Business leaders get green light from high fuel costs, technology

Going green can help a business stay in the black.

That’s the message from proponents of “green business,” a practice whereby businesses operate in an environmentally friendly manner.

Although some “see red” when they hear “going green,” believing it to be a mere fad, it has become increasingly obvious that “going green” represents a transformation in how businesses operate, not just a passing fancy.

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Northern Colorado Business Report Managing Editor Kate Hawthorne writes in this issue about Green Drinks, essentially a social and educational networking group for companies wanting to do business in an environmentally friendly manner. The group is having instant success attracting attendees.

But the momentum extends beyond Green Drinks. Talk with business leaders from any industry – construction companies to real estate firms, cleaning companies to paper-supply firms – and you’ll hear the same message: Cut costs while helping the environment, too.

A lot of this has gained impetus from soaring prices for fossil fuels, and by new technologies that make solar, wind and other sources of energy more affordable. It’s also true that reducing energy consumption and encouraging recycling can add to a business’ bottom line.

There’s no question, either, that business leaders are more willing to accept that global climate change is indeed occurring. They’re concerned by September weather in November – what happened to Northern Colorado’s typical Halloween blizzard? They’re worried about historic droughts in the Southeast. And melting glaciers and polar ice caps provide a pretty good hint that something drastic is occurring.

Business wants to be part of the solution, not the problem. But altruism only gets you so far. Change needs to make economic sense, too. Current energy costs give businesses the financial excuse they need to make changes in their own operations.

That might mean switching to more fuel-efficient vehicles for a company fleet, purchasing wind energy, adding solar cells to a building, or something else.

We wrote in a Nov. 9 editorial about the advantages that a cluster of clean-energy companies can bring to Northern Colorado. And companies such as Vestas Wind Systems A/S and AVA Solar Inc. will indeed help this region become a global player in the emergence of new technologies.

But NoCo companies aren’t waiting for something new. They’re ready to effect change now. You see it at events such as our Green Summit, which we inaugurated last spring. You see it in companies such as Wal-Mart and its own environmental initiative.

And you see it in groups such as Green Drinks, now meeting at a location near you.

Christopher Wood can be reached at 970-221-5400 or via e-mail at cwood@ncbr.com. Catch his blog, Woody’s World, at www.ncbr.com.