Van Jones announced his resignation today from the White House Council on Environmental Quality where he has worked in recent months as the "green jobs czar" continuing his efforts to promote green jobs as a solution for many of our environmental, social, and economic problems. He has come under pressure recently regarding past statements viewed as "radical". I think that his resignation is unfortunate. I doubt that it will weaken government initiatives to encourage the growth of a greener, and healthier economy. But I worry that it might, and that this move may signal a greater round of down and dirty politics directed toward this end.
Jones has been portrayed as a radical of late, as a riot-loving, racist communist. There are probably a few connections or comments in his past that he regrets. But this should not have detracted from his work creating hope for the inner city and for people everywhere with better and cleaner jobs and businesses.
I guess the thing I'm wondering is if the pressure against him was about his statements or actions, or really about opposition to efforts to create green jobs, make buildings more energy efficient, and use more renewable energy.
It's hard for me to believe that people can be opposed to such a thing. It's as if someone were to say "I'm opposed to cleaning up the environment and creating jobs for people." Which is the same as: "I am in favor of pollution, and against jobs and economic growth."
What lies ahead still could be an even greater challenge--solving climate change. There is no lack of people who still loudly claim that climate change is not real, that it is a liberal fabrication. It is not. Climate change remains a clear fact and a grave threat to our future, despite efforts to obscure this. Solving climate change is one of the biggest challenges we face today (as well as one of the greatest opportunities to help ourselves and our economy), and a big part of the challenge is political. Opponents to action on climate change like the Waxman Markey bill will throw everything they've got at it in the months ahead. What we are seeing now could be just the start.
What does this mean for the green economy? I'm not sure yet. I've often said that going green is not an issue for one side of the political spectrum or another. Going green is viewed as a moral, economic, and security imperative, and as a business opportunity, by people across the political spectrum. But politics is a dirty game to be sure, so I'm not surprised by the latest events. I just hope that dirty politics does not equate with a dirty, and down, economy
Glenn Croston is the founder of StartingUpGreen.com, helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to start and grow greener businesses, and delivering the Green BizBlast to connect those seeking and selling green products, services, events, and opportunities. He is also the author of "75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make a Difference", and the author of "Starting Green", a nuts and bolts guide to starting and growing a successful green business (Entrepreneur Press, September 2009).
A lot of businesses are cutting back on travel and marketing budgets these days, but this does not eliminate the need of businesses to connect with others, including other green businesses.Social networking tools can help businesses meet this need without spending a lot of money, including sites like Greenergy2030 that are growing online communities of green businesses and entrepreneurs.
Being green provides many advantages for businesses.Going green reduces waste and reduces costs, and governments are creating a range of incentives to encourage the growth of green industries and consumer behavior.Going green reduces risk to trends like climate change legislation, rising energy prices, and losing investors.It raises competitiveness, attracts talent, and opens doors to new areas of business that will keep growing for many years to come.Small green businesses are one of the keys to working our way out of our economic challenges.The Center for Small Business and the Environment headed by Byron Kennard is working in Washington to advance the cause of small green businesses for the environment and the economy, making their case in their recent report posted at www.smallwondersreport.org.
Still, most businesses, particularly the small ones, can’t fully take advantage of these opportunities on their own, and luckily they don’t have to.There is a broad variety of help available from experts in many fields.Greenergy2030 and other groups can help with information, meeting others, help greening their operations, conferences, and certification.Greenergy2030 has just recently launched, but has several of these items in the works already.Signing up for this one is free, and you can sign up for their magazine Greenergy2030 once you sign up.You don’t have to be a deep shade of green to get involved, and they’re developing certification for businesses to go greener no matter where they’re at today in the sustainability spectrum.The more valuable sites like this deliver deeper value through efforts like certification, auditing, and consulting to help other businesses achieve their sustainability goals.
Green businesses all share similar goals, making joining groups like this all the more rewarding.Of course, signing up is only the first step, just like anything.Taking action is the important thing, and making solid connections with other businesses that share common goals and values helps make the many steps along the road to sustainability pass more rapidly.I’ll see you on the road.
Glenn Croston is the founder of StartingUpGreen.com, helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to start and grow greener businesses, and delivering the Green BizBlast to connect those seeking and selling green products, services, events, and opportunities. He is also the author of "75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make a Difference", and the author of "Starting Green", a nuts and bolts guide to starting and growing a successful green business (Entrepreneur Press, September 2009).
Energy efficiency is the cheapest and greenest power around, and in buildings efficiency often comes in the form of better lighting. Most people these days know the curly compact fluorescent bulb used in homes, but most of us are less familiar with the vast opportunity for more efficient lighting in commercial buildings. A wide range of innovative efficient lighting solutions are working their way into commercial buildings with the help of people like Cheryl Allen, President of Green Planet Lighting in San Diego, CA.
