GREEN BUSINESS VIEWS

We will feature some of the better Questions and Answers about business environmental issues on this page.  If you have serious question, feel free to ask.  Items of general interest will be featured on this page.  Submit your questions to office (at) greenbusinessleague.com.

Q- You pick on Internet Green certifications a lot.  Shouldn’t you give them credit for trying?

A- Yes I do because we are seeing a constant and persistent Greenwashing at every level of business.  We might suggest that Chinese knock-offs provide services to people unwilling to pay reasonable prices for products.  Internet Green certification program are cropping up like weeds in a garden.  They do not help the situation at all, and they beg the less-than-honest to “Game the System.”  If they wanted to merely educate businesses, then sell the information.  It isn’t about the window dressing.  It is all about collecting money from the easily-fooled.

Q- My business is not a 100+ operation.  Can I still get the GBL certification?

That’s the beauty of the GBL Green Point system.  Any business making an effort can get to 100 points.  More aggressive or larger businesses can more rapidly move up the certification level to the ladder from silver to gold or titanium.  Remember that the environmental issue is a universal problem that requires universal participation.  The Green Business League offers a great process for all to share in this present-day challenge.

Q- Where can I find a certified Green janitorial service?

While the janitorial service might seem like the least of the concerns for a Green business, it is actually one of the key decisions a Green business will make.  Janitorial services all claim to be Green, but you should see if there is a Green Clean Institute Certified janitorial service nearby.  Green Clean Institute is leader certification of Green janitorial.  Janitorial service can greatly harm or help the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) which has a serious impact on workers over the short and long haul.

Q- What really makes a Green Certified Home?  Can’t anyone just put up a sign, and call any home Green?

Unfortunately, nearly anyone can call a home Green for the most simple of reasons.  I find people make this stuff up as they go, and there are people gullible enough to buy into these crazy schemes.  A Green home must be certified by a true auditing organization, like LEED, Green Business League, or NAHB.  A home is not Green because of random claims.  There is more to the process, however, than the construction that most program consider.  The Green Legacy Home program is the only program that provides something called Green Equity, meaning that there is a premium value to a home that is also maintained as a Green home.  Find out more at www.GreenCertifiedHomes.org.

The Green Legacy Home program provides a manual that is like a maintenance record for your home, and the home is re-certified every year.  The owner has the unprecedented opportunity to sell this Green certified home with the Green premium value that it deserves.   Anyone that has bought a Green home needs to get into this program right away because the premium you paid to buy your Green home is lost unless you keep it maintained as a Green home.

Q- We don’t have a Green Building, can we still get a Green Certification?

Of course, that is the premise of the Green Business League.  The primary focus in on the “Green Practices,” and only secondarily on the facility.  GBL has developed more than 400 different Green practices that apply to businesses of all types.  You can rent, lease, or own your property; but the biggest issue is whether your business is making progress in Green and sustainable applications.

The good news is that the GBL Green business certification is well-respected and allows for low-cost and high-return improvements.  The ROI for a business is always a crucial issue, and GBL has found that a 12 to 24 month ROI in installing Green practices is very realistic.  The best way to get started on this project is to appoint or install a Green Officer (Certified Sustainability Officer) from one or more of your best employees or office staff.  The training is now available online at (http://www.CertifiedSustainabilityOfficer.com).  The course is excellent and provides the tools needed to provide a quality Sustainability Plan that is tailored to the company being served.  If you already have a sustainability officer, be sure to get them connected to The Sustainable Forum.

You do not need a Green building to be a Green business (though it is helpful).  It is important that someone in the company is given the task of preparing and installing a Sustainability Plan designed specially for the company.  Also know that “Going Green” is a 3 to 5 year commitment so that the project does not regress.  When the Green practices are promoted for more than a few years, the employees and management will discover that these new ideas will become a way of life.