Going green is smart business

I used to be a half-hearted recycler-- just newspapers and the occasional aluminum can. That changed when I got married three years ago. Now Beth has me recycling nearly everything -- office paper, cardboard and plastics in addition to newspapers and aluminum cans. We also compost kitchen scraps in a worm bin in the backyard. We've replaced every light bulb we can with one of those corkscrew fluorescent bulbs, and we have a programmable thermostat.

The change has been pretty easy, and I'm still amazed each week that we put much more recycling material on the curb than trash.

It makes us feel good that we're doing something for the environment. I'm sure we're saving money, too, though we've never quantified it.

But in the business world, feeling good about something doesn't usually rank at the top of the list of reasons for doing it. Our cover story on green information technology helps reinforce that point.

It's nice to save energy and reduce our carbon footprints, but as Associate Editor Michael Hardy explains, green IT refers to two types of green -- the environment and cash.

Part of the sales pitch for going green is the cost savings that reducing energy consumption can bring. In that context, going green makes good business sense.

The real opportunity is in new systems and refreshing technology. If you're selling a new system, you should have a few slides showing how green it is.

It'll make both you and your customers feel better.