Earth Enterprise Tool Kit

EarthEnterprise™

TOOL KIT

MARKETS

T E C H N O L O G Y

F I N A N C I N G

NEW BUSINESS PRACTICES

Copyright © 1994 International Institute for SustainableDevelopment (IISD)

Sections of this paper may be reproduced withacknowledgement to the International Institute forSustainable Development.

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Main entry under title:

Earthenterprise tool kit.

2nd ed.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN I-895536-34-0

1. Green marketing – Canada. 2. Small business – Environmental aspects – Canada. 3. Social responsibility ofbusiness. 4. Small business – Environmental aspects –Canada. I. International Institute for Sustainable Development.

HD 62.7.E27 1994 658.4’08 C94-920278-9

This book is printed on paper with recycled content.

Printed and bound in Canada.

Published and distributed by:

International Institute for Sustainable Development161 Portage Avenue East - 6th FloorWinnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaR3B 0Y4

Phone: (204) 958-7700Fax: (204) 958-7710Email: [email protected]

October 1994

EarthEnterprise™

TOOL KIT

MARKETS

TECHNOLOGY

FINANCING

NEW BUSINESS PRACTICES

Table of ContentsForeword v

Preface vii

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

Avalanche Markets 9Green Consumers: Selling to the Masses 12

Understand Green Consumers, In Depth 12A Road Map to Green Consumer Purchasing Behaviour 13Interpret the Demographics 14Know the Market Size for Green Consumers 16How to Target Deep-Green Markets 17Know the Factors That Drive Green Market Growth 17Build Credibility if You Want to Grow 17Utilize Industry Standards 18Be Ready to Compete When the Mainstream Arrives 21Target Retailers That Want to Sell Green Products 22Concepts for a Competitive Strategy 22Action Plan for a Competitive Strategy 23

Green Procurement: Purchasing for a Sustainable Future 26Respond to Customer’s Stated Intentions 27Work Together as Partners 28Forge New Alliances/Watch for Leaders of the Pack 29Watch for Kick-Started Markets 30Understand Federal Government Purchasing Programs 32Tips to Green Your Own Suppliers 32A Buyer’s or Seller’s Checklist for Green Procurement 33

Green Industries: Markets for Environmental Technologies 35Monitor and Participate in Voluntary Programs 37Watch the Leaders in Pollution Prevention 39Work Together to Maximize Effectiveness 39

Business Opportunities in Sustainable Technology 41The Demand Side: What Creates Markets for New Technology? 44

Understand Environmental Laws, Regulations,and Standards as Technology Drivers 44

Assess International Agreements as Sustainable Technology Drivers 45

Exploit New Demand Pulls for Sustainable Technology 48

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INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The Supply Side: Finding and Assessing New Technologies 49Technology Trees: Cherry Picking for Success 49Understand the Four Generations

of Environmental Technology 57Understand Sustainable Technology 59Add Sustainable Attributes to Existing Technologies 61Convert Defense Technologies 61Watch for the Impact of Technology Leaps or Breakthroughs 61Opportunity Assessment: A Checklist 62

Case Study: Halozone Technologies Inc. 64

Raising Money for Sustainable Enterprises 71Get the Fundamentals Right to Approach Capital Markets 75Jump Over Perception Barriers 76Business Planning for Sustainable Enterprises 77Tips on Preparing the Investment Offering 79Identify Potential Investors and Types of Financing 80Engage a Financial Advisor 82

Adopting New Business Practices and Relationships 83Internal Consistency 85

Prepare a Mission Statement 86Measure and Report on Your Progress and Performance 91In-House Waste Reduction and Pollution Prevention Teams 92Materials that Inform Employees about

Economic, Environmental, and Social Trends 93Open and Direct Lines of Communication 93

External Credibility 95Annual Sustainable Development Report 95A Commitment to Honest and Accessible Public Relations 96A Commitment to Community Development Efforts 97

Leveraging Your Resources 98Work With Innovative Business Associations 98Tap the Expertise of Non-Profit Organizations 101Contract with the Best 103Use Incubators to Help You Grow 104Have Fun, Stay Healthy, and Enjoy Your Work in

an Increasingly Stressful World 105Profiles 106

CAERAN 106O Wear 107DEJA SHOE 108

EarthEnterprise™ Tool Kit

ii

Conclusion 111

Directories 115Product Certification and Labelling Organizations 117Marketing Resources and Sales Leads 118Sales Leads for Green Procurement 123Environmental Industry Associations 133Technology Assistance Organizations - Canada 136Technology Assistance Organizations - United States 144Publications Listing Research and

Development Assistance Organizations 149Sources of Capital for Sustainable Enterprises - Canada 150Sources of Capital for Sustainable Enterprises - United States 159Additional Sources of Financing and Investment - Canada 167Additional Sources of Financing and Investment - United States 169Publications on New Business Practices 171

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ForewordToday, a large portion of new job formation and growth takes place in smallcompanies. Having been formerly involved in business, I know that smallcompanies can often respond quickly to new demands and markets, and aresources of much that is innovative. It is no surprise to me, then, that there is astrong interest in sustainable development on the part of many small andmedium sized companies.

Because many people are uneasy about some of the un-sustainable activities inthe wo r l d , t h e re is widespread demand for more sustainable forms ofdevelopment. These demands show up in consumer activity — people arechanging their buying habits, and companies that can understand and takeadvantage of these changes will prosper.

People are also pressing their governments to change, and we are respondingby finding strategic ways to work with business to both meet our obligationsand maximize our opportunities, but within the context of sustainabledevelopment.

The EarthEnterprise™ initiative, and this Tool Kit, are examples of new toolsand partnership arrangements for business.Through Manitoba’s support of theInternational Institute for Sustainable Development,we are proud to work withentrepreneurs and innovators in breaking the path to the future — profitablyand sustainably.

Honourable Gary FilmonPremier of Manitoba

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PrefaceEarthEnterprise™ is a new initiative of the International Institute forSustainable Development (IISD), linking the economic world where businessholds sway with the new opportunities arising from env i ronment anddevelopment concerns. Our project focuses on new and rapidly growingmarkets for products, services and technologies for sustainable development.Innovators and entrepreneurs seeking entry into these markets will discoverhalf a trillion dollars worth of business globally by the turn of the century. Many,perhaps most, of the new ideas for green markets will come from small andmedium size firms.Their needs to access investment funds, market information,and technology assistance prompted EarthEnterprise™ and our Tool Kit.

IISD’s role is to be a catalyst for improving environment and economyrelationships. By discovering and addressing requirements of the new breed ofbusiness innovators and inv e s t o r s , EarthEnterprise™ will accelerate theavailability and acceptance of products and technologies supportive ofsustainable development. EarthEnterprise™ is our trademark to symbolize themajor commitment of human ingenuity and business acumen urgently requiredfor successful investment in sustainable development.

This Tool Kit provides fundamental knowledge for smaller businessescompeting in the environmental market place. It draws upon insights ofsuccessful business people, new research about the market place, technologydevelopment, financing mechanisms, and changing business practices. Theenthusiasm of both the EarthEnterprise™ team and those with whom theynetwork bodes well for the future.They and others like them are the vanguard,pursuing opportunities inherent in sustainable development.

IISD will continue to update and expand the Tool Kit. We look forward toreceiving comments from readers on how it may be improved to meet theirpractical needs.

Arthur J. HansonPresident and CEOInternational Institute for Sustainable Development



viii

Acknowledgements

The EarthEnterprise™ project was undertaken by IISD staff and a group ofconsultants and collaborators. Overall direction came from Arthur J. Hanson,President and CEO of IISD. Lloyd McGinnis, the founding Chairman of IISD’sBoard of Directors, helped start the project and provided an initial framework.

• Stephan Barg, who is responsible for IISD’s Business and GovernmentProgram, directed the project and participated in its conceptualization anddevelopment.

• Rob Kerr was responsible for managing all aspects of the project, fromd eveloping the concept to delivering the products and finding thecustomers. Without his persistent efforts, EarthEnterprise™ would not existin its present form.

• Cynthia Pollock Shea joined IISD during the project and contributed hervast knowledge of the field, particularly of green procurement and newbusiness practices. Her research and writing skills proved invaluable.

