Green Business

The following video made me smile and I immediately knew I had to post it at Green Business. It comes from a participant at Green Business Camp who perfectly exemplifies the spirit that many green business owners possess. He truly is an inspiration. What do you think!

So you want to start your own green business but you don’t have the necessary capital to get something off the ground. You don’t need to be rich to start your own green business, just make it a small green business. Ideas can be hard to come by at times, so the focus of this article is to offer a few ideas to budding green entrepreneurs. My last post about SPIN farming got me thinking about what people can do on a smaller scale to make extra income.

Clothing made from organic material is becoming very popular. I often visit local farmers’ markets in my city, and the amount of booths dedicated to selling clothes made from environmentally friendly materials has at least doubled in the past year, in my estimation. One such business that I stumbled across at a farmers’ market is Monkey 100. Their t-shirts are made from 70% bamboo and from 30% cotton. All of the t-shirts come with an environmentally conscious message. Environmentally friendly gift-baskets are also exploding. Fill them with organic and ethical facial creams, soaps made from goat’s milk, or flowers and organic fruits – just use your imagination. After coming up with the perfect idea for a small green business it could be challenging to find a place where to sell. The key is a farmers’ market.

Farmers’ Markets

I am truly shocked how farmers’ markets are booming in my area. I hope they are growing in all areas of your city too because they do offer a wonderful opportunity to sell many things that can be made at home. If your city doesn’t have a farmers’ market, maybe that is an opportunity in and of itself – start a farmers’ market. My local farmers’ market operates from a community center parking lot. If you decide to try to sell your wares at a farmers’ market what should you sell? You could become a prepared food vendor. Use organic and ethically produced ingredients to create hearty and nutritious food. You could sell preserves, such as peaches. The vendor that sells his own jams and jellies always has a line-up in front of his tent. There is an amazing woman who sells pies. I have seen massage booths set up at farmers’ markets too. A 10 minute massage for $10 is what they charge in my neighborhood. One station is dedicated to fixing bicycles. That vendor has a steady stream of customers, as many people arrive by bicycle, and require of a quick tune-up for that eco-friendly mode of transportation. The bicycle specialist fulfills a very important and in-demand service. Coffee and tea vendors provide a cup of joe or two for people in need of a pick me up while they shop and browse in the markets.

I guess my point here is that large, urban centers are the growth areas for farmers’ markets. Just by simple observation, one can see that people are willing to pay a little more for some organic tomatoes grown in and around their neighborhood. Just a quick note about the farmers’ markets that I attend, all of the sellers of the goods are also the producers. You get to meet that lady who baked that peach pie, or the man who has his own honey producing bees and sells the honey at farmers’ markets throughout my city. Start small with those crafts by selling them at farmers’ markets. At the very least you will meet some wonderful people with many of the same ideologies that you have.

I’d like to end this article with a question. If you were going to start green business, what would it be?

SPIN farming is part of organic horticulture and is this weeks focus on green business. SPIN farming stands for Small Plot INtensive farming. It is essentially a small scale gardening method but organic gardeners with business savvy use a collection of urban lawns, either rented or bartered from the lawn owner, to create a green business  in the urban environment. Much of the produce is sold in local farmers markets or through word of mouth.

Reasons to SPIN farm

1. Environmentally focused
2. Entrepreneurially driven and fuelling regional economy
3. Building community
4. Close to market

The two largest barriers to farming are side-stepped by SPIN farming. Those two barriers are the extremely high cost of land, and the significant amount of capital needed to set up a farming infrastructure.  Do you wonder if SPIN farmers can make a decent living doing what they love? Paula Sobie and her partner set up an urban agriculture business in Victoria, BC, Canada called City Harvest. She explains how she and her partner SPIN farm to raise a family. Their motives are clear, they want to make a living with a clean conscience. She states that some SPIN farmers can make $50,000 in a single year!

The Vancouver Convention Center has been designed with sustainability in mind. Green architecture is rapidly gaining speed to becoming a fundamental area of sustainability. Vancouver’s convention center is such a colossal project that without incorporating even a minimal amount of sustainability, it would have been devastating to the ecosystem in and around the current convention center area. The architects always kept green aspects of the project in mind. The philosophy of the architects – part building, part urban design, part interior design and part design of the ecosystem, bringing the inside out and the outside in. Their goal was to create urban ecology and urban habitat in downtown Vancouver. For example, recycled rainwater is captured and sent through storm drains into the basement of the convention center and what recycled water is not needed is sent to the ocean.

The following video focuses on the landscape architects of the convention center and what practices they used to create a sustainable roof on the convention center. The landscape architects used site specific plants, plants that would grow best under the roof and urban conditions by borrowing from nature but using science and technology and its understanding of plants to assemble the plant groups for the roof. Although there is irrigation on the roof, the landscape architects allowed the plants to go through their normal seasonal change. The key point being that it is a living roof. It will fluctuate and change over time, letting nature take the lead. Bringing nature and environment back into the urban core of the downtown is the result of this landscape architect’s vision.

What does building green mean and why is it necessary? Greening a company encompasses many different aspects, not just recycling or stopping use of toxic materials and replacing it with something more environmentally friendly. Turning your company green includes green building practices. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, more commonly known as LEED,  is at the top in terms of certification of green building construction practices. Follow their guidelines, study their material and join others in building for a green and better tomorrow. The U.S. Green Building Council offers a third-party certification program. If interested, you can find out about the specifics of the LEED rating systems for new construction, schools, homes and retail designs.