Incandescent bulbs and old fluorescents waste a great deal of electricity compared to newer, more efficient lighting solutions. Fluorescent tubes are ubiquitous in many commercial buildings, coming in a few different varieties called T12, T10, T8 and T5. T12s are the older and less efficient variety, typically using 40 Watts for each bulb. T8 bulbs use about 35% less electricity to produce the same amount of light, and T5 bulbs use about 45% less than T12s. For some applications, one T5 can replace 2 T12 bulbs, providing even greater energy savings.
Unfortunately though changing from T12s to T8s and T5s is not as simple as snapping a new bulb into place. Changing from T12s to T8s involves changing not just the bulb, but the ballast that the bulb plugs into. The ballast controls the flow of power through the bulb. Older bulbs like T12s used magnetic ballasts while newer more efficient T8s and T5s use electronic ballasts. In some cases changing to T5s requires replacing or rewiring the whole light fixture, adding significant cost and complexity to changing over to more efficient lighting.
LEDs offer another opportunity to save in commercial lighting, consuming 90% less power than halogens in some cases, and lasting far longer.
The improvement with efficient lighting can be so great that these investments can pay for themselves in a matter of months. “Give me a dollar, and I’ll give you two by the end of the year,” says Allen. Allen has not always been in lighting; while playing cards in Las Vegas she ended up talking with a representative of EcoPower and was quickly hooked by the opportunity, signing up as a distributor of their innovative T5 solution. While changing over to T5s in most cases requires changing the fixture or rewiring, EcoPower provides a retrofit solution that greatly simplifies their installation. Reducing the time and labor involved in changing to T5s, and avoiding the cost of new fixtures, these T5s help more buildings go green and efficient.
Innovative solutions like the Ecopower T5 retrofit help to get around problems that can hold back efficiency measures, but selling efficient lighting in today’s economy can be a challenge even with a quick return on investment. Some clients are so consumed with making ends meet that they only have attention for needs of the immediate moment, not even a few months from now. People are busy and money is tight. For these clients, Allen has found that the key is not just taking orders but providing solutions. “Everyone wants to go green,” says Allen, “but it’s not the only thing on their list.”
Some of the solutions are financial, while others are technical. Rebates are available in many areas to help pay for part of the cost of more efficient lighting, and in San Diego a new program called “on-bill financing” offered through SDGE is helping small businesses to perform energy efficiency upgrades without paying for the improvements up-front, paying for them instead over a longer period of time through their utility bill. Allen is also exploring other creative solutions, looking for ways to provide efficient lighting with no up-front cost to the client, getting paid instead through a portion of the savings achieved.
One of Allen’s clients has been the Las Vegas Hilton, working with OB Chaidez, the Chief Engineer there. Casinos may not use fluorescent tubes out on the gambling area, but their back area can contain large numbers of these tubes for lighting. “We are receiving incentives through Nevada Energy to change to more energy efficient lighting,” says Chaidez. “One way we are saving money is with Green Planet Lighting’s new ‘T5 fixture in fixture’ whereby we were able to retrofit to a T5 fluorescent light without having to change the existing fixtures. It is quick and simple. Cheryl at Green Planet Lighting truly gave us a great product for an easy retrofit.”
Small green businesses are another type of customer that is a great fit for easy energy retrofits like this. They are highly motivated to green every aspect of what they do, to demonstrate the authenticity of their commitment to going green. “One of the top priorities of our hair studio is to be ‘green’,” says Dawn Ellinwood, Owner of Ubuntu Hair Studio. “The new LEDs we installed achieve this goal. We expect over a 75% percent savings related to lighting costs in our hair studio. Additionally, it is much cooler in the studio and we don’t have to run our air conditioning as much. Cheryl provided a great solution for us.”
Working closely with clients, Allen identifies their needs, the opportunities to save them money, and ways to remove the hurdles that sometimes stand in the way of moving forward with a project. For others seeking to venture into lighting, the key today will be to follow models like this, not just taking orders, but consulting closely with clients to provide solutions that work.
Glenn Croston is the founder of StartingUpGreen.com, helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to start and grow greener businesses, and delivering the Green BizBlast to connect those seeking and selling green products, services, events, and opportunities. He is also the author of "75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make a Difference", and the author of "Starting Green", a nuts and bolts guide to starting and growing a successful green business (Entrepreneur Press, September 2009).
Looking for opportunity?Energy efficiency is hot and it's going to get a lot hotter.Here's why:
1.We waste billions of dollars on wasted energy in our buildings and transportation.
2.We know how to stop much of this waste today, saving homes and businesses billions of dollars to spend on other things.
3.People and businesses really want to save money, now more than ever, and energy efficiency is a great way to do it.
All in all, this spells a hot, hot, hot field to work and build a business in.
When it comes to simple cost effective energy efficiency measures like insulating homes, using cool roofing in commercial buildings, sealing air ducts, sealing cracks, and using efficiency lighting, we don't have to wait for new technologies to be developed; we have solutions that work today. There's still plenty of room for innovators to develop new and improved solutions for energy efficiency, but there's also plenty we can do right now without waiting.
