You already know that telecommuting is an effective way to save your business money and increase employee morale. But like most things in life, it’s much different in practice than in theory. In real life, working from home presents many unexpected obstacles in the form of noisy kids and pets, lack of communication, and even loneliness. Here’s a quick four-step guide to beating the Work-at-Home Blues and making your commuting, non-sustainable friends jealous. Read the full story

If you’ve never heard the term “Web 2.0″ before, sorry buddy, but you’re out of touch. Chances are however that you’re already familiar with Web 2.0, even if you don’t know it. Ever watched a video on YouTube, written on a friend’s wall on Facebook, or uploaded a photo album to Flickr? Then you’ve experienced Web 2.0. What you maybe haven’t realized yet is that it’s is one of the best places to build and advertise your small business and, yes, save energy doing it. Read the full story

We talk about “going green” a lot at Padosa (it’s our biggest tag, after all) but rarely do we examine exactly how hard that can be to accomplish. Running a sustainable business takes a great deal of resources, cooperative employees, technical know-how, and, well, money. Are you adequately prepared to do what it takes to go green or does the prospect or so much change discourage you? This article takes a look at some of the barriers companies face as they try to go green and offers some resources and advice on how to beat them. Read the full story

As more teeth-grindingly bad news about climate change is published every day, decision-makers around the world are tapping into their collective adrenalin: do we Earth-dwelling humans choose “fight” or “flight” as a response to our current situation? Namely, should we try to devote all of our time and energy to solving the energy crisis, reducing our carbon emissions, and setting up measures to prevent another, similar disaster in the future? Or should we cut our losses now, scope out real estate near another star, and stack up on freeze-dried ice cream for the centuries-long journey to Plan(et) B? Read the full story

How can you make the color of your portfolio match the color of your cash? Chances are, if your small business has weathered the storm of its first few years in action and has unstuck itself from the mire of unprofitable operation, you’re taking good care of all of the money that comes in as profit. But here’s a fact that may surprise you: the most profitable thing to do right now with that money may be to invest it. And the best place to invest right now is in the new green economy. Read the full story

Energy consumption accounts for a large chunk of an organization’s operating costs. Energy efficiency practices help reduce energy costs without compromising service. In addition to saving money and helping to improve the bottom line, energy efficiency supports the environment and improves employee morale. According to Green Workplace Survey, environmental programs improve employee morale by 43% and increase employee loyalty by 16%.

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Looking to get a little refund from the government this tax season? This year, you can get some back while giving something back.

Small business owners who stop thinking about being in the red and go green can save their company money, benefit from governmental tax credits, and promote a sustainable planet. Read the full story

On his blog, “How to Change the World: A Practical Blog for Impractical People,” (May 24, 2007), Guy Kawasaki asked Margie Zabel Fisher, President of Zabel Fisher Public Relations and www.thepresite.com to provide her Top Ten reasons why PR doesn’t work.

Number one? Read the full story

Are you looking into solar to green up your energy use? Thinking about solar electric (PV)? If so, you might be overlooking another powerful solar energy application – solar water heating.

Solar hot water or solar thermal is nothing new. The first commercial solar water heater was patented in 1891 – sixty-two years before the invention of the solar cell. By 1909, solar heating systems evolved into something very like what we use today, with separate collection and hot water storage components. Read the full story

Most of us recycle at home in one form or another but recycling in the office is another story. Many small businesses are not set up to recycle. It takes time and effort to arrange a recycling program but there are numerous benefits. Recycling helps companies save money by reducing garbage service pick-up, reduce’s the organizations carbon foot-print, and helps improve employee morale. These days it feels good to do the right thing for the environment and the staff will most likely be excited about participating in this worthwhile effort.

Here are some tips for launching a recycling program in your office.

Step 1: Enlist Buy-In from Management.

The first step is to assign a ‘recycling coordinator’ who is committed and interested in spearheading the recycling program in your office. The recycling coordinator needs to enlist management’s support before pursuing the program. Management’s buy-in is key to the success of the program. Once management signs off on the program, the coordinator should enlist volunteers to form a ‘Green Team.’ Send out a memo to the company announcing the program. Explain the benefits of recycling: saves the company money by decreasing garbage service pick-up, helps reduce the company’s carbon foot-print, and helps improve employee morale. Inspire employees to participate by assigning awards for those who embrace the new program, such as for those employees who initiate the process. Get creative about ways you can make it fun for the staff!