Founding Father

Rob Watson is the founder of LEED and because of this he is generally regarded as one of the founders of green building practices. His passion for green construction and green building practices cannot be understated. Offering rational arguments and a refreshing point of view supporting green building and construction, Mr.Watson is at the cutting edge of green business and the structures that house these increasingly powerful companies. He offers a bottom-up approach to business and the environmental responsibility that everyone shares. It is with his forethought, insight and imagination that has brought LEED front and center in green building. This is more than a movement, but a fundamental change in the way businesses look at buildings not only as a means to house products and workers, but a way to harmoniously co-exist with the environment. Hats off to Rob Watson for over 15 years of dedication and teaching the world how to build green.

Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes the green economy will be a significant participant in bringing an end to the current worldwide recession – the key reason being the enormous investment in alternative energy.  When we look back, 2009 will be viewed as a monumental year in terms of the economy. Critical to the green economy is alternative energy and the willingness of governments around the world to jump-start their economy by investing billions of dollars into these once scoffed at energies. The solar and wind energy that we use in our homes and businesses, and the hybrid electric cars that we drive, will be the reason we exit a recession and sidestep another Great Depression.

The auto industry needs new markets. We all have cars, but how many of us have hybrids or cars that run exclusively on electricity? The market is massive and the auto industry is currently being given money to research and manufacture these new types of cars that few people own. Instead of asking if you have a car that is standard or automatic you can now ask if your car is  run on electricity or not. The auto industry, specifically,  is teetering on the brink of collapse, as of this writing. There have been rumblings that the big three auto makers could be filing for bankruptcy. What was unthinkable a mere 10 years ago is the reality today.  The potential for new sales is enormous with regards to cars run by alternative energy. The survival of the auto industry is dependent on the the sale of cars run by electricity. The auto industry either fully adapts and creates automobiles that satisfy the needs of the green era or they perish. The consequences are too tragic. Our future, environmentally speaking, and their future, economically speaking, is relying on it.

On the alternative energy front, governments are throwing money into producing energy from sources other than coal. Low carbon emissions is where it’s at, and I believe solar energy is leading the way. Whether we are talking about North America or Europe, companies that are in the solar energy sector will be thriving in 2009. Green technology is leading green business on a macro level. With all of the money being pumped into the economy by governments throughout the world much of the money in these stimulus packages is going to alternative energies. The consensus seems to be that the alternative energy sector as well as the automobile industry, is where the bulk of innovation with regards to green technology is being made.

Here at Green Business we like to profile small businesses that are environmentally friendly. We decided to do something a little different this time and profile a large company that is a leader in the creation of alternative energy – specifically solar power. Just to make things clear to our readers, we are not affiliated with Suntech and  make no stock recommendations. This article is strictly a company profile accompanied with personal commentary. We are giving our readers an example of a company that is making the bulk of their revenues by helping the environment.

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. is led by Chinese-born, Australian-educated, businessman Dr.Zhengrong Shi. Started in 2001, Suntech is a low-cost producer of solar technology. They develop, market and manufacture solar products that create electrical power. A few of Suntech’s competitors in solar energy includes (stock symbol in brackets): Canadian Solar (CSIQ), GT Solar Intl. (SOLR), Ascent Solar(ASTI), First Solar (FSLR), Sunpower (SPWRA).

What:
Solar Energy

Who:
Dr.Zhengron Shi – Founder and CEO of Suntech Power Co. Ltd.

Where:
17-6 Changjiang South Road
New District
Wuxi, JNG 214028
China
Telephone(510)534-5000

Why:Massive untapped market for alternative energy. Reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions.

How:
By providing solar energy on a mass scale.

In the video interview below, Zhengron talks about Suntech and the opportunities for solar energy. He believes there are great possibilities for solar power to one day become  a mainstream power supply. With Government subsidies coupled with  the fact that it is becoming cheaper to produce solar energy,  Dr.Shi’s goal of reaching ‘grid parity‘ by 2012 might actually become reality. In the video, both Dr.Shi and the interviewer refer to the conversion of solar radiation into electrical power as PV, which is the shortform of the scientific term photovoltaics.

If you have never heard of CleanSkies.tv you must visit their website and watch some environmental television. Offering both live and recorded newscasts focused on energy and the environment, this channel has taken a major step in presenting green issues in an entertaining and informative way. If you are looking for the latest news about green technologies CleanSkies.tv is the channel for you.

Clean Skies broadcasts live Monday through Friday from 9 AM until 4:30 PM EST.

Green.tv offers its viewers newscasts about the environment.  It also has a channel dedicated to green investing and green business. Some of the channels at Green.tv that are focused on green business includes: Cantos Green, and Green Design.

With the immense popularity that social media is seeing on the internet I thought it might be interesting to see how subscribers at Twitter are doing their part. We have an account at Twitter and we are fortunate enough to have a number of followers there. When we post an article at Green Business our followers immediately receive a message regarding this. It is an amazing web of focused information at the ready for anyone interested in green business. Please feel free to visit some of our followers.