Is There Really Such a Thing As a Green Business?

April 6, 2011 | By Articles are the property of their respective Authors In living green | Comments(0)

Is There Really Such a Thing As a Green Business?
By KB Massingill

Sustainability is a dirty word to some business owners. Business is a dirty word to some serious sustainability advocates. So whether you say green, sustainable, socially responsible, or environmentally conscious the idea of adding the word in a positive sentence regarding business or industry can seem counter-intuitive, but like any important conversation engaging in the conversation brings benefit to all of the participants.

The first book that really helped me understand this was Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way we Make Things, by Michael Braungart. You can’t read his book without thinking seriously about both business and sustainability, and the fact becomes clear that getting people to be serious about being green, means helping them understand the benefit to them. Entrepreneurs are fascinated with creating value and benefiting financially from that value, we just need more entrepreneurs to engage in the green conversation, and believe me, they will find the value. That is what entrepreneurs do!

Anything that forces entrepreneurs to the edge of the conversation, reduces the chances of those win/win moments when incremental progress becomes exponential. Interest in green oriented businesses and franchises has skyrocketed. One concept that has seriously caught the attention of those interested in business is that of retrofitting LED lighting into existing spaces. Incandescent light is expensive and energy-consuming. (Notice how I put a business word in and a sustainability word?) Compact florescent bulbs are more energy efficient, and less expensive to operate, but contain mercury. LED lighting hasn’t really been a viable option for years, but beginning sometime around 2009 that began to change.

One franchise opportunity that has taken this to the masses is LED Source. LED Source is a franchise that provides the expertise, exceptional buying power and special software to help building owners, business people, to see the value of doing retrofits. LED Source franchisees focus on the serious business concept of ROI – Return on Investment to help clients see the long term benefits, both financial and environmental, to switching to LED lighting.

Is this a business conversation or is it an environmental conversation? Of course, I am advocating that it can be both, and it can be good for both, and it can raise awareness of social issues. What is your motive for being green? Is it the welfare of your grandchildren? Is it a love for the world we live in? Is it a desire to leave behind something better than they way you found it? If it were, profit, would that be a bad thing? Indeed entrepreneurs are motivated by profit, but if the profit motive creates more engagement in the pressing issues of social responsibility, I believe, and hope that will be a good thing. Engage in green, sustainable, and socially responsible.

About the Author:

Dr. Massingill is a Business Consultant and Certified Franchise Broker with Franchise Thinking. Massingill has started, owned and sold several businesses, and as a serial entrepreneur attempts to help individuals identify franchise opportunities. You can find out more about Franchise Thinking at: http://franchisethinking.com.

Please Note... All links within articles are placed by their author-owners and not by this blog.Products with in those links may or may not be the best in the world.If it sounds too good to be true it could be a scam.Articles are posted for their info,ideas and or entertainment value only.

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Living Green-Part 3 of 7-Save as Much Power as Possible

January 9, 2010 | By Articles are the property of their respective Authors In living green | Comments(0)

Save as Much Power as Possible

We use electricity for many things in our lives, and often do so without thinking
twice about it. We turn on the switch for lights in our home and to turn on
electronic devices all the time. Yet we need to do our best to save as much
power as we can.

The types of light bulbs that you are using can be a problem for the environment.
There are many places that sell those that are energy efficient though. You can
get them in any size you need for all the rooms in your home. They aren’t very
expensive and what you do spend on them you will save with a lower electricity
bill each month.
It is very simple to cut back on the amount of lighting you use at all though.
During the day open curtains and allow the natural sunlight to shine through.
Then you will only need to turn on the lights at night when the sun goes down or
on cloudy days.

The use of sky lights has become very popular for businesses and even in newer
homes. This allows the sun to be shining through the ceiling and so less
electricity has to be used. Some of the larger retail stores such as Wal-Mart use
this as much as possible.
Look up as you walk through one of their stores. You will notice during the day
they don’t have very many lights on at all. Sometimes a cloud will roll in front of
the sun and you will notice it immediately gets darker in the store than before.
They are saving a huge amount of money on electricity and they are also helping
the environment.

There are many ways in which you can generate electricity too that comes from
alterative power. You can place solar panels on your roof which will collect
electricity. That is the source your home will use for all of its needs when you turn
the power on to something.
Should you run out of the solar power that has been collected it will immediately
kick over to the regular electricity without any interruption to you at all. There is
also the use of wind and water power in some areas. Take a look at these
alternative methods and see what you can do with them for your own home.

A big waster of electricity that pollutes the environment is leaving light bulbs
burning on your porch when you are away from home. You don’t have to go
without lighting when you return but you don’t need to do it that way anymore.
There are some great alternatives to consider.

You can place decorative solar lights along your driveway. Some of them are
very short while others are tall lantern style. It is completely up to you which look
you would like to have for the landscaping of your home. Since you don’t need to
plug them in to an outlet you can place them anywhere you would like to out
there.

These lights collect power from the sun in the day time and as soon as it gets
dark they will illuminate your hard. When they run out of solar power they will turn
off. Should they have enough to last all night then they will turn off when they sun
comes up and start collecting energy to use all over again.

Another alternative is to install a motion light. This is a type that doesn’t have to
be left on when you leave home. When you pull into your driveway it will turn on
based on the movement it has detected. It will remain on for a short period of
time which allows you to get safely into your home with the light you need.

The use of windmills in many areas to create energy is also being looked at.
Sometimes water known as hydropower is available too. However, the light bulbs
you use can help you get the most out of these benefits.
If from start to finish everything in your electricity gathering and using process is
eco-friendly you won’t feel bad about consuming it to operate lights and the
electronics that you use in your home and business.

Are you still with us ,I hope we are not boring you with our mini series-ready for Part 4 of 7 ?

See you their ,Robbie Martin