Q&A talks “green” business with Jason J. Giulietti, research economist with the Connecticut Business & Industry Association.
Q: The Connecticut Business & Industry Association’s fourth annual Sustainability and Connecticut Business Survey says the majority of Connecticut businesses have embraced sustainable “green” business practices. How do you define embrace? What level of commitment does that imply?
A: Over the past four years, we have seen a 27 percent increase in companies that have adopted green principles to our highest total of 74 percent in our latest survey. Connecticut businesses are embracing this concept and business practice by incorporating “green” into the products and services they use or purchase and diversifying their product line to be more environmentally or socially sustainable. They have found that this is helping them reduce costs, become more efficient, foster stronger relationships between clients and customers, enhance the company’s image and even boost employee morale.
Q: The survey also says that upfront costs and lack of knowledge are the two primary obstacles companies face in their efforts to go green. What resources are available to overcome both obstacles?
A: This is a frequent question raised by businesses wanting to incorporate sustainability. The answer is often not as clear as one would think. The sustainability movement includes so many different areas of doing business there is no one-stop resource to help companies.
The state of Connecticut offers various incentives for using alternative energy sources and reducing energy consumption. In addition, the often underutilized option of telecommuting is a great way for companies to embrace sustainability.
Telecommute Connecticut is a state program that helps companies develop and implement a telecommuting program. By having some employees telecommute, a business can reduce costs, reduce traffic and gain greater productivity among employees.
Other areas that companies can explore include more usage of technology that can create more efficiency and monitor cost savings. As companies begin to explore varying options to become more sustainable, the more resources they will find. A great place to start is www.cbia.com/green, where you can read about what others are doing around the state.
Q: According to the survey, the lack of knowledge has grown with 29 percent of respondents citing it as an obstacle compared to 10 percent in 2009. Why has the knowledge gap grown that much?
A: As with any other aspect of doing business that is perhaps new to the business owner, the fear of the unknown is a major deterrent from disrupting the current way a company operates. The lack of knowledge can be attributed to several different explanations.
Basically, the universe of green/sustainable business practices is very large and diverse. From changing the lighting to improving waste management or installing a fuel cell, the options appear limitless. Some companies can easily be overwhelmed by the array of options available. I find this to be the principal reason why the companies that are not undertaking any sustainable efforts.
As for the recent increase in companies citing this obstacle, I see one thing driving that response — the economy. Over the last year, the national and state economies have experienced significant strain, which has also forced companies to think very short-term in order to survive. Most of the people responding to the survey are small businesses that have been impacted the most by the recession. When economic times are tough, small businesses do not have the ability to examine varying aspects of doing business. Their goal is survival. That’s why I believe we will see that number decrease as the economy turns around and small business begin to think more long-term again.
Q: Almost two-thirds of businesses say they embrace green practices to reduce operating costs. How are they reducing their operating costs?
A: Businesses are always looking for ways to become more efficient and reduce costs. The concept of sustainability is a great way to accomplish both. When we asked what companies are doing, the majority of responses focused around energy conservation (71 percent), waste management (65 percent) and green purchasing (58 percent). In each area, businesses can significantly reduce costs with modest upfront investments.
We found most businesses have replaced lighting (95 percent) within their companies. Others have made adjustments to their HVAC (47 percent), installed occupancy sensors (33 percent) or changed a furnace/boiler (32 percent). Any of these changes can have a considerable impact on the overall operating costs. In addition, the 2010 survey indicated an increase in the number of businesses utilizing alternative energy sources. Areas like hydropower (15 percent), biomass (14 percent), wind power (14 percent) and solar power (12 percent) each saw over 10 percent increases from the last several years’ surveys.