• Susan Miskiman managed the support services necessary for such acomplex project, with the assistance and hard work of Thérèse Laberge.

• Other IISD staff members — Don Berg, Bonnie Bisnett, Frank Cosway,Monique Ferguson, Carole Quenelle, and Julie Wagemakers — providedsubstantial assistance at various stages of the work.

• Beatrice Olivastri, of the firm Olivastri and Associates (Moose Creek,Ontario), worked almost full time with IISD and assisted in managing theproject from conception to delivery. Her good nature and creativity broughtthe project to life.

• G a ry Lew i s , of The Hartman Group (Newport Beach, C a l i f o r n i a ) ,contributed extensive knowledge of green consumer markets and strongexperience with consumer-oriented entrepreneurial firms. He had primaryresponsibility for the consumer markets section.

• Brian Kelly had primary responsibility for the technology section, anddeveloped the idea of the “technology tree” while working at MarbekResource Consultants in Ottawa. Kelly is now Director of Environment andSustainable Development at Ontario Hydro, where he is responsible foroverseeing the implementation of sustainable energy development and useprograms.

• Chris Henderson, of the Delphi Group (Ottawa, Vancouver and London,England), contributed business and fund management experience, as wellas a wide range of contacts in the financial services industry. He hadprimary responsibility for the investment section.

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• Doug Miller, of Synergistics Consulting Limited (Toronto, Ontario),assistedwith market surveys, meeting design, and the faxback system used in theEarthEnterprise™ Exchange.

• David Conklin, of the National Centre for Management Research andDevelopment (London, Ontario),helped with the consultation process anddeveloped material on new business practices.

• Jean-Dennis Barry, of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (Ottawa,Ontario), and Alex Keen of Altech Environmental Consulting Ltd. (Toronto,Ontario), developed, managed, and reported on the Canadian focus-groupresearch.

Throughout the process of researching, meeting, refining concepts, consultingwith many others, and working very hard, these people became a strong team,dedicated to the goals of the project and to cooperatively fostering the successof sustainable enterprises. Each contributed to the overall project design, aswell as to individual areas. All deserve thanks for their commitment and thequality of their work.

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Introduction

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This EarthEnterprise™ Tool Kit is designed to help companies build newkinds of businesses — businesses that are successful because they meet

today’s growing demand for products and services that enhance sustainability.Developing, financing, and marketing those products and services is a realchallenge in the current tough business climate. The ideas and approaches inthis Tool Kit will help companies meet that challenge. In the following pagesyou will find ways to capitalize on such special aspects of sustainable businessesas:

• Consumer markets — how to track and tap them;

• Green procurement — selling to governments and big business;

• Technology — identifying the drivers and emerging demands, a n dassessing and developing the best opportunities;

• Financing — the basics, the special sources, and the business plan;

• New business practices — sustainable business is special, both inside andout.

The Tool Kit looks at each of these areas, explains the most important issuesfacing green or sustainable businesses, and provides tools for dealing withthem. It also includes lists of specialized information sources for follow-up.

The tools presented are the kinds of knowledge — beginning with the need tofind good ideas for sustainable products — that entrepreneurs require in orderto solve problems in an increasingly important business sector. There are sometools for assessing consumer markets for such products, and other tools to helpanalyze the profit and sustainability potential of technologies.

The material in this Tool Kit is based on original research by the project team atthe International Institute for Sustainable Development and a team of expertconsultants. In a wide-ranging international consultative process, the opinionsof dozens of entrepreneurs from the United States and Canada helped guideresearch and the selection of tools. Version 1.0 of the Tool Kit was issued at thefirst meeting of the EarthEnterprise™ Network in Winnipeg, in October 1993.This version, Version 2.0, incorporates the insightful comments contributedduring that meeting, the results of additional research, and an updated list ofcontacts.

The Tool Kit’s Audience

While the principal audience for the Tool Kit is the North A m e r i c a nentrepreneur in a small or medium sized green or sustainable enterprise, thepublication will also be useful to companies of all sizes that are interested ingreening their operations. In addition, the Tool Kit is designed to be used byinvestors seeking a better understanding of the opportunities offered by

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INTRODUCTION

sustainable technologies and enterprises. Other users of the Kit includee nv i ronmental technology innova t o r s , i nv e n t o r s , p o l i cy makers, b u s i n e s sadvisors, educators and students.

Sustainable Business

EarthEnterprise™ deals with the relatively new concept of sustainability. Atsome point in the future this term will be common-place, but today“sustainability”and the terminology related to it must be defined.

The concept of “sustainable development” was advanced considerably in OurCommon Future, the final report of the World Commission on Environment andD evelopment (“the Brundtland Commission”) in 1987. It is most oftendescribed as “development or progress that meets the needs of the presentwithout compromising the ability of future generations to meet their ownneeds”.

IISD defines sustainable development for business as “adopting businesss t rategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and itsstakeholders today while protecting, sustaining, and enhancing the human andnatural resources that will be needed in the future”.

A sustainable business is one that operates according to this definition, in bothits operations and products. The sustainable business has interdependenteconomic, environmental, and social objectives, and understands that long-term viability depends on integrating all three objectives in decision-making.Rather than re g a rding social and env i ronmental objectives as costs, asustainable enterprise seeks opportunities for profit in achieving these goals.

There are relatively few sustainable businesses today, but the number ofcompanies that are trying to achieve this goal is growing quickly. One of thebest known is Body Shop International, whose founder, Anita Roddick, hastaken a new approach to the beauty and personal care business.The membersof the EarthEnterprise™ network are providing the next round of successstories.

The “green” business, which is more common, focuses on operations andproducts that minimize damage to the environment. It produces such items asmercury-free batteries, energy efficient technologies, natural cleansers, andproducts made from recycled materials. A smart green company will tap thesensitivities of the consumer and industrial markets by emphasizing theenvironmental attributes of its operations and products.A green company maymake the transition to sustainability as it develops the values of preserving andrestoring long-term ecological integrity and promoting societal health andwell-being.

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In the Tool Kit, people who run either sustainable or green businesses arereferred to as “eco-entrepreneurs”.

The Project

The EarthEnterprise™ project was started because the International Institutefor Sustainable Development is convinced that business can prosper by takingadvantage of the trend to more sustainable products and services and byoperating more sustainably. Providing useful information to sustainable andgreen businesses is one way IISD can achieve its own goal of fosteringsustainable development.

The research for this project focused on business activities in which the goal ofsustainability makes a difference. It did not focus on the myriad issues faced byany entrepreneurial company, green or otherwise. (Therefore, the Tool Kit doesnot duplicate sources of general advice relevant to all business enterprises, andreaders seeking such advice should investigate other sources.)

We consulted widely so that our research would focus on the areas regarded asmost important by eco-entrepreneurs.

• Interviews were conducted with leaders of carefully selected companiesacross North America. We found that in making their business decisions,especially about future actions, most entre p reneurs rely chiefly onqualitative information gained directly from customers, industry contacts,and an array of business and trade periodicals. They do not seem to valuethe detailed market research statistics that most large consumer marketcompanies use extensively. Eco-entrepreneurs identified direct knowledgeof what customers want as the highest priority. (What do consumers likeand dislike about the company’s products and services? Why is “green”important to the customer’s purchasing decision, and how are tastes andneeds changing?)

• The EarthEnterprise™ Exchange was established as an intera c t i v enewsletter for project participants. Each issue focused on our findings andsought feedback from readers. We used a faxback form with a carefullydesigned questionnaire, and got a high response rate, with useful adviceand suggestions. M a ny readers expressed interest in finance andtechnology issues, and the opportunity to meet successful eco-entrepreneurs who might be mentors or role models.

• A working group on investment was established, consisting of experts andpractitioners with substantial experience. Two messages arose repeatedly.When seeking a loan or an investment,green businesses are like any others;only strong business plans will be funded. However, for companies that

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INTRODUCTION

have all the bases covered, a growing number of investment sources areparticularly interested in green or sustainable businesses.

