Activly Environmental

Today marked a turning point in my recycling / eco-friendly lifestyle. Up until now I have been recycling, composting, installing energy saving light bulbs and keeping the right amount of air in my tyres. But today I brought toilet paper made from recycled paper and eco-friendly dish washing liquid. There was not a great deal of price difference between these and their everyday equivalents so even on a student budget it was affordable.

As a student in Dunedin I can remember the uproar when 'user pays' rubbish collection commenced. We now had to pay for all our rubbish collection. At the same time the DCC also introduced recycling bins. Although some may think that students waste excessive amounts of money on alcohol and other luxuries this is not the case when it comes to rubbish collection. For this reasons students whole heartedly embraced recycling to decrease the cost of rubbish collection. It is probably for the same reason that students also install eco-friendly light bulbs ... it saves money!

I describe this as the turning point because I class the above mentioned measures as passive as they do not cost money or in the case of the light bulbs are a one off expense. It is only when one begins to choose everyday eco-friendly products that one turns the corner towards active eco-friendly, sustainable practices.

How does this relate to business? I can think of two paths to walk; supply side or demand side. In today's post I am more interested in the supply side or production path even though I really enjoy the demand side branding of the Ecostore product that I purchased (maybe a future post?)

The press often portrays business and environmental practices as mutually exclusive but when it comes to energy conversation this is not true. If businesses can reduce their energy costs through decreased consumption then this is a win-win situation.

Businesses should embrace the initiatives publicised by the multitude of eco-worrier groups aimed at individuals to practise energy conservation. These savings transmit to the bottom line - what is there to loose ... nothing!