1. Your Chance to Go Green How can you save money by going green?
Can you enhance your profitability by implementing a waste management plan?
Will going green increase your market share?
Can you find partners who can use your by-products?
What potential savings do you foresee from reductions in energy usage?
Unit Four – Making it Happen
How can you apply what you’ve learned in your business? Use checklists and activity sheets to review the opportunity for your business to gain from going green.

2. Going Green is an ongoing process
Assess Operations
Gather Information
Discuss with staff
Use waste mapping
Record waste amounts and sources
Read industry publications and review websites
Perform Cost benefit analysis
Consider regulations
Consider customer response
Set up monitoring plan
Select a program leader or team
Develop employee education programs
Use data to identify areas where greatest waste occurs
Try to determine causes
Monitor and Evaluate
Act
A Review of the Proces
Stage One: Gather Information - Discuss with staff, Use waste mapping, Record waste amounts and sources, Read industry publications and review websites
Stage Two - Assess Operations - Use data to identify areas where greatest waste occurs, Try to determine causes
Stage Three -- Identify Areas for Improvement, Perform Cost benefit analysis, Consider regulations, Consider customer response
Stage Four – Prioritize - What can be done right away? What requires investment and new equipment?
Stage Five -- Act - Implement the plan - Set up monitoring plan, Select a program leader or team, Develop employee education programs
Stage Six -- Monitor progress, gather data, promote success, analyze problems with program
Stage Seven -- Revise or extend the plan
Begin process again with the intention of adding new green initiatives or expanding and improving on the previous initiative
What can be done right away? What requires investment?
Identify areas for improvement or new development
Prioritize

3. Action Plans
An action plan should encompass all functions of the business
Start with a vision statement
Use Industry Canada’s Three Steps as a model
Select an area in which no major investment is required to get started
Implement a staff awareness plan and include motivational items to help promote staff interest.
Review your plan frequently and adjust as needed
Don’t forget to highlight your success
Participants should develop an action plan to implement at least one green business practice in their business.
For the Participant -- Three steps to Eco-efficiency, Getting Employees to Support Eco-Efficiency, Checklist for the Accommodations Industry.

4. Sample Action Plan Vision statement
ABC Enterprises will become a eco-efficient enterprise.
Goal
Objective
Activities
Timeline
Who is Responsible
Indicators of success
To increase efficiency in production
To reduce material waste
Organize waste management team Perform waste mapping
Create waste reduction plan
Create monitoring instrument
Implement Plan
Monitor results
Jan.
Feb.
March
March to Dec.
Personnel manager
Team
All staff
Reduction in ratio of waste out to materials in
To decrease energy costs
Review energy costs
Analyze energy use
Create energy reduction plan
Implement plan
Finance
Staff Committee
Staff
Committee + Finance
Reduced energy bills
Detailed planning sheets for each objective are also needed. For example, the energy reduction plan would include specific tasks and who is to carry them out.

5. Starting an Action Plan
What is your main goal?
How do you expect to achieve it?
What resources do you need?
What information will you need?
Who will guide and monitor the process?
How will you measure your success?
How will you benefit? Are there others who will benefit?
How will your plan affect the environment?
For the Participant -- Action Planning Worksheet.

6. Green Business is Good Business
Reduced energy costs
Reduced dumping fees
Higher productivity per unit of input
Healthier, safer work environment
More attractive business premises
Greater value attached to each product sold
New markets
New products and services
New approaches to operations
Access to special funding
Innovative practices
Increased competitive advantage
Reduced liability and risk
Summary of Benefits of Green Business