This is for business owners, company leaders and go-getters within local organizations. This is for people who are ready to make a substantial commitment to sustainability. We're going to be honest - following all of these steps will take time, energy, people and resources. But the end result of one or all of them will be more than worth it. Should you choose to follow any of the steps in this plan, your company ultimately will be healthier, happier, more profitable, more marketable, more efficient and more likely to survive long into the future.
There are ten steps in this plan. Each step includes a introductory explanation for people who are unfamiliar with sustainable business concepts. We understand that it can seem like an alien landscape at times. We have done our best to make each step of the plan easy to understand and implement.
Finally, we must note that this is by no means a comprehensive list of all resources and agencies available to help your company achieve its sustainability goals. We have chosen to keep the lists short in hopes of empowering every company and every person who wants to live and work sustainably and responsibly.
Planning and strategy are crucial aspects of any sustainability plan. If you want to go green, be smart about it. Use strategy and planning to your advantage. It will make your efforts and successes sustainable. Below you will find several resources to help you begin planning.
Green for All is a collection of resource guides for entrepreneurs to formulate a work plan that incorporates green practices
The most recent edition of the
New York Enterprise Report outlines 24 steps that smaller
businesses can take to go green.
Establishing a Green Team is the best way to ensure that your sustainability goals lead to lasting results. Find someone, or a few someones, who are passionate about sustainable business. Below are several resources for you or your Green Team leader can use to get started.
Need to convince your boss or employees that a Green Team is
worth their time? The National
Environmental Education Foundation offers this great white
paper that outlines the business case for going
green.
Earthshare offers a nicely organized
collection of resources that includes case studies and articles
designed to help create your own Green Team.
The Green Team Project (GTP) is a grassroots environmental non-profit project focused on empowering and motivatimg people to make a difference environmentally through their own practices.
In order to get where you're going, you have to know where you're at. Like any other business initiative, developing a road map of measureable goals and outcomes will help ensure long term success. Below are several free or low-cost resources available to help you measure your carbon output, purchasing habits, water use, energy use and other elements of your company's sustainability profile.
TacomaACTS Carbon Calculator (Specific to Pierce County)
ECO-Eval : The North American Green Purchasing Initiative's Self-Assessment Tool (Eco-Eval) is designed to help professio nal purchasers evaluate their organization's environmental purchasing initiatives and identify opportunities for improvement.
Practice
Green Health: Environmentally
Preferable Purchasing
American Center for Life Cycle
Assessment
Department of
Ecology's Water Use calculator
Puget Sound Partnership: Stormwater
Resources
Building Owners and Managers Association
(BOMA)
Tacoma-Pierce County
Built Green®
Online Code Environment and
Advocacy Network
Green sourcing is a new way of thinking about the things we use
to drive business, make products, and provide services. It's about
making sustainable choices about where companies get their power,
how employees get to work, what companies use to manufacture its
products, where a company gets its office supplies, and where the
waste goes when it's all said and done. Greensourcing is quickly
becoming a primary focus for many companies seeking to lower costs
and green their public profile.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (City of Tacoma)
Waste to Resources - Department of Ecology
Washington
Department of Ecology's Solid Waste Program's compost
webpage
Pollution prevention
resources (PPRC)
ECO-Eval : The North American Green Purchasing Initiative's Self-Assessment Tool (Eco-Eval) is designed to help professio nal purchasers evaluate their organization's environmental purchasing initiatives and identify opportunities for improvement.
Practice
Green Health: Environmentally
Preferable Purchasing
Known for its energy policy work, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) produces up to date guides on buying energy efficient appliances and automobiles.
Pierce Transit/Chamber for Commute Trip
Reduction
Pierce
Transit Business Benefits
ENERGY
STAR is a government-backed program helping businesses,
municipalities, colleges, and individuals protect the environment
through superior energy efficiency.
The Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE) is your one-stop shop for a plethora of info about incentive opportunities!
The Alliance to Save Energy has a wealth of information on clean energy and energy policy as well as tips on how to save energy.
WSU
Extension State Energy Office
Weatherization &
intergovernmental program
Energy Conservation (Tacoma Power)
The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association provides a wealth of information on regional resources for renewable energy and green building.
Water Conservation (Tacoma Water)
There are dozens of agencies and organizations that are waiting
to help you achieve your company or organizational goals. Help is
good. And most of it is free.
Energy Conservation (Puget Sound Energy)
Energy Conservation (Tacoma Power)
National Renewable
Energy Lab (NREL)
WSU
Extension State Energy Office
PG&E Food Service
Technology Center
National Restaurant
Association Conserve
Water Conservation (Tacoma Water)
PSE Vending Machine Controller Rebate
PSE Premium Efficiency Motor Rebate
TPU Free Walk Through Energy Audit
Energy Savings
Performance Contracting
Learning from other company's successes is a great way to
maximize the success of your own sustainability initiatives. Below
are some resources to inspire you, help you plan and find your
way.
Clean Air Cool Planet (CA-CP) has compiled a series of case studies on what some businesses are doing to reduce emissions in the Northeast. See case studies here.
101 ways to
reduce your carbon footprint
Department
of Ecology's Industrial footprint project
This step is all about making it really happen. Sustainability
sentiments are nice, but unless your company uses that passion to
create achieveable goals with measurable results, your
sustainability effort won't be all that sustainable.
Top 10 Green Restaurant Practices
Green Restaurant Practices (Resource Venture)
A whole mess of
"Greening Your Business" guides (NRDC)
Going it alone works sometimes. But not often. If you want your
sustainability initiative to be successful, it's important to get
buy in from your employees, customers, business partners and
sometimes even local government officials.
Creating Fun Workplace
Challenges
Your company can benefit enormously from communicating with the
world it is trying to help save. Your successes can inspire other
companies like yours and help your company make new connections.
Communicating your success can help you earn new customers and can
help you earn respect and admiration for your efforts.
Networks and Groups focused on Impacts of Climate Change
on Washington's Economy
Washington Clean Tech
Alliance
Community Based Social Marketing
Consumer
Reports: Greener Choices
One of the most important aspects of any business plan -
sustainable or otherwise - is continual re-evaluation and assement
of methods, plans, goals and outcomes. The sustainability movement
is growing fast. New technologies, methodologies, resources,
reports, measurements and standards are emerging every day. Make a
commitment to keeping an eye on evolution happening in the world
sustainability, and you'll reap the rewards.
BE
Green South Sound Blog - Unlike most existing Green Business
News Networks, the BE Green South Sound Blog is not a platform for
international corporations and government officials to tout their
sustainability successes. The BE Green South Sound Blog is for
small business owners and everyday citizens who want to participate
in making the world a better place to live. Updates
daily.
Greenbiz Green
Business Network - A nice aggregator of sustainable business
news.
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