Going green is proving to be a profitable transformation for many companies. A green future is the way to go. Read on to find out why.

The Role of Business in a Green Future

Foreword

Environmental awareness has caused significant change to the way we do business. Global markets have had to adapt rapidly, and many companies are implementing green policies as the best solution. Whether it’s professional cleaning services, sustainable construction, or any field in general, going green has resulted in demonstrable change and positive outcomes for a wide range of industries.

Consumers place value on the adoption of eco-focused strategies. Demonstrating environmental responsibility is steadily becoming a critical component to success in any market. By providing new and effective ways of doing business, eco-initiatives allow forward-thinking companies to stay ahead of various social changes. We’ve put together the benefits of going green as well as current and potential obstacles to doing so.

Benefits

Innovations in socio-economic progress form the backbone of modern societal progression. These innovations prioritise environmental awareness as a driving factor in decision-making for long-term operational success. Many governments and regulatory bodies are now using eco-sustainability as a core factor in growth policies. Being able to focus on economic, social, and environmental issues allows businesses to stay ahead of these changes, consequently creating sustainable future markets.

Tax breaks

From emission allowances to tax incentives, governmental policy changes provide several benefits to those going green. Though some claim these changes are not enough, they nonetheless represent positive steps towards a large-scale solution. Some states already provide tax benefits for companies who can show prioritisation of nature over numbers. 

Florida has statewide initiatives for renewable energy; providing sales tax exemptions, grant incentives, and tax rebates. These initiatives provide genuine motivation for companies to remain eco-friendly and transparent. The IRS also offers various tax benefits to green companies. For example, the use of hybrid fleets can provide federal tax credit bonuses, and businesses that use renewable energy are able to receive tax breaks of up to 30%.

Waste reduction

Reducing waste production can cut expenses and studies have shown that operational costs decrease with optimised systems of operation. Conservation of other utilities also creates efficiency. Recycling can also recoup expenses, and upcycling ensures that materials are used with maximum efficiency and minimum waste.

A simple way to reduce waste is to optimise energy use. For example, office lights being turned off at night can significantly reduce utility bills. Similarly, water conservation can also free up some capital. These changes may seem small at first, but over time can add up to significant savings. Another example of waste reduction is paperless administration. Using cloud technology to coordinate tasks can replace the costly expense of pen-and-paper bookkeeping. 

Healthy HR

Due to the enforced adoption of remote work, many businesses have discovered the advantages of isolation. Despite this increased adoption being caused by necessity, many industries have made the decision to continue such practices post-lockdown. Workers save on travel costs and companies save on maintenance, supplies, and even office rental.

Apart from company-wide benefits, a green office improves health and wellness for employees. Eco-friendly office supplies can avoid aggravating costly health issues such as respiratory conditions, for example, and buildings with more natural lighting are even shown to improve general work ethic. Providing a sustainable environment allows for the maximisation of human resources – subsequently increasing productivity rates.

Strong PR

Consumers are gravitating towards sustainable business solutions, and caring for the environment can give any organisation a competitive edge. Eco-friendly companies convey strong brand values and company culture, provided that eco-initiatives are well-planned and executed. 

Corporate culture and brand image are important tools that need to be cultivated carefully. Reputation and transparency can sustain a business in tough times, and create a strong platform for any prospective pioneer. Modern-day markets require a strong image, and long-term stability satisfies investors and stakeholders.

Optimal production

As previously mentioned, renewable energy-based systems such as lighting, heating, and cooling can potentially cut costs by a surprising margin. Sustainability can ease logistical expenses through ICT supply chain management. Analyses of global production chains have shown an increased need for centralised supply lines. Evidently, investing in green energy leads to a variety of cost-saving technologies.

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Coffee can have a secret life beyond your kitchen filter or your Turkish coffee pot. From compost to creative solutions. Give new life to the mountains of used grinds we toss out every week. Your favorite bean just became even better!

1. Keep your garden cat-free

The jury’s still out on this: supposedly grounds spread around my herb seedlings will keep Amman’s gazillion stray cats from making the planter a litter box. Fingers crossed it does the trick.

2. Repel ants

Ants from Shutterstock

One of my friend’s used grounds repel ants: she lays down a line at all exterior thresholds.  Friend Two prefers pouring a pot of brewed coffee on the anthill. (Not sure where the Geneva Convention stands on this.)

3. Kill fridge odor

Fridge via Shutterstock

Pop a bowl of fresh grounds in your refrigerator to zap foul odors.  This odor-absorbent trick works, but be warned, it also imparts a mild coffee-house scent.

