Question: If I have a small business that is struggling just to break even, won’t "going green" just mean more expenses without much added revenue?
Answer: Much of the reason for sustainability’s popularity is that businesses are increasingly seeing it as a way to save money and get their employees excited about the company. Energy, water and waste are large expenses for many businesses, and sometimes minor adjustments can end up saving money every month without costing much upfront.
The simplest example is proper adjustment of lighting and air conditioning. Many times, businesses are spending a lot of money making their offices or storefronts into refrigerators, thinking that customers want to be at 70 degrees. But here in Hawaii, most people aren’t dressed for 70 degrees and actually would prefer the thermostat to be set at 76 or so.
Q: It seems like every company these days is slapping on the "green" label regardless of what they do. As a consumer, how can I trust the "green" label? As a business owner, how can I make sure my customers know our green efforts are sincere?
A: It’s a great question, and one that really does plague the green movement. A few things. First, there’s a concept called radical transparency. The idea is that if a company claims something green about their products or services but then can’t back it up with a simple and clear explanation on their website or other marketing materials, odds are they’re probably greenwashing to some degree. The second idea is that there are bona fide eco-labels out there, like Energy Star, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and USDA Organic. If, as a customer, you see one of these trusted labels, you know that your product is truly a greener alternative. Consumer Reports does a nice evaluation, with a report card on various eco-labels that you can check out here: www.greenerchoices.org/ eco-labels. Third, there are now apps for smartphones that will grade products by scanning bar codes. This is the wave of the future, as consumers at point of purchase will be able to get easy-to-read, independent, third-party information about the products they’re buying right when they’re making a decision. The best of these is likely Good Guide: www.goodguide.com. Good Guide and others are also available as websites, so that if you’re just shopping online, you can quickly compare products as well. When presented with a product that uses child labor versus a product that doesn’t … all of a sudden, the extra 25 cents or even a dollar doesn’t seem as hard to justify to buy the better product.
Q: If my boss doesn’t really seem concerned about sustainability and I am concerned, what can I do to make my employer listen?
A: Make the business case for green, not the green case for your business. Every boss wants his or her division to make more money, and these days it’s getting easier and easier to do this through sustainability initiatives.
Q: If, as a business owner, my company has set up a solid sustainability program but the employees aren’t buying into it, what can I do to motivate them?
A: Align their rewards and incentives so that your values become their values. Then sit back and watch them think like managers.
Q: What are the potential disadvantages of "greening your business," and how can you avoid them?
A: Probably the biggest potential pitfall is biting off more than you can chew and losing focus on your core business functions. The key at the outset is to start with some smaller initiatives that have easy-to-identify returns, and then to showcase these successes to all stakeholders (customers, employees, investors, etc.) and then expand from there.
Q: Can you tell readers about the state Department of Labor’s upcoming workshop on sustainability?
A: We are going to be leading one-day sustainability workshops for Hawaii business leaders this month and next. We’re going to focus on exactly these kinds of issues and do quite a few exercises to help guide business leaders through the thought processes that will result in a winning sustainability strategy that they can implement at their companies. The dates are July 25 in Kahului, Aug. 1 in Kailua-Kona, Aug. 8 in Honolulu and Aug. 10 in Lihue. The workshops are sponsored by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, so the cost for registrants is just $30-$35 for the whole day and includes lunch, coffee/tea, snacks and workshop materials. And of course, we’re very excited to be offering a no-GMO menu, locally sourced and healthy, catered by some of Hawaii’s best catering companies. Readers can find out more at sesphawaii.com/workshopsesphawaii.com/workshop.
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Interviewed by David Butts