• Focus groups were held across Canada in conjunction with the CanadianChamber of Commerc e . Local chambers selected entre p reneurs andprofessional advisors who debated and tested our ideas. They agreed thatpublic policy and regulations could frequently create or change a marketovernight, but that changes are hard to predict and sometimes occur onlyas the result of organized lobbying. The development of a market for aproduct or service was judged to be just as important as the developmentof the product or service itself, and deserving of equal attention. Productdevelopment costs can be prohibitive, even when a market clearly exists.They can be deadly if the market doesn’t respond.

We also heard repeatedly that the way a business operates internally is asimportant as its product line or marketing strategy. Any entrepreneur braveenough to start a business must firmly believe that his or her product, orservice, is better than any currently on the market. What distinguishes manyentrepreneurs profiting from the transition to a sustainable future is theircommitment to a broader definition of success, one that extends beyond thebottom line.

The necessity to make a profit is a given.But, typically, the successful innovatorswho have joined the EarthEnterprise™ Network have a far longer list of goals.They want to protect, preserve, and restore the healthy functioning of complexecosystems. They want to empower and instill trust in their customers,suppliers, and employees. They want to foster cultural diversity and promotelocal economies. In a myriad of ways, they want to make the world a betterplace.

Reconciling conflicting demands and pressures, while holding fast to the goalof “doing right”by a broad range of stakeholders, is daunting. Practicing a highstandard of ethics while striving to meet the next payroll is a constantchallenge. But a growing number of companies are succeeding financiallywithout wavering from their commitment to a clearly articulated set ofprinciples.

The proliferation of publications with names like Business Ethics, Good Money,and The Green Business Letter is testimony to that success. Organizations formedto serve this growing client base include Business for Social Responsibility, theSocial Venture Network, and the Green Retailers Association.

Today’s business leaders are looking to sustainably harvested resources anddiscarded materials for their inputs.They are assisting their employees to copewith the competing demands of work and family. They are educating their

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customers, suppliers, and employees to make wise environmental choices.Andthey are pooling their efforts to stretch limited finances and technical skills.They are also clearly stating their objectives and publicly explaining how theyarrived at key decisions.

The EarthEnterprise™ project has developed a variety of products, all designedfor business people who want to improve their companies and make money bysatisfying the demand for sustainable goods, services, and technologies.

• This Tool Kit contains strategic advice and specific, a c t i o n - o r i e n t e dsuggestions to deal with real business problems. Extensive resource listsprovide additional information sources.

• The EarthEnterprise™ Exchange, distributed to our network of NorthAmerican entrepreneurs and innovators, facilitates the free exchange ofideas and support, and will help extend EarthEnterprise™’s reach.

• Our first large meeting, October 12-14, 1993, in Winnipeg, helped launchthe Network, refine the Tool Kit, and plan for the future.

• Further meetings of the Network will attract new participants, disseminatepractical knowledge and experience, and foster new business alliances.

• EarthEnterprise™ events outside North America may be planned with localpartners elsewhere in the world.

Business is evolving rapidly to meet the changing demands of markets and of avariety of stakeholders. Companies able to move quickly will enjoy a realcompetitive advantage. The tools and outputs of the EarthEnterprise™ projectare designed to be flexible, but, if we are to succeed, we need your feedback.Please call, fax,or e-mail to tell us what information you find most helpful,whatadditional material you would like to see incorporated and how you would liketo become involved in the Network.

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INTRODUCTION

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT8


Avalanche Markets

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AVALANCHE MARKETS

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Over the last decade, subtle but momentous changes have occurred in thevalues and purchasing behaviour of consumers, c o r p o ra t i o n s , a n d

governments. This subtlety, which is cascading into momentous change,inspires the term “avalanche markets”. Like an avalanche, the adoption ofenvironmental and social criteria in purchasing decisions will dramaticallychange the landscape.

In the past 20 years, the environment has become a priority concern for people,at home and at work. The concept of sustainable development makes it clearthat environmental implications must be dealt with whenever economicdecisions are made. Learning how to do this — not just to adopt “greenwashing” — takes time. After a few false starts, however, the avalanche isgathering speed in consumer buying, corporate and government procurementpolicies, and, indeed, in the emergence of the “green industry”sector.

These three markets — green consumers, green procurement, and greenindustries — are the focus of this section of the EarthEnterprise™ Tool Kit. Tohelp entrepreneurs increase their ability to gain access to and serve avalanchemarkets, it highlights strategic business issues and offers tools for coping withthem. Because “green”terminology is pervasive, we use it as the starting point.Benefiting fully from the power and potential of these markets, however, meansmoving beyond green add-ons and making a comprehensive commitment tosustainable development.

To be successful in the green consumer market, today’s entrepreneur needs toknow what makes it tick: why it continued to grow in the midst of an economicrecession. The main barrier to growth in this market is credibility: consumersare cynical about product claims and opportunistic pricing. As the dimensionsof the avalanche market become obvious, green, pace-setting entrepreneurswill face competition from mainstream companies and competitive strategieswill be key to survival.

As corporations, governments, and other institutions seek to reduce theirimpact on the planet, huge new markets are opening up.There are a number ofways for an entrepreneur to react: by identifying and responding to greenprocurement policies with existing products and services; by forming newalliances among suppliers and customers to jointly address new needs; and, forthe proactive, by consulting with key policy decision makers and initiatingbusiness relationships that help create new markets. (See pages 26-35 for adescription of some exciting opportunities in green procurement, as well asinformation about the tools and contacts for gaining access to them.)

As the commitment to sustainable development takes hold, many nations aredeveloping and enforcing stricter environmental regulations. In turn, globalmarkets have grown significantly as both industry and governments seek new

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AVALANCHE MARKETS

skills and products. These markets will mature from end-of-pipe, cleanups o l u t i o n s , t h rough abatement and prevention stra t e g i e s , to sustainabletechnologies. On pages 35-40, we provide an up-to-date assessment ofenvironmental industry markets as a tool for understanding where greenindustry clientele may be found. (The Business Opportunities in SustainableTechnology chapter shows where the power of this avalanche market will bestrongest.)

Green Consumers: Selling to the MassesTo benefit effectively from growth in the green market, entrepreneurs will needto educate and convince investors, financial institutions, and mainstreamdistribution channels of the importance of green consumerism. If these sectorsview the green market as an overblown, passing fad, they will be reluctant todo business. In order to plan convincingly for long-term prospects in them a r k e t , e n t re p reneurs must get to know green consumers. To do this,entrepreneurs must look at the factors that influence the green consumers’purchasing decisions.

Understand Green Consumers, in Depth

Green Consumers:• are very sincere in their intentions.Their commitment to greener lifestyles

is growing slowly but very few are“backsliding”;

• almost always judge their environmental practices as inadequate;

• tend to overstate their green behaviour, including the number of greenproducts they actually use. This reflects the fact that green is very much a“motherhood and apple pie” value. Not surprisingly, the gap betweenexpectation and reality tends to make people feel guilty and sometimesdefensive;

• want env i ronmental protection to be easy, without having to makesacrifices. Purchasing more environmentally responsible products givesthem a vital psychic lift, by helping them align beliefs and actions;

• do not expect companies to be perfect in order to be considered green.Rather, they look for companies that are taking substantive steps and havemade a commitment to keep on improving — probably because consumersthemselves do not feel environmentally perfect;

• are wary and tend to mistrust companies’environmental statements, unlessthey have been evaluated by some person or group considered trustworthy;

• are quite confused and lack knowledge about environmental issues. Theydo not usually trust themselves to evaluate scientific information about the

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TOOL

environment. At the same time, however, they are eager to learn more, andwilling to be educated. In other words, consumer education is one of themost effective strategies entrepreneurs can use, becoming a consumerservice in itself.

A Road Map to Green Consumer Purchasing Behaviour

The most important rule in designing products is to minimize the sacrificesconsumers must make in order to buy and use them. Improvements must besubstantive, backed by solid logic and, where applicable, documented data.Different environmental attributes are preferred in different product categories;however, consumers generally feel that the more attributes the better. A goodstrategy is to offer one or more environmental improvements in each of severalcategories, such as water pollution, solid waste, and manufacturing processes.

When consumers are faced with a trade-off among product attributes, theenvironment almost always loses with all but a fraction of the most committedgreen consumers. Unfortunately, green purchasers will not always admit this;and many companies have failed with products that require consumers to maketrade-offs.