Step 2: Determine what items to recycle.

Take a walk through the facility and look at what recyclable materials are being thrown in the garbage. The most common items are paper, cardboard, plastic, cans and bottles. Keep in mind that packing material, toners, electronics and office equipment are potentially recyclable. Initially target your recycling program to include the largest volumes of waste being thrown in the garbage. If you work in an office, typically your largest amount of garbage will be from paper so start there. Once your recycling program is up and running, begin recycling other waste in your office such as cans and bottles. Continue to build on your successes as you progress.

Step 3: Hire a recycling company to pick-up materials.

Once you have decided which materials to recycle, ask your garbage company if they will pick-up and recycle these items. There are also independent recycling companies you can hire. Visit www.recyclestuff.org for a listing of recycling companies or call the Recycle Hotline at 1-800-533-8414.

Step 4: Determine where to place recycling bins.

Recycling bins should be located next to where the materials are generated, such as next to copiers and printers, and in work stations and near break rooms.

Recycling bins should be properly labeled and should be placed next to all waste baskets in your facility.

Step 5: Create a plan for collecting recyclables for pick-up.

Decide how waste will be moved out of the facility for pick-up by the garbage or recycling company. Communicate your plan with your cleaning staff as their support is integral to the success of your program. Explain to your cleaning crew that the implementation of a recycling program will most likely reduce the amount of garbage generated in your facility and thus will lighten their workload.

Here are some ideas used by other companies for collecting the recyclables in your facility. Discuss these with your cleaning staff and decide which works best for your facility and which adheres to any service contracts.

1) Employees are responsible to empty their individual recycling bins into a centralized bin (one centralized bin for every 10-15 employees). The cleaning service is then responsible for only collecting the recyclables from the centralized recycling bin in addition to emptying the regular garbage.

2) The cleaning staff empties both the recycling bin and the garbage can from each workstation according to their typical cleaning schedule.

3) Employees are responsible to empty both their individual recycling bins and their waste baskets into larger centralized bins. The cleaning staff is only responsible to empty these larger bins.

4) The cleaning staff collects recycling from each workstation and employees empty their regular waste bins into centralized bins. The cleaning staff only empties these larger bins.

Step 6: Educate Staff.

Share your new program with everyone at your company. Train them in each step of the process. Set-up a recycling training session and have every employee physically walk through the recycling process. Implement the recycling training into your new hire orientation program. Include your cleaning crew in the program. Create enthusiasm for the program by distributing awards for those who contribute the most and for those who initiate new ideas. Consistently send emails to the staff about the program and acknowledge employees who make great efforts. Continually ask for their ideas to improve the program.

Step 7: Follow-up and Measure Results.

Announce positive results about the program through emails and company newsletters. Continually monitor the progress of the program. Staying on track of the program will help you make necessary adjustments for improvement and maintain buy-in from management and staff. Measure your program’s success by asking for volume reports or tonnage from your recycling companies or garbage service. Quantify the results by announcing the amount of resources saved, pollution prevented or money saved for the company. Important stat: for every ton of paper your company recycles, 17 trees are saved! Think about announcing the number of trees your company has saved over time – such as every 6 months or on an annual basis as a way to measure and acknowledge success.

Step 8: Encourage the creation of other Waste Reduction Programs.

Once the recycling program is running smoothly, encourage the staff to reduce waste in other ways. Ask the Green Team to implement a waste reduction program. There are a myriad of ways to save energy and reduce waste beyond recycling. Re-using materials, purchasing green office supplies, installing motion sensors, connecting your electronics to a power strip, printing documents on both sides, are just a few ideas. Much the same way you launched a recycling program, do the same with a waste reduction program by making it fun and creative and participatory for the staff. Remember to continually update your staff on the programs’ successes and create innovative ways to reward your staff and encourage continual enthusiasm. Once you have a few green programs under way, maybe you will want to create a Green Olympics where staff competes against each other in terms of who can conserve the most energy and save the most money for the company! Have fun and good luck!