The Green Age

Now days, the “IN” thing for many businesses is to be GREEN. Everything is green now. Green used to be just a color, but now, it’s a whole way of life. The new definition of “green” is “environmentally responsible,” and everyone seems to be jumping on the bandwagon. While some are doing it to be responsible, many are doing it to be seen. It’s not just a movement towards a better way of life. It’s also very much about marketing strategy. Think about it… If you can provide a product or service in this new millennium, you can compete. But if you can provide that same product or service while adhering to the new GREEN trends, you can win!

What started out being widely recognized only once per year as just “Earth Day” beginning in 1962, has since evolved into something much more ubiquitous, and dare I say…trendy. Business has aggressively taken a sharp turn in a new direction over the past few years.

Auto manufacturers are going green with hybrid vehicles, and the race is on to find alternative sources of fuel that emit fewer pollutants into the atmosphere. Water is being conserved with “Xeriscape” landscaping in desert communities across the western states. Businesses and individuals are participating in recycling programs. Heck, light bulbs are more energy efficient! Politicians have all turned green with envy at all the attention this hot topic is generating, and have thus aimed many of their own priorities at affiliating themselves with some sort of green agenda. Just look at Al Gore! Enough said.

Not be left in the “limelight” even the search engine giant, Google, has jumped on board. They’re so green that they’ve gone black. Literally! They now have a new website called “BLACKLE” which “…saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen." As 20/20’s John Stossel would say, “Give me a break!”

Even my “day job” is going green. In a few weeks we’re moving out of the building we’re currently in, and into a building that is designed to be more “environmentally responsible.”

According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) website (www.usgbc.org), this means employing programs like “LEED.” “The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.”

Unfortunately, for me this just means lower moral in the work place. With smaller cubicles and lower partition walls this move is already feeling like a demotion. The cubical dividers will now be glass windows instead of opaque dividers, “so as to allow in as much natural sunlight as possible.” While saving on energy consumption, it will also manage to eliminate any privacy we now have at work. C’mon, no one wants to have people looking over their shoulder at work! Although, all the “kiss-ups” at the office say things like, “well, if you’re worried about people seeing your monitor, you must not be on task.” Oh, brother. That’s a bunch of crap. Everyone needs some type of sanctuary, even at work. I don’t need everyone to see when I blow my nose, check my email or eat a snack. I don’t want to see my fellow employees picking their noses, adjusting themselves or doing anything else they would normally do behind a wall! I’m just saying what everyone else is thinking, but is too chicken to say for themselves. This GREEN building is my newest reason NOT to work for someone else! I can’t wait to go out on my own!

Well, at least according to Google, I guess Tyed Art, Inc is already adhering to a higher and greener standard of business. Tyedart.com has been “predominantly black” from its conception, and I’m a mostly “paperless” company because almost everything I do is digitally created and stored. Take that Al Gore!