If it's all so easy, why haven't we done all this already?There are a variety of reasons, which I'll describe below.The fact that we haven't fully addressed these problems just makes the opportunity all the greater though, like water building up behind a dam.What makes energy efficiency a particularly exciting opportunity at this time is that the floodgates are starting to swing open, releasing the potential of energy efficiency on a larger scale.
So why haven't energy efficiency measures been adopted in the past to the extent they might have? There are a few reasons I think, including:
1.Energy was cheap.
2.It costs money to invest in efficiency.
3.Efficiency wasn't too sexy, and out of sight is out of mind.
4.There was not a great deal of government attention to efficiency, generally.
All of these are changing.Here's how:
1.Energy gets more expensive:
When energy is cheap, people use it without worrying too much about how efficient they are; they do not have a strong incentive to save.Over time this is changing.The cost of energy from your utility will steady rise, on average about 6% a year.Therefore wasting energy gets more and more expensive.
The cost of energy will also be impacted by action on climate change.Yes, this change will probably not be free, and the greatest impact will fall on the most inefficient users and greatest greenhouse gas emitters.Whatever action is taken on climate change, such as with legislation like the Waxman-Markey bill will probably make electricity from coal more expensive.
Additionally, the cost of oil will rise over time, impacting transportation costs.I'm not saying that the cost will go up next week or next month, but over the months and years ahead the long term increase in the cost of oil is virtually certain, driving increased efficiency in our transportation choices.
2.New programs help to reduce or eliminate the up-front cost of energy efficiency measures.
People expect a great deal from investments in energy efficiency.Imagine an investment on the stock market where you can achieve an annual return of 50% or more.That's what can be achieved with some of the easy, low-hanging fruit in energy efficiency like fixing air ducts, insulation, changing light bulbs, and weather-sealing buildings.
A variety of strategies can reduce or eliminate the cost hurdle that often holds back spending on energy efficiency.One is federal tax credits, which have been increased for a wide range of residential energy efficiency measures.
Another route involves strategies state regulators use with utilities, like those that have worked in California over the last few decades to encourage energy efficiency.When utilities are rewarded for energy efficiency rather than building new power plants, everybody wins.
Cities are also getting in the act, with programs like those being advanced or in place already in California cities like PalmDesert, Berkeley and San Diego. These programs are related to AB 811 allowing homeowners to pay for energy efficiency measures with special tax assessments that are paid back through their property taxes over a long period of time.The special advantages of this, particularly avoiding payment upfront, should eliminate the money hurdle holding back efficiency.
Similarly, another promising strategy called on-bill financing is helping small businesses in San Diego to adopt energy efficiency measures.With on-bill financing, the utility (SDGE in this case) pays for the cost of certain energy efficiency measures by qualified small businesses, and then the business pays back the measures through their utility bill.Since their energy costs go down, and there is no up-front cost to the business, there is really no down side for businesses that take advantage of this.
Programs like these are not available everywhere yet, but I would hope and expect to see them spread.
3.Energy efficiency is getting more attention
While energy efficiency has always had its advocates like Amory Lovins, for a long time energy efficiency received less attention than green energy sources like solar or wind.I suppose in part that a caulking gun was just not as sexy as a solar panel.It's hard to measure, but I do believe that the amount of media attention to energy efficiency is increasing, and the attention for other arenas such as government.Having a compact fluorescent bulb on the cover of magazines like Time (Jan 12, 2009) helps. I expect to see a great deal more of this as we all get turned on about this opportunity for businesses and consumers.
4.There is a great deal more government support on the way.
The US Government is fully on board with the idea that energy efficiency is the way to go and they are putting their money behind it.The stimulus package includes billions for energy efficiency, including weatherization of low income homes, research for energy efficiency, and energy retrofits of government and military buildings.Regulations for transportation have increased the fleet efficiency standards for cars recently, providing a boost for transportation efficiency.
Still to come?More states will alter their regulation of utilities to encourage and incentive energy efficiency.California has its own climate change regulation being implemented in AB 32, which will have to lean heavily on energy efficiency to reach the desired targets.US action on climate change would have a similar impact.The creation of a national renewable energy portfolio standard that includes energy efficiency would provide a big boost.National building standards that emphasize energy efficiency would provide yet a further boost.All of these will keep the momentum for efficiency moving forward.
Summing it Up
Ultimately, being energy efficient is not about giving up things.It's about getting more out of the resources we use.Being energy efficient does not mean we need to be sweaty in the summer and shivering in the winter.We can be comfortable in our homes and also more energy efficient, saving money.We can get where we need to go while consuming less fuel to do so.
Sometimes we will rethink our priorities and how we do things.Changing our thermostats a few degrees is often a good idea, to the extent that you are comfortable with this move.Hummers are out, and energy efficient smaller cars will increasingly be in.This is a matter of both economics and the environment.Green moves that fit in with economic choices, that have financial winds filling their sails, tend to be the ones that have the most staying power.
