Special Report
Sustaining momentum
Get the rundown on sustainability before your resources run out.
By Jessica Tremayne
Smart Business Dallas | February 2009
Page 1 of 3
Tom Kemper
CEO, Dolphin Blue
Sustainability isn’t about saving the planet.
It’s about saving your business.
Conducting business in a sustainable manner means you can spend less and increase
revenue.
While sustainability does help the planet,
the incentive of reducing your business costs
by half is a strong reason to pay attention.
The buzz is that traditional energy and other
resources will be in tight supply in the future,
resulting in volatile prices. By investing in
sustainable efforts now, you can help ensure
your business’s long-term success.
“Not investing in sustainability will eventually define a company as being out of touch
and not caring how they’re perceived in the
marketplace,” says Tom Kemper, founder
and CEO, Dolphin Blue. “The planet’s population is projected to grow to 10 billion in the
next 50 years. Being sustainable today means
competitive advantage, higher employee
retention, good will to the communities you
serve and savings.”
Americans compose 5 percent of the
world’s population, yet contribute almost
25 percent of the greenhouse gas pollution,
which scientists believe causes global
warming. If everyone used and wasted
energy and other resources this way, we’d
need four planet earths to keep up with the
demand. Consumers are finally taking
notice of this egregious waste and are looking to buy from sustainable businesses,
while more and more businesses are looking to obtain products from other businesses using sustainable practices. This is a
time when your business can not only
streamline production but also increase
revenue by drawing in new customers.
“Barack Obama was so specific about
forming an energy plan, we’ll be seeing things
change soon,” says T. Boone Pickens,
founder and chairman of BP Capital
Management. “This means businesses have
to get going on where they’ll be standing
when this comes in to play.”
Ninety percent of readers polled by
Smart Business say being green is an
important part of their corporate philosophy, yet 69 percent report that they’re willing to invest nothing or less than $5,000 in
greener practices. Experts say spending
money on green initiatives isn’t paying for
an image it’s a direct investment in a more
economic way of running your business.
