Business travel is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. According to a 2008 World Economic Forum report, travel accounts for an average 15% to 20% of a business’s total emissions, reaching as high as 80% for service businesses.

Businesses that want to truly embrace environmental sustainability need to understand the toll that travel takes on their environmental footprint and aim to reduce that toll. The mode of transport that employees use to get from point A to point B makes a big difference.

Air travel, especially “short-haul” regional flights of less than 300 miles, create the most carbon emissions per passenger mile of any mass transit option because of the high fuel consumption during takeoffs and landings. Planes also emit carbon dioxide directly into the earth’s upper atmosphere, making it especially harmful.

By comparison, trains can use 50% less fuel per passenger than planes for the same trips, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Bus travel is an even eco-friendlier alternative, emitting even less carbon dioxide than trains on short and long trips, according to the EPA.

Interestingly, on longer trips of more than 700 miles, train and plane emissions per passenger are comparable, the EPA found. Bus travel is still the greenest option. (Read this EPA report for a full comparison of emissions among various transportation options.)

Solo car travel is the biggest culprit when it comes to emissions, producing nearly twice that per passenger of trains and three to four times that of buses. Of course, auto emissions depend on the fuel efficiency of the vehicle. And the emissions efficiency of planes, trains and buses depend on ridership numbers and other factors.

So, how can a business rein in the environmental toll of travel?

Here are four tips:

1. Steer clear of solo auto travel. It produces the most emissions per passenger mile than any transportation option. If unavoidable, at least make sure employees travel in fuel-efficient vehicles. (Check out FuelEconomy.gov for auto fuel efficiency ratings.) Many rental agencies now offer hybrids and electric cars.

2. Use trains and buses, when viable. Especially for trips of less than 700 miles, buses and trains produce far less emissions per passenger mile than airplanes and cars.

3. Reduce mileage. Though in-person meetings are still necessary in some cases, many businesses have successfully cut down on the number of trips using video conferencing and by combining trips to cut down on total mileage.

4. Track your travel footprint. Keeping tabs on your travel and the carbon emissions it creates can help you better control it. The Business Calculator on Carbonfund.org can help you quantify travel-based emissions. You might also consider buying offsets, which invest in projects such as tree planting that take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Does your business take steps to reduce the environmental impact of travel? If so, what do you do?

Bus Photo via Shutterstock

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How do you determine which sustainability measures will ultimately pay for themselves and be the best investment for your business?

It doesn’t have to be such as monstrous, stressful endeavor. In fact, it can be a very rewarding journey that ultimately pays back in multiple ways by lowering your environmental footprint, improving your bottom line and bolstering customer and employee loyalty.

So, where do you start?

Here are four steps to finding sustainability initiatives that make sense for your business:

1. Identify Measures That Aligned With Your Business

Often the most powerful sustainability measures are those that align closely with what a business does or sells. Think about the grocery store that donates excess inventory to a local food bank, an accountant that sends tax documents electronically or helps businesses assess the paybacks of sustainability initiatives, or apparel makers that focus on using sustainable, non-toxic fabrics and dyes.

These initiatives are so closely tied to what they do that it’s easy to feel passionate about them and discuss them with customers.

2. Take a Customer Perspective

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. What would help them reduce their footprint when using your products? An olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette store near where I live gives customers a discount for returning and refilling their used bottles. They decorate their recycled paper bags as gift bags when people ask, so customers don’t need to re-wrap it themselves.

Considering what happens to your products once they leave your business can help you figure out how to reduce your total footprint even more.

3. Form a “Green Team”

Have employees? Get them involved in helping identify sustainability initiatives for the business. Chances are, your employees most passionate about the environment will volunteer to serve on a green team. (Learn steps for starting a green team.)

And they will eventually become ambassadors, helping other employees reduce their environmental footprint while at work.

4. Relax, Take it Slowly

Becoming a “green business” isn’t an overnight process. Yes, certain measures require some research and analyses. But start with the low-hanging fruit—the things that you know will help the environment and save you money. Take advantage of services available to your business, like free or low-cost energy audits from your utility companies. Write a basic sustainability plan with goals that are achievable.

Consider joining a local business sustainability group, so you can network with other business owners striving to be greener and share ideas.

Once you start realizing how these initiatives lower your footprint, you’ll likely want to keep doing more.