4. Reduce cellulite

Cellulite from Shutterstock

Caffeine’s a major ingredient in cellulite creams, as it supposedly revs up fat metabolism. To make a home treatment, mix used coffee grounds with warmed coconut or olive oil.  Massage into your skin using a circular motion, then rinse. Inspired? Go the next step, and tightly wrap your paste-coated self in cling film.  Let it seep in for 20 minutes before rinsing.  Let us know if this works?

5. Exfoliate

Commercial scrubs contain a buffing agent, usually made from salts or ground nut shells. Make a coffee version by blending a spoonful of grounds into a splash of olive oil.  Achieve aromatherapy by adding essential oil.  Use to buff away dead winter-dry skin, works great on hands and feet.

6. De-stink the Chef

Après-cooking, get rid of smelly food residue by rubbing hands in used grounds.  Grab a handful, scrub a dub dub, and rinse. Keep an open container of dried used grounds sink-side; it’ll absorb kitchen odors.

7. Shine-up hair

Turn up the shine by rinsing dry, clean hair with strong, cooled coffee.  Leave it on for 30 minutes, then rinse. Not recommended for blonde or silver hair.

8. Natural dye

I’ve dyed Easter eggs, toned down too-bright curtains, and stained paper for an archival look using coffee.  The dye isn’t permanent (it comes out in the wash), but it’s perfect for one-off projects.

9. Scrub surfaces

Naturally abrasive coffee grounds are great for scrubbing greasy surfaces like kitchen counters, stovetops and appliances. Use them alone or mix in a little dish detergent.

10. Auto air freshener

Wrap an egg-sized amount of grounds in a piece of old pantyhose (steer clear of fishnets!), secure it with ribbon or string, and hang from the rear-view mirror.

11. Deepen Flavors

Add a tablespoon of fresh grounds to meat marinades, it works as a tenderizer and adds mild smokiness. Coffee’s deep flavor naturally partners with chocolate cakes and chili: substitute strong coffee for some of the recipe’s water requirement and rev up the richness.

12. Heal scratched furniture

Make a paste from instant coffee and rub into scuffed wood; reapply until the scratches disappear.

13. Grow mushrooms

Weekend gardeners in bone-dry Jordan are unlikely to master mushrooms, but used grounds are an ideal ‘shroom-growing medium. State-side friends bought a mushroom-growing kit that included soil made from recycled coffee grounds. Kit-maker Back to the Roots also sells coffee-based soil additives:  mushrooms are one of nature’s best recyclers, thriving on old newspaper, sawdust and, yeah, used grounds.

14. Fertilize plants

Coffee’s nutrients hold the right chemistry for azaleas, rhododendrons and other plants that thrive in acidic conditions.  Spread grounds near their roots or, in lieu of regular watering, simply pour a mix of 1/8 coffee dregs to 7/8 cool water into potted plants.

…and back to the start…

15. Make compost

Coffee grounds are loaded with phosphorous, potassium, magnesium and copper.  They’re a tad acidic and as they degrade they release nitrogen which makes for especially rich soils. If you’re tackling vermicomposting, add used grounds to the critters’ habitat.  Seems worms thrive on coffee – your kitchen waste will be chewed up by an extra-invigorated workforce.

I love the potential for community gardens: linking local coffee shops with large scale compost operations. Here in Jordan, where waste management is woefully disorganized, it’s an opportunity unlikely to be exploited, but Green Prophet would love to hear if roof gardeners and apartment farmers in other (coffee-living) Middle East countries pick up this ball and run with it.

Image of coffee beans and all others above from Shutterstock

The post 15 surprising ways coffee grounds can make your life better appeared first on Green Prophet.

Humans have been plucking the fruit off olive trees for over 10,000 years, so it’s no surprise we’ve found creative ways to use olives and their oils.  They’re native to the Mediterranean-basin, and probably first domesticated in Crete, but who first hatched the recipe for extracting olives’ oils remains an mystery.

We know the stuff is tasty, and its nutritional benefits go far beyond  keeping cholesterol levels in check.  But if you’re aiming to simplify your lifestyle, tapping in the versatility of this kitchen staple is a reasonable way to begin. From hand cleaners to skin moisturizers (without parabens, additives or perfumes) to gum remover… check out ten tasks for this Levantine wonder that you won’t see on the Food Network.

