GREEN BUSINESS VIEWS

Green Business Solutions

I was recently pleasantly surprised to discover yet another great idea for a Green business that allows employees to participate in a Green activity.  It actually applies more to the sustainability issues since it will reduce another demand on our resources and lessen the waste output.  We have all seen the weekly time cards that are hung at the entry area of the every workplace or factory.  One can only imagine the millions of these paper cards that are used every week by businesses everywhere.  Although these timecards are often recycled by the more conscientious businesses, they are also dumped into the trash.  Well, now there is a new biometric timeclock that allows employees to simply have their hands read by the machine and enter a code.  How cool is that?  By the way, it also prevents any co-workers from “clocking in” a late or absent friend.  This would be an obvious Green Practice that would improve sustainability efforts for the company in more than a few ways.

These biometric timeclocks are not expensive, and the savings (ROI) will be very quick. A business knows that the real costs are not just paper savings, but the time and energy it takes to prepare, pass out, collect, and read these cards.   Missing or faulty cards make the time investment even more onerous.  These systems are integrated into the company’s computer system, and information can be sent over the Internet for remote locations.  Smaller desktop models can track even more routine duties, or allow workers doing their job at home to check in.   I do like the idea of allowing workers to participate in an effective and sustainable practice within their daily duties.

Besides the complaint about “Big Brother,” it must be conceded that the biometric timeclock is an idea that offers a near perfect solution.  This concept represents the cumulative process that takes a company toward a more environmentally-friendly workplace.  Green infers a healthier workplace, which the biometric timeclock does not impact.  Sustainability refers to a lessening of demand on our natural resources (including waste disposal constraints).  Therefore, the classic view would that the biometric timeclock represents a low-cost, highly-effective, and sustainable application that should be considered in the larger sustainability plan.

While we are discussing paper, I want to emphasize the huge carbon, pollution, and transportation issue relative to unrestrained paper use.  Paper products compose abut 36% of municipal solid waste (MSW), and the best way to reduce this is not simply a recycling process, but a source reduction strategy.   The reduction of paper use by business is a long-delayed duty that will be very hard to overcome.  Nonetheless, think of the ideas that can be easily accomplished.

Get rid of your fax machines!  Get a monthly eFax service that converts outgoing and incoming faxes into an email format while enjoying the convenience of a fax.  eFax documents need not be printed out, but can be shared with anyone else by forwarding the information.  The cost of the phone line, fax machine, and paper required is quickly eclipsed by the savings realized by this kind of solution.  There are dozens of these online solutions, and the only talent required is the ability to send and receive emails.  The eFax service provides the number and converts everything for the user.

Duplexing of the printer is the popular “sustainable” solution, but source reduction is even better.  Cut paper out of the office as often as possible.  The speed of computers and the Internet has made this very possible.  Every business needs to investigate a paperless documents and retrieval system.   These changes provide for a local computer to act as the repository or an encrypted server from the provider allowing document access from anywhere in the world.  The challenge here is that the “ramp up” time is difficult; but once done, the freedom and speed of document access is remarkable.

Finally, move your invoicing to an online service.  Accounts receivable is a total hassle.  If your company is running off invoices, mailing, and tracking all your receivables, the company is living in the ice age.  Get an online service that bills customers online and allows them to pay by credit card as well as mailing in the payment.  This will reduce the labor, postage, and paper costs.  It will also speed up the payment cycle so more of your money is in your bank account rather than in a receivable ledger.

I have mentioned only a few of the ideas that should be in a sustainability business plan.  There are hundreds of pragmatic, cost saving, and environmentally-friendly solutions, but they are often applied in a piecemeal and patchwork manner.  I have argued for quite some time that there is a need for a trained adviser for companies who is capable of putting together a Green or Sustainability program that leads to eventual certification.  I suggest that a company outsource the task to a Certified Green Consultant, or to train their own in-house Certified Sustainability Officer.   Once the sustainability plan is in place and operational, the ability to then earn a reliable certification through the Green Business League provides a credible and exciting way to promote your Green business to the community.

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