Published February 2004

Want to ‘green’ your business? Look here first

Dear BizBest: My partner has convinced me to make our business more environmentally conscious this year. Her argument is that we will not only feel better about helping the planet, but customers will respond and profits will rise. So I’m in. Where can we get good “business minded” info and advice on the practical side of making our biz more “green”? — Getting Greener

Dear Getting Greener: There couldn’t be a better time to “green” your business. The environment can certainly use the help. And the availability of environmentally preferable products and services — plus advice and information on greening a biz — is expanding rapidly. Almost anything your business does, from buying office supplies to disposing of old electronic gear, can be accomplished with “green” products and services. Office Depot, for example, has just launched “The Green Book,” the office-supply industry’s first catalog devoted entirely to environmentally preferable products, with over 1,300 entries.

Many market-savvy small businesses are projecting a positive image with customers by promoting their environmental efforts. Here are some of the top BizBest resources and solutions for taking your business green:

n For timely information, practical tools and sound advice on making a business more environmentally conscious, GreenBiz.com is pure gold. The Web site is packed with helpful information and is geared toward helping businesses take an environmental stance that also helps the bottom line. “Greening Your Business: A Primer for Smaller Companies” is a free, hands-on guide to help put environmental thinking to work in your business. View it on the Web site (in the Bookstore section) or download the entire document. The site provides descriptions and links to nearly 100 helpful organizations and Web sites — many of them state-specific. There are also good reports, such as “Practical Tips to Make Your Computer Environmentally Friendly: Strategies for greener purchasing, use and disposal of personal computers.” Take time to explore the site. Select “Small Business” in the “Pick a Topic” pull-down menu.

n The Small Business Environmental Home Page helps business owners tap into pollution-prevention assistance programs of all types. There’s an excellent list of links to State Environmental Agencies and small-business programs. Click on “Small Business Assistance,” and then select the list of contacts to bring up state-by-state listings and a U.S. map you can click on. You’ll find free mentoring programs that are available to help your small business improve its environmental performance. Visit the site at www.smallbiz-enviroweb.org.

n Old printer cartridges are a major source of pollution, and efforts to recycle them have been spotty. Office-supply chains such as Office Depot and Staples will take used cartridges. Or the International Imaging Technology Council, a Las Vegas-based trade group for cartridge remanufacturers, can help you find a local firm that recycles them. Visit www.i-itc.org and look in the “Directories” section under IITC vendors or call 702-838-4279.

n The Buy Recycled Business Alliance is a group of companies and nonprofit organizations working to promote the market for recycled-content products. The “Buyers” section of the BRBA Web site lists companies that sell products made from recycled materials — everything from floor coverings and doors to paint, bulletin boards and plastic “lumber.” Visit www.nrc-recycle.org/brba or call 703-683-9025.

n These resources can help you find a place to recycle or donate used computers and other electronic equipment: The National Recycling Coalition has a database of recyclers at www.nrc-recycle.org. The International Association of Electronics Recyclers lets you search for companies by name or location at www.iaer.org.

BizBest (www.bizbest.com) publishes independent ratings and analyses of nearly 2,000 small-business resources in hundreds of subject categories. Daniel Kehrer is editor and publisher. E-mail questions to dan@bizbest.com.

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