Parcel - August 2008 - (Page 34) management GOING GREEN MEANS $AVING GREEN Tapping into green technology saves you money By Scott H. Lawson I n recent years, there has been substantial growth in environmental awareness in a wide variety of industries. Green technology, green buildings and green products have entered the thoughts and lexicons of professionals worldwide. Major car manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Nissan and Ford constantly strive to maintain a competitive edge in the rapidly growing green automobile market. Even this year’s Nobel Prize for Peace was granted, not to someone negotiating a treaty between warring nations, but to people working to make peace between industry and the environment. environment.” Being green is more than just a practice, however: it is a process, a culture and a belief system. According to respected entrepreneurial publication Startup Nation, “‘Green,’ ‘environmental’ and ‘sustainable’ are more than just labels. They’re practices that include every aspect of business — invention, definition, construction, production and the ultimate disposal of the product.” With more and more entrepreneurs, CEOs and business owners seeing green, the culture of green business is more prevalent in professional industries than ever before. But the green movement is hardly a new trend. Long before the first Earth Day in 1970, people and businesses acknowledged the need to care for the environment. So what makes today’s green phenomenon different? Until recently, green practices were largely unrefined and primarily associated with technological, social and professional inadequacy. Tech-savvy factories were often the ones that pumped the most pollutants into the air, thriving corporations typically used the most energy to power their facilities, and leaders in key industries inevitably drained natural resources with little concern for the health of their workforce or their community. According to Fortune Magazine, “Big business and environmentalists used to be sworn enemies — and for good reason. General Electric dumped toxins into the Hudson River. Wal-Mart bulldozed its way across America. www.PARCELindustry.com What does it mean to be green? According to the California Environmental Protection Agency, green facilities “are designed to meet certain objectives such as protecting occupant health; improving employee productivity; using energy, water, and other resources more efficiently; and reducing the overall impact to the 34 August 2008 http://www.PARCELindustry.com
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