To succeed, eco-entrepreneurs must provide the traditional values of price,quality, convenience and availability.

• Price: No matter what consumers say to the contrary, few will consciouslypay extra for greener products. Research has shown, however, that verysmall price premiums (on the order of two percent) are below the thresholdof “consciousness”. Higher premiums can only be charged if the consumerperceives additional product value (such as being “in vogue”). Otherwise,only extremely green, or wealthy consumers, can be expected to paysignificant price premiums.

• Quality: Many people assume green products will be less effective thancurrent non-green brands. Consumers are even less likely to sacrificequality than they will price. Assurances of quality are absolutely essential,and must be communicated convincingly to consumers. Quality is judgedon many features, including performance, look, feel, fit, comfort, anddurability.

• Convenience: Only minimal inconvenience is tolerated by consumers ofgreen products. Infrequent activities, such as refilling bottles of soap ordetergent, are sometimes tolerated.

• Availability: Very few consumers will go out of their way to buy greenproducts. In a 1990 Roper Poll,58 percent of respondents cited poor productavailability as a reason for not purchasing more green products.

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AVALANCHE MARKETS

TOOL

Interpret the Demographics

Based on the following chart, here are the key demographic implications forbusiness.

• The best green customers are people with more money to spend.Therefore,the most promising products for greening are at the higher end of themarket.

• The best outlets for selling green products are retail stores frequented bythe upper middle class and the wealthy. In general, green consumers havethe education and intellectual orientation to appreciate value; they willunderstand logical green appeals and evidence that supportsenvironmental claims.

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United States Greens Near Greens Browns

Income Index 1.21 1.07 0.75Median Age 41 43 40

Executive/Professionals (%) 24 17 11College Graduates (%) 27 20 11Female (%) 58 52 50

Canada Greens Near Greens Browns

Income Index 1.19 1.18 0.7Median Age 38 41 44


Mexico Greens Near Greens Browns

Income Index N/A N/A N/AMedian Age 30 29 30


Demographics of the Green Market in North America

Source: 1992 Roper Poll in the U.S.,Canada,and Mexico.

TOOL

• The most responsive age group is young adults, many of whom areinfluenced by their children.

• Women are a key target for greener products and often make purchases formen.

Background to statistical categories1. Income Index: ratio of median group income to median national income.

Green consumers in the U.S. and Canada earn above average incomes.

2. Median Age: The data for Canada suggests that younger adults are morelikely to be green than older people. The data for the U.S. and Mexico arenot very conclusive (although more detailed results from the Roper Poll andother surveys show that green sensibilities are strongest among U.S. adultsaged 30-45). Note: Research also shows that children and teenagers are themost sensitive to green issues.

3. Executive/Professionals: percentage of consumers in high skill, white collarprofessions. Professionals and executives tend to be greener consumers.

4. College Graduates: The data generally show that the more educated theperson, the more likely he or she is to be a green consumer.

5. Female: The data show that women tend to be more green than men.

Understanding the demographic basics about green consumers can help non-green entrepreneurs explore the environmental market and home in on likelyp ro s p e c t s . Those alre a dy in the business can better tailor outreach andcommunications to consumers.

In the U. S., the age factor means a flourishing market as greener kids replacethe less green elderly. Children and teens are generally much more concernedthan adults about the environment and are more knowledgeable about greenalternatives. Increasingly, they influence their parents’ purchasing decisionstowards green and, more important, millions of them will reach adulthood andgain purchasing power in the next few years.

At the opposite end of the age spectrum, Americans born before the end ofWorld War II are the least green in consumer orientation. As they age, theirshare of consumer purchases will dwindle, and be replaced by consumers witha greener ethic.

In Canada, children share very strong green concerns that influence theirparents. Older people also tend to be relatively active green purchasers. TheE nv i ronmental Monitor reports that green purc h a s i n g , “...does not va rysignificantly among demographic and regional groups”.The Roper Poll, on the

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AVALANCHE MARKETS

other hand, indicates that green Canadian consumers are slightly younger thantheir non-green counterparts.

There are not yet sufficient data from Mexico to draw conclusions on age trendsand green consumer growth.

Know the Market Size for Green Consumers

The Roper Organization’s estimates for three types of green consumers in theUnited States, Canada, and Mexico:

Definitions• Trueblue Greens: Consumers who engage in a number of environmentally

motivated activities, ranging from recycling to various green shoppingc h o i c e s . The Trueblues do not typically accept env i ronmental pricepremiums.

• Greenback Greens: Those who claim willingness to pay price premiums forgreener products, but who are generally too busy to pursue other ecologicalpractices. (In the U.S., greenback is a slang term for dollar.)

• Sprouts: People who are very concerned about the environment and saythey want to do more to protect it, but who haven’t yet adopted manyenvironmental practices. (Some pollsters call them “Near Greens”.)

Note: Consumers almost always overstate their green buying intentions. Inorder to gauge production and marketing efforts realistically, be wary ofpeople’s tendency to overstate environmental behaviour.

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North America U.S. Canada Mexico

(percent)

Trueblue Greens 21 20 38 19Greenback Greens 5 5 3 4Total 26 25 41 23

Sprouts/Near Greens 26 31 27 11Total 52 56 68 34

(Note: The Mexican figures could well be exaggerated due to aspike in public environmental concern. The polling took placeimmediately after some of the country’s worst and most publicizedenvironmental disasters.)

TOOL

How To Target Deep-Green Markets

Deep-green markets are too small to attract major competition, which may bean important factor in planning long-term strategy. Recent estimates put thesize of this market at about two percent of U.S. and Canadian consumers.Theseindividuals gravitate towards political advocacy and will often pay higher pricesor sacrifice product performance for environmental improvements.

If you decide to target this market,

• Your products must be significantly better env i ronmentally than thecompetition’s or you will be viewed as a hypocrite, as well as lose the sale.

• Provide clear, engaging, and comprehensive information on what sets yourp roduct apart env i ro n m e n t a l l y. D e e p - g reen consumers appre c i a t einformation on how they can make a difference ecologically.

• Monitor the competition to see if they are developing products almost asgreen as yours, but without the price/quality tradeoffs. Keep ahead of thegreen development curve by minimizing the sacrifices required to purchaseor use your product.

Know the Factors That Drive Green Market Growth

G e n e ral economic expansion tends to correlate directly with incre a s e denvironmental concern, action, and consumer spending. According to researchby economics Professor Don Coursey of Washington University, t h e s ebehaviours tend to grow at three times the rate of increase in Gross DomesticProduct (GDP).

Traditional and green companies are also beginning to give consumers whatthey want: substantive environmental improvements that do not require pricepremiums or quality compromises. As a result, consumers will see more, new,green products and services. These will legitimize the market and expandchoice, leading to more vigorous green consumerism.

Eco-entrepreneurs faced with green competition from established companieswill either be pressured into well protected niches, or into the mainstreammarketing arena, where sophisticated marketing strategies based on soundconsumer research tend to carry the day.

Build Credibility if You Want To Grow

Marketers alert to consumer concern and interest in the environment found anew advertising ploy in the late 1980’s: the green claim. In 1993, approximately13 percent of new products introduced in the United States made some type ofenvironmental claim. But just like “cholesterol free”peanut butter, some claims

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were misleading and served to confuse rather than assist consumers. Canadianconsumers say their distrust of green product claims, rather than the recession,inhibited their purchase of products touted as environmentally superior.

In July 1992, the U. S. F e d e ral Trade Commission released voluntarymanufacturer guidelines, covering such claims as ‘degradable’,‘compostable’,‘recyclable’, ‘recycled content’, ‘source reduction’, ‘refillable’, and ‘ozone safe’.Charges of issuing false claims have been brought against companies that makecoffee filters, disposable diapers, trash bags, and aerosols. Dozens of suspiciousclaims are being tracked.

The message is clear: to be successful, products and services must be credibleto cynical and confused consumers. One way to gain credibility is to obtaincertification by any of the following organizations, all of which are attemptingto put an end to the confusion about genuine greenness.

