Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Green Business Supply Chain

By R Michael Richmond

Here's an interesting thought about Going Green as a business. I believe that the upcoming period that I have termed The Green Equalization will drive a new generation of Authentically Green. There will be a maturing of the Green expectations of consumers and vital services that will reject the superficial approach to Green that many companies now have. This generation will want more of a Due Diligence to support the Green claims of a firm rather than willingly accepting the marketing claims of a product or service.

To be an "Authentic Green" business, there is a deeper commitment required. The fact is that most businesses suffer from a failure of programming where the daily operation does not match the promotions that make it seem to be Green. This is most clearly seen in the consideration of the Green Supply Chain because the business that attempt to "Sell Green" to the public do not buy Green when it comes to purchasing department.

This is a matter of Green ethics where a business should practice Green as well as talk Green. Most businesses suffer from lack of Green ethics. Asking the public to buy from them by virtue of their Green claims places a duty on that same business to make purchases with a Green preference as well. It has been said that more can be told by examining the purchasing department than the marketing department. The lack of integrity in failing to follow this principle is obvious.

While some may see the environmentally crisis as just another opportunity to sell their goods and services by exploiting the angst over this subject, it seems obvious that the public will see through the Greenwashing strategy in due time. There should not be an anti-business element in the environmental, but a failure of Green ethics will likely bring bad press to a number of firms. I am sure that they will "get religion" then. Even the EPA has promoted a similar idea to the Green Supply Chain with its Environmentally Preferred Purchasing. We are approaching a time when it will be necessary to "Walk the walk a s well as Talk the talk."

Installing Green practices in any size business is not just about the building. It is primarily about the operation, programming, or daily practices. It does not matter if you own, rent, or lease. Any business that sees the future needs to start into a thorough process of Greening the business from front to back. Frankly, this is more work than most people think because it takes more involvement than changing out your lighting with CFL bulb. This requires the assistance of a Certified Green Consultant who is someone who not only know hows to take a business Green, but can credit the business with the assigned points for each Green practice adopted. At 100 points, the business will earn its Green Business Certification which is something to that be legitimately promoted. A Certified Green Consultant is an outsourced advisor who can work with your company to develop a program that is Authentically Green because there are real Green practices in place and certification by an independent source.

A Certified Green Consultant will also assist in the Green Supply Chain process by Greening up the purchasing processes. Why struggle with something that can be done so much better by the experts? By the way, these Green Consultants work with a Zero Cost Consulting model that will easily recover more than the cost of their service. This is because there are great efficiencies to Going Green now that were not available before. There seems no reason that any business cannot honestly Go Green now, and the process can be a big cost savings as well as a reputable marketing credential.

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