Consumers are demanding ‘green’ products from what they consider to be responsible companies. Large buyers (notably Wal-Mart), are demanding higher environmental standards from their suppliers in order to reduce costs and socially responsible business practices to burnish their image and avoid bad press. Now banks and insurance companies are giving companies another reason to go green and sustainable: Liability.

In Lenders Back Off of Environmental Risks, Tom Zeller Jr. writes for the New York Times, “After years of legal entanglements arising from environmental messes and increased scrutiny of banks that finance the dirtiest industries, several large commercial lenders are taking a stand on industry practices that they regard as risky to their reputations and bottom lines.”

Zack Phillips of Business Insurance recently wrote about a parallel development: environmental law suits aimed specifically at company directors and officers: “At the same time, disclosure requirements related to greenhouse gas emissions are increasing, legal observers say. An Oct. 27 bulletin from the Securities and Exchange Commission reversed a previous agency rule and allows shareholders to request information about financial risks from social and environmental issues, including climate change.”

The bottom line? Just as customers and large buyers want to reward businesses for green and responsible behavior, banks and insurance companies do not want to be liable – financially or otherwise – for negative environmental and social practices.

Here’s a further excerpt from the New York Times piece discussing how Wells Fargo, Credit Suisse,Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Royal Bank of Canada and others are pulling back from businesses whose operations may be creating environmental hazards – and therefore liabilities – for lenders.

“In the most recent example, the banking giant Wells Fargonoted last month what it called “considerable attention and controversy” surrounding mountaintop removal mining, and said that its involvement with companies engaged in it was “limited and declining.”

The bank was a small player in the sector, representing about $78 million in bonds and loan financing for such companies from 2008 to April of this year, according to data compiled by the Rainforest Action Network, an environmental group tracking the issue.

But the policy shift by Wells Fargo follows others over the last two years, including moves by Credit Suisse,Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase,Bank of America and Citibank, to increase scrutiny of lending to companies involved in mountaintop removal — or to end the lending altogether.

HSBC, which is based in London, has curtailed its relationships with some producers of palm oil, which is often linked to deforestation in developing countries. The Dutch lender Rabobank has applied a nine-point checklist of conditions for would-be oil and gas borrowers that includes commitments to improve environmental performance and protect water quality.” For the full piece by Tom Zeller Jr. for the New York Times, please click here.

Institute for Sustainable Development

www.gogreenplus.org

Please  click here for the full blog post by COSE’s Director of Energy Programs, Nicole Stika.

“I am curious….how much energy is your small business using and what have you done in the past 12 months to green it up?  I know that increasing energy costs are among one of the top priorities and problems facing small business owners today.  With short and long-term benefits implementing energy efficient business practices CAN and DO have a positive effect on your bottom line.

COSE is embarking on a piece of research that will outline opportunities for small businesses to implement energy efficiency programs that will provide returns greater than expenses in a relatively short time.  In addition, it will bring to light gaps for further assistance in the marketplace.

But, here’s the more exciting news.   COSE is launching its first Energy Efficiency Challenge specifically for small businesses.  We believe that as the market begins to reward companies, large and small, for energy efficient practices, pressure for energy efficiency in B-to-B and B-to-C transactions will begin to increase.  Providing the small business community with the tools and resources they need to ensure that they are ahead of the curve while managing a positive bottom line is critical.   So, we want to reward small businesses for any energy efficiency project you may have taken on to reduce your energy and improve your bottom line.

I am pleased to say that we have some great prizes to give away too.

One grand prize winner will be awarded $10,000.  Cash prizes will also be awarded for the following sectors:  goods and services, office/retail and home-business.  The grand prize winner may not also be a sector winner.  In addition, winners will receive a free one year COSE membership and a free one year registration to Green Plus™.  Green Plus is a green and sustainable certification and education program that is designed specifically for small and medium sized businesses.  It gives employers affordable, practical support in succeeding financially while being good to their environment, employees and community.

The cash prizes are as follows:

$10,000 – overall prize winner

$2,500 – goods and services sector

$2,500 – office/retail sector

$1,500 – home business sector

So what are you waiting for?  Nominate your company today and keep your fingers crossed that your name is called to the stage on October 20-21 at the 2010 COSE Small Business Conference to receive your award.