Olive Oil Gift Photo via Shutterstock

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The past year has been a tough one for green businesses, though. With some financial incentives for sustainability drying up, the U.S. economy still treading water and many environmental issues getting little airtime from politicians, it’s gotten harder to justify spending on sustainability.

That said, smart businesses are continuing to invest in environmental sustainability. Because when you take a long-term view, these issues are just going to continue to become more critical to business success in the future.

With that in mind, here are four emerging trends in sustainability likely to gain more steam in 2013:

Smarter Marketing

The days of broadcasting your environmental benefits to the world are pretty much over. “Green consumers” are a varied bunch in terms of the reasons they buy environmentally friendly products – and eco-friendliness usually comes second to other factors. Companies are thus getting better at tying sustainability into their brand to make it just as much about the products as the green. And they’re making it more fun.

Take Unilever’s Axe line of body products for men. The brand, which often uses suggestive marketing, recently launched its “Showerpooling” water conservation campaign. Besides encouraging college-age men to utilize low-flow showerheads, it also encourages fewer showers by telling them to:

“. . .enjoy the company of a like-minded acquaintance.”

More Sharing

The “sharing economy,” is continuing to grow. People are realizing they can save money and help the environment by borrowing or renting anything from power tools to spare bedrooms to baby clothes to bicycles. Some industries might suffer. Why book a hotel room when someone with an amazing house is willing to rent it to you while they’re away?

In the long run, some of the actual sharing websites that are enabling this practice to grow could become powerful companies of their own, helping to promote a more sustainable future in the process.. Check out websites including Yerdle, Uniiverse, and Skillshare.  More businesses will try to break into the sharing business and more will share themselves as a way to reduce their footprint and costs.

Keeping a Closer Eye on Financial Payback

Early adopters of many sustainability practices and technologies jumped in because they believed in the cause. But sometimes those investments weren’t the soundest from a financial perspective. They might have taken years to pay back in savings.  But more companies are involving their CFOs in sustainability endeavors and doing elaborate payback and ROI analyses before investing in an upgrade.

Sustainability is no longer a fringe activity in corporate operations; it is part of how they turn profits.

Getting Serious About Data and Benchmarking

Companies are tracking their sustainability progress like never before. And government officials are becoming increasingly interested in tracking businesses’ sustainability practices as a way to tout achievements, as well as spurring the laggards to do more.

The Institute for Market Transformation reports that cities including San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas have all created programs in recent years that require commercial building owners in some form to disclose energy efficiency.

What do you think will be the green business trends next year? Are you planning any green initiatives at your business?

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How you throw a party also reflects on your business, and everything from the food you serve to the dishes you use to the party favors you hand out can either suggest your business is committed to environmental sustainability – or scream that it’s very much not.

Here are some tips for throwing an eco-friendly party:

Serve Earth-Friendly Foods

A holiday spread with off-season foods (such as lettuce and tomato salads in December) or foreign delicacies such as French cheese means you’re burning a lot more fossil fuels to bring the food to your table.

Try as much as possible to source foods locally and pick those with USDA organic or similar labels that indicate more sustainable practices went into the production of the food.  With the extra energy and water that goes into raising livestock, also make sure to include some meat-free dishes. (Your vegetarian guests will thank you, too.)

Go Local With the Drink

With the craft beer boom taking place in many parts of the country, it should also be less of a problem to find a local brew to serve up at the holiday gathering. If you’re going you want to serve soda, go with aluminum cans instead of plastic bottles, because aluminum cans are easier to recycle.

Remember to recycle the cans.

Think Green With the Dishes and Decorations

If possible, use reusable dishware and utensils at your party, since that will create little or no waste beyond the water to wash them. If that’s not feasible, at least look for eco-friendly alternatives, such as biodegradable or compostable dishes and silverware – which several major retailers now sell.  Also think of creative, low-waste ways to decorate, such as using holiday lights from home or reusing decorations from past events.

Want to have a Christmas tree? A real tree from a local tree farm may take less of an environmental toll than a plastic tree, unless you plan to keep and reuse the plastic tree for many years.

Wrap in a Donation

Instead of handing out party favors, which often get tossed anyway, consider making a donation to a nonprofit in your community – environmental or not.

It’s a good chance to bring attention to an important cause.

Consider Outsourcing

Looking to splurge on the holiday party by taking your employees or other guests to a posh location for a blowout? Many restaurants and event facilities, as well as caterers, now tout their eco-friendly practices and services – so you don’t have to worry so much about it.

