A Mighty Giant for Green Sustainability

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Green sustainability for a business, that's what I'm talking about!  Everywhere you turn today, you see “green” this or “green” that. In our town there is now a new bank called The Green Bank. I’m not kidding!

So, let me tell you about a Mighty Giant that promotes Green sustainability, by stomping out waste in your business. Loads of Green money is apt to appear out of nowhere as a result!

Our “Mighty Giant” promotes a healthier environment with all that tramping about, invoking any Green-loving person to be hysterically happy when he’s on the job.

Okay, let’s talk GREEN sustainability!

What does going GREEN mean?

Simply stated, going Green is being considerate of the environment. Green is also linked with the term sustainability. A simple definition of green sustainability is — a means of influencing our neighbors and everyone’s activity, so the world and its economies can meet their needs, while preserving the planets ecosystems.

Many people plan and act to maintain these Green ideals, well into the future.

Not-So-Green Facts About Waste

I want you to think of the waste and rework you have in your own company. From experience in the graphic arts industry, I am keenly aware that the average rework/waste is 3 to 5% of gross sales. Therefore, if a business is grossing $2,000,000 a year, they have $60,000 to $100,000 a year in waste. For a printing company, that’s a lot of paper, ink and chemicals, not to mention wasted electric power. I suspect, for a green environmentalist, that is enough to make them grab their blood pressure medicine, or start a tree farm!

How Systems Can Turn a Business Green

Quality Control and Assurance Systems save tens of thousands of dollars in waste. How do I know? Our company sustained its waste at 1 to 2.5% per year. I believe those waste ratios would impress any Eco-conscious person. That’s a lot of energy savings! Here’s why...

1. Control Systems provide tools to reduce waste by at least 70%, which saves energy, thereby reducing your carbon footprint. Even if you don’t believe that carbon is hurting the planet, waste surely hurts the old pocketbook.
2. Control Systems provide tools that continually work on business processes and continually reducing resource waste (i.e. paper, chemicals, and other consumable goods used to produce products).
3. Follow-up Control Systems provide tools to SUSTAIN low levels of waste, which reduces the impact on the ecosystem. Again, you may not be an environmentalist; but who would argue that waste of energy and other consumables is a good thing?

In my book, "System Busters: How to Stop Them in Your Business," I detailed how our company sustained a low waste ratio, year after year.

You know, you may start to like the color and word "GREEN”! You may not have hugged any trees lately; however, I’m sure you’ve hugged your wallet or purse a time or two.

If you are like me, you would do just about anything — use any word — to motivate yourself and your employees to eliminate errors and bottlenecks, and clean up the messes to help make your business run like super-clean, well-oiled, green machine; every day from now until the end of time.

Now that’s sustainability! That would be a mighty Green giant!

Did I mention — Great Systems Work? It’s true — even GREEN ones!