Business
What is Good for Business is Almost Always Bad for Nature
Paul Hawken challenges this truism in The Ecology of Commerce, explaining how his vision of "natural capitalism" merges goals of profitability and sustainability. Business-as-usual will not be sustainable for anyone. Our living systems are already in decline. We cannot continue to sustain our North American levels of consumption of resources; we would need a few additional planets to do so.
Choose Tap H2O
I choose not to sell bottled water in my restaurants, as do many of my peers, like Barrio, Al Vento, POP!, A La Salsa, and many others. I hope you have heard this somewhere else before: everybody on earth needs and deserves clean drinking water. Here in Minneapolis, we are lucky to have some of the best tap water in the country. Recently, the New York Times reported that residents in West Virginia aren't so lucky; some people there cannot even bathe safely in their tap water, much less drink it.1
Twin Cities Businesses Make Dirt, Not Waste
pic: Compost bin at Ecopolitan restaurant.
Minnesota is Well Positioned to Create Good, Clean Energy Jobs
Working people and environmentalists both have a stake in building the new, green economy. Transforming our economy through renewable energy, energy efficiency, mass transit and rail, a new smart grid and other solutions to global warming, has the potential to create millions of jobs, while reducing global warming emissions and moving America toward energy independence. A green job is a blue collar job with a green purpose, like solving global warming.
Green Career Opportunities
Many business sectors in Minnesota are growing green and becoming more aware of how sustainability is a necessity for their business; see what's in store for green career opportunities in each sector.
Environmental Education and Training
Environmental education has moved beyond simply teaching students in the school system about environmental issues and instead is now becoming standard practice at many companies and organizations.
• Watch for businesses and corporations hiring third-party sustainability training consultants.
Promoting Your Green Efforts
If your green marketing efforts need some help, you probably fall into one of two categories: either you have not marketed your green efforts at all, or you have but it does not seem to make any difference. Either way, you may want to consider a different approach to green marketing. When the economy was flourishing and business was booming, marketing your greenness may have taken a back seat to expending all of your energy on day-to-day operations. However, especially now that the economy is suffering, you should look at green marketing as an investment.
New Green Media
One of the great things ushered in with the green revolution has been the concept of new green media online to get information about sustainable living out to the public. The main benefits of these online websites, e-newsletters, and blogs are that no paper is used for printing and they can be updated at a moment's notice. There are many websites devoted to recycling, reuse, and emergent technologies in energy efficiency, environmental advocacy, sustainability, and much more.
Support Communities and Economies: Buy Local
pic: Crookston's thriving downtown in the 1960s
For almost a hundred years, people have been buying handmade candy from Widman's Candy Store in Crookston, MN. People may move from this small town of roughly 7,727 people, but they usually come back for a visit to the candy store. They return for more than just the sugar-laden handmade treats. "They come back for the memories," said George Widman, the third generation owner.
Sustainability in the Office
Socially Responsible Investing INVESTING FOR A CAUSE
The strategies that define SRI are:
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