Top tips for writing an environmental policy

by Mark Whitman Posted in Environmental management systems (EMS) and ISO14001 4 Comments

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Having a robust and relevant environmental policy is a must in today’s competitive market. A good environmental policy can set you apart from your competitors and help you respond to environmental questions in tenders.

The purpose of an environmental policy is to set the tone and direction for your organisations commitment to improved environmental performance. As such it should be a living document that is widely communicated internally and externally. Below we highlight some of the top tips to remember when writing your environmental policy. How to green your business builds on these principles and provides the necessary templates and guides to help you complete your environmental policy.
1. State who you are and what you do – it sounds obvious but you will be surprised how many companies do not mention who they are or what line of business they are in. The result is a very generic policy that procurement bodies can see directly through
2. Highlight what has been achieved thus for. You could include any environmental awards or certifications (i.e. ISO14001) here. It is always more compelling if you use facts and figures to illustrate your achievements – i.e. we reduced our carbon footprint from x tonnes to y tonnes of CO2e in the past year
3. If you are aware of environmental legislation that impacts your business, state that your company complies with these regulations. Be explicit – i.e. we comply with EU packaging and packaging waste directive
3. State your main commitment or environmental objective and in doing so recognise that your activities have an impact that can be reduced to achieve that commitment. For example: we recognise that as a widget factory our activities have an impact on the environment. As a business that strives for excellence our overall environmental objective is to reduce our waste and emissions per tonne of product.
4. State what actions or how you aim to achieve that objective. Here you can list the actions that may already be underway or highlight the actions you are going to undertake over the next year. Example actions include – reduce waste consumption by 10%; measure our carbon footprint; implement a recycling scheme; switch all our lights to energy efficient alternatives
5. State clearly how your policy will be communicated to staff an customers. For example, all staff are made aware of our environmental policy through their employee handbooks. In addition we display our policy on our company website and in our office reception
6. State when the policy will be reviewed and how. A food rule of thumb is that a policy should be reviewed annually and actions added and removed where relevant
7. Ensure the policy is signed by the managing director and dated. Senior commitment to a policy is critical if the objectives and actions are to be achieved
Note: your policy only need be one A4 page long. All supporting information can be appended to the policy
I hope these tips help you get started. Check out how to green your business if you want full templates and guides to facilitate this process.

3 Things You Should Know About Small Business: Feb. 9

NEW YORK (MainStreet) -- What's happening in small business today?
1. Amazon to open stores? Oh boy. Consumers might consider this a dream come true, but for small businesses, the rumor that Amazon(AMZN_) is adopting a bricks-and-mortar model could be scary. The e-tailer is planning to open a physical presence in Seattle "with an eye toward building a national chain," according to Gawker.
The location is a test to see if physical stores could be profitable. Initially it will sell Amazon Kindles and accessories. Gawker says its not clear if the store will sell books.
Small merchants and independent bookstores beware. This is a story that is sure to develop.
One positive note: A physical presence "would accelerate the inevitable process of Amazon remitting sales tax to local governments," the article says.
2. How to be an authentically green business. Many companies like to portray themselves as being green, some using words such as "natural" and "pure" on their packaging with little substance to back it up. But the only thing that does is make consumers mistrustful of green messaging. To get through to customers, your environmental sustainability efforts need to feel "genuine, transparent and earnest," according to Small Business Trends.
The article offers four ways to improve your green authenticity by analyzing -- and communicating to your customers -- your company's usage data, trying not to overplay the green marketing, increasing your transparency in such things as green initiatives, but also communicating challenges you've had, such as missing a sustainability target or other hurdles.
3. Small-business election issues.With primary season in full swing, small businesses say the costs of health care reform, the payroll tax cut, access to capital and onerous regulation are top concerns.
Many small-business owners are tired of the excessive politics and little action to help them sustain and grow their businesses in difficult times. Some small-business owners may be willing to cross party lines for more business-friendly policies, a Crain's New York article suggested.
-- Written by Laurie Kulikowski in New York.
To contact Laurie Kulikowski, send an email to: Laurie.Kulikowski@thestreet.com.
To follow Laurie Kulikowski on Twitter, go to: http://twitter.com/#!/LKulikowski

