commuting.  Two recent post offer ideas to embark on a successful bike commuting  program.   Top 10 Benefits of Bicycle Commuting Programs for Businesses, explores bike commuting benefits to employers while the post, 10 Reasons to Bike Commute to Work, gives employees ideas and inspiration to ride to work. 
 
As explained in our business sustainability programs, the benefits of alternative transportation include:
 
•    Conserving Energy.
•    Preserving the Environment.
•    Improving Worker and Public Safety.
•    Reduced commuter traffic which also reduces toxic gases and dust particles spewed into our atmosphere as well as chemicals washed into our waterways, wells, and rivers.
•    Reduce parking cost.
•    Reduced carbon emissions.
•    Reduce turnover: Employers who appreciate workers' personal needs have less employee turnover.
 
Exploring alternative transportation for workers can result in reduced cost for the business but also positive gains for the environment.   Our sustainability consulting works with clients to define business sustainability value drivers and integrate them into existing processes and evolving business models.  Need help getting started?  Contact us today. 

So often sustainability is communicated to others in terms of the quality of the earth and our natural resources that we leave for our children.  Business sustainability programs are intended to address this on a corporate level and companies on the leading edge of sustainability are implementing ‘green’ decision process into all areas of their business, including their procurement and supply chain functions.
 
But as individuals, how does this participation show up in our daily lives?  What about the events in which we choose to participate?   Just this week, Taiga Company was represented in the TransRockies (TR3) mountain bike race.  Not only was this a dream come true, but more importantly, the values of the event parralled those of our company values. 
 
As noted in the TransRockies newsletter,”For years, the TransRockies has prided itself on leaving no trace on the trails we ride and in the places we stay. Because we ride through parkland and use public campgrounds, we have developed a very strict set of internal guidelines that ensure that we leave no garbage behind.
 
Some of the initiatives we take include trucking out every drop of grey water from our showers, leaving a crew behind to walk our campgrounds and pick up all refuse, tasking our sweep riders to take down all marking tape and pick up all wrappers as they clear the course . . . and penalizing riders for dropping garbage.
 
This year we're taking it a step further with the help of mygreenbin, who specialize in reducing landfill waste generated. With support from mygreenbin staff, we've been using multiple bins with separate paper, plastic and metal recycling to divert as much waste as possible making sure that it doesn't end up in landfills. It's a small step but one which will help to reduce the TransRockies carbon footprint."
 
As a sustainability consultant, the reward of riding my bike through breathtaking views in an event committed to similar values of waste reduction, environmental stewardship, and respect of natural resources was immensely fulfilling.  Thank you TransRockies!

With coal, oil, and natural gas receiving most of the popular press, the often forgotten resource that may present the greatest challenge to many local communities is the availability of fresh water.  Unlike energy constraints, water cannot be economically brought in from neighboring areas in tankers, on trucks, or even in transmission pipelines.  For the most part, communities rely on the access and availability of a local water supply.

While water is not a new issue, rapidly increasing eco awareness may be expanding individual participation in management options.  Our sustainability consulting finds communities are becoming increasingly aware of their water supply and are actively managing demand.  According a recent report, the everyday consumer is becoming more aware of the community risk and economic trade-offs of water management.

Taking it down to an individual level, we encourage our eco living consulting clients to be actively aware of their consumption and water disposal.  We stress the inclusion of water management as a sustainability concept in an overall business sustainability program.  Some simple personal actions might include:

•    Create a personal water management philosophy
•    Identify high consumption activities (showers, watering lawn, washing clothes and dishes, etc.)
•    Identify and practice water conservation actions
•    Install water efficient equipment and fixtures

Want to learn more?  Visit the Taiga Company blog for tools and resources to raise your eco awareness and to implement solutions that meet your specific needs. 

They say a hug is a great gift – one size fits all, and it’s easy to exchange.  But as a sustainable living consultant, I wonder, how do you hug the planet? 
 
