Sustainability
The Environment and Small Business
Greening Your Mail Can Reduce Costs, Save the Planet
Many entrepreneurs would like to make environmentally friendly choices, but when push comes to shove, the only green they really care about is making money. Business, after all, is about …
Uncommongoods Works Towards a Better World
When shopping online, the average consumer never stops to think about how a particular company treats its employees or if the conditions of the outsourced factory where its mass produced …
Saving Main Street Is Good for Business — and Sustainable
“Old is the new green,” at least when it comes to downtown revitalization efforts in the United States, says the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The private nonprofit organization believes …
America’s Green Cities (Part 2): The West Coast and Hawaii
The U.S. Small Business Administration has called out more than a dozen cities nationwide for launching initiatives that encourage sustainable business practices by providing resources, opportunities, and financial incentives. Last week’s …
Have a Green or Fair-Trade Product to Sell? Ebay Offers a World of Good
Does your business sell fair-trade or sustainable products? How about those made with organic materials or designed to help animals? If so, you may be able to sell them on …
America’s Green Cities (Part 1): East of the Rockies
The city of Cleveland last fall enacted a ground-breaking “buy local and sustainable law” that gives sustainable small businesses an advantage when bidding on city contracts. The legislation, part of a …
Maria Luisa’s Boutique Expands Thanks to Love A Local Business Grant
An avid supporter of community and philanthropic causes, small business owner Maria Whittingham experienced firsthand that it really can pay more to give than to receive, after more than 300 …
SailProud Uses Intuit Grant to Launch New Product Lines, Expand Reach, and Help the Environment
Last March, Intuit’s LoveALocalBusiness.com competition awarded a $30,000 small business grant to SailProud Apparel, a Boston-based eco-apparel company that creates clothing from recycled landfill materials like plastic bottles. The company …
Curbside Recycling Demystified: What Goes and What Doesn’t
More than half of all U.S. businesses are based out of the owner’s home, which can make recycling a bigger challenge than it already is. A recent post looked at …
Sustainable in Seattle: Mighty House Construction Goes Green Beyond Building
For entrepreneur Laura Elfline, sustainability isn’t just a practical means of doing business, it’s a way of life. In 2009, Elfline co-founded Mighty House Construction, a Seattle-based residential construction company …
Georgia: The “Entrepreneur Friendly” State
The better equipped a community is to help its local businesses, the more its businesses will be helped — and the more sustainable its economy will be. It’s a simple …
How Flexible Work Schedules Can Benefit Your Small Business
Work-life balance. Flex-time. Job-sharing. Summer hours. Perhaps these buzzwords help explain why you started your own business in the first place: You grew tired of operating on someone else’s unyielding …
Three (Free!) Expert Sustainability Sources
Not every sole proprietor or small-business owner cares to invest time or money in attending one of the sustainability conferences suggested last week. The good news: You don’t have to …
11 Conferences to Inspire Your Sustainability Efforts in 2011
So you’ve resolved to make your enterprise more sustainable this year. Now what? Greening your small business and planning for its financial success will require some work, but you can …
SBA Website Updated with a Slew of Sustainability Resources
The U.S. Small Business Administration recently retooled its website to make its tools and resources more accessible to the nearly 30 million enterprises nationwide that are eligible for its services. …