12 Inexpensive Ways to Relieve Stress

• By Delia Quigley

“Stress:  1. a force that strains or deforms  2. mental or physical tension“  Websters New World Dictionary
Despite our best intentions for creating a lifestyle free of stress, we have only succeeded in creating more stress than our mind and bodies can really handle. The good news is there are practical ways to reduce stress in your life without having to spend a whole lot of money. It is important to note that there are both environmental and emotional factors that create stress in your home, workplace and outdoors in a city. You might feel the stress of a difficult job, or the emotional strain of a negative relationship, but toxic chemicals in your cleaning supplies or exposure to electro-magnetic frequency’s from your computer and T.V. may not be so easy to detect. They can, however, cause stress to your immune system and eventually will need to be removed or reduced.
For now let’s take a look at some ideas for dealing with stress on a daily basis. By taking one-step-at-a-time you can at least begin to manage the stress that comes from living in a time that demands our complete attention and much of our precious energy. The goal here is to open up space in your day to recharge and reinvigorate your body-mind for the next go-round of activity.
1. Medical research has shown that lack of sleep can stress the body more than anything else you do. Make sure to get 7-9 hours of sleep each night for best effect.
2. To make sure your body can sleep at night, reduce the amount of stimulating foods, such as sugar, caffeine and alcohol, that you ingest each day. For some people even one cup of java can cause insomnia. Stay away from your computer or smart phone before bedtime as it can interfere with your ability to sleep.
3. Take time each day to stop and do nothing. You can do this at your desk with a few stretches and then sitting, lean your head back on the chair and close your eyes for 2-3 minutes. Or, lay down on the sofa or bed and take a 5-10 minute nap. This is a very easy and effective way to refresh and revive the whole body system.
4. Step away from what you are doing and make a cup of herbal tea, then sit and sip it slowly.
5. Take a 15-30 minute walk outside in nature and focus on your breathing. Stand and take deep breaths of fresh air and long exhales to expel the stale indoor air from your lungs.
6. Take 10 minutes each day to sit in meditation. This can be done anywhere you find yourself. Sit with your back upright, hands resting on your thighs, close your eyes and let your mind quiet and empty. Bring your attention to your breath and let the thoughts pass like clouds moving across a blue sky. This can be a powerful moment for your body-mind to relax and rejuvenate.
7. Plan 1-2 days a week when you will not turn on the computer or watch television. Use the time to hike in nature, read a good book, volunteer to help a friend, clean out your kitchen cabinets and cook yourself a healthy meal.
8. Go on a spending diet and stay away from shopping malls and other crowded venues. Instead, take time to be silent and alone with yourself. This is a wonderful time to think about your life, to set goals, to plan and notice what is and what is not working. This awareness allows you to make changes before situations can get out of hand.
9. Put aside 10-15 dollars a week and indulge your senses with a monthly body massage. This can go a long way towards releasing stress, worry and anxiety in a short period of time.
10. Take a restorative yoga class at your local yoga studio. This special form of yoga utilizes nurturing physical postures to relax, rejuvenate and alleviate the effects of chronic stress in your daily life. Once you know the routine you can practice at home in your personal space.
11. Light some candles in your bathroom, put on some soft music and take a warm bath. Add some muscle relaxing bath salts and a few drops of Lavender oil to calm and relax your mind.
12. As all your worries and fears rise up to engulf you, just remember what is happening in the given moment. Anxiety comes from creating a negative future in your mind, one that has not happened and will probably not happen. It is all a product of your imagination and if you can stay focused on what is happening in the present you can reduce the stress this way of thinking can cause.

Nissan aims to shift gear with Microsoft cloud computing deal

Car maker targets locally customizable CRM

By Antony Savvas

Nissan has signed a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) deal with Microsoft to support its dealers around the world.

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM system in the Windows Azure cloud will blend dealer and CRM and social collaboration tools, aimed at helping Nissan to increase dealer sales and develop a stronger relationship with its customers.
Andy Palmer, executive vice president at Nissan, said: "We are delivering a next-generation dealer management system. It will help meet our business needs, especially to better understand our customers and dealers. This will enhance our sales and brand power."
The new dealer management system will initially be rolled out to Nissan's dealership networks in Japan and "other strategic regions across the globe", said Nissan. It did not say when the system would be extended internationally.
The system will have the flexibility to be customised for the needs of a specific country, region or manufacturer. Nissan also intends to explore how Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Windows Azure can work together as a platform to deploy other applications across the company's global network, "and to standardise its information architecture in the cloud", it said.
The Azure platform consists of various on-demand services sold through three product brands. These are Windows Azure, an operating system providing scalable compute and storage facilities; SQL Azure, a cloud-based, scale-out version of SQL Server; and Windows Azure AppFabric, a collection of services supporting applications both in the cloud and on premise.
Microsoft has now installed a version of Apache Hadoop on its Azure cloud service. The company now offers a limited preview version of the open-source data analysis platform, often used for Big Data analysis.

