Businesses make up the backbone of our economic system. Built on capitalism, this system thrives by assigning dollar values to both tangible and intangible resources. Since the Industrial Revolution, though, economists have ignored the economic values associated with systemic ecosystem services such as watersheds and water systems; carbon systems, which maintain the global carbon cycle; and general overall processes that maintain planetary balance.

An excellent overview of how our consumer economy developed and how consumers have become essential slaves to the unceasing push for increasing business profits can be viewed at www.storyofstuff.com, a video created by Annie Leonard for the Tides Foundation & Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption.

In addition, human economic indicators such as employee happiness, well-being, and health were also not figured into the capitalists’ equations.

Note

An externality is the side effect on an individual or entity due to the actions of another individual or entity.

This mindset creates economic externalities. An economic externality exists when a person makes a choice that affects other people not accounted for in the marketplace. Externalities can be both positive and negative. For example, if a factory is spewing pollution into the atmosphere, it creates unhealthy air quality. Children living and playing near the factory may develop asthma and consequently, miss school because of health problems. The societal cost associated with disadvantaged learning and productivity would be a negative externality caused by environmental pollution. Another example is water pollution. When a factory discharges unclean effluent into a river, it pollutes the river. Local residents bear the cost of the pollution in the form of health costs and water purification costs. Residents also cannot fish, swim, or play in the river.

An example of a positive externality would be the effect a community garden has on an area. People participating in the project benefit from increased health and develop a sense of pride in their community. Increased community involvement brings neighbors closer together; decreases crime; and restores areas of the environment by changing unsightly, unusable, and unsafe areas to green space.

“Going green” enables businesses to factor in these economic externalities. Accounting for monetary costs that may otherwise be overlooked often builds a more profitable enterprise. Sustainability is key to building a burgeoning, stable economic system that will thrive during resource fluctuation. Healthier environments equal more productive and healthier people, which in turn lead to increased social equity and a stronger economy for our country.

Developing new energy resources and more efficient transportation modes means that we’ll be developing new industries as a result of creating a greener world. Solar energy, wind energy, alternative fuels, and mass transit growth all represent opportunities for new businesses to develop to meet the needs of an environmentally friendly era.

Small business owner Sharon Rowe developed a green niche for herself by selling products that meet a need for the green-conscious consumer. Her company, Eco-Bags of Ossining, New York, produces and sells cloth bags to replace disposable bags, which have become a bane to the environment by creating massive amounts of waste, filling landfills and threatening wildlife when not properly disposed of. Rowe recognized this growing need in 1989, and has since grown to boast sales of $2.2 million in 2007, according to Time magazine (July 23, 2008).

As you read through this book, we’ll provide many other examples of businesses that have found ways to go green.

With the creation of new, innovative industries comes the need for employees, from assembly-line workers to CEOs. As demand for green products and services increases, more jobs will be created. In an on-air interview with NPR, Jerome Ringo, President of the Apollo Alliance, stated that green-collar jobs are projected to create three to five million new jobs and promote $300 billion in investment over the next 10 years.

The introduction of environmentally friendly products or services into the economy has created green-collar employment opportunities. Solar panel installation, waste water reclamation, green building and retrofitting, organic foods, material reuse and recycling, wind power generation, and green product manufacturing are all examples of sectors that create green-collar jobs.

Van Jones is the co-founder of the Ella Baker Center, founder of Green for All, and pioneer for green-collar jobs. In a 2007 interview with The New York Times, Jones said, “The green economy has the power to deliver new sources of work, wealth, and health to low-income people while honoring the Earth. If you can do that, you just wiped out a whole bunch of problems.”

Recently, Jones was instrumental in launching the nation’s first “Green Jobs Corps.” Starting with $250,000 seed money from the Oakland City Council, this pilot project will create job training programs for at-risk youth, the formerly incarcerated, the underemployed, and low-income residents of Oakland, California. A collaboration of community organizations, private entities, and city government, the Green Jobs Corps strives to be a catalyst for enabling people from all backgrounds to participate in the burgeoning sustainable economy.