For more inspiration for eco-friendly event planning check out “How to Throw a Green Party” on Epicurious. There are also some “Easy Eco-Friendly Party” ideas on The Nest and “7 Stylish (and Eco-Friendly) Party Ideas” on Oprah.

Eco Friendly Holiday Photo via Shutterstock

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So now that the election is over and Obama is re-elected, are they going to hear more from the president? Does his silence on environmental issues during his campaign signal it’s not a high priority for him in round two?

It’s clear that environmental sustainability issues have taken a backseat to reviving the American economy in recent months. While both Obama and Romney discussed the need to expand domestic energy production (including controversial “fracking” of natural gas) as a way to bolster U.S. growth, they spoke little about “green jobs” or renewable energy – both which were hot topics during the 2008 presidential election.

In coming weeks, it’s likely that environmental topics won’t get much airplay as President Obama focuses heavily on issues like taxes, economic growth and deflating the soaring national deficit.

Over the next four years, however, there’s good reason to believe that Obama will put environmental issues higher in his agenda. His first term as president included several environment-related milestones:

• Instating the first-ever limits on heat-trapping gases from new power plants.
• Tightening fuel-efficiency standards on automobiles as part of the U.S. auto-industry bailout
• Earmarking about $90 billion toward the creation of green tech jobs, as part of the federal stimulus package passed in 2009. (A Reuters analysis later found that the number of green jobs created by that money fell far short of initial projections.)

It will be interesting to see which green business issues President Obama chooses to prioritize in his second term. Will he try again to pass “cap and trade” legislation and rein in carbon emissions? (A recent New York Times post suggests he doesn’t see much political support for that in the near future, especially as part of the “fiscal cliff” talks.)

Will he focus on the expansion of renewable energy production by providing incentives to companies that generate wind and solar energy? Or will his environmental and energy agenda look totally different this time around?

How much he can accomplish is another big question. The balance of power in the U.S. hasn’t shifted much, with Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress. So even if he tries to instate new green business incentives or environmental laws, he will need bi-partisan support.

Regardless of what happens politically in the next four years, it doesn’t change the fact that green business practices continue to be smart business. Businesses that lower their footprint, run cleaner operations and reduce costs will be better positioned to grow and recruit talented employees in the future – with or without government help.

The post What Does Obama’s Re-Election Mean for Green Business? appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Consider the amount of time spent on computers and the energy used to keep servers running. Think about all the tasks we rely on electronic devices for today that used to be done manually.

The storage of all the electronic data we produce is also raising our energy use: According to Stanford researcher Jonathan Koomey, data centers accounted for 1.7% to 2.2% of all electricity consumed in the U.S. in 2010. And don’t forget the energy used to manufacture all the gadgets we use.

Though few businesses want to turn back the clock and start using typewriters again, it’s all a good reminder to business owners that you need to pay attention to your office technology energy use – and don’t assume it’s a zero-sum game.

Here are some steps that can help you reduce office technology energy use:

Check Sleep Modes On All Equipment

Even if you turn off all equipment – computers and copiers – at night, there’s still likely excess use during daytime hours. What about when you run out for a meeting or grab lunch? For any idle times, your equipments’ “sleep mode” or “power save” mode can reduce energy use by 75% or more when it’s not in use. It also saves money: Setting sleep mode can save $10 to $50 a year per computer and much more for equipment such as large copiers. Many new technologies come with sleep mode already enabled, but you may need to check the user manual to find out how to check it and make sure.

Buy High-Efficiency Technologies

The federal government’s Energy Star program makes it easy to find energy efficient equipment by looking for the blue-and-white sticker. Energy Star-qualified equipment use 10% to 50% less energy than regular models, which can add up to a lot in an office with a lot of equipment.

Move Applications To The “Cloud”

For most small businesses,  cloud computing – or running applications off the Internet – will save energy rather than buying software and running it on premise. That’s because centralizing data storage often allows for greater efficiency than small data centers. A study by Accenture found that a business with 100 users could cut energy use and carbon emissions by up to 90% by moving applications to the cloud.

Given the large energy consumption of today’s technology — and the cost of that energy to your business — it only makes sense to make sure you’re being as efficient as possible.

Energy Saving Photo via Shutterstock

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However, consider this: Green cleaning offers many benefits beyond just being environmentally friendly — and it’s not as price prohibitive as it used to be.

