Investors; Going Green; Patents; Differentiate; 3/10/08 - PHOTOS and Events

455_ Increase productivity while reducing your carbon footprint
Roughly 98% of all US businesses have less than 100 employees. While individually most of these smaller firms provide services that have negligible environmental impacts, cumulatively they represent significant impacts on emissions and waste. And the biggest impact these small companies have on the environment is Energy Use. John Krzykowski, General Manager, Denver of 19 Marketplace had a discussion with Linda Cramer of CPDI about some unique approaches to 'greening' your business with a major bottom-line impact. Both Linda and John feel that 'Going Green' isn’t just the responsibility of the government and large enterprises. Being good stewards of the environment is everyone’s responsibility. It starts with individuals making everyday decisions to save energy and reduce waste. School children today are taught that everything they do impacts the environment. From recycling pieces of paper to not letting the water run when they brush their teeth. This mindset shouldn’t end with graduation, but continue on into the workplace. What can smaller companies do to improve the environment? They give some real-life examples. Start with the basics: Your offices and how you get to and from them each day. If you're a small or mid-sized organization, energy use and transportation probably represents a good chunk of your impact. Listen, they walk their talk. LISTEN 3/10/08

Related Links: Green: Workplace to Go || 19 Marketplace || Conscious Economy Channel || On-Demand Software ||
Keywords: John Krzykowski, Linda Cramer, 19 Marketplace, On-Demand Software, Going Green, Sustainable Bytes: 18999257 > LISTEN

453_ Key Points for Differentiating Your Company from the Competition
Colleen Abdoulah, CEO and Chairman WOW, Part 2 of 2
“A lot of things are going well, how can we take advantage of that, continue the momentum and not just rest on our past successes?” That's a challenging question that Colleen Abdoulah, CEO & Chairman, WOW asks her team. "I don’t want us to get complacent, take things for granted. So we are focusing on what we have done well, and how can we do it even better and make sure we do it consistently. Secondly how can we continue to differentiate ourselves in the eyes of our consumers, our employees because it is a very competitive world out there? Colleen is the opening keynote speaker at the 6th Annual Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth Conference. Her parents were immigrants during the depression. Facing a great deal of obstacles and prejudice, her father became a very successful entrepreneur. "I observed with three key take-a-ways for me that I thought I would always apply in my life," Colleen went onto explain. 1) You are no better than anyone else, and don’t ever treat anybody like you are, no matter how much material wealth you have. And don’t let them treat you like they are. 2) Know what you don’t know. You don’t have to be the sharpest pencil in the box to make a contribution. But make sure that you surround yourself with really good people who know things that you don’t know and are maybe even smarter than you are. 3) The third principle was, Share the wealth. Always share the wealth and take care of people. There's more, and Larry and Pat will be there to cover this great event. LISTEN 3/10/08

Related Links: Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth Conference || WOW Home Page || ACG M&A Channel || Find It ||
Keywords: Colleen Abdoulah, WOW, ACG, Denver, Mergers and Acquisitions, Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth Conference> Bytes: 13196959 > LISTEN

451_ Getting Thanked for Doing the Right Thing...Awards Too
Five years ago Dan King and partners bought the Outlook Hotel in Boulder. It had been a Holiday Inn. Dan went onto point out, "We made it an independent hotel and from the beginning we wanted to make it feel like Boulder, act like Boulder, look like Boulder. We really wanted to develop that attitude, and it was a process. We didn’t start out being very ‘green’ – I mean we had some green initiatives, but it’s really grown with our business plan." Today the Boulder Outlook Hotel is Boulder's first Zero Waste hotel" and Dan wants to see more! "This is how we’re reflecting our community, and it is part of what we are about." Larry asked Dan to recommend the beginning steps an organization should take if going 'green'. "Recognize that it is a journey. It’s important for a business to figure out what they can take on first. What can they do and do well and accomplish it. Commit to the journey. I think each business has to look at what is within their reach first. I mean we’re a small business, we don’t have a lot of money to throw around. So I have to look at things that don’t require a lot of capital dollars." Dan went on, "The challenges are, it’s not going to happen until you get corporate buy-in, you’ve got to get everyone to buy-in and make the commitment. You do need commitment from the top. Then you need a champion within the organization who is not from top management. I was lucky enough to have a woman chef, Diane, who is our 'green goddess' at the hotel. And she became our champion. She got staff buy-in. But change is hard." Dan was a speaker at the CORE Sustainable Opportunities Summit. LISTEN 3/3/08

Related Links: Boulder Outook Hotel || Conscious Economy Channel || CORE Colorado || 2008 Sustainable Opportunities Summit || Keywords: Dan King, Outlook Hotel, Boulder, CORE, Going Green, Sustainable Opportunities Summit, Zero Waste Hotel LISTEN

449_ In the Beginning There Was Resistance, But Slowly One Plant at a Time...
At the SOS conference Doug Hietkamp, Director Sustainable Programs, Teknion Corporation – Toronto, Ontario, Canada was addressing the greening of the manufacturing process. The main thing he brought to the discussion was the implementation of ISO 42001 environmental manufacturing system and changing the culture of the company. Teknion is a manufacturer of office furniture products, architectural products and Caven Hill is the District Manager, of Teknion in Denver. They discussed with Larry the challenges, the changes and the future of going 'green'. They pointed out that the biggest challenge was just changing people, changing their minds, getting them to think a little bit differently. Make sure there not afraid of a new approach, that goals coincide with the change in the culture. It’s getting people to start with something, doesn’t matter how small it is, just as long as they start with it and continue to move toward bigger and bigger things. "One of the things we did at the start was to show quick results, that people can see. So instead of starting with wasted kilowatts, you know, nobody can touch or feel a kilowatt. We have our waste programs, people can see waste, they understand reducing it, diverting it, whatever it might be and they can actually be a part of that. That was a good first step where people could grab a hold of it. Caven and Doug talked about the future and how carbon credits will be important and how we interact with those carbon offsets or taxes. There's more... LISTEN 3/3/08

Photo Albums: SOS Day 1 | SOS Day 2 | CleanTech Awards |
Related Links: Teknion || Teammates Commercial Interiors || Conscious Economy Channel || CORE Colorado || 2008 Sustainable Opportunities Summit || Keywords: Doug Hietkamp, Caven Hill, Teknion, Sustainable Programs, Change, CORE, Sustainable Opportunities Summit Bytes: 17878938 LISTEN