A Worldwatch Institute study, Jobs in Renewable Energy Expanding by Michael Renner, reports that the renewable energy field employs 2.3 million people around the world today. More people are employed in countries where their government supports renewable development. Renner reports that renewable energy fields employ more people in labor-related jobs, while the coal and oil industries rely more on equipment that reduces the labor force. He says that hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost in the coal mining industries in the United States, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, and South Africa over the past two decades. However, in those countries which strongly support renewable energies, such as Spain, jobs have increased by nearly 200,000. As jobs decrease in the fossil fuel industries, jobs are increasing in the renewable energy fields, especially in countries whose governments are supporting the development of renewable energies, such as solar and wind energies.

Renner found 1 million biomass and biofuel jobs, 624,000 solar thermal jobs, 170,000 solar photovoltaic jobs, and 300,000 wind jobs. These numbers are bound to grow as renewable energy industries grow. Projections suggest there will be 2.1 million wind industry jobs and 6.3 million solar industry jobs by 2030.

Note

Biomass is an organic, nonfossil material that is available on a renewable basis. Biomass includes all biological organisms, dead or alive, and their metabolic by-products that have not been transformed by geological processes into substances, such as coal or petroleum.

Biofuel is any fuel derived from an organic material that is not fossilized like coal or petroleum. Common sources of biofuel grown for the U.S. and European markets are corn, soybeans, flaxseed, and rapeseed. Biofuel can appear in solid, liquid, or gas form.

It’s clear that our growing renewable energy industry will contribute greatly to our economy as it continues to develop with our support.

Although going green is often derided as too expensive to pursue, innovative business owners and others are discovering that becoming stewards of their environment is actually helping them save money in many ways. When we use less energy, we pay less for energy. When we reduce our waste, we either buy fewer unnecessary materials or make better use of our resources, both of which save money. When we create healthier work environments and happier employees, we increase employee productivity and innovation.

For example, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Program, Thomas Mott Homestead Bed and Breakfast in Alburgh, Vermont, reduced its energy costs by $10,000 annually, saved over 140,000 kWh, and prevented 240,000 pounds of greenhouse gas pollution from entering the atmosphere. The list of ways to save money by making smarter environmental choices goes on and on. You’ll learn more about specific changes you can make at your place of business in the following chapters.

Because energy is essential to all aspects of business, from manufacturing and product distribution to running offices and facilities, finding new means of powering your business with less oil can make a dramatic difference to the planet. Current scientific studies indicate the burning of fossil fuels is causing the majority of anthropogenic climate change. Our efforts to conserve energy through efficiency methods can make substantial decreases in our energy usage. Finding alternative energy sources for the remaining demand further reduces our drain and dependence on oil, gas, and fossil fuel products.

Simple things such as switching our conventional incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs can cut carbon emissions by an average of 560 kg per bulb. According to the web resource EnvironmentalChemistry.com, this switch will also save an average of $88.63 over the life of the bulb. When making the switch to compact fluorescent, remember to properly dispose of the bulb when its useful life is over. Compact fluorescents contain small amounts of mercury and must be disposed of at a designated hazardous household waste facility. Check with your local municipal trash service for specific instructions. Replacing traditional bulbs with light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs is a cost-effective way to reduce energy consumption.

Greenhouse gases create a blanket effect in our atmosphere that traps heat and keeps it from escaping, creating the greenhouse effect. This process occurs naturally and is essential for maintaining the temperature of the earth. When human activity releases extra greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, this natural blanket becomes thicker and global warming results. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and fluorinated gases are all greenhouse gases. Since the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased dramatically due to human action. This creates a planetary imbalance caused mainly by the burning of fossil fuels.

All greenhouse gases have damaging health effects. Scientists have overwhelmingly confirmed in the Intercontinental Panel on Climate Change Report (2007) as well as many other scientific studies that these gases are proliferating into our atmosphere at an unprecedented rate because of the modern industrial dependence on petroleum products. The less oil we burn, the fewer greenhouse gases we spew into the atmosphere.

Note

A greenhouse gas traps heat in the atmosphere.

The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature that the earth experiences because certain gases in the atmosphere (water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, for example) trap energy from the sun. Without these gases, heat would escape into space, and Earth’s average temperature would be about 60°F colder. Because of how they warm our world, we refer to these gases as greenhouse gases.