Utilize Industry Standards

Scientific Certification Systems (Formerly known as Green Cross)

Founded in 1984 to test pesticide residues in agricultural products, ScientificCertification Systems (SCS), based in Oakland, California, has expanded itsprogram, and now certifies a diverse array of environmental and food safetyclaims. Under its Environmental Claims Certification Program, introduced in1990, SCS has certified single-criteria claims such as “recycled content,”“ b i o d e g ra d a b l e ” , “ wa t e r- e f f i c i e n t ” , and “no VO C s ” for more than 1,100products.

The Env i ronmental Report Card developed by SCS provides detailedinformation about the performance and environmental burdens of a product,based on a lifecycle, cradle-to-grave study of the product and its packaging.Launched at Chicago’s Hardware Show in August, 1993,“The report card is theenvironmental equivalent of a nutritional label” explained SCS President Dr.Stanley Rhodes. The burdens listed on the report card include: the naturalresources depleted, the energy consumed, the pollution released into air orwater, and the solid waste generated. Such assessments make it easier tocompare the total environmental burden of one product relative to another.

Companies that have commissioned product report cards, which cost as muchas $30,000 each, include:

• North American Plastics: IronHold Recycle 1 trash bags;

• Webster Industries: RENEW trash bags;

• PlasticKote Inc.: PlastiKote enamel paints;

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• Benckiser Consumer Products: EarthRite household cleaning products;

• Chemical Specialities Inc.: ACQ PRESERVE treated wood;

• Chemfree: Insectigone home and garden care products;

• The TreeFree Company: TreeFree recycled napkins, paper towels, andtissues;

• Western Wood Products Association: Western lumber;

• Wellman Fibre Industries: Fortrel EcoSpun recycled polyester fibre used incarpeting, apparel, bedding, and upholstery.

The SCS Forest Conservation Program, launched in 1991, uses an indexingsystem to rank forest management practices, based on their ability to sustaintimber re s o u rc e s , maintain ecological viability, and promote soundsocioeconomic dev e l o p m e n t . Collins Pine Co., a family-owned businessheadquartered in Portland, Oregon, was the first to undergo evaluation andemerged with flying colours. “Collins’ conservation of mature timber in theworking forest is essentially unique to industrial forestry,” said the 51-pagestudy. “[Its] management practices demonstrated consistent appreciation forand cooperation with the natural forest processes, an essential component ofany long term sustainable forestry program.”The Home Depot hardware chainsells sustainably harvested Collins pine.

Certification standards for low-flow shower heads were released in May 1993,and standards for volatile organic compounds in architectural paints andcoatings are under development.

To raise consumer awareness of the environmental impact of their own dailyactivities, a Personal Environmental Report Card is now being developed.Commuting distances and transportation methods, home energy and wateruse, and recycling habits are included in the evaluation.

Green Seal

Green Seal is a U.S. non-profit environmental labelling organization thatawards a seal of approval to products found to cause significantly less harm tothe env i ronment than other similar pro d u c t s . G reen Seal dev e l o p senvironmental standards for consumer products through a public reviewp rocess involving manufacture r s , e nv i ro n m e n t a l i s t s , consumers andgovernment agencies. Products are Green Seal-certified only after rigoroustesting and evaluation. Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. is the primary testingcontractor for Green Seal.The Green Seal Certification Mark — the blue globewith the green check — assures consumers that products bearing the Seal meetstringent environmental standards.

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G reen Seal standards consider each pro d u c t ’s env i ronmental impact,packaging, and performance. Products are generally evaluated over their lifecycle: from manufacture, through use, to disposal or recycling.

By setting standards for environmentally preferable products, Green Seal seeksto reduce air and water pollution; cut the waste of energy and natural resources;slow ozone depletion and the risk of global warming; prevent toxiccontamination; and protect fish and wildlife and their habitat.

Green Seal has developed standards and criteria for 52 product categories,including paints, household cleaners, paper products, water efficient fixtures,lighting, windows and window films, and major household appliances.To date,Green Seal has certified 112 products for 14 companies.

Environmental Choice

Canada’s government-sponsored Environmental ChoiceM Program started byevaluating single-criteria product claims, but has subsequently adopted a lifecycle rev i ew pro c e s s . Certified items carry the EcoLogoM, t h ree dov e sintertwined to form the shape of a maple leaf. The logo helps consumersidentify products that,in the course of their life cycle,improve energy efficiency,use recycled or recyclable materials, and minimize the use of hazardoussubstances. A 16-member national board provides advice on the developmentof environmental criteria and an independent technical agency assists in theverification and testing of products and services. Lists of certified brand nameproducts and their manufacturers are available from the organization so thatinterested consumers can easily find certified products at retail establishments.

Product categories evaluated to date include re-refined motor oil; reusableutility bags; recycled fine paper; reduced-pollution water-based paints; recyclednewsprint; thermal insulation; ethanol-blended gasoline; products made fromrecycled plastic; reusable cloth diapers; alkaline batteries; zinc-air batteries;composters for residential waste; wa t e r- c o n s e rving products; re d u c e d -pollution solvent-based paints; laundry detergents; domestic water heaters;acoustical building materials; toner cartridges; dry cleaning services; compost;heat recovery ventilators; major household appliances; energy-efficient lamps;diaper services; automatic dishwasher detergents; sealants and caulkingcompounds; engine coolant concentrate; and adhesives.

See “ D i re c t o r i e s ” , page 117, for Product Certification and Labellingorganizations.

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Be Ready to Compete When the Mainstream Arrives

G reen retailing is headed for a shake-out. The result will be chaoticconsolidation that will have a great impact on small green retailers and themanufacturers that sell exclusively through them.

There are four key reasons a shakeout is unavoidable

• Most green consumers prefer to buy environmental products in storeswhere they already shop.

• Mainstream retailers are beginning to feature environmental products (KMART), create special green sections (Loblaws), and even open entiregreen-oriented stores (Wal-Mart).

• Established manufacturers are gradually offering greener products, targetedthrough mainstream distribution.

• Consumer-focused green entrepreneurs (for example, Tom’s of Maine) aresupplying mainstream retailers, thus making green retailers less distinctive.

As these trends accelerate, and they will, the number of smaller enterprises inthe market will shrink. Larger companies will buy them up, mergers andalliances will occur, and businesses will fail.

With the exception of companies that find sound merger partners, shake-outsurvivors will be those with a defined clientele whose special needs cannot bemet as well by the bigger companies.The Body Shop, for example, has alreadydeveloped a strong franchise operation, with loyal customers. Even as largercompanies enter this market, few consumers are switching their allegiance.

Two competitive strategies are recommended for green retailers. First, discovera customer niche that depends on more than a green differentiation. Second,build a following among the deepest green consumers. Either strategy requirescoherent, attractive merchandising concepts, superlative value-added services,and ongoing development of exclusive selections of the newest products.Establishing and retaining customer loyalty will be key.

For manufacturers that sell through green retailers, competitive strategies mustbe based on continual product innovation, exemplary retailer servicing, and adirect understanding of end consumers’ evolving needs and tastes. Small andmedium size green stores and chains, or other specialty outlets, may remainyour distribution system of choice. However, if the cost efficiencies andfinancing for expanded production are available, mainstream retailers may bethe best option to explore.

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Target Retailers That Want to Sell Green Products

Retailers out to satisfy their customers are starting to tell store buyers to go forthe green, if the product is also high quality and available at a competitive price.The Natural Connection,published in North Brattleboro, Vermont, is a retailer’sguide to manufacturers, wholesalers, and suppliers of environmentally friendlyand recycled products. The company’s annual directory lists suppliers of 1,400green items, from automotive accessories to baby care items to furniture.

Kevin Connelly of The Natural Connection is also the facilitator for the GreenRetailing A s s o c i a t i o n , o rganized at a 1992 In Business confere n c e . T h eassociation’s first annual meeting was held at the Boston Eco-Expo/GreenBusiness Conference in October 1993. Public re l a t i o n s , t e l e c o n f e re n c i n g ,advocacy, and technical assistance are provided to members by the Co-opAmerica Business Network, based in Washington, D.C.

Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the United States, and now a major player inCanada, provides a Green Guide and a green co-ordinator to each of its stores.Signs inform customers about the environmental attributes of products, andoutside recycling bins are provided for packaging waste. A company-wideprocurement guide is being developed. In June, 1993, the chain opened its firstEco-Mart in Lawrence, Kansas. Designed by innovative architects, the storeemploys the most environmentally advanced lighting and plumbing systemsava i l a b l e , and incorporates env i ronmentally superior building materials,including sustainably harvested timber.

Home Depot, the largest hardware chain of its type in the world, is workingwith Scientific Certification Systems to develop certification programs andenvironmental education information for its customers. Mark Eisen, HomeDepot’s manager of environmental marketing in Atlanta, actively seeks outgreen products and sponsors open buying days for new products at six officesthroughout the United States.

Products must first have mass market appeal and meet price, quality, and valuecriteria, says Eisen.“Even the largest manufacturers are only starting to learnthat performance is number one and greenness is number two.”

Concepts for a Competitive Strategy• The “first mover” company in any particular product category can often

select the environmental attributes it wants to offer and mold consumerexpectations so that future competitors must play by the rules established.

• Companies can assume the mantle of being green leaders without greeningcompletely. They need only be sincere and green in at least a fewsubstantial way s . Companies can retain green market leadership by

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i n t roducing incremental improvements over time, a strategy called“greening as we go”.

• Companies can often create an effective presence in green markets byputting a number of green improvements into a new (or refurbished)product or product line.As improvements are perfected and their consumerappeal tested, the “spearhead”line’s green attributes can be cost-effectivelyincorporated into the company’s other product lines. Green consumers lovethis approach.

• Barriers to competitors’ market entry can be erected in the course ofestablishing a green product.This leadership position can be protected formonths or years. Barriers prevent competitor imitation and allow the leaderto reap above average returns. Barriers may include patents, distributionrights, and demanding product standards.

• M a ny companies find that an env i ro n m e n t a l l y - i m p roved pro d u c t ,positioned for green-conscious youth, can renew an aging brand. This isimportant, especially for companies that sell primarily to the aging babyboomer generation. The green improvements of a youth line can also bereadily applied to adult product lines.

• Manufacturers of products traditionally sold to men can increase sales bymarketing green improvements to women. Greener female consumers arei n c reasingly buying items like automobiles and paints and actuallypurchase the bulk of men’s cologne and apparel.

• Green market success can be enhanced by tying a product’s environmentalattributes and message to the life style affinities of target consumers.Millions of hikers, for example,care about protecting wild lands; boaters areconcerned about clean lakes and streams; mothers worry about theirchildren’s health. Thus, a water sport product manufactured in a way thatreduces water pollution carries an innate appeal to many boaters, whilegreen household cleaners that substitute safe ingredients for dangerouschemicals tend to appeal to mothers.

Action Plan for a Competitive Strategy

Environmental Management• Manage greening strategically. First, develop a vision and a policy. Gain

support of the greening process at the highest levels (i.e., CEO, divisionpresident, etc.), and ensure that support is demonstrated through actionand money, as well as talk.

• Keep greening integrated. Greening touches all business functions andeach function influences others. Build cooperation across departments, and

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involve people from all levels of the company. Formal “green teams”areincreasingly popular.

• Develop a strategy that encompasses all of your company’s stakeholders.

• D e m o n s t rate market leadership. Educate customers about thee nv i ro n m e n t , and make sure that internal operations are managedproactively, not in reaction to regulations. Design products and processesthat incorporate environmental responsibility, and carry out cost-benefitanalyses using cradle-to-grave, or cradle-to-cradle, life-cycle costing.

Product Strategies• Explore all possible ways your product can be environmentally improved.

Examine the relative environmental benefits of each alternative, as well asthe cost and ease of implementation. Set priorities. Typically, severalmeasures can be found that save money or are cost-neutral.

• Prepare a phased plan of environmental improvements to accomplish overtime. Estimate the likely timing and content of competitors’ responses andbe re a dy to offer additional improvements to maintain leadership.Incorporate specific estimates of the tasks and time required to effect eachplanned improvement.

• Ensure that your products meet or exceed the quality expectations andre q u i rements of your customers. D u ra b l e , quality products genera l l yenhance environmental performance.

• Thoroughly test your products under consumer-use conditions.

Marketing and Communications• R e s e a rch env i ronmental attitudes and purchasing criteria of yo u r

customers.

• Pursue alliances with other companies, environmental groups, universities,and research organizations.

• Combine public relations, imaging, and other marketing/communicationsefforts with traditional advertising.

• Err on the side of understatement when making environmental claims.Being conservative avoids backlash. Whenever possible, let others praiseyour efforts. Do not establish unrealistic expectations.

• Communicate through sources people trust.

• Treat environmentally-conscious consumers with respect. They tend to bewell-educated, analytical, and cynical about corporate claims.

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• Admit mistakes and past errors. Show how the company and its productsare improving.

• Communicate simply — avoid environmental jargon.

Public Relations• Focus on public relations more than advertising.

• Develop community outreach programs involving your company and theareas it serves.

• Work with your corporate customers to “partner”environmental programsspecific to their industries.

• Collect stories of employees’ green implementation efforts and try topublicize them, being concrete and educational in your approach.

• Educate the public and the media about the environmental issues related toyour company or industry.

• Prepare responses to environmental questions likely to be asked by themedia. Involve knowledgeable technical people – not just PR professionals.

• Anticipate bad press and prepare information and documentation tominimize its impact.

Advertising• W h e rever possible, supply consumers with sufficient, but simple,

information so they can evaluate advertising claims themselves. Rememberthat claims must be backed up with evidence. Simple graphs or illustrationscan be helpful.

• While images of nature are useful, avoid ads that are purely soft and fuzzyimage enhancers. Green consumers suspect empty images.

• Avoid ads that are overly cute. Consumers believe env i ro n m e n t a lresponsibility should not be trivialized.Even 12-year olds think such ads arecorny.

• Test ads with green consumers before airing them.This avoids backlash.

• Consider using advertising inserts to conv ey complex env i ro n m e n t a linformation in print media. Include educational pieces written by neutralauthorities or company experts, along with traditional visual and image ads.

• Highlight novel instructions or product usage modifications on thepackaging and in advertising.

• To overcome concerns about effectiveness, offer strong inducements to trythe product. Free samples are an especially persuasive strategy.

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• Leverage the influence of children to encourage parents to test greenproducts.

• Gain environmental endorsements where possible, but be selective.

Other Marketing Strategies• Use labels to convey precise, detailed information about your product

and/or packaging. E n s u re compliance with government labellingguidelines.

• Use consumer hot lines to disseminate and gather information aboutenvironmental issues and customer concerns.

• Point of sale displays,brochures, and videos are effective for providing morein-depth information than can be offered on labels.They should be used tocatch the eye and communicate the uniqueness of the company’s greenproducts.

• Educate consumers hungry for environmental information. Companieshave used television programming, magazine articles, classroom curricula,and community classes or meetings as effective ways of re a c h i n genvironmentally concerned consumers.

Attitude• Grasp the long term. Opinion leaders are going green. Our kids are

growing up. The environment is an issue for the future as well as thepresent.

• Learn, act, and communicate patiently. Environmental responsibility is notlearned or built overnight. Strategic alliances require cultivation. Crediblecommunications do not always come “cheap and easy”.

• Build in sustainability — that’s where reality is leading. The fundamentalreason to go green is because our survival depends on it. Pollution, waste,and toxins will not vanish magically. The earth is the only home we’ve got.

• Savour the joy of doing things right.

See “Directories”, pages 118-122, for Marketing Resources and Sales Leads.

Green Procurement: Purchasing for a Sustainable FutureRising waste-disposal costs, stricter environmental legislation, demands fori n c reased corporate accountability, and mounting liability concerns arereforming traditional business pra c t i c e s . In re s p o n s e , companies andgovernments are looking for environmental leverage points in the marketplace.

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A growing number of businesses and government agencies are discovering thatthe power of their purse can accelerate the availability of greener, cleanerproducts. By specifying minimum recycled content, improved energy efficiency,or reduced toxicity in their tender specifications, demand from these buyers isbeginning to dramatically increase the supply and quality of a broad range ofenvironmentally superior products.