So get ready--the energy efficiency floodgates are opening.Those who create businesses to ride the wave forward are in for a great ride.
Glenn Croston is the founder of StartingUpGreen.com, helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to start and grow greener businesses, and delivering the Green BizBlast to connect those seeking and selling green products, services, events, and opportunities.He is also the author of "75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make a Difference", and the author of "Starting Green", a nuts and bolts guide to starting green businesses (Entrepreneur Press, September 2009).
Renewable energy, energy efficiency, and green building are key economic trends of the 21st century, each potentially worth tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars.There are many reasons why businesses in these fields will grow, including the massive investment by the US Government as part of the February 2009 stimulus bill. All of these industries make solid business sense, and make sense for our globe.Investments in these industries create jobs now and makes us more competitive in the future.For the many people looking for opportunities these industries provide great directions to look.Still, they’re left to wonder where the much discussed stimulus money is at.
There are a great many people having a hard time right now and thinking that the green business world may hold just the thing they are looking for.Unemployment has reached 9.5% and everyone anxious about the economy is eager to grab hold of the next big thing.While many have heard about all that green has to offer, they are often unsure where they might fit in, where to start, where the money is, and how to connect to it.Is there a giant pool of green money sitting and waiting to be tapped into?Is there “Free Money” waiting for you “Everyone approved” as the web ads proclaim?
Resources like GreenBusinessOwner.com provide the kind of information green business owners need to take advantage of these developing opportunities, including information about planning, marketing, raising money, certification, and many other common questions.The founder of GreenBusinessOwner.com, Dave Arthur has observed that the visitors to his site are often excited about the prospects of opportunities for green businesses, frustrated in the difficulty in finding opportunities that work for them, and confused about the status of stimulus funds that might help their business.“There appears to be a common sentiment among many business people that all kinds of money and opportunity is sitting out there in the green economy and that they are missing out on it,” says Arthur. “In my opinion, there is a hunger for good, practical information.”
Government action is creating opportunities in many ways, such as action on climate change in the works with the Waxman-Markey Bill that just passed the US House.The February stimulus package included over $80 billion for renewable energy and energy efficiency (Entrepreneur, March 2009), some of which is now starting to reach the economy.
The answers are not always simple though, unfortunately.The money in the stimulus package is not in one large pool, but in several small distinct pools that are being processed and moved forward in different ways. As the money starts to move out to projects, it is moving through specific channels to make sure it meets the requirements and accomplishes the goals of each project.The movement of federal money will encourage the entry of others back into these markets as well over time.Some opportunities for green businesses are directly tied to stimulus funds, while other businesses benefit more indirectly, as tax credits and other measures encourage consumers to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Among the many measures in the stimulus, some have funding already on the way.Funding for green job training and summer jobs has already been distributed for some programs.In Sonoma County, California, the Sonoma County Youth Ecology Corps has been created, for example, creating summer jobs helping the environment for several hundred teenagers.A variety of training programs in the works funded by the stimulus will help meet the labor demands of the green collar economy.
The stimulus also includes $3.2 billion in energy efficiency and conservation block grants, with states, cities and counties across the country applying for the funds.To find out what your city is eligible for, check here.How this money is spent is up to the cities, counties, and other government entities that receive it, within the guidelines that are provided.The projects include LED streetlamp installation, energy audits, and other energy efficiency measures.
The initial deadline to apply for these block grants was June 25, although this deadline was recently extended.Applicants are supposed to hear back from the Department of Energy within 60 days, at which point they have 120 days to submit a strategy proposal, and the DOE has another 120 days to approve it.Then the grants can be funded.Once funded, the money is supposed to be committed within 18 months, and spend within 36 months.If you’re adding up all those days, it might seem like a long time.But at least knowing the funding is on its way is giving a boost to governments and businesses to plan on how best to use the money. Look for information from your state or local government about their plans for the block grants - you can see if there is a way your business can participate in the proposed work.
Tax credits for energy efficiency measures in homes will broadly benefit all businesses that provide relevant products and services, including home energy auditing, and contractors installing eligible efficiency measures.The full list of measures is available at the Energy Star website, and from this businesses can trace these pools back to their business.Businesses in some of these fields are starting to see customers realizing the opportunity to save money by investing in energy efficiency, including businesses installing:
solar hot water heating
photovoltaic systems
efficient windows
small wind turbines
insulation
energy efficient HVAC systems.
Some of the other stimulus funding targeting the green economy is still getting sorted out.Loan guarantees and cash grants enacted in the stimulus bill will provide a significant boost for the renewable energy industry once they are fully in place, and the guidelines for these are expected to be released in July.Some are concerned that it will take too long for funds to become available, while others are concerned that moving $ billions through a system too quickly and without sound controls would create new problems.“It's critical that we strike the right balance between speed of spending and effectiveness of spending,” says Dan Reicher, Director of Climate Change and Energy Initiatives at Google.org (Renewable Energy World July 3 2009).