Posted by:Nicole Stika

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The Institute of Sustainable Development

www.gogreenplus.org

BrownFlynn, a corporate sustainability consulting firm and the first U.S. certified trainer for the Global Reporting Initiative, recently partnered with the Institute for Sustainable Development.

Through this partnership, BrownFlynn will be able to provide its expertise in sustainability strategy and impact planning, goal setting, brand enhancement, stakeholder engagement, sustainability reporting and other internal and external communications to the companies and nonprofits that seek the Institute’s Green Plus certification.

“Aligning with Green Plus makes great strategic sense for BrownFlynn,” said Margie Flynn, co-owner of BrownFlynn.  “It enables us to expand our resources for smaller organizations while providing a management certification process that challenges small business owners to adopt sustainability in a meaningful way.”

Chris Carmody, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development, stated in accord, “The team at the Institute for Sustainable Development is enthusiastic about partnering with BrownFlynn.  BrownFlynn’s experience working with larger companies will help Green Plus participants become more competitive.”

Look for upcoming posts about developments in sustainability that emerge from this mutually-valuable partnership.

To learn more about BrownFlynn, visit: www.brownflynn.com

To learn more about BrownFlynn Learning, their training and education division, visit: www.brownflynnlearning.com

“Green Up and Stay in the Black:” The April 2010 COSE Update  profiles Certified Green Plus Taylor Companies and the Green Plus program itself.

The first annual Green Plus North American Sustainable Enterprise Awards will take place Friday, June 18, 2010, from 7:45 to 9:45am EST, in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park. In partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce Executives,  the Institute for Sustainable Development will recognize organizations in a variety of categories for the example they have set in advancing triple bottom line sustainability.  All Certified Green Plus enterprises and Green Plus Movers are eligible for consideration. Award categories will include:

• Green Plus Sustainable Enterprise of the Year (a business or non-profit of any size)
• Green Plus Sole Proprietor
• Green Plus Non Profit of Year
• Green Plus Small Business of the Year (from 5 to 50 employees)
• Green Plus Medium Sized Business of the Year (51 employees or larger)

If your organization is not already a Green Plus participant and you wish to be eligible for future Green Plus awards, please sign up here.

In addition to the awards above, the Institute will recognize make an award to a Green Plus Champion – an individual from the U.S. or Canada who has set an exceptional, inspirational example that has advanced the discussion of the triple bottom line.

The Institute will also announce it’s competition for the Green Plus Chamber of Commerce of the Year – for the U.S. or Canadian Chamber of Commerce that has set most impressive example of sustainability in North America.

For more information on the Green Plus North American Sustainable Enterprise Awards, please contact Kirsten Hausman at khausman@gogreenplus.org.  Tickets for the event go on sale in April.

Interested in sponsoring this event?  Contact Anne McKune at amckune@gogreenplus.org.

The Institute’s Green Plus program has been accepted for consideration for Pepsi’s ‘Refresh’ grants program. Your vote will help us help small businesses become more competitive through becoming more environmentally and socially sustainable. Please support us by clicking here and leaving your vote. An award from Pepsi will help the Institute expand its Sustainability Fellows program – a program in which we hire and train, and work with talented young people from a variety of disciplines to assist small businesses in assessing their business, environmental, employee and community performance.

“Dual flush toilets, rainwater collectors, LED lighting and solar panels are not usually associated with a building dating back to 1905.”

“Not to mention a car care center.”

“After three months of renovations to its Carrboro location, Chapel Hill Tire Car Care Center plans to return to a normal business schedule by mid-April, with a much more sustainable building and lot.”

“It kind of flies in the face of what people think of when they think of a car care place,” said Joel Sheer, president of Sheer Associates Inc. and marketing manager for the 57-year-old business.

“The process was a bit more expensive than using non-sustainable methods, but it certainly wasn’t a deal breaker, owner Marc Pons said.”

“It requires different thinking more than it requires a lot more money,” he said.

Click here to read the rest of this Daily Tar Heel article by Grace Joyal.

The Warren County Regional Chamber of Commerce is the first business association in New Jersey to offer the Green Plus™ sustainability education and certification program to its members. The program gives employers affordable, practical support in succeeding financially while being good to their environment, employees and community.

