The whole concept of “going green” has been around for decades, but it hasn’t exactly been in the forefront of our collective consciousness until the last few years. It became a hot topic last year when gas prices were nothing short of ridiculous, but ever since prices dropped back down to a more “normal” level (and out of the headlines) the green movement has been pushed to the background.
Those high oil prices definitely had a silver lining though, because they cost us all enough money for people to start to get serious about alternative and renewable energy and now there is a renewed focus on getting to people to go green and more and more businesses are realizing the benefits of doing so.
In fact, the SBA has come up with their own way of spreading the green, because now a healthy business can get access to the best commercial financing available if they are willing to become just a little more energy efficient. I have talked about this in other posts: here and here – but what I haven’t mentioned is how this seemingly small niche within a semi-obscure SBA commercial loan program could lead to very big things if more people got on board.
I think you will agree that most business owners would like to do what they can for the environment and I think that many of them know it would be good for business, but I suspect that they don’t know where to start. Sure they probably recycle, but what else can they do?
Answer…they can take baby steps…”Green” Baby Steps.
What’s a Green Baby Step?
It is simply a small step towards going green and you can start when things need replacing. For instance, something seemingly insignificant like like switching out your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs that last 10 times longer, use 75% less energy and pay for themselves in about 6 months would be an easy place to start.
From there, your next “green” step could come when your current systems get to the point where they need to be replaced or are no longer energy efficient and you can replace them with new, more efficient Energy Star products or better yet, you could use some solar or wind power.
Every little bit helps, so just start taking those Green Baby Steps when the need arises and you will be on your way to helping the environment, saving money and probably increased sales from the good PR.