The good news is that people seeking to find their way through these opportunities and challenges are not on their own.Resources like Green Business Owner are there to help businesses find the pools and track down how to tap into the channels for their business.“It's really important to recognize that whenever there's great crisis, that also means there's great opportunity,” says Arthur. “So it's really a matter of doing your research in your situation, and seeing if you can recognize the opportunity and the gaps and what is needed, and be able to fill those gaps.”
Stay tuned in the months ahead as more of the stimulus money reaches its green target.
Glenn Croston is the author of “75 Green Businesses” and the founder of Starting Up Green, where the Green BizBlast is helping to connect those seeking and providing green products, services, events, opportunities, and information.
With so many challenges facing our country and the U.S. government, many people have doubted whether we would see significant action on climate change this year.They may still prove correct, but with the passage of the Waxman-Markey Bill (the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, or ACES) by the U.S. House of Representatives the wheels are moving.It was no sure thing that the bill would pass the House, and it’s even less sure that it will pass in the Senate.There are more than a few who would rather it doesn’t.I’m going out on a limb though – I think we should do something about climate change.And to go even further out on the limb, I’m going to say that the ACES bill is a step in the right direction.
While it still has to make it through the Senate this fall, getting approved by the House of Representatives is a historic achievement for a climate bill. The last major attempt, with the Lieberman-Warner Act, died quietly after a brief flurry of excitement in 2008.
The Waxman-Markey effort targets a 17% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2020 and an 83% reduction by 2050, primarily by using a cap and trade system.One of the difficulties with cap and trade is that most people still don’t get it, not knowing what the term means.That makes life hard for those working to move the bill forward.
Cap and trade means is that major polluters will have a cap, a limit, on the quantity of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) that they can produce.Some businesses like burning coal for power produce a huge quantity of CO2 and these will be affected the most.You can meet your cap either by reducing how much CO2 you produce, or buying something called carbon allowances.If your business comes in under your cap because you got creative and efficient, then you’re all set.If you produce more than your allotted share of greenhouse gases though and go over your cap, that’s where the trade part comes in.The cap and trade system allows you to buy carbon credits, or allowances, to meet your target.
It’s simpler than it sounds actually, and cap and trade systems like this have been shown to work, helping to greatly reduce acid rain in the U.S. in a short period of time and for a lot less money than the critics said would be needed, for example.
Over 1000 pages long, the ACES also contains a host of provisions to support energy efficiency and renewable energy production to help us realize these reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.Still, when you’re reshaping a good-sized chunk of the economy it’s hard to please everyone, stirring a variety of groups to oppose the bill, and a long list of players angling to secure a piece of the action.
Businesses and states heavily invested in high-carbon industries like coal are not excited about the measure.This is to be expected.If you are an operator of a coal-fired power plant, a cap and trade system will eventually have to make your business more costly, or else it won’t work.Critics of the ACES are saying the cost of implementing the ACES will dramatically increase the cost of electricity as a result.
The biggest argument against the bill so far goes like this is that it will cost money, and is therefore a tax.Since few people understand cap and trade and nobody really likes taxes, this is probably a good way to go for opponents of the measure.But I think the strategy for the supporters should be to compare the cost of doing something with the cost of doing nothing.
The EPA has estimated that the bill will cost the average household somewhere between $80 and $110 a year, and the Congressional Budget Office has estimated it will cost the average household $175 a year.
Let’s compare that to what will happen if no action is taken on climate change.The Stern Report found that failure to take action to slow the rate of climate change could reduce global GDP by 5- 20% a year, a massive impact.Since the impact would be present every year, and not just for a single recession cycle, and the impact would only grow worse, climate change would be the worse economic disaster ever, not merely an environmental problem.
This might be a better argument than polar bears for a lot of people, really bringing home the impact.
Failure to take action on climate change, doing nothing with the present ACES bill, or any others any time soon, would eventually extract an enormous economic cost, and probably a very regressive one, hurting the poorest people around the world and in the US the most.Let’s call this economic cost the “Do Nothing Tax of 2009”, producing a little bar chart of $175 per household compared against 5-20% of lost GDP.We can create a campaign to contact senators who oppose Waxman Markey, praising them for their courage in supporting the massive “Do Nothing Tax of 2009”.
Some environmental groups are also opposing the bill.One argument is that it doesn’t go far enough.Greenpeace has already pulled their support, along with others, saying that the measures are too watered down by political compromise to achieve what must really be done.Others don’t like the role of carbon offsets in the bill to meet climate targets, or they are upset because most of the carbon allowances will be given away at first.
I’m sure they’re right, that the bill involves compromises, is not perfect, and ultimately may not do enough. And by the time it gets through the Senate, if it gets through the Senate, further changes are likely.Getting 60 votes for a bill like this is still no cakewalk by any means.I’m afraid it’s probably about as good as a climate bill as we’re going to get for now, and I’d really like to see us do something rather than wait for a perfect bill that might not arrive any time soon.Let’s take this bill and push as hard as we can for it to pass, and then start working on the next round to do even more.