As discussed earlier, an expanding number of certification and labellingo rganizations are available to evaluate supplier claims. M a ny voluntaryprograms sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are alsostimulating manufacturers to offer a variety of environmentally improvedproducts. Green product directories, public and private sector purchasingguidelines, and a few of the more innovative trade associations also provideassistance in identifying and obtaining environmentally superior goods andservices.

“We’re the people who spend money. We have the cheque-books and suppliershave to give us what we want, not the other way around,”said Mike Cleveland,purchasing manager with Keystone Cement Company, Bath, Pennsylvania, at aBuy Recycled Workshop in Allentown. His attitude is becoming the norm andsuppliers had better listen. AT&T, General Motors, S.C. Johnson & Son, andXerox are among the growing number of corporate giants asking suppliers tobecome more environmentally responsive.

Respond to Customers’ Stated Intentions

From gentle nudges to new purchasing specifications to threats about takingbusiness elsewhere,buyers are making their new purchasing intentions known.Suppliers that respond quickly and effectively can retain valued customers andeven increase sales.

Ace Hardware Corporation tried the hard ball approach with suppliers in 1991.It sent a letter, questionnaire, and environmental policy statement that said,“The Paint Division will begin conducting audits of all our vendors during 1992with special emphasis on safety and environmental issues. We reserve the rightto immediately cancel any business awarded to a vendor found to be innoncompliance with any applicable federal, state, or local regulations, or who...shows blatant disregard for the best interests of our environment...” A fewnon-responsive suppliers were dropped, but most were cooperative, thoughsurprised.

When Xerox Corporation decided it wanted standardized packaging with barcodes at all its plants, it actively assisted suppliers in making the transition. Aletter and information packet describing the program were coupled with a daylong training session, complete with brochures and a 16-minute take-away

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video. In autumn 1993, the company’s Environmental Leadership Programreleased a Business Guide to Waste Reduction and Recycling. Smart suppliers willread it thoroughly, act on the suggestions, and actively market products andservices that will assist customers to adopt the recommended practices.

“No one can wield the power of the purse more effectively than a big company,and General Motors, the United States’ largest manufacturer, has figured outthat by leaning on its suppliers, it can save both cash and trash”, Joel Makowerwrote in The E Factor.

A program to eliminate packaging waste, begun by GM’s Chevrolet-Pontiac-Canada Group, is going North America-wide. Since January 1, 1994, GM’smidsize assembly plants take no more shrink wrap, pallets, foam peanuts,cardboard boxes or strapping tape — NO packaging waste. The initiative is acomponent of the company’s WE CARE Program, which stands for WasteElimination and Cost Awa reness Rewa rds Everyo n e . F ew suppliers areprepared to lose a customer as large as GM.They are more likely to change overtheir entire packaging and distribution system.

Work Together as Partners

Improving the environmental behaviour of individuals, companies, and nationscannot be done in isolation by any one group. The complexity of ecosystemsand markets requires that knowledge and efforts be pooled. Two companiesstand out in their willingness to act on this awareness.

In February 1991, S.C. Johnson & Son, a consumer products manufacturerheadquartered in Racine, Wisconsin, hosted an International Suppliers’ DayEnvironmental Symposium for 57 of its top 70 suppliers worldwide. Titled“Partners Working for a Better World”, the meeting discussed internationalenvironmental trends and relayed S.C. Johnson’s environmental performancegoals. Suppliers were asked to recommend strategies for improving the biodegradation and recycling of the company’s products and packaging; forreducing waste at all stages of production,distribution,and use; and for limitingthe emission of volatile organic compounds in aerosols.

S.C. Johnson has continued the dialogue by publishing a twice yearly Partnersnewsletter for its suppliers. The following commentary, written by ExecutiveVice President Barry P. Harris, appeared in the August 1992 issue.

Our corporate environmental goals identify 1993 and 1995 as completiondates for a series of improvements to the environmental profiles of ourproducts and processes. We want our partnership with our suppliers to bringforward varied packaging technology alternatives which reflect significants o u rce re d u c t i o n . We also want our partnerships to bring forward

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formulation options reflecting reduced environmental impact and requiringless packaging overall.And we want to do it now. Clearly those suppliers whoanswer our call to action today can most benefit from our continuedpartnership tomorrow, for they will be the leaders of the new order ofcorporate environmental activism.

Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts also works closely with its suppliers andstaff to improve environmental performance.The company’s booklet The GreenPartnership Guide: 12 Steps to Help Create an Environmentally Friendly Setting forOur Guests, Ourselves and Our Future deals with all aspects of the chain’soperations. Advice on improving efficiency, and reducing toxicity and waste, isprovided for all staff. Individual sections cover the kitchen, housekeeping,repairs and renovations, stores and purchasing, laundry, grounds, rooms, andfood service.

An extensive contacts section lists sources of recycled paper, organic food andwines,phosphate-free dish washing detergents,energy efficient lighting, water-saving fixtures, waste and recycling operations, and environmentally friendlycleaning products, paints, and wood finishes.

The message is clear: if you want to sell to C.P. Hotels, you must provideenvironmentally superior products.

Forge New Alliances/Watch for Leaders of the Pack

Smaller companies and organizations, with less clout in the market place, areworking jointly to influence suppliers. An Ontario initiative, c a l l e dG overnments Incorporating Pro c u rement Policies to Eliminate Refuse(GIPPER), has brought together school boards, transit commissions, Canada’slargest electric utility, and local, regional, and provincial government agencies todevelop a proactive and comprehensive procurement policy. The current focusis on waste reduction. Guidelines have been developed for cleaning products,compost, construction and demolition materials, paint, paper, and packaging.Items for future consideration include plastics and rubber; petroleum, oils, andlubricants; and energy-efficient lighting products.

Entrepreneurs can benefit by tracking the development of these alliances or,better still, by playing a role in initiating them. Look for partners at your local,state or provincial agencies, school boards, trade associations or local businessimprovement committees.

Use your networks to get ideas from leaders of the pack. Initiatives that work inone setting may well transfer to another. Your investment of time can pay offhandsomely. You may forge alliances to develop new products and services orwork together to create and tap new distribution channels. And, remember tolet your customers know about your leadership efforts.

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Paper Purchasers Unite

As every office worker knows, electronic information systems will not phase outpaper any time soon. Indeed, paper products account for one-third of allmunicipal solid waste.

In an effort to cut costs and create a market for the paper collected by recyclingp ro g ra m s , the Council of Great Lakes Governors spearheaded anunprecedented cooperative purchase of 30 million pounds of recycled copierpaper in 1992. Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, andWisconsin joined in the bidding process.The region settled on four distributorsoffering Hammermill and Envirographics paper.

The savings: half a million dollars in taxpayers’money, three million pounds ofwaste paper diverted from disposal, 130,000 trees, and the energy equivalent of771,000 gallons of gasoline. Two additional paper purchases have been madesince and the Council now collectively purchases six additional products:retreaded tires, re-refined oil, high speed computer form paper, envelopes,other soft paper goods and plastic safety cones.

All 50 states now have buy recycled programs of one form or another, and 15have agreed to pay as much as a 10 percent premium for recycled products.Several provinces have also launched buy recycled programs.

In August, 1993, a task force created to increase the use of environmentallypreferable paper and paperboard products was formed by seven large U.S.organizations. Duke University, the Environmental Defense Fund, Johnson &Johnson, McDonald’s, NationsBank Corp, the Prudential Insurance Companyof America, and Time Inc. together purchase more than $1 billion worth ofpaper products annually. They are major national consumers of business andwriting papers, publications, and packaging.

They have agreed to assess their paper performance needs and purchasings p e c i f i c a t i o n s , and then to conduct a comprehensive study of thee nv i ronmental effects of paper pro d u c t i o n , u s e , re cy c l i n g , and disposal.Recycled and virgin papers and a variety of pulping and bleaching technologieswill be evaluated on both a scientific and an economic basis. A purchasingmodel, applicable to a broad range of institutions, is scheduled for release inlate 1994.

Watch for Kick-Started Markets

Governments at many levels are trying to kick-start new markets for productsmade from recycled materials. Staying abreast of the legislation, regulations,and business assistance programs can spur ideas for developing new productsand services. New market opportunities for existing products may also arise.