• Hand Cleaner – make a paste of olive oil and sugar (or salt) and scrub your paint-splattered hands (strips almost any sticky goo).  The mess slides right off, and your skin will glow.
• Hair Conditioner – warm a bit of oil (set it in a cup inside a bowlful of boiled water) and apply a few tablespoons onto dampened hair.  Massage into the ends (avoid scalp), pop on a shower cap and let it sit for 20 minutes. Wash hair as usual, thoroughly removing the residue. You’ll be sleek as a seal.
• Skin Moisturizer – pour a few drops in the palm of your hand, dip in a few fingers and pat the oil on your skin.  Gently massage in. Used in small amounts, it’s quickly absorbed. Best to scent with a few drops of your favorite essential oil, or risk smelling like a Caesar salad.
• Leather Conditioner – same technique as above (minus the nice-smelling additives).  Live in arid Jordan for a few years and you learn there’s not much difference between moisturizing your leather and your skin.
• Stainless Steel Polish – give the item a general wash, then drop a bit of oil onto a soft, clean cloth.  Using a circular motion, buff stainless, copper and brass surfaces to a brilliant shine.
• Label Remover – saturate the sticker with oil, and let it sit awhile. Using a flat edged knife or spatula, peel the label right off.
• Chewing Gum Remover – I’ve cleaned gum out of my kids’ hair and our dog’s tail with this technique: soak the affected hair in a generous amount of oil.  Leave it on for as long as the patient’s patience will allow (20 minutes is ideal) , then gently pull hair loose from the sticky wad.
• Lamp Fuel – replace the noxious stuff in your Tiki lamp with pure olive oil.  We did this in a pinch during a summer barbecue and were stunned to see it really works. Many Jews use olive oil for their weekly candle lighting ceremony.
• Furniture Polish – mix well 2 ounces of lemon juice with a teaspoon of olive oil for a combo wood cleaner – and – polisher.  Apply the same technique as for shining metals: soft cloth and circular buffing.
• Shoe Polish – following on the heels of the first nine tips, this one’s sort of intuitive. If olive oil can clean skin, shine appliances, and moisturize skin, of course it can keep your shoes tidy.  (Not recommended for cleaning Uggs.)

The post 10 Weird and Wonderful Uses for Olive Oil appeared first on Green Prophet.

When a close friend became pregnant several years ago, and he introduced pets into his Dubai home, Tolga Soytekin began to search for environmentally-friendly cleaning products. A few years down the road and post-economic crash, that search evolved into the UAE’s first eco-friendly cleaning service. Called Eco Maid, the company uses none of the harmful corrosives that almost poisoned one Green Prophet reader’s baby. And, proving that it pays to “go green,” they can offer their service for the same price as their toxic competitors.

Why going green is good for you and for the earth:

Greener Choice lists a variety of chemicals that have known negative environmental or health impacts.

Among them, hydrochloric acid commonly found in toilet bowl cleaners can severely burn skin and irritate eyes and the respiratory tract. Many household cleaners such as APEs, formaldehyde, and naptha are petroleum-based and prolonged exposure to them can cause nausea, headaches, and even central nervous system disruptions.

Phosphates, meanwhile, leach into our water stream and often promote excess algae growth, which in turn kills off fish and other aquatic life. Although some people believe that these nasty chemicals are more effective cleaners, Tolga has discovered that citrus oil has all of the same cleaning abilities as traditional products, but none of the side effects.

They are also “pleasantly scented.”

Orange you glad we told you?

Eco Maid uses products that contain natural orange extracts coupled with biodegradable surfactants, detergents, dirt suspending agents, water softeners and builders, to “produce a formidable cleaner for everyday applications.”

That these products are imported from New Zealand to Dubai increases the company’s carbon footprint, but Tolga has entered into an agreement with the supplier whereby Eco Maid will take up local manufacture and distribution when it becomes financially viable to do so.

Green is money!

While freelance maids on their own visas charge less than $10 an hour for their services (using nasty products), most companies charge the same as Eco Maid – roughly $10 an hour. Their employees also undergo a thorough training program through a local hotel and keep any tips they receive during a shift.

“It is our philosophy is that it shouldn’t cost you any more to ‘go green,’ Tolga says.

“We understand that many companies that jump on the eco bandwagon exploit consumers through manipulating their conscience but we disagree with that ethic.”

Find an Eco-Maid in your area:

For now, Eco Maids will only service Dubai, but the company has grand plans to spread throughout the Gulf and the Levant. Tolga is convinced that in time the company will be recognized as the leading cleaning service provider.

Asked about vinegar as a viable alternative, he adds, “as much as I love the smell of vinegar on my chips, I’m not a huge fan of the house smelling of it for days at a time.

More on green cleaning products:

A Green Guide to Home Cleaning Products

EcoMum’s Baby Almost Poisoned From Cleaning Products

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