Dynamic Business

Lifecycle management of computers has also emerged as an issue. Many computers and other e-waste (electronic waste) become obsolete and are often discarded to landfill, despite having mostly salvageable parts and toxic components that need special attention. Charles Bligh, vice president of IBM’s Small-Medium Business division in Australia/New Zealand, says that IBM recycled 98 percent of about 600 tons of e-waste in their asset recovery program. “The greening of IT is not only what you bring in to your organisation but how you use it and how it leaves your organisation in terms of scrapping and reusing your equipment, making sure it doesn’t end up in landfill,” he says.

IBM recently conducted a worldwide survey of small to medium businesses about their environmental policies and buying habits. The results showed 58 percent of Australian respondents expressed concern for the environment but environmental aspects affected only 38 percent of purchasing decisions. Bligh says the next step is encouraging people to take action the next time they need to upgrade equipment. “We encourage people to do a stock take of their energy usage and their behaviour and buy energy efficient equipment when they refresh,” he says. “Even when you lease, just ask whether the leasing company has a buyback scheme that will take care of e-waste.”

Finally, going green has marketing implications for responsible businesses as more and more consumers choose environmentally friendly products. However, genuine green credentials must first fight unscrupulous operators in the marketplace who use ‘greenwash’, defined as misrepresentation or exaggeration of eco-credentials. An example of greenwash is the word ‘natural’, which has no legal definition and can relate to a single ingredient comprising less than 1 percent of the overall product. The lack of regulation in this area leaves consumers fending for themselves when it comes to finding genuinely eco-friendly products.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) is looking into green compliance, which should eventually result in legal definitions for hazy terms like ‘natural’ and ‘carbon neutral’, as well as regulation of practices such as carbon offsetting and different types of recycling. In the meantime, businesses can still publicise genuine environmental initiatives as long as they are clear on how those initiatives are measured. Non-government organisations such as Greenpeace, WWF, and the Australian Conservation Foundation all provide standards you can apply.

Eventually the marketing edge will fade as the majority of businesses become more environmentally responsible, so it’s best to get in early with your efforts to make the most of the push. Otherwise, you’ll be left trailing as other companies evolve. Take a tour of your workspace and question whether you can do anything for a greener future. Do you have what it takes to save the world today?

Resources for a Sustainable Business:

Clean Energy Council: www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au
Environment Business Australia: www.environmentbusiness.com.au
e3: www.e3global.net
Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool: www.epeat.net
Energetics: www.energetics.com.au
Greenprint: www.printgreener.com
National Packaging Covenant: www.packagingcovenant.org.au
Trade & Environment Solutions: www.tesol.com.au
Introducing Great Green Profit is a free e-book by Leigh Baker on how you can reduce waste in the production phase of your product. Download it at www.balance3.com.au
Don’t forget Business Clean Up Day, Tuesday, February 26, 2008 (www.cleanup.org.au)

Green Business Case Study

Sewerage systems are a necessary evil. They carry away our waste but they also consume a huge amount of energy and water. The Biolytix system changes all that, thanks to a breakthrough observation by founder, Dean Cameron.

“Dean realised that the waste breakdown occurred not in water or on dry land but the area between water and land. What he set up to do was replicate a riverbank in a 3-D matrix. It gives a vast surface area for efficient breakdown of waste products,” explains Joe Barnewall, CEO of Biolytix. “And by keeping it aerobic rather than anaerobic, they don’t produce CO2 or methane or any greenhouse gases.”

The system uses so little energy, Barnewall jokes they measure its ‘carbon toeprint’. Additionally, Biolytix uses less water than standard systems and most of that water can be recycled, the nitrogen-rich product being perfect for irrigation. Furthermore, it requires little maintenance as it contains organic components—worms and other helpful critters to break down and process waste—that reproduce.

Most of their customers are landowners with reasonable parcels of land, but Barnewell says business is moving towards other types of properties. “We’re finding that we’re selling to developers. Development cost is not just construction but the upgrade of your local sewerage plant, so it’s actually cheaper if you don’t centralise treatment,” he says. “Having this system means that you can avoid having to install mains sewerage.”

Barnewall suggests that regional towns could benefit from having Biolytix relieve demand on their sewerage systems. “For many places the barrier is government regulations. The reality is, most rural towns in Australia are running at or above 100 percent of their capacity,” he says. “One of the applications we’re trailing is if there’s a sewer line going near a park or a sporting field, we can run our line alongside the sewer, draw from it and irrigate the sporting ground. They’re getting irrigation on the sporting ground and they’re also reducing the load off the main sewer.”

Biolytix has won several technology, business, and environmental awards since its debut on ABC TV’s The New Inventors, even earning international nods such as the 2007 Asian Innovation Award, where competition included multinationals Microsoft, Shell, and HP. The coming year sees a possible trial with NASA and the launch of their second-generation system, which will include a water treatment process for household use. The recycled water should be clean enough to wash clothes and flush toilets, says Barnewall. “If we can use that water for everything except drinking, cooking and bathing, that will quench the demand for fresh potable water.”