“It’s a challenge for businesses to maintain their financial goals while incorporating “green” initiatives,” said Chamber President and CEO Robert Goltz. “With this program, we can provide our members the opportunity to achieve both objectives in a way that makes sense for them.”

Green Plus was developed by the North Carolina Research Triangle based Institute for Sustainable Development - a combined effort of universities and chambers of commerce to provide smaller employers with affordable tools to improve their triple bottom line sustainability.

The Warren County Chamber of Commerce program is sponsored by Centenary College, Mallinckrodt Baker and GBW Insurance.

Green Plus, Climate Savers Computing and Tech Soup provide non-profits tools to go green as well as for-profits businesses. Alice Korngold on Leading Companies for Good at Fast Company. “Just how green is the nonprofit sector? The Taproot Foundation began asking grant applicants whether or not they have environmental policies. Based on 865 applications submitted to Taproot between September and December, only 26% of nonprofits said yes.

Aaron Hurst, President and Founder of Taproot, is hoping that by posing the question to applicants, his foundation will put the environmental issue on the agendas of nonprofit boards and management, much the way foundations have helped to drive diversity and inclusion among staff and board members at nonprofits. “We are forcing the conversation at the board and staff level,” Hurst told me. “We can be change agents.”

When asked about their environmental policies, most of the nonprofits that have policies indicated that they had a basic statement, rather than an actual operating plan. How do for-profits fare compared to nonprofits? According to a study conducted by the Sustainable Enterprise Institute in August 2009, although more than half of the 1,000 largest publicly traded companies “have an environmental policy of some form,” they actually lack the “evidence of the systems, practices, and other infrastructure needed to implement and uphold a comprehensive environmental policy.” It is important to note that the nonprofits that Taproot serves have budget sizes that are a small fraction of the budgets of publicly traded companies.

Alan Iny, Principal, The Boston Consulting Group, who led BCG’s green team for the New York office, told me that the key is “awareness, communication, and education.” Iny has experience with nonprofits, both as co-leader of BCG’s social impact program, and as a former executive director of an arts organization. Iny says that among any group of ten people, a few who are passionate about the environment will lead the effort, a few will be mildly supportive, and the rest won’t care. The trick is for the passionate ones to make it easy for the ones who don’t care to participate in green-oriented office practices, and eventually perhaps realize how their actions are helping reduce waste and help the environment. Iny also notes the cost-savings.

Easy wins that Iny recommends include “setting default printers to print double-sided; reminding people to turn off lights and computer monitors at the end of the day, maybe even unplug electrical items; working with landlords or building managers to adjust heating, ventilation, and AC settings; selecting green vendors for office supplies; using videoconferences instead of travelling when possible, and taking trains and public transit when possible instead of flying; getting rid of disposable water bottles in the office, offering filtered water and reusable bottles.”

A number of organizations provide tool kits for nonprofits to go green. The Institute for Sustainable Development, headed by Chris Carmody, helps smaller employers–for-profits and nonprofits. Pat Tiernan, Executive Director,Climate Savers Computing, partners with TechSoup, to help nonprofits to reduce energy consumption.

Jean Hocker, consultant in land conservation and nonprofit governance, and former president of the Land Trust Alliance told me that she is sympathetic to nonprofits already being burdened by so many responsibilities. At the same time, Hocker says that environmental and conservation organizations need to be held to a higher standard with regard to having environmental policies. She also notes that people in the nonprofit sector would seem to be more waste conscious by the nature of their work. That resonated with me as I considered my clients who work at food banks, help people in Haiti, and provide healthcare to people in underserved communities around the world.

The Taproot Foundation’s environmental question will get attention. I know from my work with nonprofit boards that when a foundation raises an issue, it gets the executive’s attention and often the board’s attention as well. In actuality, most nonprofits are already highly cost-conscious, which tends to be pro-environment (see Iny’s list above). With a little help from the tool-kits and how-to’s that TechSoup and others provide, and learning from each other, nonprofits can create policy statements and operating plans for internal use and to communicate to their constituents.

Yes, it’s one more thing for nonprofits to deal with, but being green is also integral to the larger purpose of making the world a better place, which is the ultimate mission of all nonprofits.”

www.gogreenplus.org