Happy Earth Day Small Businesses!

In honor of Earth Day, this blog will be some common sense tips (that might also save you money in the long run) on becoming a more earth friendly establishment.


Although it may seem that Earth Day is just an excuse for crazy hippies to berate “the Man,” and large corporations, I see it as an opportunity to discuss some practical, easy, money saving ideas for small businesses that happen to help the earth along the way.

*Just for everyone’s information, I was long into the “green movement” before it became chic in the last few years. In fact, my elementary school put on a play about conservation when I was in the 5th grade. I remember a song called “Driving Miss Lazy” that my friend Kendall Strickland sang in front of the entire school. Ok, I digress.

Also, don’t forget about the organic lollipop samples at Linens-N-Things today from Yummy Earth!

Tips for a greener business:
1. Find a supplier for your office needs that carries “green” products. This could mean recycled paper, cleaners made with all natural ingredients, etc. You can usually find a local, independently owned business that you can help support instead of going to Office Depot for everything. For example, a local green supply business here in Houston is Savannah Supplies, Inc. They carry a huge variety of earth friendly products at an affordable price. Their website was down today, but keep them in your bookmarks and check back to see what they have to offer.

2. Bring your own coffee cup to work. I know it sounds stupidly simple, but you’d be amazed at the amount of Styrofoam cups an office can go through in a week (especially for the hard-core coffee addicts that use at least 3 cups a day). It may take a few extra seconds out of your day to wash your mug, but it saves on having to buy new sleeves of cups and saves a lot of cups going into a landfill. Managers and business owners, it IS likely that you’ll get a collective groan from any employees that are apathetic toward the cause, but guess what, it’s your business. You can even have a sign up that keeps a running tally of how many cups you’ve prevented from going into a landfill to make your employees more aware of what they’re doing. Going cold turkey is best, and within a week, no one will even notice the difference.

3. STOP BUYING PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES. There are better ways of having good, cold, clean water available to employees and clients in your office. Get an energy saver fridge with an icemaker, and attach a filter to your kitchen sink and save on having a water cooler or plastic bottles. If you have a water cooler, have employees bring their own cups (just like the coffee mugs). I have one client that refuses to switch from water bottles to a water filter or water cooler, because “the employees like having the portable water bottles to take places.” My answer to that is that everyone has cup holders in their car, so the water is still portable (after all, it’s their cups they’re using). If they want to take water places, there are also reusable water bottles you can bring into the office with even more portability. If you’re really crafty, you can have reusable water bottles made up with your logo on the front to give away to employees and clients that stop by the office. If you’re not as concerned about the environmental aspect, a case of water retails for $6.99 a piece (on the Office Depot website), and a company with 20 employees purchases 12 cases a week (on average). This amounts to a little over $4,300/year. If you’re leasing an office and don’t have a water bill, that is $4,300 (not to mention sales tax) you’ve saved over the course of a year.

4. Turn off the lights when you go to lunch and when you leave for the day. It sounds like such a simple idea, but when I worked in an office with over 20 people, I was amazed that when I stayed in for lunch, when everyone was gone, all their office lights remained on. If you have offices with individual switches, it is obviously much easier to do…Even leaving a post-it note on everyone’s switch reminding them would be something you could do with very little effort.


5. If you’re thinking about building a new office, use an architect that is LEED certified. If you’ve never heard of the acronym, it stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.” The architect can help you find ways to save on energy costs and create a sustainable building. If no one in your town or city is doing so, it would be a great way to lead your community. It would also garner you lots of free press in the local media (as a nice bonus).

Once you decide to “go green” (as overused as that phrase has become), publicize your actions to your clients, employees and customers. They will appreciate your efforts and harbor more admiration and loyalty to your company. All it takes is one person to start positive change within a company! Please leave comments on how your company, family, or organization has done something positive for the planet.