Conversations on Website Conversion discussion

Transportation is an inescapable facet of any business. People have to come to your business either as employees or customers, and you may also be transporting materials at some point or another. Even if the only impact that can be made is reducing the idling time of a delivery truck, if every small business made this change, more than 270 tons of carbon dioxide would be kept from being emitted into the atmosphere. Buying and hiring local will not only diminish the amount of emissions, but it will ultimately save your business money.
The essential thing for effectively greening transportation and shipping is research—you have to know the practices of the shipping company in order to make the greenest choice. Fortunately, the EPA has compiled a list of “SmartWay” partners (you can find the URL on page 189).

What are your businesses current transportation and shipping practices? Have you considered providing incentives for employees to carpool?

I work from home so the commute from my bedroom to my office leaves a very small carbon footprint. ; ) I have seen great initiatives by businesses in my city to encourage employees to ride their bikes. It's a win-win situation. Everyone benefits. I think carpooling is a great idea too! You save gas and most likely you will form relationships with co-workers on the commute.

Buying local and supporting local businesses is also a great way minimize your footprint; plus your supporting your local economy.

As more companies (especially web based companies) get comfortable with virtual employees and/or employees working 1 or 2 days from home - the impact on employee transportation could be huge.

Having worked in international trade, it was good to at last see cargo shipping addressed. How many goods have been partially assembled in the US, then shipped with more parts to Asia for assembly, only to be shipped back to the US for purchase? Look at the ports in any large city; it is amazing how low cost ocean freighter shipping has been left out of going green.

When you optimize your website for search engines - you help me, the consumer, go green. I can shop at home with my car at rest in the garage.