Rock Down to Unplugged on the Avenue

More than ever, small businesses are doing their part for the environment. Adopting environmentally friendly business practices provides benefits to business owners looking to control costs, attract new customers and be environmentally responsible.

Here are a few simple, effective steps to make your business greener:

Reduce energy costs. Turn off unnecessary lights and equipment when not in use, consider using motion sensors or automatic timers to make this easier.

Increase virtual communication. Instead of mailing a hard copy document or report, e-mail it; encourage online meetings or conference calls to save travel costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

Use environmentally friendly products. Replace toxic cleaning agents and non-recyclable products with environmentally friendly ones, such as biodegradable knives and forks, earth-friendly hand soap and cleaning products, and recycled paper for all necessary printing.

Recycle. Almost everything used in business today is recyclable: paper, old or broken electronic devices, ink and furniture.

Here on Vancouver Island, customers, clients and employees want to know about your green success! Most people will be happy to learn they’re dealing with a responsible, environmentally conscious business. Post on your blog or website what you’re doing to be environmentally friendly, or make it obvious when clients walk into your premises.

To inspire and encourage local businesses to achieve ambitious conservation targets, the Westshore Chamber of Commerce is hosting unplugged on the avenue on Wednesday, March 16 from 6:00pm – 9:00pm. The public is invited to visit cafes, restaurants and bars on Goldstream Avenue to enjoy an evening of appies, dinner and drinks by candlelight and acoustic music. I know I’m looking forward to attending!

Introducing eco-friendly practices into your business can save money, while creating happier customers and contributing to a healthier planet. If you want a few more tips on becoming environmentally conscious, check out the BC Hydro PowerSmart Workplace Conservation Awareness page.

Events, Small Business | Katrina March 14, 2011

11 Comments to “Rock Down to Unplugged on the Avenue”

By Chuck Thompson, March 14, 2011 @ 3:15 pm

“Green” is a bit of a catch-word and some companies want to “spin” themselves as green. However, you are right, there are many little “cost saving” things businesses small and large can do to save energy. Having a “green” attitude will allow businesses to keep and distribute more of their profits. And, you are right, customers want to know that the businesses they deal with have good energy stewardship habits. Unplugged sounds like a inovative way to bring attention to the little things a company can do to save energy dollars. I’d like to partake.
By Bob, March 14, 2011 @ 5:16 pm

It is always great to see a business that is doing its part for the environment. Looking forward to catching up with you at unplugged and trying out some new restaurants.
By Eamonn Duignan, March 14, 2011 @ 8:26 pm

You make some excellent points Katrina on how to ‘Green’ your business. Great job. It is very encouraging to see businesses become more environmentally conscious and taking actions to reduce their foot print. It is also equally encouraging to see these concerns for our environment become a common topic of discourse. Sounds like ‘Unpluged’ will be a great event!
By Cynthia, March 14, 2011 @ 9:30 pm

Excellent points Katrina.
Everyone and every business has the responsibility of protecting our environment, especially for future generations.
Businesses( as well as families) need to make “habits” of your four discussion topics;they should also help by spreading the word and being intolerant of unfriendly environmentally practices.
Businesses, both large and small, can contribute to keeping our planet clean and green.
Looking forward to seeing you at “Unplugged”!
By Stephanie, March 14, 2011 @ 10:38 pm

Great points Katrina! I love to see businesses making environmentally considerate choices, and seeing clients support those choices. I think that businesses can have a huge influence on their clients when it comes to “green” choices, and their impact can spread through an entire community, province, or entire country. Thanks for sharing the info about the Unplugged on the Avenue event – I look forward to seeing you there!
By Mandy, March 15, 2011 @ 10:11 am

Wonderful post and comments. I love going into a business and seeing all their recycle bins or bathroom lights that are on timers. I’ve even seen internally in small businesses where employees have competitions among themselves to see who can be the most environmentally conscious – by riding bikes to work, bringing left overs for lunch rather than going out, etc. A little friendly competition never hurt anyone! I’ll be sure to check out Unplugged – seems like a great initiative to raise awareness.
By Deanna - WestShore Chamber, March 15, 2011 @ 10:46 am

It is great to see that you are letting the community know how easy it is to save money while being environmentally responsible. If we can each take one small step and broaden our horizon of awareness, the impact will be felt.

Thank you for promoting Unplugged on the Avenue. We are hoping it will be a fantastic community event where each participant will learn something new about what they can do, as an individual or business, to be environmentally responsible.

Please feel free to contact us at the WestShore Chamber if you have any questions 250.478.1130

See you tomorrow night!
By Maureen, March 15, 2011 @ 12:01 pm

Hear hear Katrina! I appreciate and prefer to patronize businesses that demonstrate they care about the environment. Plus saving energy and being ‘green’ can save money… and Unplugged shows it can be fun too! Looking forward to seeing you there.
By Sara, March 15, 2011 @ 1:19 pm

I agree with the above, it seems that the more environmentally conscience the global world becomes, the more patrons and consumers are looking to adapt their own ideas into their communities around them. Being able to purchase items in a business setting that promotes a green environment and has similar views will always bring back a repeat customer and save both the consumer and business.

It would be nice to see more business moving to virtual communication, or at least giving there consumer that option of an electronic copy especially when it comes to sending documents.
By Heather Bauer, March 15, 2011 @ 10:32 pm

Love the post, Katrina! This topic is a personal one for me, as I work on sustainability matters, but my husband also owns his own business. He is a welder, and we’ve contemplated creating a web page that explains the efforts he makes to lighten his footprint.

However, I’m not sure I feel right about doing so… attempting to paint him any shade of green… unless sustainability is at the core of his business. I want him fully committed to it – as if it is a fundamental outcome. Otherwise, there is a risk of being accused of “greenwashing”, as his field is otherwise quite resource intensive (e.g. he has a gas powered welder and a big diesel truck for mobile jobs… not many ways to get around it, aside from carbon offsets.)

One idea we had, was to focus a marketing campaign to encourage people to get him to fix their broken stuff, rather than throwing it out and buying new. If we could make this cost effective and do much more of it, I think I would feel better about claiming to be green (i.e. the outcomes of our efforts go beyond affecting our bottom line, and are actually regenerative for society).

Regardless of my own “sustainability label standard”, it certainly is true that patrons are happy to see any level of effort for our environment, and it goes a long way towards creating new norms.

“Unplugged” is an excellent event for this – I might see you there!
By Donna-Lynn, March 23, 2011 @ 11:18 pm

It is important for all of us, in business and in our homes, to consistently walk the talk and be environmentally conscientious and green. Once we understand the benefits of developing sustainable practices it begins to shape our world view about the environment and how to take care of it. There are so many ways that we can each do our part and it is great to see the business world leading by example. ‘Unplugged’ seemed like a fun activity for the community to be actively involved meanwhile promoting the support of local businesses and their employees.

Thank you for the link to the Workplace Conservation Awareness. The game was fun and made me think about the areas where I need to consistently be aware of being ‘green’. Great activity for my students to test their awareness!

Your point about ‘Virtual Communication’ is excellent. Technology today allows companies to communicate this way with their clients. Initially I was hesitant to give my e-mail address but now I appreciate receiving electronic newsletters. This also allows the client to communicate quicker with a company and hopefully result in more business. This is truly a ‘Win Win’ situation.