Conversations on Website Conversion discussion

Chapter four is an introduction to “Thinking Green.” If green-ness hasn’t been a big part of your mindset or plan before, then it can be hard to reorient both yourself and your business into a more eco-conscious space. I was struck by the first section about changing workplace attitudes. While this does start with you, it will be impossible for your business to become truly green without the support of all your co-workers and employees. Working from the ground up, starting with what happened inside your own building, is a good strategy for easing into becoming green.

Try and gauge the current interest level of your co-workers. Are they gung-ho or reluctant environmentalists? What sort of changes and encouragements can you create to help get the entire team on board?

I found the section on obtaining third-party green certifications very interesting. As more of our clients want green certifications, this information will be useful. The warnings about how "green" is "green" was great too. I'm not a green fanatic, so I was probably a little naive about the "purity" required to meet the standards of those who are very heavily involved in the green movement.

I thought that the advocacy discussion in this chapter was good too. It made me think that if I was really serious about greening our business that I needed to speak out more.

It reminds me of how the "certified organic" labels used to be. The requirements used to be quite fuzzy for what qualified as a green product. This has been cleaned up somewhat in recent years, and I think that eco-friendly and green certifications may become more standardized. That way everyone will be able yo know exactly what your green certification means.

I attended a Green Festival today in Long Beach, CA that was incredible! It is so amazing to see in my own city how small businesses are promoting a new TRIPLE bottom line: People, Planet and Profit. With any change there needs to be a shift in mindset. To encourage all employees to become a part of "the winds of change" I think there needs to be a focus on education at the personal level and from there moving outward; business, local, and global change.

The number of questions in this chapter is remarkable. I keep wondering how there can be more, relevant information for this book to continue, yet I find each chapter containing even more ways to think about how I can green my business. Although my customers cannot see my office lighting or my recycle bins given my web based business - they would be able to see my green message in the information I provide to them. For example, what if I put in the footer of my free whitepapers, "please do not print this - keep it on your computer and enjoy the benefits of an electronic version".