Global warming is an increase in the global average surface temperature due to natural or anthropogenic (human-induced) climate change.

For decades, the American business climate was based on the idea that employees would work for the company for most of their adult lives, and, in turn, the company provided retirement benefits to protect employees and their families in old age. However, in recent years, that model has gone by the wayside. Employers have provided fewer retirement benefits, and, in many cases, pensions have evaporated after years of dedication and contributions from the employees.

Today’s workforce doesn’t forget seeing family members and friends cut off from the golden futures they anticipated. Younger workers count among their values the importance of finding a company that demonstrates responsible behavior and actions toward its employees, the community, and the planet. The new green economy brings with it a renewed interest among employees to work in ways that are meaningful to them and which fulfill their values beyond the paycheck. Sustainable businesses strive to provide employment that helps workers achieve greater balance between work and the rest of their lives.

Recent results from a survey conducted by Internet employment resource MonsterTRAK.com show that an outstanding number of young workers want to work for a green company. Eighty percent of survey participants said they are interested in a job that has a positive impact on the environment, and a colossal 92 percent would choose to work for an environmentally friendly company over a nongreen company.

Another study conducted by Kenexa Research Institute shows that employees who work at companies with clear corporate social environmental responsibility (CSER) platforms are most satisfied. The study also showed that employees of these organizations are more likely to stay at their jobs for a greater duration of time, are more committed to their work, and are happier with senior management and executives.

Employers are finding that adopting environmentally friendly policies is resulting in better employee retention and productivity rates. Employees who feel good about the company they work for and the work they’re doing perform better and feel better about themselves. Feeling better mentally and emotionally has a direct impact on our physical health, and happier individuals who feel better about themselves are likely to be more effective parents whose positive attitudes reflect in their children, relationships, and lives. In addition, improved social employee policies, such as flexible hours, provide workers the opportunity to better balance their personal lives and their work lives. This benefits both the employee and the employer.

Environmental policies benefit worker’s lifestyles just as much as social policies. For example, implementing a carbon footprint reduction strategy by looking at employee transportation results in “ride your bike to work” programs and carpool programs. The former enables employees to work an exercise routine into their busy schedules, improving mental productivity and overall health. Carpool programs save employees money on gas and road tolls and provide employees with time to get to know their fellow workers. Both contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.

Air pollution caused by burning petroleum products to produce energy, such as with coal plants, diesel-fueled trains, and gasoline-powered autos, contribute to lung disease, asthma, and respiratory problems. Technologies such as alternative energy and hybrid cars that use less petroleum products and produce fewer emissions help us to have cleaner air with fewer disease-causing pollutants.

Water pollution from synthetic petrochemicals and human and animal waste has been linked to several twentieth-century diseases, including cancer, autism, brain damage, and developmental disorders. For example, burning coal releases mercury into the air where it settles in water bodies, contaminating the water and the fish that live there. The mercury is passed along to those who eat the fish and can cause irreparable damage to developing fetuses and young children.

Agricultural run-off contaminates water with farming chemicals, such as fertilizers and pesticides, as well as waste products from livestock. These pollute waterways, causing overgrowth of algae and other plants which choke sunlight from waterways and kill the natural plants that feed fish and amphibians. The lack of plants causes lower oxygen levels, which also kills water-based life. The synthetic petrochemicals used in farming are also dangerous for sea life because many are endocrine disrupters, which mimic estrogen and cause the feminization of amphibians and alligators in waterways. This effect is likely to be more widespread than scientifically proven thus far, which is indicated by statistics showing a decrease in male birth rates and in sperm counts among males worldwide.

Many industries and municipalities flush partially treated wastewater into public rivers and oceans, and small quantities of contaminants are approved by the government. However, in recent years, as water resources become scarce and as we learn more about the dangers of chemical contamination, we are realizing that some chemicals are more dangerous than once recognized—even in the smallest quantities—and that cleaning our waterways is much more expensive than preventing contamination. In some cases, we have not even developed clean-up technologies. Finding ways to avoid contaminating air, water, and soil instead of cleaning up after the damage is done is better for our environment and better for our budgets.