Being green isn’t easy
by Marissa Hermanson

Executive Director Graham Russell of CORE, a Denver-based nonprofit that promotes environmentally responsible business practices, reveals five sustainability issues that small businesses encounter.

Computer servers
Most small businesses don’t need their own servers and should consult third-party organizations to handle data operations, since servers are used less than 10 percent of the time. Third-party organizations, like Istonish, 19Marketplace and the Sustainable IT Group, can handle all data operations through a secure Internet-based link, where all data is stored on a remote server.

“Not only can this reduce the capital cost of equipment and energy costs, it can also reduce the cost of in-house or contract equipment maintenance services,” says Russell.

Cloud computing is the term given to servers that aren’t in-house, since these remote servers “are notionally up in the clouds” rather than on the business’s grounds, says Russell.

Water usage
“Organizations that use a lot of water have major opportunities for recycling,” says Russell. “Even organizations that don’t use much water have opportunities to reduce costs by installing new, low-flow toilets and automated faucets, etc.”

And for hotels and restaurants, there are low-water-use and low-energy-use washing machines. For lawns, Russell suggests systems that use infrared sensors that determine moisture content in the soil and operate sprinkler systems based on what areas need water most. The downside: these sprinkler systems are expensive.

Greenhouse-gas emissions
“The negative impact of travel on the environment is huge, whether this is long-distance travel by air or simply commuting from home into the office — not to mention the massive waste of time,” says Russell.

Russell suggests encouraging employees to work from home and substituting electronic communication for physical meetings. This saves energy and reduces carbon emissions. Another suggestion: drive less. By replacing one car trip a week with walking or biking, you can decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 520 pounds per year, according to Greenprint Denver.

Renting
“One major problem for many organizations is that they lease rather than own their space. Under the terms of most leases, there is no advantage to the tenant to reduce energy consumption or water consumption because the operating costs are fixed to the tenant and any savings accrue to the landlord,” says Russell. “Likewise, if the landlord doesn’t engage a recycling service, the tenant has limited opportunity to recycle.”

The easiest ways to increase sustainability when renting is by reducing travel to work, introducing teleworking programs and using office products efficiently, according to CORE. Also, recycle ink cartridges, turn off lights, use scrap paper and become paperless.
“It’s important to start with things that are visible and show short-term impact. These typically involve recycling and energy savings. These are things that most organizations can do and that most people understand,” says Russell. “Generally, encouraging these simple things is largely a matter of making it easy for people to do them.”

Expenses
“There are always quick and easy things companies can do to improve sustainability, especially if they own their space or have utilities separately metered,” says Russell. “The quick and low-investment options generally involve simple energy efficiency steps like changing lighting, changing out plumbing fixtures, installing simple recycling initiatives, purchasing more energy-efficient electronic equipment when the time comes to replace existing equipment, a conscious effort to make more efficient use of office supplies and recycle used paper, ink and toner cartridges, etc. All of these things either cost nothing or have almost instant payback.”

“Once a company has a few runs on the scoreboard from measures like those mentioned above, they will consider more elaborate steps that involve some investment upfront and perhaps a longer payback period,” Russell says.

Use www.goodtobegreen.com as a guide for commercial building supplies and professionals. This is a guide that covers green issues, from plumbing to masonry to electrical. Also, the EPA’s Energy Star team (energystar.gov) is a reliable resource that can guide your business in the green direction.