The concept of going green encompasses a wide range of alternatives. It can range from the full-on mountain man approach, where the goal is to generate your own wind or solar power in order to get off the electrical grid entirely, to much simpler approaches such as buying recycled copier paper.
For most small businesses, going green probably means taking small steps initially, which can be supplemented once the first steps prove their economic value.
The speed at which small businesses adopt green practices is driven in large part by economic factors. For example, if energy costs continue to rise, small businesses may be more motivated to look to green options. If green technologies continue to drop in price, small businesses may be more willing to consider them. If green choices become more widely adopted by the business community, those businesses more averse to risk may be more likely to embrace them. And, of course, weak overall economic conditions tend to motivate all business owners to look for cost-cutting measures, some of which may involve green choices.
Going green means, in essence, doing a better of job of conserving energy, conserving water resources, and recycling waste. For techniques your small business may use to go green, take a look at any of the following: