Is your business eco-friendly?

"No one person has to do it all but if each one of us follow our heart and our own inclinations

we will find the small things that we can do to create a sustainable future and a healthy environment." John Denver

My business is in an old historic home. When we made the decision to go "green", we approached it by analyzing the many ways we could save on energy and not pollute the environment. It became clear that having a business in a home enabled us to easily set up all sorts of ways to make the necessary changes in order become a full fledged eco-friendly place of lodging.

Other small businesses can easily do the same thing. It just takes a little time and thought and a big commitment. Putting changes in place will not make a difference unless you honor those changes and commit to upholding them no matter what. I have listed what I consider the easiest areas to address when you first begin to make these important changes. We are in hopes that other businesses can use us as a model for their own endeavors.

Environmental awareness (community)

One of the first areas to address is the environment itself. Our employees have done a little research on the issues that most affect our environment. They have come up with the following list:

Environmental issues

• Invasive Plants and Animals
• Global Warming/Climate Change
• Air Pollution
• Unsustainable Agriculture
• Water Quality
• Habitat Loss/Degradation/Fragmentation

• Overpopulation

In an effort to address these issues, each employee has made himself aware of the problem, where he or she can go to find information on the problem, and how he or she can help eliminate it. It's important that each and everyone one of us develop the attitude that "every little bit helps"; otherwise, the solution would be too overwhelming to even address. We have posted these issues in our Inn, in the reception area, with a list of online web addresses, where more information can be found. Employees are encouraged to discuss these issues with our guests. Following, are a list of online

sources of information:

http://www.globalissues.org/

http://www.envirolink.org/

http://www.actionbioscience.org/environment/index.html

http://www.planetpals.com/

http://www.epa.gov/region5/students/basics.htm

Specific issues and hands-on solutions

To kick off our eco-friendly program, we selected the following issues to address immediately. They appeared to be the easiest to implement, as some of them were already being addressed.

• Waste reduction/reuse/recycling
• Energy efficiency
• Water conservation
• Indoor air quality
• Biodegradable products

Waste: The best way to reduce waste is not to make it in the first place. These three strategies are ways in which that can be accomplished:

• reduce waste (http://www.bnbscape.com/ecotips-reduce.html)
• reuse receptacles and containers (http://www.bnbscape.com/ecotips-reuse.html)
• recycle those you cannot reuse (http://www.bnbscape.com/ecotips-recycle.html)

Our Inn has managed to address all three issues. We are very careful to avoid creating unnecessary waste and to reuse and recycle all containers and paper and plastic products.

Energy efficiency: This turned out to be fairly easy to address. We immediately changed all of our light bulbs to energy efficient ones, we made a concerted effort to turn off all lights and electrical devices we were not using, and to keep the heat at 65 degrees. We needed a new furnace recently and so installed an energy efficient one which has really stabilized the environment in the Inn.

Water conservation: The first thing we did was to switch from changing guest towels every day to changing them every two or three days. When guests check in, we tell them about our "green" program and ask them if they mind adhering to our policies. All, but one couple, agreed. Next, we made sure that faucets were not left running when not in use, the water in our laundry loads was reduced, and that the washing machine and dishwasher were not run until loaded to capacity.

Indoor air quality: Some of the things we have done are: test for molds, bacteria, and carbon dioxide; change filters frequently; adhere to a non-smoking policy; make sure dust is picked up with end-dust on a clean cloth or dust mop.; and keep solvents in air tight containers. There are many more things that can be done

Biodegradable products: Instead of using toxic solvents and cleaners we have switched to the following, which are all available at the supermarket. Containers have instructions on how to use these products.

• soaps without synthetic scents, colors or other additives
• baking sodas
• washing soda
• white vinegar
• lemon juice
• cloudy ammonia

If all businesses did even half of the above it would make a big difference in our environment.

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Love this one!

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It's about learning how to dance in the rain.

Are women less happy today as a result of the women's liberation movement?

I recently read a study entitled "The Paradcox of Declining Female happiness" by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolpers, economists at the University of Pennsylvania. I was first drawn to the study by the interest it has been getting lately. It was conducted in 2007, but is still getting a lot of attention.

Based on in the General Social Survey (GSS) 1972-2006, the results from the Stevenson and Wolpers study suggest the possibility that the women's liberation movement and feminism may be partly responsible for the decline in happiness evidenced by modern US women.

According to Maggie Humm and Rebecca Walker, the history of feminism can be divided into three waves. The first feminist wave was in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the second was in the 1960s and 1970s, and the third extends from the 1990s to the present.

Feminism has altered predominant perspectives in a wide range of areas within Western society, ranging from culture to law. Feminist activists have campaigned for women's legal rights (rights of contract, property rights, voting rights); for women's right to bodily integrity and autonomy, for abortion rights, and for reproductive rights (including access to contraception and quality prenatal care; for protection of women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape;for workplace rights, including maternity leave and equal pay; against misogyny: and against other forms of gender-specific discrimination against women.

An article by Pelle Billing in Mens News Daily, September 14, 2009 purports the results of the Stevenson and Wolpers study to be interesting in that it shows that as women have entered the workforce, their subjective happiness has declined. Contrary to what is politically correct, women were happier when they were housewives than they are nowadays. They explain these results in the following way:

1. Working outside the home is not as glamorous as feminism would have us believe. Many jobs are exhausting without offering a large monetary reward.
2. Many women are torn between the feminist expectation to work fulltime throughout life, and their own desire to work part-time when the children are small.
3. Young women are taught that they can have it all: a successful career, a loving relationship, beautiful children and interesting vacations. In reality, life is much more messy and you often need to sacrifice what is important to you in order to achieve something that is even more important to you. Impossible standards lead to unhappiness.

In addition, the researchers are saying, in effect, that women and men have had certain roles for thousands of years, and our biological and cultural makeup have adapted to those roles. Sudden changes to those roles may cause a stressful reaction in either sex, and according to this research women’s liberation has actually been more stressful to women than to men.


For more information on this topic, check out my series of articles on women's happiness at Hubpages

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Finding Your Passion: Dream the impossible dream

Recognizing the need for change

You are not born with passion. It is cultivated by your interests, what stimulates you, and excites you. It's the thing that makes you want to get up early, jump out of bed and start working; the thing that sustains you through hours of focussed concentration; the thing that creates that "flow".

But what if there is no passion? What if nothing particularly turns you on, so to speak. Maybe you'ld like to make a change. You hate your job, or have a lot of energy and time on your hands to devote to something fun and exciting, or maybe you're totally unmotivated and just don't know which direction will take you towards something more fulfilling in life. And you're asking yourself "What will make me happy?" What will make me jump out of bed in the morning, excited to go to work? What will get my juices going? What will make me lose track of the world and time, and bury myself in my work? In other words, how can I find my "passion?"

Looking for possibilities

If you’ve got a job you dislike, or even hate, this will sound like an impossible dream. And if you never put in the effort to find what you’re passionate about, you’re probably right; such a thing will never be possible. What you need to do is dare to imagine the possibilities. Dare to actually search for what you love. You just may find that it is not only a possibility, it's a probability. So, how do I go about finding this illusive thing called passion?

Well, first of all, you need to take a moment to reflect. Ask youself: Is there something I love doing; something that keeps grabbing my attention? something I love to readabout all the time?? What do I enjoy doing so much that I'd do it for free? Now, start brainstorming Make lists, research the job markets, look on the internet. Ask around. What are others doing? Get tested. Take a career survey or see a career counselor. Find your passion. It's there

Loving what you do

You really can make a career out of what you love to do. I have always loved to write, and yet the closest I ever got to it was majoring in English, taking writing classes, and teaching writing skills to high school students. I did play around with writing poetry and even tried writing short stories. But I never got serious about it. I taught school for 25 years, got a couple of degrees, wrote master and doctoral theses, even helped colleagues write theirs. And all this time, it never dawned on me that this was my passion. Possibly because there were so many other things I liked to do: taking photos, traveling, teaching, reading, cooking, drawing, painting & graphic arts. So many areas to consider for a life's career!

But I was brought up during a time when women either went to nursing school or studied to become teachers. It never dawned on me to try writing seriously, until I became an Innkeeper. I have owned a bed and breakfast (not a passion, by the way) for fifteen years. At this point, I have everything in place, including housekeepers, gardeners and maintenance men. So, I have the time to explore writing as a possible third career.

Turning Point
I spent Christmas this year with my daughter in Austin, Texas. Her boyfriend is a marketing director. While I was there, he was building a blog; I didn't even know what a blog was. Since it involved writing, I became interested in what he was doing. Seeing this interest, he suggested that I try it myself. Well, that did it! I now have three blogs, am writing for an on-line magazine, and for examiner.com. Am I getting paid for this? Not much; I'd do it for nothing. In fact, all I want to do is write! I write all day long, along with constructing a new website. I found my passion! And the irony? It was there all the time.

* first in a series on finding your passion

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The greening of America and its effects on careers and the workplace

In a recent article, by another examiner, the message, although somewhat dismal at the beginning, ended up making a lot of sense. The writer, knowledgeable in the areas of green tech, appeared to be making the point that green jobs are not plentiful right now, but it might not be a bad idea to start greening up your career. There is a lot of truth to this, but I wanted to put a little different spin on it and decided to do some research on the subject.

I came across one particular organization which is, in my estimation trying to further the development of greening technology. Innovative tech has gone through a metamorphosis over the past decade. "...creating numerous forces that precipitate a new direction for venture capital strategy" (David Anthony, 21 Ventures). There are many venture companies out there, some already established and working towards the greening of America. And there are jobs available, maybe not many at this point, but we must be prepared for what's coming. And training and education is essential.

One organization that sees what's coming is 21 Century Ventures. "21 Century Ventures is a Cleantech Virtual Incubator focusing on the technology and innovations that will dominate the 21st century. Since its founding in 2003, 21Ventures has provided seed, growth and bridge capital to more than 40 companies across the globe.

The firm's expertise in Cleantech has directed investment across the spectrum of wind, solar, energy storage, efficiency and agricultural technology...Many scientists and investors agree that the most significant challenges facing mankind in the 21st Century are the ability 1) to provide renewable energy to a growing population around the world; 2) to improve the efficiency of existing energy technologies, and; 3) to remediate the damage that mankind has created that continues to devastate our fragile planet" (David Anthony, managing director, 21 Century Ventures).

21 Century Ventures lists and describes entrepreneurial pursuits of companies working and developing technologies in the areas of wind, storage, agriculture, solar, water, efficiency, and other power and energy sources. Below is an example of what one company is doing in the area of Solar Energy

SOLAR ENERGY

Led by a team of world-class building materials designers and electrical engineers, Applied Solar has developed a comprehensive portfolio of building-integrated photo-voltaic solutions for commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential applications. The BIPV products are versatile and scalable, ensuring that each system meets the specific requirements of the project. Our sales are backed by outstanding installation, service, and product warranties (image and information courtesy of Applied Solar).

Those persons who will be installing, servicing and selling this type of solar technology will have to be trained. And sooner than you might think, there will be a plethora of jobs available. My daughter and her husband just added almost 1000 sq feet to their home and the whole area ( on the top floor now) utilizes solar energy. They are not wealthy and yet they could afford to do this; as will many more Americans when they realize that this is good for the environment and that it is the wave of the future. Only it's no longer in the future, it's happening now. And as the demand for more materials, installation and experts and workers rises, so will the available jobs and career options rise.

There may not be that many "green" jobs available now, but our world is moving at breakneck speed and those who want to stay alive and well in it better keep up with it, by learning new skills and considering new options for careers and work which fit with the direction the world is headed. Going green is huge!

More About: career training

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Recognizing women's small business month

In recognition of Women's Small Business month, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced yesterday afternoon, in Washington, that it has launched a new cooperative Strategic Alliance. Partnering with Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence (CMI), the alliance will promote opportunities for women entrepreneurs through education, training and counseling to promote economic independence and the growth of women owned businesses.

Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence is the leading national not-for-profit provider of resources, business education and community support for women entrepreneurs seeking to grow micro businesses to million dollar enterprises. The alliance between the two organizations will further common goals which encourage more women to become entrepreneurs and provide them with the proper skills and tools needed to succeed as business owners.

Speakers at the event included Administrator Mills and Nell Merlino, president and CEO of Count Me In. They addressed an audience of small business owners, local business women and SBA employees, and recognized oovoo design, a woman-owned small business that has thrived during the challenging economy.

SBA and CMI are committed to supporting women-owned small businesses by developing opportunities, resources, and information needed to expand businesses and increase revenues . The two organizations are in the process of "...developing a joint podcast on business start-up and financing and a web chat on small business issues affecting women entrepreneurs" (Mary L Landrieu, D-La, Chair, United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship)

More About: Women's small business

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Innovations for Women: A New Focus for ExxonMobil

by Reena Jana on September 24 for Businessweek............

Exxon Mobil is seeking to develop new technologies to help women in developing countries improve their economic lives, the company announced at the Clinton Global Initiative. What this means is ExxonMobil will work on new products that will help free women from their time-consuming household, water collecting, or farming-related chores. The goal is to eventually allow them more of an opportunity to pursue income-generating activities, too.

The specific products haven’t yet been determined. But ExxonMobil kicked off the program by supporting a white paper by the International Center for Research on Women that identifies guidelines for developing and capitalizing on tech that can help increase women’s earning potential. For example, it suggests that businesses cultivate relationships with well-connected female “champions,” which could mean high-profile executives or even celebrities, to support and promote the invention.

The white paper could be of interest to corporations beyond ExxonMobil, of course, as it might spark ideas for new products and services—and therefore new markets and revenues.(Here’s a link to the PDF.)

I met with Lorie D. Jackson, director of ExxonMobil’s Women Economic Opportunities Initiative. She emphasized that while the effort is clearly a do-good project, it is also a business investment.

"We're building the next generation of business leaders by supporting women," Jackson said. The emerging-market countries where ExxonMobil has invested more than $20 million to date in previous skill-developing projects for women are all in nations where ExxonMobil has a business presence--such as Angola, Colombia, Indonesia, Malaysia. So in theory, the women that the company targets with these programs could eventually join ExxonMobil's work force.

Jackson also said that the initiative also will spark fresh areas of R & D for ExxonMobil. "We're going to be identifying the newest technologies for women," she said. This means that there could be new revenue streams for the corporation.

ExxonMobil will be spending $1.5 million on its Technologies to Improve Women's Economic Livelihoods program this year. It will be working with Ashoka, an association of social entrepreneurs, to research and target the inventions that the company might pursue.

Blog: Business Week blog

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