The key to starting a ‘green’ business is ensuring that the business idea, like any business idea, has legs. If you are going to go out into the market place to peddle your wares and services as green, you better know, in your heart of hearts, how exactly your product IS green.

Tip #1:

How is your product and service different from the conventional non-green alternatives?

In this category I would consider what is the substance of your product and service? For products this would mean, what is it made from and how is that better than what we were using before?

You should know enough about the products ‘inputs’ as possible. Inputs are the things that your product is made from. Is it made from a non-renewable resource? Is it made from a renewable resource? Is it 100% biobased or just a little biobased? Is it made from more than 50%, and ideally 100% recycled materials? Where are those recycled materials from? What would they be used for if they were not being used to make your product? How is that better?

Basically if a Birkenstock wearing environmentalist was going to challenge you on the greenness of your product you should be able to comfortably discuss it with him/her. You should not be aiming to be ‘green’ for the guy that recently discovered polystyrene cups are not good or who saw an old Oprah show on light bulbs.

If your ‘green’ business is going to be sustainable and last, it needs to be something that is slightly fringe and will make it into the mainstream and stay. It cannot be a flash in the pan ‘green’ idea. Someone with a ‘greener’ alternative will replace you in no-time.

Tip #2

What solution does your product or service offer to improve our impact on the planet?

I would generally categorize this as the ‘output’ side of your greenness. Where is your product going to end up when people are done with it? Your product or service should have a clear, purposeful, realistic and measurable impact that is sustainable in the future. This vision should appeal, eventually, to a significant chunk of society with proper gorilla marketing.

Examples:

Many businesses are either starting to sell or make ‘biodegradable’ products. Four-six years ago this was a new word that generally meant ‘ made from something natural and disintegrates naturally’.

As more and more manufacturers come on board to the emerging ‘green’ industry, there will be a need for market differentiation. If everyone is green then potentially nothing is really green. So how will you differentiate your greeness? If products cannot quantify how their product is clearly green; what they mean by the terms they use; and how it improves our impact on the planet, the market will either look for ‘green’ products that do or will be turned off the ‘green’ marketing schemes and go back to the same old same old.

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