Going Green Accidentally

Last year, my CPA friend, Margie Manietta of R.J. Manietta CPAs, Ltd., asked me about the possibility of obtaining branded CD blanks and custom mailer envelopes to send documents to clients. They were tired of having to mail stacks of paperwork due to the time, expense, and labor that it entailed. What Margie didn’t realize is that by doing so, they were going green by accident!

“What was interesting as we met with clients during tax season was them asking us if we were using the CDs to save trees. Never really thought about it. We were mainly interested in eliminating the hassle of handling paperwork for both ourselves and our clients. But if they like to think we did it just to go green, yay!, we scored some green points, too,” says Margie.

This wasn’t the first time Margie and her dad, Rich Manietta, had made a move for their clients that just happened to be green. A couple years ago, they created a records retention guide card for their clients that discussed “8 Tips to Save Time & Paper.” I actually implemented half of those tips. By doing so, I have eliminated so much paper use that I have not even used up one ream of paper that I purchased in the year before. As well, the ease of handling data electronically has enabled me to outsource much of the bookkeeping drudge work that I detest and that keeps me from more profitable and creative endeavors.

Does it really matter if you make decisions that help save the planet accidentally? Or should you always have green initiatives uppermost in your mind? In my opinion, it doesn’t matter whether you make these decisions for yourself or the earth. In fact, I think creating more ways for people and businesses to go green accidentally will be the key to achieving environmental objectives.

One thing to keep in mind. As Margie found out from talking with her clients, people are noticing how companies they patronize are making commitments to green initiatives. This is where a Triple Bottom Line analysis of your business decisions does come in handy. Does it have to be a thorough, dollar-for-dollar type assessment of how an action achieves environmental or socially conscious objectives? It depends on your organization in terms of size and mission. Those organizations which have high shareholder and stakeholder involvement would probably be wise to invest in this type of analysis. For most small to mid-size organizations? Probably not, again depending on your business. However, it would be worth thinking about how decisions you make do affect people and the planet in addition to profits.

Also, my friend Margie could have, if she wanted to, used her accidentally green initiative as a public relations and marketing tool. While you don’t want to greenwash any efforts, if you can quantify or verify what your action could or does achieve, it might be worth integrating into your marketing.

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