For companies seeking to go green, here are 10 excellent guidelines:
1. Embrace a holistic cultural commitment to being green; reject greenwashing as an option.
2. Educate your organization about a “triple bottom line of people, planet and profits” and its impact, i.e. what it really means to be green.
3. Look for investors with similar values who think long–term: Going green may involve higher up-front costs.
4. Hire vendors with the highest quality of green products and services who are socially responsible.
5. Create an operational roadmap that addresses the environment, social and economic issues.
6. Have a plan to enlist and inspire buy-in throughout your organization on your commitment to be green.
7. Write and share your corporate social responsibility statement.
8. Allocate time to execute—you will need it.
9. Get customer buy-in—involve them in some way.
10. And finally, market your plan and successes to fuel continued adoption. Be a leading example, share and publicize your successes with your industry, customers, employees, investors and peers,
Source: Lydia Graham, president of Graham & Associates, Inc.