Not only are eco-friendlier cleaning practices good for the Earth, they are less toxic to the indoor air that you, your employees or clients breathe every day. Standard cleaning products emit gases (called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs) and odors that can aggravate breathing problems, skin allergies and other health concerns.

In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency says that cleaning agents are among the main contributors to poor indoor air quality.

If you haven’t already, it’s a good time to consider making the switch. Many businesses and consumers have been deterred because of the higher costs of buying green products or services. But those cost premiums have come down significantly in recent years, as green cleaning becomes more commonplace. Many commercial and industrial green cleaning services, as well as residential ones, now claim to charge the same price, or slightly more, for using green cleaning products.

Moreover, some studies find that green cleaning improves indoor air quality and, in turn, improves workplace productivity. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Indoor Air Quality Scientific Findings Resource Bank found that improving indoor air quality can bolster workplace productivity by up to 10%.

Want to implement green cleaning practices effectively in your business?

Here are a couple key steps:

Find The Right Green Products

Today, even major cleaning brands are rolling out eco-friendlier cleaning products, such as Clorox Green Works. Cleaning product aisles are awash in green as established brands compete with companies like Seventh Generation and Method, which have been selling eco-friendly cleaning products for years.

Even though they all claim to be “green,” you must dig deeper to find out how truly environmentally safe and effective they are. The Environmental Working Group recently put out its Guide to Healthy Cleaning, which scores various household cleaning products on their ingredient safety and disclosure.

GreenSeal.org, a certification organization, also provides lists of commercial and industrial cleaning products that have been certified.  (Keep in mind that household standbys like vinegar and baking soda can be just as effective cleaners in some environments.)

Ask Questions

Before hiring a professional cleaning service – if you do — ask some questions. Which brands and types of cleaning products does it use? Does it take steps to reduce its water and paper towel usage? You don’t want to discover too late that the cleaning service was “greenwashing” (no pun intended).

Consider Your Methods

Green cleaning isn’t just about cleaning agents. It’s about the entire process, from the type of cloths used to water usage to the packaging. (Aerosol cans, for instance, aren’t very “green.”) Take a holistic approach to your business’s cleaning, open the windows and try to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals.

At the end of the day, you and your employees may feel healthier for it.

Eco-Friendly Cleaning Photo via Shutterstock

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The first step is to understand the various social networks and why and how people use them. Here’s a quick primer. Once you understand the differences, it’s then about using them to better explain your green initiatives and the impact they’re having.

Of course, you need to balance your green messaging carefully: Studies have shown “green” is a secondary concern to most customers. They ultimately care more about whether the product is useful, well-designed and cost effective.

Also, remember that social media isn’t just about relaying information – it should be fun and engaging. Put some thought into how you tell your  story and how your environmental sustainability initiatives fit into that.

With that in mind, here’s a look at three ways businesses have used social media effectively to discuss their green initiatives:

Toyota

Toyota’s Facebook page for its gas-electric hybrid car, the Prius, provides great examples of green-topic-related posts that don’t just tell customers something, but also get them involved in the action. In September, the Prius page had posts such as this:

“How can you maximize your mileage in your Prius? Why is Prius shaped the way it is? Ask one of our famed Prius Experts here: https://www.facebook.com/prius/app_236697543098808”

Or then there’s this gem that garnered more than 400 “likes” and more than 90 comments:

“This past summer, I took the family on a _____-mile road trip in my 20__ Prius to ____ and only spent $___.00 in gas.”

These posts provided great ways for Toyota to converse with customers truly engaged in the Prius brand while helping them better understand the environmental benefits and cost effectiveness of driving a Prius.

Method

Household cleaning products maker Method has been a trendsetter in using social media to engage its customers its ecofriendly practices. Earlier this year, the company launched several music-fueled videos on YouTube as part of its “clean happy campaign” that tried to explain why the company’s cleaning products are less environmentally hazardous than mainstream products.

But instead of blatant advertising, the videos were more suggestive and inspirational. Watch its “clean happy anthem.” The videos were posted on various social media outlets, including Facebook, with some receiving more than 1 million views.

Timberland

Outdoor apparel maker Timberland announced back in 2008 that it wanted to create a community of one million people dedicated to environmental change – tying the community-building to its Earthkeeper line of green footwear. Four years later, Timberland has more than 800,000 “likes” on Facebook and more than 22,000 Twitter followers.