5 Reasons Why the US Chamber of Commerce can Be a force of Green, by Alex Hahn

5 Reasons Why the Chamber of Commerce Can Be a Force for Green

By Alex Hahn

Created 2011-07-19 16:35

This week in Las Vegas, the Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) -- the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's corporate citizenship affiliate -- sidled up to the blackjack table and placed a few chips on the table by hosting its first conference focused on environmental sustainability.
More specifically, the National R4 Conference for Business Leaders in Environmental Innovation focused on how companies can share and foster best practices related to environmental innovation. Environmental sustainability and Employee, Health and Safety executives from companies including Baxter, Intel, IBM, UPS and Shell joined execs from regional Chambers of Commerce to participate.
R4 stands for Revitalization, Reinvention, Resilience and Responsibility. Representing the BCLC's first foray into the environmental sustainability waters, the R4 conference and focus on environmental innovation is a natural offshoot of their work with corporations on disaster response and preparedness, explained Stephen Jordan, BCLC founder and executive director. It is an area BCLC members encouraged the organization to get more engaged in.
The skeptical reader may wonder how the BCLC can effectively and authentically lead a discussion about environmental innovation given the U.S. Chamber's  opposition to any climate change legislation. To those skeptics, I'd like to offer five reasons why the BCLC should get engaged in the environmental sustainability and innovation arena and why you need to pay attention to what there are doing.
1. The Chamber's BCLC has an Impressive List of Corporate Members
The BCLC works with corporate leaders in the environmental sustainability space, including IBM, Intel, Siemens and Microsoft. Additionally, the U.S. Chamber represents more than three million businesses, both large and small. Its reach and corporate membership base makes it uniquely positioned to convene a meaningful discussion about how U.S. companies can focus on and accelerate the pace of environmental innovation.
2. Local Chamber Affiliates Can Be a Huge Asset
As we read in the pages of GreenBiz.com every day, big companies are leading the way in environmental innovation efforts. But what about the small- and medium-sized businesses in communities all across the country? Through their network of local and regional Chambers of Commerce, the U.S. Chamber's BCLC has the reach to share best practices and drive awareness about environmental innovation among small- and medium-sized businesses that may not be on our collective radar screens.
3. The Environmental Movement is Not Just About Cap-and-Trade
No matter which side of the debate you find yourself on regarding climate change and related legislation, it is a politically charged and polarizing issue that deeply divides the public. U.S. companies, big and small, however, can all come together to share best practices and accelerate the pace of environmental innovation. Using environmental innovation as a foundation to help cut costs and grow revenues is something all businesses can agree on.
4. The BCLC Can Help Re-Frame the Debate on Climate Change
Increasingly some environmental stakeholder groups are realizing that in the U.S. we need to re-frame the national discourse about climate change to focus less on carbon and more on issues such as job creation, energy efficiency and American competitiveness in a global business environment. The BCLC can help lead this effort and provide a credible voice for this movement.
5. The U.S. Chamber has Political Clout in Washington
The BCLC's parent organization has the ear of politicians on the Hill. When the U.S. Chamber talks, people in Washington listen. They may not agree with what the Chamber has to say, but they will hear them out. If the Chamber's corporate citizenship affiliate can begin a national dialogue on how businesses can accelerate a environmental innovation agenda, Washington insiders may start to pay attention.
Look for a recap from me about the R4 conference later this week at GreenBiz.com including some key takeaways from the conference (and an update on my own personal results at the Blackjack table).

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Green IT by Preston Gralla

Plenty of technology and IT vendors tell you they're the greenest companies on the planet. Apple, though, recently updated its Web site to reveal in great detail exactly where its greenhouse emissions come from --- and to provide information about the the environmental impacts of its products.

The Apple and the Environment site is a model that other IT and technology vendors should emulate. Sure, there's more than a dollop of marketing mixed in, but mainly the site provides in-depth information about the environmental impact of the use of Apple's products as well as Apple itself.

The site reveals, for example, that the company is responsible for 10.2 million metric tons of greenhouse emissions. It doesn't try to downplay that, either. For example, it includes in that number the amount of emissions caused by consumers using its products.

Here's the breakdown, from the Apple site, about where the company's emissions come from:

• Use of Apple products -- 53%
• Manufacturing -- 38%
• Transportation -- 5%
• Facilities -- 3%
• Recycling -- 1%

The site also shows in what areas Apple has been making environmental improvements. It claims, for example, that the 2009 version of the 10-inch iMac uses 55 percent less materials than the 1998 15-inch iMac. One of the best areas of the site is the one that offers individual, detailed environmental reports on Apple products. You get the rundown about greenhouse gas emissions over a products entire lifecycle, power consumption, packaging, materials efficiency, and more. If you're considering buying an Apple product, it's well worth visiting.

Other vendors should follow suit with similar, detailed information. In the ideal world, IT and technology vendors would agree to standardized measurements and methods of presentation, so that you would easily be able to compare the relative greenness of products before you buy.

Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen; you'll quickly run out of oxygen. Until then, though, take a few minutes to visit the Apple site, even if you're not planning to buy an Apple product. It'll be well worth your time.
see our latest Green video   http://bit.ly/onGQYv