Energy
Sustaining momentum
Get the rundown on sustainability before your resources run out.
By Jessica Tremayne
Smart Business Orange County | February 2009
Page 1 of 3
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.
“Corporate sustainability isn’t just something to consider anymore; it’s a necessary
way of conducting business,” says Lee
Broughton, director of corporate sustainability, Enterprise Rent-A-Car. “Companies
that are managed sustainably is what
everyone’s talking about — and everyone
wants to be a part of the discussion.”
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-six percent of readers polled by
Smart Business say being green is an
important part of their corporate philosophy, yet 45 percent report that they’re not
willing to invest 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.