Perhaps it's in the expression of our daily choices.  Maybe hugging the planet is by living a sustainable lifestyle.  Consider that while we are here on this planet, many of us want to make a difference in the way we treat our environment.  Many want to make a significant contribution to the role business takes in shaping our economy, society, and environment.
The human values of kindness, generosity and willingness are ways we can all hug our planet:
 

• 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

 
As you are going about your day, approach your world from the place of appreciation for our natural resources and community.  Discover ways you can hug your planet!  Here are some ideas:
 

• Pick up litter you see as you are walking on the sidewalk.
• Turn the lights off after someone else has forgotten as they left the room.
• Collect scrap office paper and bring it to the recycling center.
• Bring an organic meal to friends after just having a baby.
• Treat a friend to organic fare at a local sustainable restaurant.
• Teach a child how to ride a bike.
• Invite a friend on a nature walk.
• Share your favorite green blog with friends.
• Volunteer to clean up the break room and use eco friendly cleaning supplies.
• Feed the birds from a park bench or feeder.
• Adopt a pet from your local animal shelter.
• Donate a bag of organic coffee and share with your office.
• Make a contribution to your favorite charity.
• Volunteer your time for a worthwhile organization.
• Notice and compliment the sustainable efforts other are doing.

 
As Bill Keane said, “A hug is like a boomerang - you get it back right away".

Take a guess at the number of pages the average worker uses in one year?  According to reduce.org, it's a shocking 10,000 pages of paper per year.  With that being said, paper choices matter. 
 
As explained in our business sustainability programs, producing paper from virgin fiber is both energy and water intensive.  It releases significant amounts of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.  By choosing to use less paper and paper with recycled content you are making the choice to save wood, water and energy, and cut pollution and solid waste.   The costs savings add up and the environmental impact goes down.   
 
Small business resources are available to assist in making better paper choices.  One option includes Environmental Defense Fund's Paper Calculator.   We frequently use this tool in our business sustainability consulting because it helps to quantify the benefits of better paper choices by showing the environmental impacts of different papers across their full lifecycle.
 
Take it a step further and move towards a paperless office.  A long term benefit to incorporating sustainable business practices of going paperless re-orients thought processes of workers and business approaches to view other areas of the business with a sustainable mindset.  In addition, the sustainability concepts learned at work are often implemented at home expanding eco awareness beyond the workplace.
 
Following are some paperless office solutions offered in our business sustainability consulting:
 

• Zumbox is the first all-digital online alternative to the traditional paper postal service, and if you have a street address, you can already start using it.   Note, Zumbox is not email.  It is based on permanent street addresses.  
• CRM, Customer Relationship Management, is definitely the Swiss Army Knife in the business plan toolbox for small businesses committed to increase sales, improve efficiencies and build a sustainable business.   The benefits of small businesses using a CRM system to build business sustainability include the development of better relations with your prospects, customers, and stakeholders. 
• Document Management Software: Look for a web based document system that meets your compliance, workflow, document management, online forms, and portal delivery needs. Other attractive features include detailed history tracking, audit reporting, version control, and scanning/capture capabilities.   The benefits you can expect are numerous: increased productivity, eliminate storage space, reduce expenses, work remotely, and increased security and better disaster recovery protection.

 
Becoming a paperless office can be part of a sustainability plan or be an independent environmental action taken to reduce the business' carbon footprint.   For strategies and tips to becoming a paperless office, download our white paper here.
 
Mindful attention to paper sourcing, consumption, and disposal or going paperless can help save money and reduce environmental impacts.  Both benefits to the bottom line and our natural resources. 

Two emerging buzz words have accompanied growing eco awareness in our society:  Sustainability and Green.   As explained in our business sustainability consulting, sustainability is a macro concept that applies more broadly to entire systems and infrastructures. The term can be somewhat elusive, but can be characterized as it spans a multitude of topics.
 
Green, on the other hand, is a micro concept.   We deal with green in our everyday lives with things like clothing, food, transportation, and a long list of "how to go green today" suggestions. Green is a pretty easy concept to understand in part because it’s relative and tangible.   It is measured on a scale from dirty to clean or eco friendly vs. traditional product.   Also, tangible eco actions are oftentimes associated with being green, as in recycling. 
 
So, what is green living and is it the same as a sustainable lifestyle?  Living green or a sustainable lifestyle is a primary focus on eco awareness with actions towards reducing ones carbon footprint, managing waste, and embracing sustainability concepts in decision making.  A sustainable lifestyle often means different things to different people.  For those well versed in sustainability concepts, a sustainable lifestyle may be very different compared to someone just beginning to make sustainable life changes.
 
In our eco friendly consulting, we begin by asking, "Which sustainability concepts are you most familiar with?" 
•    Energy Efficiency
•    Waste Management
•    Eco labeling
•    Buy Local
•    Fair Trade
•    Carbon Offsetting
 
As a green living consultant, I encourage clients to transform the buzz words of green and sustainability into lasting behaviors and lifestyle choices that support the environment.  Expand eco awareness by having colorful green conversations with friends.  Share the sustainability concepts that you embrace and inspire eco action in others.   

