TOMORROW’S LEADING BUSINESSES ARE THINKING GREEN TODAY
Businesses across Western New York are struggling with the recession. Spending is down, hiring in some fields is nearly frozen, and consumer confidence is dangerously low.
So who has the time or money to think about being “green?”
Well, forward-looking firms and individuals do. Many are working to incorporate sound environmental principles into their plans, regardless of the immediate economic climate. They are betting that rich rewards will come from saving on materials, processes and energy.
Those rewards may appear as lower costs and valuable corporate prestige. Green companies will be the cutting edge leaders of the near future.
In this, our 17th annual edition of Prospectus, we examine how Western New York companies are adapting to the emerging “green” marketplace, where sustainability and conservation have become required strategic tools. Some of the stories may surprise you.
Did you know that the “green economy” can generate jobs up and down the skill spectrum, from highly skilled chemical engineers to laborers trained to insulate old homes?
You might not think of your bank as green, but the area’s banks are helping lead the corporate world into green thinking. From the obvious steps of recycling and turning off the lights when not in use, to more strategic changes like traveling less, banks are doing quite a bit to set the tone.
And perhaps the banks’ most long-lasting impact will be the influence they put on vendors and customers to get green. That subtle pressure can go a long way to changing corporate behavior.
Manufacturing –the iconic industry of the nation’s rust belt –has been moving toward green in recent years as the efficiency movement has taken root. Lean manufacturing principles have helped companies eliminate waste, and new “green assessment” reviews are expanding the savings.
Small businesses, from collision shops to dry cleaners, are finding savings and often a more devoted clientele, by switching to environmentally responsible methods.
Schools are teaching environmental principles at such an early age that soon living by green principles will be the way America thinks.
So, the subtle evolution of the Rust Belt into the green belt is under way in the companies where you work and do business.
And at home. Please recycle this paper.
All of us extend a special thanks to Deputy Business Editor Richard Haynes and Assistant News Editor Margaret Kenny for their hard work editing this section.
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