There used to be a day when the only colors that mattered to business owners were red and black. Balance sheets with lots of the latter were a good thing.
Welcome to the 21st century, where green is the new black.
Businesses across Utah are finding that a little investment in what we are now calling green technologies is paying off in the long run.
Those last few words, "in the long run," are the most important part of that last statement.
Jody Good, a principal at Spectrum Engineers in Sal Lake, gets excited when he gets a call from somebody interested in lighting. Good is one of Utah Business magazine’s Green Pioneers. He’s been finding ways to economically illuminate buildings for more than 20 years.
He’ll tell you that his greatest rewards are seeing his life’s work incorporated into local building codes and legislation. Next time you walk into a room or hallway and a light pops on, you’ll know that Good’s work with motion sensors is paying off.
And he is happy to share that payoff with anyone willing to listen. Good is quick to point out that up-front costs for most green initiatives are almost always higher than traditional high-energy use projects. But builders interested in saving money down tht road would be wise to adopt a green mind set.
The resurgence of all this green talk came coincidentally with out nation’s new economic hardships.
Depending on who you talk to, the recent recession isn’t over. But there is no arguing that today’s green wave struck as fuel and other energy prices began climbing a couple of years ago.
An industry that lay somewhat dormant since themed-1970s, green is making ground again as manufacturers realize it makes economic sense to reduce the overhead created by natural resource consumption.
Those in the service industry also discovered that simply turning off the lights when they are not in use can save money – sometimes enough to retain jobs.
Sure, theses are basic principles but now they’re mainstream too, so mainstream that these principles are even taught to future business leaders at local colleges.
Weber State’s MBA program, for example, has a full class of students learning how sustainability is a vital part of running a business.
In the next few years, we can expect to see green ideas take even greater hold in meaningful ways, as businesses learn that there is money to be saved and made by investing in simple technologies.
From the Executive Editor
David Kennard
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