Uncategorized Archives - Page 3 of 5

Making School Lunches Healthier with Home Town Farms

April 15, 2011

by Jennifer Kaplan

Fighting childhood obesity, helping schools save money, and saving the planet with Ecopreneur Dan Gibbs. Childhood obesity is on the rise, and having a healthy school lunch is one way to fight this problem. While many schools are working to improve their lunch programs, it’s not uncommon still to see pre-packaged and unhealthy foods piled on plates with not a fresh fruit or vegetable anywhere in sight. Changing how kids eat is one of the most effective ways to improve…

New Study: Clean Energy Standards Barely Impact Small Business

October 7, 2010

by Jennifer Kaplan

Much has been written, including by myself, about the fact that small business organizations range form neutral to hostile on green issues. There is a perception that environmental progress will cost small businesses resources they don’t have. The truth is that not much research has been conducted to prove or disprove that notion. Yesterday a study was released that shows just how little impact clean energy standards will have on small businesses. In fact, it concluded that the economic impacts…

Preventing Identity Theft: Registering Your Business Trademark or Servicemark

November 11, 2009

by John Ivanko

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a decade since my wife and I opened our doors of Inn Serendipity in southwestern Wisconsin. Our marketing background at a large advertising agency in Chicago taught us the value in protecting your company name and brand by trademarking your logo with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). For Inn Serendipity, we did so from the very start. Now, it’s time to renew based on the USPTO’s ten year renewal cycle.…

5 Ways To Green Your Supply Chain

October 13, 2009

by Jennifer Kaplan

If you are thinking about ways to green your supply chain, you’re not alone. A Supply Chain Consortium survey showed that organizations of all sizes are implementing sustainability initiatives throughout the supply chain not only to achieve regulatory compliance, but also to improve brand image and customer satisfaction. What does that mean? The most effective greening of purchasing involves thinking about your entire inbound supply chain with an overriding purpose in mind: to select and purchase goods and services that…

Clean Energy Technology has Arrived – Funding Stalled

July 30, 2009

by Elizoebeth Jensen

[social_buttons] The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming recently heard from a panel of leading edge scientists and industry executives on the state of existing U.S. clean technology and the lack of funding for developing and scaling the technology into commercially viable products and services. The primary technologies discussed were solar and carbon capture technologies. Dr. Brent Constantz, CEO of Calera Corporation, which focuses on a transformational technology that converts CO2 into green building materials such as…

Remanufactured Ink And Toner Makes Good, Green $ense

July 10, 2009

by Jennifer Kaplan

Consumer Alert: There are three things you need to know about remanufactured ink and toner cartridges: They are not inferior in quality to new Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) products. (In fact, in 1997, the US EPA stated that remanufactured products are “as good as new.”) Using a remanufactured or any cartridge other than that of the OEM will not in fact void the printer equipment warranty. (Not that manufacturers didn’t try. They did but the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975…

19 Free (Green) Tools for Small Businesses

June 12, 2009

by Jennifer Kaplan

Another post inspired by a HARO request. This time it was an ask for low or no-cost tools used by small businesses. I did a quick search for the word “free” in my book and realized there are dozens. Here are my 19 favorites: Free energy-efficiency information, resources, and technical advice—ENERGY STAR for Small Business provides free information, resources, and technical advice on hundreds of cost-savings practices. Includes a downloadable copy of the free ENERGY STAR for Small Business Guide,…

Green Marketing 101: Make Green Second

May 27, 2009

by Jennifer Kaplan

Here’s a basic marketing tip: Don’t position your product as green. Well, not primarily green. Instead, position your products and services first as delivering core consumer benefits then-as a second set of attributes-green. You may even find that your competitors are not onto this savvy positioning strategy. A couple weeks ago I was looking for examples of this principle. I wanted to show how a company’s marketing message should extend beyond greenness to appeal to other core consumer attributes people…