Glenn Croston is the author of “75 Green Businesses”, the founder of Starting Up Green (www.startingupgreen.com), and the creator of the Green BizBlast, helping green businesses to connect with each other and the world.His new book “Starting Green” coming out in September 2009 provides the definitive guide to start and grow green businesses.
Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, and our back is hurting.The down economy has strained a great number of small businesses, which while viewed as essential for the economy are not too big to fail. Byron Kennard and Jennifer Kaplan at the Center for Small Business and the Environment have a report called "Small Wonders" coming out next week talking about this point. What’s a small business to do to get by?You know what I always say - When the going gets tough, the tough go green.
The keys these days for small businesses (and everyone else) are business fundamentals: saving money, wasting less, increasing productivity, and developing new opportunities.Whatever small businesses do must translate into making money or it just won’t fly, for the most part.Nobody hates the earth (not many people anyway), but making a sacrifice for the planet's sake is a hard message to swallow right now for businesses that already feel stretched.They want to know what it means for them and their bottom line, whether it’s a triple line or not.
If I show people a compact fluorescent light bulb (or other energy efficient lighting) and tell them it’s more expensive, but they should buy it anyway to save the polar bears, they are not generally going to be excited about the idea.If I tell them though that one bulb will save them $30 over its life and that the more bulbs they switch, the more they’ll save, then a lot more people are listening.
Luckily there are plenty of ways that small businesses can save money and make money that also happen to be green, including steps like:
1.Changing your light bulbs
2.Fixing water leaks
3.Turning up the thermostat in summer (or down in winter)
4.Turning off the lights at night
5.Turning off computers at night
6.Traveling less
7.Telecommuting
8.Use carsharing (or ridesharing)
9.Weatherstripping a building
10.Fixing air ducts
The list goes on and on.Some green steps increase productivity as well, as has been shown for green buildings by the US Green Building Council.While there are many opportunities that require little or no money up front, some more significant projects such as insulating buildings or installing cool roofing can take a little money to get started.Luckily there are also a variety of rebates, loans, and grants from utilities and governments to support energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy, reducing or eliminating the cost barrier (see a great summary of this at GreenBiz - here).
There are also many resources to help out, either on paper or in person.Gil Friend’s new book “The Truth About Green Business” looks like a great one."Green to Gold" of course is a great one, by Esty and Winston.And as it just so happens, I have my own entry that came out in May “Greening Your Business on a Budget”.
So really there are no excuses.Do you want to save money and be more profitable?Then stop wasting so much.And if you just happen to help the planet along the way, I promise not to tell if you don’t.
Glenn Croston is the author of “75 Green Businesses", the author of the e-book “Greening Your Business On a Budget”, and the founder of Starting Up Green (www.StartingUpGreen.com), helping entrepreneurs from all backgrounds to start and grow successful green businesses. He can be reached at glenn(dot)croston(at)75greenbusinesses(dot)com.
The global chemical industry, worth trillions of dollars a year, has relied heavily on oil and natural gas.While we often associate the green business world with solar panels and electric cars, change is brewing in industries like chemicals as well with the adoption of greener, cleaner, and leaner production methods.
The environmental benefits of green chemistry are significant, avoiding the use of oil, saving energy, reducing pollution, and reducing the use of potentially toxic materials.The success of these approaches though ultimately depends on their commercial viability, not just on their environmental benefits.Genomatica, in San Diego, CA, is working to do just this, to prove not just that not only they can develop greener ways to produce chemicals, that they can do this in a profitable way.
When I spoke with the recently announced CEO of Genomatica, Christophe Schilling, he described their technology using microbes to produce chemicals.Arising from research Schilling did at UC San Diego while working on his PhD, Genomatica uses computer models to harness the power of microbes as living chemical factories.
To prove their technology, Genomatica is designing microbes and processes for making chemicals like 1,4-butanediol (BDO), and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK).These chemicals may not be household names, but millions of pounds are produced from fossil fuels each year, much of which goes on to produce plastics, solvents, and polymers.“The history of the chemical industry is tied to oil,” said Schilling, describing how their methods to produce chemicals are distinct, feeding their microbes sugars from plants rather than feeding petrochemical plants with oil.
The 1-4 butanediol they are engineering microbes to produce is used to make Spandex, drugs (pharmaceuticals), and plastics, among other things.Schilling estimates that their bio-production of BDO will be 25% cheaper to produce than the petrochemical process, assuming that the cost of sugar used to feed the microbes is 12 to 14 cents a pound, and the price of oil is $50 to $60 per barrel, or higher.They already have many of the steps for BDO production worked out, making more rapid progress than was originally expected.“There are 5 steps in the production of pure BDO,” said Schilling, adding that all of these steps had already been worked out in their lab to produce BDO that is 99% pure, or higher, a milestone recently announced.They are ready to scale up the process in a pilot plant, and working on securing funding for construction of the plant, hoping to start production in 2010.
