Green Your Business — IT Style

April 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Green is more than a color these days. Thanks to the eco-friendly initiatives of the last decade, green is a way of life — a way to approach thinking and behaving that reduces our negative impact on the environment.

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As such, the adjective “green” has been attached to a number of other industries to describe the push in those fields for greater earth-friendly approaches. That’s the case with Green IT— the term used to describe how companies can be more energy efficient.

Why Green IT Is Important

Nearly a full third of a typical company’s power consumption comes from their IT tasks. IT devices in this case encompass everything from internet routers to on-site servers to computer stations to printers and more. By increasing how energy efficient these devices are, and controlling the power-consuming tasks, allows companies to reduce both their costs and their carbon footprint.

The Green IT initiative has been so strong that analysts predict the niche consulting aimed at business IT will blossom into a five billion dollar industry by the end of 2013. Whether or not you invest in a consultant, there are several things you can do now to make your company’s IT greener.

Ways to Greenify Your IT

There are dozens of ways you can reduce your power consumption, but some are more effective — and more practical — than others. Here are some of the best approaches you can use.

Choose Green Web Hosting

Unless you are living under a rock, if you have a business, you have a web site. And if you have a website, you need web hosting. Rather than going with a conventional web host, why not choose one of the many, well-equipped green web hosting companies instead?

Web hosts go green in the various ways. They can power their web servers with renewable energy like wind or solar, or purchase renewable energy credits (RECs) from a renewable energy provider. Some green web hosts purchase carbon credits to offset carbon emissions, however this does not prevent carbon from being emitted in the first place.

Buy Energy Efficient Hardware

If you’re still using outdated hardware for any business task, you’re probably wasting both money and energy. Old CRT monitors are nefarious power hogs when compared to LCD, older servers are both sluggish and electrically inefficient, and older computer PSUs give you less juice for a higher power cost. Replace your older hardware with current, energy-efficient alternatives.

Additionally, while not strictly IT, you can expand this renovation to anything in your building that uses power — your lights, heating/cooling units, or even the fridge in your break room.

Send Employees Home — Permanently

A great portion of companies are offering work-from-home positions. Not only does this save the company hardware costs, but you don’t have to pay for power bills, on-premise workers’ compensation fees, and a slew of other items. Additionally, employees — especially those with young children — are often eager to take on the opportunity.

While once impractical, new video conferencing, desktop sharing, and even specialized telecommuting software have made this option ideal for any company that is involved in primarily computer-based tasks. Employees who do web based work – online marketers, tech support, web developers, don’t need to be in a physical location in order to do their jobs, so why not give them the option of location independence?

Location independence has great benefits for employees as well. They can save money and time commuting to and from work, which decreases their carbon footprint. And think about all the extra savings from not having to eat out or to invest in professional business attire. The virtual office is a win win for all.

Turn Going Green into a PR Opportunity

With cost and quality being equal, consumers, hands down, prefer to buy from socially responsible or eco friendly businesses. Consider communicating your sustainability efforts to your community. A great way to build an ongoing relationship with your customers is through blogging.

The good news about blogging is has very little startup cost, but yields enormous marketing and PR benefits. All you need is an inexpensive green web host, WordPress, and a professional green WordPress theme, like the free Green Stimulus theme, which you can download for free, and your going green business blog will be up and running in no time.

Author Bio:
Lorna Li manages the small business WordPress themes & solutions division for a CRM company in the Bay Area. She also writes about green business and green marketing. Follow Lorna on Twitter @lornali.

Filed Under: Earth, Eco-Friendly, Green Business & Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

The Green Rules

March 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Making changes can be hard or it can be easy. It’s really up to you. When it comes to making changes in your environment  you have to be smart and do the things that you think are best. So here are some things you can do to help you get a leg up on the go green movement that begins in your home.

The first thing you can do is keep the lights to a minimum. If you are leaving a room, just shut off the lights. If you are in a room where the natural light is heavy then open the shades and let the massive amount of natural lights come in and try and fill the room.

When you are tending to your needs for the week make sure that you are doing the things necessary to save on the cost of gas. This is not nearly as easy as it may seem, but failing to do so is a real time and energy suck for the environment. So make sure that you drive the speed limit. Also see if you can combine your errands into the same trip. It’s important as that kind of consolidation will make things easier on your stress level, your car, and the world around you.