And environmental friendliness remains part of its overall brand-building. The company posted on Facebook and Twitter about how it uses recycled materials in its shoes, and how it sources its leather from more environmentally responsible tanneries. There is also the company’s tree planting in China and Haiti.

Check out how Timberland wrapped a lot of the themes together into a Pinterest page.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to sell ecofriendly products or be a “green brand” to engage your customers in your green initiatives. Even if it’s steps you’re taking to reduce energy use in your facilities or reduce packaging, you can get the word out to your customers via social media.

Eco Friendly Social Media Photo via Shutterstock

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Here are three commonly tossed items and how to give them a new life:

Foam Peanuts

Foam peanuts and other plastic-based packaging and shipping materials often get tossed, because they’re not generally recycled curbside.  If you can’t reuse them yourself, many pack-and-ship stores accept and reuse used packaging materials.

Not sure if there are any such stores in your area? The Plastic Loose Fill Council has a “Peanut Hotline” (800- 828-2214) that you can call to find foam peanut drop-off sites in your area. (You can also use its online search form.) You may be able to find a home for other types of plastics using the search form on PlasticMarkets.org.

Office Supplies

Used paper clips, folders and other common office supplies often get tossed in the trash with little thought. But many of these items can be used multiple times, if someone takes the initiative to save them.

If you have employees, set up a spot where employees can leave extra used supplies and encourage other employees to check that spot first before picking up new ones. Once you do need to throw out worn or unusable supplies, most of them can be recycled.

Personal Gadgets

Manufacturers of popular smartphones will often take back your old gadgets for free and make sure they’re responsibly recycled. (Apple, for instance, will recycle used iPhones and other Apple products .)

But other companies, such as Gazelle and NextWorth, will even give you money for old smartphones, digital cameras and other devices and pay you for them. Have a mass quantities of old gadgets to toss (30 or more)? Project Kopeg will recycle them all and cut you a check. (Keep in mind that some nonprofits will also take old gadgets and give them away for a good cause. You might then be eligible for a tax deduction.)

If you have a miscellaneous array of things to get rid of and can’t find a good home, check out Freecycle.org. This site helps match you up with people in your community looking for something you no longer want. (Also don’t forget about Craigslist.)

Of course, before you give away or recycle any old technological device, make sure to thoroughly clean the hard drive. You don’t want your personal or sensitive business information getting into the wrong hands.

Recycle Photo via Shutterstock

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Small businesses may feel like such data gathering and number crunching is too time-consuming or not worth the effort. They probably don’t have budgets, after all, to hire sustainability consultants.

But for most businesses, it’s worth spending a little time measuring green progress: Small businesses can greatly enhance their sustainability progress – while adding credibility to their green marketing – by using data to better measure and track their sustainability performance.

While it does take time to measure and track your green progress, it doesn’t have to be an all-consuming process.

Here are three key steps:

Find Your Baseline

You need to know your starting point to know whether you’ve made any progress. How many kilowatts of electricity do you use each year? How many miles do your company autos travel each year (and what’s their gas mileage).

Do a thorough review of your current environmental footprint. You can find much of the information about your energy use, for instance, by reviewing your electric and gas bills. This will likely probably help you identify opportunities for improvement.

You can keep track on a monthly or quarterly basis using an Excel spreadsheet. Local organizations can also help. Check to see if there’s a sustainability networking group, such as a BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) chapter in your community.

Some utility companies will also provide free or low-cost energy and water audits that give you a breakdown of your current usage.

Set Goals

Once you know your current footprint, you can identify ways to lower it. Consider writing a sustainability plan, even if just a short one, that lays out your goals. Writing a plan allows you to think through your sustainability priorities and formalize them.

You might even consider publishing that plan on your web site, if you think your customers will care.

Keep Track Of Your Progress

Keep a spreadsheet that documents your company’s green progress. If a goal is to reduce electricity use by, say, 10%, write down your monthly kilowatt usage (which is typically displayed on your utility bills). This will make it easy come year-end for you to see whether you’ve met your goals.

After you’ve collected all this great information about your environmental footprint – and know how much progress you’ve made in reducing it – you have something to brag about. Use that information to engage your customers around your green initiatives. You’ll have numbers to back it up, after all.

Eco Footprint Photo via Shutterstock

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