The environmental benefits of their bio-production methods based on renewable resources provide value but they know they must compete with established methods based primarily on economic benefits. “The uptake of our technology is driven primarily by cost,” said Schilling, making the accomplishment of not just the technology milestones important, but the practical engineering milestones of working out the whole process just as important.
While the economic crisis has affected everyone to some extent, Schilling views the crisis not just as a problem but an opportunity.“Companies that have great technology, great people, and good plans can still get funding,” he said.“The crisis is a weeding out process, another form of evolution.”With some businesses having difficulty and laying off workers, Schilling views this as an opportunity to find talented workers.Some competitors like chemical companies have stalled their efforts to develop sustainable chemistry, leaving the opportunity to Genomatica.“Over the next two years if we can continue to advance, they’ll be looking for ways to expand with technology like ours,” said Schilling.
When I asked what he views as the most important factors for entrepreneurial success, Schilling responded: “Focus, Focus, Focus,” and being passionate about what they do.
Schilling seems to have the “Focus, Focus, Focus” part as well as the passion.Just as Genomatica evolves their microbes to find the successful ones, the market appears likely to select Genomatica as one of the winners if they continue their record of innovation and practical commercial application.With 35 employees today, Genomatica is taking things one step at a time while keeping their eye on future.“We will be the catalysts of change in this industry,” said Schilling.It’s not about putting the chemical industry out of business, but winning them over to change how they do business.
(image courtesy of Genomatica)
Glenn Croston is the author of “75 Green Businesses” (www.75GreenBusinesses.com), the e-book “Greening Your Business On a Budget”, and Starting Green (to be released September 2009). He is also the founder of Starting Up Green (www.StartingUpGreen.com), helping entrepreneurs from all backgrounds to start and grow successful green businesses. He can be reached at glenn(dot)croston(at)75greenbusinesses(dot)com.
There is no saying what the business world will do the in short term, but these long term trends are a good bet to keep growing the green business world in the years ahead:
1. Oil will cost more
There’s only so much oil in the ground, and we're burning it up faster than we find new supplies. The slump in oil prices caused by the Great Recession won’t last forever, and is already showing signs of upward movement. As the economy starts to grow again and China and India put millions of new cars on the road, the price of oil will rise. When gas costs more like it did in the summer of 2008, people respond by driving less and buying smaller cars. More expensive oil will mean more rapid uptake of alternatives like all electric cars and plug-in hybrids.
2. Emitting greenhouse gases gets expensive
For most of history pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by burning coal or other fuels has been free, but this is changing.The carbon party is coming to an end.The US and the world are getting serious about climate change, and doing something about it, striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050.Whether or not the final climate change solution in the US is cap and trade or some variation of this is still not clear, but the US government seems likely to put a price on carbon in the not too distant future.The long term impact will be to generate economic pressure that creates a low carbon economy.Getting from where we stand today to this new economy of the future is a huge undertaking, but also a big opportunity to provide innovative low carbon solutions in many industries.
3. Water is increasingly valuable
We usually think about water and use it as if it’s free and endless, but in many parts of the world this is clearly not the case.The US Southwest, Australia, and parts of China are experiencing long term water shortages that will be even worse as populations keep growing and climate change continues in the decades ahead.When water supplies are limited, water will either be rationed, or the price will rise to reflect the true value of this resource.Either way, the impact will be to encourage water conservation in our homes, businesses, and industries, and to encourage the growth of businesses that provide water efficiency.
4. Saving Energy Pays
The most cost effective and greenest energy resource is usually not solar or wind, but weatherstripping and insulation.Most buildings waste a great deal of energy, including our homes and businesses, and this waste can be readily reduced with easy steps like fixing air ducts and putting in better insulation.Making these changes in buildings can pay for itself with reduced energy bills, and incentives from utilities and governments such as tax credits, rebates, and loans are designed to further encourage energy efficiency.The more energy we save, the more money we save, and the closer we are to addressing climate change.
5. Long-term incentives for renewable energy
To encourage the shift away from fossil fuels, another measure governments are using is to provide incentives for renewable energy.The US government greatly expanded tax credits, grants, and loan guarantees for renewable energy as part of the February 2009 stimulus package and the October 2008 bailout bill.While the tax credit for residential solar in the US frequently expired in the past and was capped at $2000, the credit has now been extended for 8 years, and the cap lifted, allowing for 30% of the value of the system to be taken as a tax credit.As the measures from the stimulus package are implemented, massive growth is expected for renewable energy.
6. Green certification will spread and grow
To avoid concerns about greenwashing, the term for overstated environmental claims by businesses, people on all sides are looking for a standard to measure the greenness of products and businesses.The greenness of buildings is certified by the LEED system from the US Green Building Council, for example, and the organic certification of food helped to bring solid meaning to the organic food industry.Look for the continued spread of green certification to allow for more easily understood green standards elsewhere in the same way it has helped these industries.
