Small businesses take big steps into green practices
By Edward Iwata, USA TODAY
As environmental practices sweep much of the corporate world, U.S. small businesses
also are jumping in.
Tens of thousands of small companies — from mom-and-pop stores to manufacturers —
are going green by cutting energy costs and reducing the "carbon footprints" from their
facilities, offices and fleets of vehicles.
Many work with corporate giants, such as Wal-Mart (WMT) and General Motors (GM),
that now require supply-chain partners to adopt ecologically sound practices, says Joel
Makower, founder of GreenBiz.com, an Oakland clearinghouse on business and
environmental topics.
"Small businesses have barely scratched their potential," Makower says. "In every market
now, there's a retailer, dry cleaner, auto mechanic, coffee shop with a green
consciousness."
In Ohio, restaurant owners Peter and Laurie Danis recently embraced environmental
practices after much prodding over dinner from their 16-year-old daughter, Cameron.
As owners of the Figlio and Vino Vino restaurants in Columbus and Dayton, the Danis
family launched a recycling program, installed energy-saving light bulbs and now buys
produce from local grocers rather than overseas suppliers that burn more fuel to ship
produce.
Peter Danis says his restaurants, with $5 million in sales, will save tens of thousands of
dollars in the coming years.
Danis also bought $2,700 in "clean energy credits" from EcoVoom, an energy firm in
Dublin, Ohio. The money will offset the greenhouse gasses emitted by the Danis'
restaurant business by going to a solar, wind or other clean-energy program .
"We want to lead our lives and business not for short-term profit, but for future
generations," Danis says. "We want to leave a legacy."
Robert Bechtold, a U.S. Army veteran and founder of Harbec Plastics, a tool- and mold-
maker in Ontario, N.Y., has touted renewable energy for decades. But he couldn't get
financing from skeptical bankers who looked at him as if he was "a burnt-out hippie or
tree-hugger," he jokes.
Not now. Harbec, whose customers include Xerox (XRX), is recognized as a national
leader among small-business manufacturers.
The company's plant uses wind and natural gas turbines, a state-of-the-art water-cooling
system, hybrid cars and trucks and fluorescent lights. The moves have saved $1.2 million
in recent years while slashing annual carbon dioxide emissions by 750,000 pounds.
"Everybody has this notion that being green costs more money, but that's a
misconception," Bechtold says. "Done correctly, being green positively affects your
bottom line."
Small businesses report savings of 20% to 30% by making energy-saving moves, says
Byron Kennard, executive director of the Center for Small Business and the
Environment. "As energy and gasoline prices rise, small businesses can voluntarily and
profitably lower their energy bills," he says.
It's too early to tell how many of the 26 million U.S. small-business owners are going
green. But their numbers are rising.
Surveys by trade groups show that small firms are worried about the global climate,
rising fuel costs and other environmental issues.
Some 80 small-business owners queried recently by the National Small Business
Association, which represents 150,000 small firms, found that 73% would invest more in
energy-saving products and services if energy prices keep rising, and 76% said that
cutting energy costs would boost profits.
That's a good sign for the clean-energy sector. Research firm Clean Edge says the global
clean-energy market will rise from $55 billion in revenue last year to $227 billion by
2016.
Meanwhile, trade and community groups and the federal government are working with
small businesses. Energy Star, a program of the Environmental Protection Agency and
the U.S. Department of Energy, offers resources to small firms. The National Automobile
Dealers Association and National Small Business Association are urging small businesses
to cut energy costs. Co-op America and the Green Chamber of Commerce are creating
networks of environmentally friendly businesses.
Of course, many small businesses lack the resources of Fortune 500 corporations. But
they can take dozens of smaller steps to pare costs and to tap into the growing number of
consumers who want to buy from green companies, says Anna Clark, president of
EarthPeople, a Dallas consulting firm.
For instance, small businesses can reduce waste and carve 5% out of their operating
budgets by changing their office-management practices, Clark says. They can encourage
employees and customers to save documents digitally and not print out millions of paper
copies.
"Not every company is going to sit down and calculate their carbon footprint," Clark
says. "But they can take time to start looking at things that will help them capture the
environmentally conscious market."