Inspired Business

Stages of ROI on Eco-efficiency

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:18:50 +0000

Eco-efficiency pays dividends year after year. Various practitioners have different titles and phases for implementing sustainability in organizations (and buildings for that matter). I have taken those stages and put them in financial terms. The good news is the more mature you get in the phases, the more money you make over time. 1. Pre-compliance was what [...]

Employees forego pay for carbon neutrality

admin — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 21:16:06 +0000

Think employees only care about money and time-off. Think again. New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins Colorado is most famous for its wonderful Fat Tire Amber beer. But it is also one of the leading companies in the world for creating a sustainable business. But the story of how it went to clean renewable energy deserves [...]

Sustainability delivers higher productivity

admin — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:17:59 +0000

It has been proven over and over again that businesses that have a higher purpose than just profit can recruit and keep the best employees. Furthermore, those good employees are more productive than their counterparts in companies that are only focused on profit. But why is this so? How do you nurture those great employees to [...]

Sustainability Vision

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 13:24:19 +0000

If you think sustainability is important in our human systems, then you have some vision of what your company should be doing about it. Whether you are a line worker, middle manager or senior executive, your vision has some relationship to current reality. Here is a graphic I absconded from the excellent book “The Sustainability Champions [...]

More Evidence: Conscious Capitalism Pays

admin — Wed, 12 May 2010 17:14:05 +0000

OK. So nobody is colder and more bottom line oriented than Wall Street. And Goldman Sachs is getting the brunt of it now. So that’s why if they say green is most profitable, it probably is. After all, The Street values profit over all else. According to a Goldman finding, “from 2005-2007, organizations that are leaders [...]

Speaking of Banks

admin — Mon, 10 May 2010 17:22:07 +0000

Just for fun, lets say you inherited 4 million dollars from someone you didn’t know. You could live off the interest right? After taxes, say 200K per year. So long as you don’t screw with the principal, you have created a scenario of sustainable development. As a human you are still going to develop. Some of [...]

Taking Green Business to the Bank

admin — Fri, 07 May 2010 21:11:24 +0000

Want to make your company more profitable with each transaction AND worth more during your exit? Then make it truly green and the money will follow. As of January 2008, a 0.15 oz tube of Burt’s Bee’s lip balm cost $3.00. The same size tube of Chapstick cost 1.69. Sure, Burt’s production costs were about 25% [...]

The Real Debacle of the Oil Spill

admin — Sun, 02 May 2010 15:42:39 +0000

There are about a million reasons why the oil spill is such a problem. But the issue I see comes in the form of missed opportunity. The senate was ready to take up a rare bipartisan energy bill soon co-sponsored by a Democrat, an Independent and a Republican. Sure, the bill has its problems but it genuinely is a shot [...]

Hard Proof: Social Responsibility Adds to Bottom Line

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:21:25 +0000

Are you still stuck in the old paradigm that acting ethically might hurt your bottom line? Think again. “Between 1995 and 2007, socially responsible investmanet assets expanded by 324 percent, sharply outpacing growth in the broader universe of investments, which increase by less than 260 percent over the same period. Social Investing is thriving as never [...]

Green Business or Not, Wise Advice

admin — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:21:12 +0000

I found this a great guide for starting any venture; green, high-tech or low-tech. Brand new or spin-off. Rock band, green business or non-profit venture. Key Points: Get a great team Get committed partners Offer something unique that meets a need Build slowly with low risk tests/installations/engagements Continue to improve Scale when ready Thanks to the blog TelevisionSky for this great guide. For [...]