With the new resolve this historic moment has brought to our lives, we ask ourselves what we can do besides holding corporations accountable - what can we do as an individual that goes beyond responsible spending and paper recycling. If we are ready to change our mindsets and consider efficiency improvements as investments then there is this decision to make. One that which is not only economical but of the ecology for the future that we want for our world and the generation that will follow us.

By Gerald Olesker
CEO/ Founder ADG Eco Lighting & Architectural Detail Group Member US Green Building Council + Energy Star

On January 20th 2009, Barrack Obama became President of these United States. He has given us a charge to once again continue to be the most prosperous Nation on Earth, and to be it; we shall and will reduce consumption and become more prosperous. His words were a “Call for action….(with) a new foundation for growth……(to) harness the suns and winds and soils…(to).transform our schools colleges and universities…for a new age…….(this is).what free men and women can achieve….(and).the question we ask today…is does it work…..(and for) those that manage the public dollars…..(who) will be held accountable…(now)in the light of day…..(The entrepreneurs and people of this nation will take to) the market to generate wealth…….(for) the success of our economy…(and together, we will obtain) the reach of our prosperity…..to our common good……and we are ready to lead once more (as a nation of developers and industry leaders)……..(he states that) your people will judge you on what you build…….a new era of responsibility…….(and) to seize gladly…..let it be told in the future world…the city and country…came forth to meet it…..let us remember…and endure…and deliver to future generations……(to) pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off to remake America……”

There is a significant challenge, a large and measurable charge and a new opportunity to strive for success as individuals, corporations and a nation as a whole. What does this mean for the 21st century where we speak about alternative energy sources and Eco and sustainable practices in business? Collectively, people use the term green without understanding its economic impact and with a hope that there is an environmental impact.

Ask yourself this group of questions; who, what, how, when, where and why, prior to engaging in Eco activity. If you are a business leader it is about the impact to your bottom line. If you are an environmentalist it is about the impact to the world around you and if you are a government leader it is about the needs of your communities with an impact to the government itself. I ask you to think about the challenge now placed before us by President Obama - Accountability.

Yesterday, as I began to analyze these questions and realized that Eco, (the first three letters of Economy) can be defined as Economy is to economize and Economy as are the Economic factors that drive us as a whole. Melding these definitions together is an Economical solution to our Economic problems. Parts of those solutions are reducing consumption to fulfill the bottom line needs of business and government. These needs are powered by our use of energy. Alternative energy is only an alternative source by definition, but reducing energy needs at the source responds to the above 6 questions.

Who is responsible - we all are. What is our responsibility - to engage in activity and resolutions that will reduce our need and dependence for foreign oil while enhancing our bottom line economically. How do we achieve these goal - by setting specific milestones and encouraging small business to respond and big business to be responsive. When do we provide a resolution - right now, for example my company created an economical solution to reduction needs with lighting through induction lighting technology http://www.architecturaldetailgroup.com/induction/green.htm . Where do we need to implement these strategies - every commercial, retail and industrial location including parking lots, streets and parks.

Why do we need to be more ‘Eco’nomical - If we are not we have failed as a world economic leader. Acceptance is that the challenges and opportunities for success to be deployed as our new administration takes office can be implemented by small business and big business immediately. Taking action today that impacts the bottom line by not consuming in such dependent quantities of energy (like lighting with induction lamps) will bring an incredible stimulus economically and opportunities large and small. Why is both a rhetorical question and a challenge to change. Accept the challenge; invest in solutions, be part of the solutions of Eco and sustainability that impact the environment and the people and our businesses. Challenge yourselves and challenge others; hold each other accountable to invest ‘Eco’nomically

Reference: http://www.architecturaldetailgroup.com/induction/articles.htm :end

For the last part of our series, Richard shares with us the most important element of marketing success.

The key to marketing success is survey your customers. So before you go out and tell everybody what you’ve got, find out what they will listen to, what they believe, and what they’ll accept (what they believe is true).

Once you have an understanding of the needs and wants, market to those, give them back, what they want.

An example of the process: if you’re selling cars, first you find out what kind of cars people buy and why they buy them.
Then you go back and say I have these kinds of cars, and promote them accordingly.

Sometimes people don’t listen to your product at all, so you’ve got to find out what they do listen to get your product across.

For the green marketplace, keep in mind:

In marketing green, a lot of people say they’ve got a green company, but what does that really mean? It doesn’t mean anything. So you want to be honest and upfront in your marketing efforts about what is green, what makes you green, what’s different about your product. If you’ve got one green thing in your whole batch of chemicals, then you’re not green.

Don’t forget to visit us at LA’s GOGREEN Expo, where Richard will be on hand at the ADG Eco Lighting Products booth.

Click Here for more on the Go Green Expo LA.

In part three of our series, Richard has uncovered some important steps for business owners to keep in mind. We are taking advantage of his expertise and sharing it with you.

Step 1:
Always deliver what you promise, in other words:

when you say you’re going to do something, DO IT.

Step 2:
Instead of giving as little as you can get away with, you want to deliver better, superior service. You want them to always get more than expected. That will give you repeat customers and that includes having good, solid customer service.

Step 3:
To grow your business, the key to business success is marketing. And be honest in your marketing.

Just market, market, market, that’s how you grow.
 

Next Week: Marketing

To continue our conversation, Richard Roberts, Green Business and Marketing expert has several recommendations to help your business become more environmentally friendly:

• Waste is the biggest problem for business.

“ Eliminate Waste: all kinds of waste. It’s a country of abundance, but it makes it easy to just throw things away, when it should be easier to just use less–whether it is wasted electricity or wasted gasoline or wasted time, just eliminate the act of actual physical waste.”

• Don’t bite off more than you can chew from the environment.

Richard feels it is better use less and give more,

“Look at how you can change your business practices so that you’re not taking away more than you’re giving. It’s like this: You can always put back and replace what you’ve taken, or you can find other vendors that do that or that use products that are easily sustained. People talk about sustainability but if you cut down a hardwood tree, it takes 300 years to grow that tree, or you can use the tree that takes 10 years to grow. Use something that is easily replaceable rather than something that takes too long to replace.”

Following these basic steps will not only help you truly enter the green marketplace, it will also save you money as you waste fewer commodities and become more productive.

After all, as Richard points out,

“We only have one planet, we can’t go somewhere else. But once we use our natural resources, they aren’t coming back.”