Green is going mainstream for businesses around Monterey Bay

Appeared in the SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL

May 13, 2007

By John Laird and Kirsten Liske

This past week, the spotlight on green business practices was brightened when Water Star Motors, an auto repair shop, was named Small Business of the Year for the 27th Assembly District. The business was given this honor because of its status as a Certified Green Business.

Why is green going mainstream? Business owners are going green to meet their profitability goals and align their businesses with better environmental values. They're doing well as a business by doing good for the environment.

Going green can start small, such as focusing on increasing recycling in order to save money on the garbage bill. In the case of businesses such as Water Star Motors, this kind of recycling leads to gaining status as a Certified Green Business and participation in the RightLights program, which seeks to improve lighting efficiency, resulting in significant energy savings every month.

Local businesses can use the free technical assistance provided by the Green Business Program to determine how it could make additional significant, yet simple, changes. One of the most impactful changes made at Water Star Motors was to switch from using "solvent baths" to an "aqueous parts cleaner" For those not familiar with these terms, imagine greasy auto parts are dishes in your kitchen and then consider the difference between hand-washing using a hazardous chemical versus putting the dishes in a dishwasher that uses only hot water and soap.

Businesses can be well-positioned to face this year's drought conditions by mulching to reduce landscaping water use, moving to high-efficiency toilets and ensuring specialized equipment includes water-recycling features. These practices result in improved environmental performance and will also serve to minimize disruption to operations should water shortages occur.

In the pre-green "old days" for auto repair shops, mechanics didn't even use gloves when hand-washing auto parts in solvents. They left work smelling like the chemicals which had seeped into their skin. By eliminating solvents in parts washing, auto repair shops can help protect employee health while improving employee morale and indoor air quality, as well as reducing costs for managing hazardous waste.

As this year's Earth Day featured saturation news coverage about global warming, it's clear an enormous cultural — and business — transformation is under way. In our daily local lives, customers and employees are asking business owners what they're doing to help stabilize our climate. And businesses are growing more responsive by the day. For many businesses, the challenge is finding the solutions that protect and grow the bottom line.

Local businesses will find a one-stop shop for going green by participating in the Green Business Program, which offers businesses a simple and cost-efficient way to contribute to the solution and achieve measurable results they can share with customers.

Each of the many specific business types in our community has unique opportunities to gain financially, operationally and environmentally. Because going green comes in unique forms for every business, the Green Business Program has free technical assistance and resources available for industry sectors including offices, retail stores, plumbers, contractors, hotels, restaurants, printers and auto shops.

The Monterey Bay Area Green Business Program is a successful partnership of environmental agencies, utilities and nonprofit organizations. The program offers an easy-to-use framework that helps businesses improve environmental performance, and then promotes those certified businesses locally and through the statewide network of Green Business Programs.

Many believe 2007 is a watershed year in the business trend of going green. Here in Santa Cruz County, businesses can get on board and find out how going green will benefit the bottom line by becoming a Certified Green Business — and then report green successes to customers. As a community member and customer, you can vote with your dollars by frequenting Certified Green Businesses and encouraging businesses to apply to the program.

Kirsten Liske is the vice president of Ecology Action. John Laird is the Democratic State Assembly representative from Santa Cruz.

Green Business Program

To learn more about the Green Business Program, including which businesses are currently certified green, visit

www.montereybaygreenbusiness.org or call the Monterey Bay Area Green Business Program at (831) 477-3907.