7. Better food means better health
Our national health continues to suffer from the obesity and diabetes epidemic, but there is hope.We know to a large extent what the problem is, stemming from low quality food, and lots of it, and from a lack of physical activity.The solutions have not always been as clear, but government and industry are increasingly interested in promoting preventative medicine in part to save their own budgetary hides.Something has to give, and finding ways to encourage healthy behavior and healthier food is a win-win solution for all involved.
8. The world is still flat
Economic crisis or not, Thomas Friedman is still correct - the world is still flat, and will continue to be.For US businesses to compete they must be anchored to the local, and constantly innovate in important fields like renewable energy and energy efficiency.Green collar jobs and green businesses are one effective response to this trend – you can’t send rooftops to China, as Friedman and Van Jones describe.
9. The green bar keeps getting higher
What is green today may be considered pretty grey tomorrow.Green businesses cannot rest on their green laurels.They need to keep moving and improving if they want to continue distinguishing themselves and reaping the rewards for their efforts.
10. The rise of the conserver economy
The economic crisis is not over yet.With trillions of dollars of debt, credit still tight, and housing values way down, consumers are cutting way back on spending and may keep their spending low for a long time to come.While this spells trouble for those who rely on the consumer economy, it also creates opportunities tied to the rise of the conserver economy in which people and businesses are saving more, wasting less, and thinking of the long term. By using resources more wisely and rethinking our priorities, the conserver economy is green in many ways, helping people as well as the planet.
Glenn Croston is the Fast Company expert blogger on green business, the author of “75 Green Businesses” (www.75GreenBusinesses.com), the author of the e-book “Greening Your Business On a Budget”, and the founder of Starting Up Green (www.StartingUpGreen.com), helping entrepreneurs from all backgrounds to start and grow successful green businesses. He can be reached at glenn(dot)croston(at)75greenbusinesses(dot)com.
When people talk to me about the green business they're working on, it will sometimes become apparent as we talk that at least part of the problem they are encountering may not be what they think it is.Rather than being an issue related to planning, marketing, product development, or greening their operations, the issue is sometimes more fundamental, reflecting an inner struggle they have about making money.
This can reveal itself in discussions of larger businesses that have undertaken efforts to save money by wasting less energy, water, and other resources.“Sure, but they’re just doing it to save money,” the person will say.Another variation of this often comes out in discussion of using market mechanisms to address climate change, in which case some people say “Businesses got us into this problem – how can they get us out?”
Their thinking reveals a fundamental assumption many people have, that making money and doing the right thing for the environment cannot coexist.Curiously this assumption reveals itself in people at opposite poles of environmental issues.For some people this assumption is used to support their belief that we cannot solve environmental problems without extracting a ruinous economic toll (more on this one another day).For others though the conflict is the mirror image of this, that if you are making money you must not be doing the right thing for the planet.
Statements like these reveal an internal conflict that shapes their efforts to create a business.Deep in their mind some of these people are thinking that if they make money, then they’re part of the problem.Which leads me to make a simple statement.It’s okay for a green business to make money.In fact, it’s more than okay – it’s essential.Commitment to helping the environment is important, but if your business does not make money will disappear.
If this seems overly obvious to you and you’re wondering why you are reading this, then read no more.If this strikes a chord one way or another though, then you should explore this further.
I call the answer to this thinking “ISABS”, which stands for “It’s Still a Business, Silly.”Green or otherwise, a business needs to make money.Some green entrepreneurs do a great job at building a rationale for how they can help the environment, but lack a clear plan for how their efforts will make money.Being green does not relieve a business from the need to have a sound plan, develop great products, figure out how to sell them, and bring in more money than they spend.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not advocating unrestrained, unregulated business.Making money needs to be balanced with doing the right thing for us all.It’s not that “Greed is Good”.But properly regulated, morally and environmentally sound capitalism is not just okay – it could be the thing that saves both the economy and the environment.Capitalism funnels capital to fuel innovation, and we need innovative and cost effective solutions for clean energy, buildings, water, food, transportation, and just about every other aspect of life.Do the right thing, and make money while you’re doing it - that’s all I’m saying.
If any of this resonates with you, take some time to examine your feelings about making money and how this might be impacting the green ideas you are working on.Working through some of these questions early on will avoid heartache and headaches later on, and help you get where you really want to go, helping the environment while building a strong profitable business at the same time.
Glenn Croston is the Fast Company expert blogger on green business, the author of “75 Green Businesses” (www.75GreenBusinesses.com), the author of the e-book “Greening Your Business On a Budget”, and the founder of Starting Up Green (www.StartingUpGreen.com), helping entrepreneurs from all backgrounds to start and grow successful green businesses. He can be reached at glenn(dot)croston(at)75greenbusinesses(dot)com.
