Not a single day has gone by in the last 18 months where I did not struggle to come up with new words to describe the global movement to address humanity's biggest concerns, which we find ourselves in the middle of right now.  The main problem is that our industry ('Posse' might be a better word for us) has not been successful at setting widely accepted definitions and standards for what it actually means to be 'Green' or 'Eco' or 'Sustainable'. This has led to debate and controversy as governments, companies, organizations and individuals try to figure out what is what.

What criteria are there to determine how green a company is?  What claims can they make? How can people who have decided to be as conscious as possible about their purchasing decisions know what to look for and trust what they are being told? 

I started Eco Gift in 2007, and we spend the better part of each year deciding which companies belong at our sustainable gift show.  We have our own internal debates, which can get fairly passionate.  There are, as yet, so many grey areas, but I personally focus on three specific ones:

1. Answering To The Triple Bottom Line

It all begins with attitude.  A company's mindset and culture are derived from the attitudes of its leaders.  Actually, the extent to which a company's leaders can call themselves "leaders" is directly proportional to their ability to recognize, see and hear ALL stakeholders in a company.  This includes employees, independent contractors, stockholders, vendors, customers and anyone else who comes into contact with the company or its products.  Of course, we cannot exclude The Planet Earth from this list.

Several executives I have spoken with regard the "Green Movement" as one of the great marketing opportunities of our time.  Here is a quote that generally expresses their attitude: "Hey let's get into this Green thing.  Great for marketing.  Great for our bottom line."  One might feel negatively about such an attitude, but certainly we can understand it.  These people are running companies and their directive is to have that company succeed.  This "green thing" might help them to do so.  The problem with this attitude is that it perpetuates a manner of doing business based solely on financial outcome.  Their compass is set to "succeed financially by adding to the bottom line".  This is old school thinking in that it does not take into account the principle of Triple Bottom Line, which adds environmental and social responsibilities to the obvious financial ones that a company must manage.  In this brave new green world, a more conscious and authentic attitude takes into consideration the whole impact of a company's activities on people and the planet while at the same time creating profit.  If you want to call yourself a green company, first check the attitude of your leaders or if you are the leader...Check yourself.

2.  The 11 Basic, Yet Essential, Practices of a Green Company

1. Creation of A Common Mission - All employees should know the company's mission and environmental policy.
2. Philanthropy - Give a percentage of your company's profits to organizations doing work to make the world a better place.
3. Renewable Energy -Your company buys Green Power from its utility and replaces its lightbulbs with CFL bulbs .
4. Travel Less - Your company Skypes, Ichats and Emails whenever possible instead of flying and driving. 
5. Buy Less - Your Company buys used goods whenever possible and only buys what it needs. 
6. Cars - Your company encourages carpooling and rents hybrids when travel is necessary.
7. Food - Your company provides at least one Organic Vegetarian meal per week.  This pays for itself in a dozen tangible ways. 
8. Water - Give up bottled water for good!  Your company provides clean filtered water and offers its employees non-plastic water bottles.
9. Recycling - Your company recycles all recyclable products.
10. Reusable Bags - No more paper and plastic!  You company has canvas bags of varying sizes available to anyone shopping on behalf of the company. 
11. Coffee Mugs - Your company provides mugs to decrease waste.

 
3. The 8 deadly Sins a Green Company will avoid

1. Harming People - If your products or their production are known to be harmful to people, maybe try producing something else or go out of business.
2. Harming The Planet - If your company is clearly harming the planet, then stop.  If you cannot stop because your product is needed, then find a way to produce your product less harmfully. (Go here http://www.interfaceinc.com/who/founder.html for an incredible story about what is possible when leaders lead.)
3. Not Knowing Your Company - If you are not aware of your company's practices and products, you cannot gauge the effect you are having in the world.  Green Companies are run by people who make it their business to know their business. 
4. Lying About the Past - The truly Green Company will not cover up its past, but will own it, try to repair any damage and do better work now. 
5. Hypocrisy at the top - Leaders must walk their company's talk or pay the price.  Being a signpost is not enough.  The leaders must live the solutions.
6. A Hummer for Everyone in the office - Giving wasteful gifts to employees is unhelpful and sends the wrong message.
7. How about a Burger? - 'Hamburgers for the office' is not a particularly green idea.  Have your burger if you desire, but do so realizing the cost to the planet "America's love of burgers contributes approximately 941 to 1023 pounds of greenhouse gas per person, per year  http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/12/the_carbon_foot_1.php
8. Chinese Take-Out? - The styrofoam packaging debacle continues in our country.  If you order in food to the office, make sure to connect your favorite local restaurants with alternatives to styrofoam.  Here are several:  http://www.wheatware.com  |  http://worldcentric.org/

Whether you are the head of a company or an individual, most of all remember this:  No one is perfect.  It is the commitment to moving in the right direction that counts.