Of course you are probably glued to your car, but if you can go without it, like a bike or just walking then do so. This is so good for not just the environment, but also for your health. Any thing that can be done to help burn some calories and keep you in shape while saving the planet is something that should absolutely be considered. You have to do what you can to help the environment. In 50 years from now there is no telling how the world will look and what they world will consist of, but what you really need is to do your part now. That will mean more than you think. At least it will someday.

Filed Under: Green Business & Marketing, Greener Lifestyle Tagged With: , ,

Making Your Home Green

March 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

So you have decided that you are better than the people who are wasting electricity every day? You have decided that you are going to help the environment by lowering the amount of garbage you waste and recycling more. That’s a great start but in the day and age where there is so much technology you have to and can do more. There is no reason why you cannot give it everything you have inside and right outside your home to help the earth to become a cleaner and more happier place. So here are some tips to make the inside of your home as pleasant as the outside of your home.

The first thing you want to do is to plant an herb garden. This is a great step for the environment, it’s good to have for your kitchen and it will remind you that the best most natural and healthiest food comes from the ground.

After you have finished that you want to get your lightbulbs and change them to the CFL’s. This will not only help with your electric bill but you will find that the cost of buying these bulbs is not nearly as bad as it may seem. There is nothing about these bulbs that is going to put you off.

The next thing you want to do and it will take a little doing is to create yourself a compost bin. This can be done and with full instructions online. There is nothing to worry about as far as doing it right and it’s not as bad as you may think. These are sure fire ways to make your house and your world a little more friendly to the rest of the environment.

Filed Under: General, Green Business & Marketing Tagged With: , ,

Ways to Finance a Small Business

January 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Smaller businesses can really struggle with financing. It’s not because they aren’t valuable, but only because there aren’t as many people who have capital to fund them. There are also fewer banks that will take a chance on them, because they aren’t sure that a small business is going to survive and be able to make the payments. Consider all of the options open to you when you want to start up your small business. One of the best ways to finance it is through your savings or other income or investments. If you already have money that you can use, even if it’s not a lot, you have a leg up over a lot of other small business owners.

Assuming that you have no money you can invest in your business, or that what you have is not enough to get it going, you’ll have to find other people who will believe in you and what you’re trying to get started. Depending on the business plan and how much start up capital you need, there may be family and friends who can loan you some money and allow you to move forward with your business. Don’t underestimate how much that can help you. If you know a lot of people and get a little from each person, that can really add up – but you’ll have to pay it back, so don’t forget that part.

In addition, you can talk to banks and lending institutions to see what you can get. Some of them may be more willing to talk to you than others. Make sure you have a good business plan and that your credit is good. If you don’t have those two things going for you, a bank may not be interested. At that point, you may want to start looking for private investors to help you get through the initial start up of your business.

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Your Business Can Help the Environment

January 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you want to do something good for the planet, there are plenty of options. One of them is to let your business help the earth by doing the right kinds of things when it comes to recycling, cleaning, and other areas. Don’t assume that you can’t help if your business isn’t specifically tailored to protecting the environment. Any business can help out. First, are you and all of your employees recycling? If you’re not, now is the time to start seeing what you can do. If there’s a recycling program in your area, get involved. If not, you can do it on your own.

You’ll need separate containers for paper/cardboard, glass, and plastic. If you plan to recycle electronics, you’ll also need a container for any technology that breaks and that you’ll want to recycle. Don’t just throw it away because it doesn’t work anymore. You can take it to a proper recycling facility and let it be transformed into something useable. Recycled computer hardware is a growing business because people can get inexpensive parts and help the environment at the same time. It’s a winning situation for everyone involved, so there’s no reason not to get involved with it.

Encouraging your employees to take advantage of recycling is good, but there’s still more you can do. What kinds of cleaning supplies do you use in your business? If they aren’t organic and friendly to the environment, you may want to look for something that is. They cost a bit more, but they work well and they’re very helpful to the planet. They don’t contain harsh chemicals that end up in streams and ultimately in drinking water, so that’s good news for everyone. It’s a great thing to own a business, but it’s also an important responsibility that you shouldn’t take lightly. The planet is depending on you.

Filed Under: Environment, Green Business & Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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