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Greening business makes good sense

The McKinsey Global Institute reports that if companies worldwide invested $170 billion in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, this would yield a 17 per cent profit annually. The world’s largest corporations are committing to implementing clean technology and these ideals are becoming enmeshed into financial markets. Governments are creating tax credits for green construction and calling on businesses to disclose their waste percentages.

Coauthor of “Climate Capitalism” L. Hunter Lovins emphasises that small businesses need to get on board too. She stresses that improving energy efficiency and eliminating waste is essential to your bottom line; that greening your business will engage and inspire your employees; that social responsibility is what consumers are looking for in the companies they do business with; and that communities favor businesses that consider their impact on the area. Sustainable practices aren’t so much an added cost as they are an investment.

She helped a small metal parts manufacturer save $8,000 a year by changing the way they packaged their parts, a way that reduced environmental impact and cost them nothing to implement. Lovins says that improving the workplace with more efficient lighting or better ventilation can bring you big returns not only in terms of energy savings but by increasing worker productivity.

Ignoring greening trends can cause you to be left behind. Countries around the world are looking to hold companies accountable for their carbon footprints and may soon start fining those that don’t comply with the movement to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Water is becoming a valuable commodity as pollution and global warming limit the world’s supply. Implementing water-saving practices may save you money in the future as water becomes more costly or rationed.

Summertown Interiors in Dubai creates eco-friendly corporate offices. When they first approached CEO’s with the fact that 40 per cent of carbon emissions come from buildings, no one was interested in redesigning their company spaces but when the company pointed out that going green could generate big operational savings; business heads started signing on.

Summertown Interior’s offices have biodegradable floors and environmentally friendly glues and paints. The lighting operates on less than seven watts instead of the normal 25 and they make great use of natural light. They designed the spaces so that they needed less air conditioning and have achieved energy savings of about 55 to 60 per cent every month.

Abu Dhabi developer Aldar and the international carpet manufacturer Desso are trying to bring a “cradle-to-cradle” philosophy to the Middle East.

Put forth by a German chemist and American architect, cradle-to-cradle refers to closed loop metabolism, wherein every product is manufactured with the intent of putting byproducts, waste and old product to some other beneficial use.

Aldar and Desso point out that in nature, nothing is wasted, materials are constantly transformed for use. They suggest that waste materials from one industry can become the raw materials for another.

Aldar and Desso co-hosted an event to promote the idea of eco-efficiency and collaboration between companies and industries. They’ve presented some winning examples of cradle-to-cradle collaboration in action. Plastic bottles are being recycled to make polyester carpet fibers. Plastic and a refined substance recovered from coal-fired power stations is being used to create carpet backing. Steel construction and sound-proofing company Trimo has developed an insulation composed of carbon dioxide captured from its manufacturing processes.

Dulka hopes to see government standards and requirements set for the cradle-to-cradle model.

Go-Green.ae is a great source of inspiration and information if you need ideas on how to begin greening your business. It has launched a “Go Green Members Program” for businesses and institutions in the Middle East. Their website has plenty of innovative success stories, technology updates and resources for those who want to go green.

The author is an executive coach and HR training and development expert. She can be reached at 
oksana@academiaofhumanpo
tential.com or www.academiaof
humanpotential.com.