Basically, to greenwash is to pay lip service to something to make it seem like you are involved without actually conducting any practice or process that supports said lip service.

On June 18th of 2008 post the Doctor at Sourcing Innovation described green washing as a practice used by a company to mislead consumers about the environmental benefits of a product or service. This can apply to any person or company in the sourcing cycle of life which includes retailers, suppliers, manufacturers, brokers, and vendors that provide the tools that bind this circle.

By way of example, at SafeSourcing we have a corporate social responsibility program we call R5. The first three of the five R?s refer to the Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle terms that all green focused organizations are familiar with. Additionally, we have added Reward and Renew. By reward we mean that we will contribute annually to the safety and environmentally focused organizations that our customers support through their initiatives?. This reward will be based in part on the vote of our customers. By renew we mean that we will continue this cycle annually and support it in all of our products, programs and practices.

Greenwashing can take a variety of forms such as linking to green websites or using green terminology without any practical application associated with it. If you are a retailer, ask your supplier?s, vendors and business partners what their green programs are. Compare their programs with yours and then learn from each other. Pay this support forward by rewarding suppliers, vendors and business partners that share and support your social consciousness.

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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a number of programs that as a result of government use offer companies a great opportunity to educate themselves in support of their social responsibility initiatives.

One of those programs, the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) helps the federal government “buy green,” and in doing so, uses the federal government’s enormous buying power to stimulate market demand for green products and services. Geared first to help federal purchasers, this site can help green vendors, businesses large and small — and consumers. Use the easy index to:

? Find and evaluate information about green products and services;
? Identify federal green buying requirements;
? Calculate the costs and benefits of purchasing choices;
? Manage green purchasing processes.

The U.S. EPA website www.epa.gov contains a wealth of information relative to finding and evaluating green products in any number of categories from construction to office supplies. If you truly review and evaluate the green portion of your company or individual social consciousness regularly the U.S. EPA site is a great place to start.

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At the conference, good and green companies are learning how to increase their brand’s emotional, cognitive and financial connection in today?s “greening” consumer markets. These are hugely important CSR initiatives that companies must focus on if they want to continue to attract their consumers in the future.

According to GfK more and more consumers are embracing green initiatives.

? Perceptions of environmental, ethical, and social stewardship are the fastest growing contributors to consumer brand value
? Over 66% of Americans believe “Doing well by doing good is a savvy business strategy.”
? Over the past 5 years the sales of organic and all natural products have increased 18% to 25% year over year.
? 30% of American consumers are willing to pay up to a 20% premium on clean, green products over non-sustainable alternatives…and that number grows each year.

Additionally in a related survey by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media, sixty percent of surveyed individuals felt either a great deal or a lot of personal responsibility to protect the environment. Who do you think these consumers will turn to for their product and services purchases?

This author posts regularly on this subject. It is important to hold your supply chain partners accountable to your companies Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. As this may be a difficult task to accomplish on your own, you procurement solution provider should be able to provide you with this type of information about your existing and new sources of supply. If they can not, make a change to a company that can.

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With all the talk about becoming green today it is important to understand the necessary steps required to achieve that goal. A resource that many are not aware of that you can work with to accomplish your green objectives is your local government?s Green Business Coordinator. He or she can provide guidance if you have questions or need assistance meeting green requirements. There are also many rebate programs that can help compensate you for facility changes required in your green pursuit. Please take the time to speak with your Coordinator before beginning to go green.

Below are some steps you can take to move your facilities in a green direction.

1. Mount occupancy sensors on lighting fixtures in low occupancy areas.
2. Upgrade incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent lights.
3. Install ultra efficient ballasts unit to mute lights to benefit from daylight.
4. Control lighting, refrigeration and HVAC with an energy management system.
5. Improve present fluorescent lighting with T-8 lamps with electronic ballasts T-8 systems use up to 40% less energy than T-12 systems).
6. Put in a programmable thermostat to manage heating and air conditioning.
7. All major hot water pipes should be insulated.
8. Refrigeration cold suction lines should be insulated.
9. Plant shrubs or trees near windows for natural shade.
10. Fill air gaps around doors and windows with weather stripping.
11. Choose electrical equipment with energy saving features (e.g. Energy Star).
12. Use computer hardware programs that conserve energy by automatically turning off idle monitors and printers.
13. Install plastic strip curtains on refrigerator and freezer doors.
14. Upgrade hot water heaters to on-demand systems.
15. Install a solar powered water heater or pre-heater.
16. Decrease the number of lamps and increase lighting effectiveness by installing optical reflectors or diffusers.
17. Add desk lamps to work spaces in to reduce the need for overhead lighting.
18. Install ceiling fans to circulate air.

We hope these steps help with your thinking in your road to becoming greener company.

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