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed". Translated into today's language that equates to actions speak louder than words.  Translate again to sustainability language, and eco actions speak louder than eco speak.
 
So, how do you walk your talk?  Misconceptions encountered in our eco friendly consulting falsely believe that a sustainable lifestyle is an all or nothing approach.  The truth of the matter is that you do not have to live a 100% sustainable lifestyle to make a significant difference.  By aligning personal incentives with just a few sustainability concepts, you can reduce your carbon footprint almost immediately.
 
•    Vehicle Fuel Consumption: The most significant area of personal impact and one that is well within your sphere of influence.  Sustainable actions directly aligned with personal savings include: alternative fuel transportation, fuel efficiency and personal reduction (commuting, ride share, alternative transportation).
 
•    Electricity Consumption: By switching to wind or renewable sources, the average family could save the equivalent to thousands of miles driven in a car.  Sustainable actions include: source control (wind, renewable, offsets), home efficiency (energy star appliances), and personal energy management.
 
•    Water Consumption: Clear fresh water is rapidly becoming an endangered resource in even the most developed countries.  Sustainable actions directly aligned with personal savings include: water management (personal use and outdoor watering) and waste water management (controlling what goes down the drain and into the storm drains).  
 
•    Waste Disposal: A large portion of what goes into the average garbage is recyclable.  By separating your plastics, glass, and paper, the weekly volume sent to the landfill could be cut by more than half.  Sustainable actions include: inquiring about recycling programs with traditional collectors and locating recycling centers in your area.
 
When you consider that over 80% of our personal impact can be bucketed into four major categories, taking eco action becomes easier. Take eco action today! Walk your green talk. 

In our personal and professional consulting, we express to clients that pursing a ‘green’ career is a natural extension of living a sustainable lifestyle.   When you embrace eco awareness as a part of your daily life, it is natural to pursue the same in searching for a career.   Until recently, the future of the ‘green’ job market had been a little bit uncertain and not all that attractive financially.  While green jobs are on the rise, some are considering the path of   the ecopreneur.   But what exactly is an ecopreneur?
 
According to Glenn Croston, author of "75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make a Difference" believes that it's a combination of business savvy and a commitment to the future that defines the successful green entrepreneur.”Ecopreneurs have got to believe in the importance of working for a greener future and a sustainable economy," he says. It's also important to "be a solid business person, someone who knows a good product and can deliver it."

Within our sustainability consulting, we're frequently greeted with questions pertaining to starting a green business:
 

• Am I qualified?
• How do I get started?
• How do I build my business?
• How can I use social media to generate exposure and sales for my new business?
• What are the "must knows" to start and run a small business?
• What small business resources are available to help me?

 
Fortunately, we have a service to address those questions and more.  It's called, The Farmer's Market.  It's specifically designed for quick questions and advice on matters of building a sustainable business.
 
Building a business might seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be.  As a professional consultant in the area of building business sustainability, it's rewarding utilizing the small business resources available to assist new environmental businesses get off to a great start.  Ecopreneurs bringing eco awareness to business contribute to positive change in the business world as well as help the planet.      

Many believe we are fast approaching a turning point towards economic recovery, yet most businesses will be emerging from these leaner times resource limited.  As a result, engaging and motivating the organization will become even more critical to drive efficient productivity. 

Talent management encompasses the entire spectrum of sourcing, attracting, developing, retaining, and measuring the performance of organizational talent.  Our sustainability consulting has observed talent management leaders utilizing progressive measures to meet employee interests and ensure business sustainability alignment across the organization. 

So what do current and prospective employee’s want?

•    Employees want rewarding and meaningful work
•    Employees want to make a difference
•    Employees want growth and development opportunities

And let’s not forget about pay!  Traditionally the underlying objective of a compensation structure has been to attract and retain quality staff.  With the need to get more from today’s workforce, payment structures have to do more. 

With the myriad of compensation strategies available, how can you be assured your structure is driving the right behavior?  Performance pay is a structure that provides bonus pay based on certain performance criteria. It is a widely used in particular industries, based on the concept that pay can motivate job performance, increase employee effectiveness, and align business goals. Research suggests that pay can do this when it's linked to actual performance.  This model offers several potential advantages:

•    Ties compensation to performance
•    Rewards the right behaviors and builds business sustainability alignment.
•    Encourages leadership and self-management
•    Encourages innovation

Our professional consulting realizes that there is no one a single incentive structure right for all business.  However linking compensation to specific sustainability concepts, businesses have the potential to align the sustainability goals of the organization and motivate behavior.