Sustainable Business & Greenwashing

Greenwashing is becoming absurd. Since it is a viable issue today I have researched what is means to be a green business (with the help of my nationally certified sustainable building advisor partner). I think we all need to be responsible consumers and take the time to learn about the products we are buying and the company practices to create these products. This is the most important step we can take to eliminate green washing.

I have used The Natural Step, see www.thenaturalstep.org to learn about how to create a sustainable business. I have adopted the following practices;

1. Created a sustainable section in my business plan
2. Defined sustainable
3. How am I am meeting this definition?
4. How am I not meeting this definition?
5. What are my goals to meet?

It's more than the little stuff like recycling and buying green products. It's about a adopting new strategies and sustainability principals with an emphasis on success.

A "Framework is based on systems thinking; recognizing that what happens in one part of a system affects every other part." (TNS)

This does not discount profit, which is what government and the media wants us all to believe. I wish I could find an article I read online about how much it was going to cost to implement sustainable governmental practices. Well, I guess a change in governmental practices would cost us, but if the big picture is greater efficiency and less cost to tax payer then sign me on.

It's important to me that my clients are aware of sustainable business practices and are willing to implement, if they are not already, the first step toward a sustainable business. I plan on making this a part if my sustainable business plan.

The research indicates that organizations that implement systems such as The Natural Step (TNS) are cutting costs, increasing profits and creating better business infrastructures and relationships. Once you do the research and look at company's like Nike, who have been using this system for decades, its clear that sustainability creates an improved and more profitable business.

There are a few sites that give status of sustainable practices of businesses such as Trucost http://www.trucost.com/index.html but this is geared toward large corporations. The small business owner will have to educate their customers about sustainable practices implemented and provide details on sustainable goals. I think there will be culpability if we as consumers demand this. It's up to us to ask the green questions;

What natural resources were consumed during the development of product

Is the product reclyeable? If its plastic, it stops there.

Were recycled products used in the creation?

How is the business green?

Does the business educate customers on being green?

Does the company have a sustainable business plan?

Let's turn green from trendy to policy.

What is green sailing?

What is sustainability? What is sustainable sailing?

Sustainable sailing is about educating myself on choices I can make to reduce my impact on the environment and following through by making informed purchases and decisions regarding how I outfit and live on my boat. To this end, I continue to enlighten myself so that the ocean I love will be a healthy ecosystem that my family and future families can continue to enjoy. I worry about the deteriorating reefs around the world, the increasingly toxicity of fish, the amount of garbage in the ocean, and the inevitable loss of this amazing ecosystem if we continue not to care about how our choices affect the natural world. I hope that we can open a dialogue about ways we can work together to utilize existing technology and create a demand for more environmentally friendly products for sailors, to find alternatives to the harsh chemicals that we employ in maintenance of our boats and a reduction on our dependence of gas powered engines for our energy needs.

Since I’m asked, “what is sustainable sailing?” quite often, I’ve collected a couple definitions and outlined a few of my own to begin a dialogue on how we can answer this question.

Wikipedia has this to say about sustainability:

“...able to be sustained for an indefinite period without damaging the environment or without depleting a resource; renewable

For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which in turn depends on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources....

...Efforts to live more sustainably can take many forms from reorganising living conditions (e.g., eco-villages, eco-municipalities and sustainable cities), reappraising economic sectors (green building, sustainable agriculture), or work practices (sustainable architecture), using science to develop new technologies (green technologies, renewable energy), to adjustments in individual lifestyles.”

(You can see the entire definition here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability)

I see sustainable sailing as an effort to:

1. Utilize available technology (such as solar panels, wind generators, composting toilets) to protect and conserve our natural resources thereby reducing our need to use generators, engines or waste systems that pollute our air and water.
2. Informing ourselves and others on lifestyle choices such as reducing use of plastic, not throwing waste and garbage into our oceans or waters, choosing products on and around our boats that are not harmful to ecosystems.
3. Consider how our consumer buying choices affect our environment. (buying local, and locally made products, choosing products that have less packaging and made from recycled and recylable materials)
4. Adjusting your lifestyle to use less natural resources. (reducing water consumption, electric and gas consumption, keeping engines fuel efficient, and remembering to reduce, reuse and recycle in new and creative ways)

As I continue to try new products, research new ideas and share this with my family, friends and boating community I hope you will join me by asking questions, posting suggestions or sharing a product or idea of your own.