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Many states and provinces have adopted procurement programs for recycledproducts. These programs help to provide market stability for secondarymaterials processors. In British Columbia, highway centre lines are morereflective at night because they are sprayed with pellets made of waste glass.Government office buildings use recycled paper made, in part, from wastecollected on the premises. The province’s Parliament buildings and officeinteriors are painted with recycled latex paint, 30 percent of which is acquiredfrom household waste collection.

Oregon, which wants to achieve a goal of 50 percent recycling by 1995, haspassed legislation specifying minimum recycled content standards for a rangeof materials, regardless who buys them. Glass must be made from 35 percentrecycled content, phone directories and rigid plastic containers from 25 percentrecycled content, and newspapers from 7.5 percent recycled content.

In New York State, the threat of legislation led to a voluntary agreement witharea newspaper publishers, specifying 40 percent recycled content in newsprintby 1997.

California and New Jersey give generous tax credits to companies that invest inrecycling equipment. In June 1992, California’s Integrated Waste ManagementBoard designated 12 Recycling Development Zones throughout the state, thefirst of 40 to be created over five years. Businesses in those zones get a tax creditto purchase recycling equipment if the final product will contain at least 50p e rcent re cycled materials. L o w - i n t e rest loans of up to $1 million,manufacturing referrals, and marketing and technical assistance are alsoavailable. Additional local incentives and expedited permitting are often part ofthe package.

Applicants have proposed making insulation and egg cartons out of newsprint;asphalt from glass bottles; erosion controls, artificial reefs, and roadbeds fromold tires; and plastic cones, lumber, and chemical feedstock from discardedplastics. Under California law, communities must recycle 25 percent of theirsolid waste by 1995, and 50 percent by the year 2000.

N ew Je r s ey offers 50 percent tax credits for the purchase of re cy c l i n gequipment, as well as state sales tax exemptions of six percent. The state isparticularly interested in companies that recycle non-traditional items like tires,construction and demolition debris, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and batteries.

The Clean Washington Center, a market development initiative of the state’sDepartment of Trade and Economic Development, has published a directory of600 products made from recycled materials. The Center is pushing localNordstrom and Sears department stores to carry these items.To eliminate pricevolatility for secondary materials, the Center was instrumental in getting scrapplastic and glass listed as trading commodities on the Chicago Board of Trade.

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Understand Federal Government Purchasing Programs

As the major operator of hospitals, s c h o o l s , o f f i c e s , p r i s o n s , and otherinstitutions, local, state and federal governments in the United States makepurchases that comprise about 18 percent of the gross national product andtotal almost a trillion dollars annually.

Between 1983 and 1989, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issuedprocurement guidelines for recycled paper, re-refined motor oil, insulationmade from secondary materials, cement and concrete containing fly ash, andretreaded tires. In April 1994, EPA proposed to designate 21 additional items,including construction and landscaping products, fleet products, and officeproducts.

A fall 1993 Executive Order on Federal Acquisition, Recycling, and WasteReduction is likely to have a major impact on the federal government’spurchase of printing, copying, writing, and computer paper. By December 31,1994, the federal government must purchase paper with a minimum content of20 percent post-consumer waste material. By the end of 1998, these papersmust have 30 percent post-consumer content. Although the federa lgovernment purchases only a few percent of the nation’s paper, the standardwill likely become the industry norm by 1995.

The General Services Administration (GSA), the author of massive U.S.government purchasing catalogues, is now starting to identify and highlightsuch env i ronmentally improved products as re cycled paper and energ y -efficient lighting systems. GSA publishes the Environmental Products Guide1994 referenced on page 125 in the directories.

Tips To Green Your Own Suppliers• Get top management’s support. This will put teeth into any policy you try

to impose on other companies.

• Put the policy in writing. Send it to the CEO, VP for sales or marketing, orother top executive who can implement the policy.

• Let money talk. Promote the program on the basis of cost savings,efficiency, and market advantage.

• Make a presentation. Show costs, benefits, and laws applying to both yourand the supplier’s operations.The more homework you’ve done, the betterthe case you can make.

• Request a response within a given amount of time. Allow the supplier toimplement the plan over a generous period. But don’t let them put you offfor long.

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• Educate your own employees about the need for and the mechanics of theprograms. Offer training, support, technical assistance, and resource lists.

• Pool your resources. If your company is a small customer, work throughyour industry’s trade association to team up with other companies andmaximize buying power.

• Play up the competitive angle. Make it known that other suppliers havealready made the change, and that other customers would buy the“ g re e n e r ” p ro d u c t . Let suppliers know that you are shopping thecompetition.

• Ask the supplier for help in coming up with solutions. Good ones willgenerate ideas and may have access to products you don’t know about.

• Don’t ask other companies to implement policies your company hasn’t yetadopted.That could backfire; you may risk being called hypocritical.

Adapted and reprinted with permission from Joel Makower’s, The E Factor,Tilden Press, 1519 Connecticut Ave. NW., Washington, D.C., 20036, 1993.Telephone: 202-332-1700.

A Buyer’s or Seller’s Checklist for Green Procurement

If you are a supplier, be prepared to answer the following questions from yourcustomers. When purchasing, ask these questions of your suppliers.

The first and overriding question, of course, is whether the product or service istruly necessary.

• Does the product use fewer polluting byproducts than competing products?Is the product durable and easily, safely, and economically serviced?Are any components of required maintenance environmentally damaging? Are all the features of the product necessary?Is the company producing the product in compliance with allenvironmental laws and regulations?

• Are you aware of any product alternatives that are more environmentallyresponsible?

• Is the product designed to reduce consumption?Is the product designed to minimize waste?Is the product reusable?Is the product technically and economically recyclable?Do facilities exist to recycle the product?Are recycling collection systems in place at the point of end use?Can the product be returned to the supplier at the end of its useful life?Is the product compostable?

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• Are recycled materials used in the product? If so, what percentage? Whatpercentage of post-consumer materials are used?

• Is the product energy efficient?Can the product be recharged?Can the product run on renewable fuels?Does the product reduce water use?

• Does the product require special disposal?Is the product free of any banned substances? heavy metals? Is the product free of toxic or endangered materials?Does the product emit volatile organic compounds or other air pollutants?Does the product require special use instructions for health and safety?

• Can the packaging be eliminated?Is the packaging designed to be minimal?Is the product packaged in bulk?Is the packaging reusable or recyclable?Are recycled materials used to produce the packaging?Can the packaging be returned to the supplier?Is the packaging compostable?

• Has a lifecycle analysis of the environmental burdens associated with theproduct or packaging been conducted by a certified testing organization?

• Is the company producing the product equipped to bid and billelectronically?

• Does the company have an environmental policy statement?What is the company’s history on environmental and safety issues?Can the company verify all environmental claims?What waste reduction programs does the company have in place? planned?Has the company conducted an environmental or waste audit?Is the company responsive to information requests from stakeholders?

The preceding questions can be applied when making a wide range ofpurchasing decisions. To make sure no area is overlooked, consider all aspectsof your operation. These may include:

paper carpeting packaging furniture and fixturesoffice equipment and supplies water use devices photocopying batteriesphotodeveloping vehicles/motor oil/tires/fuels

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printing de-icing compounds cleaning products and devices heating and cooling equipment grounds maintenance windows and doorsjanitorial services ventilation systems

food service equipment and supplies employee transportation food and beverages delivery and distribution systemslighting transportation servicespaints hotel accommodations

See “Directories”, pages 123-132, for Green Procurement Sales Leads.

Green Industries: Markets for EnvironmentalTechnologiesThis section of the Tool Kit briefly describes the global market potential forenvironmental technologies, where the full force of an avalanche is nowbreaking. The following pages provide an overview of the size, trends, anddevelopment within the more traditional environmental industries. The forcesdriving the next generation of environmental technologies are discussed in thefollowing chapter: Business Opportunities in Sustainable Technology.

Typically involved in re m e d i a t i o n , a b a t e m e n t , and pollution prev e n t i o n ,e nv i ronmental industries supply knowledge- and technology-intensiveproducts and services. In most countries, these industries are composedprimarily of small and medium sized companies; in Canada, for example, mostsuch firms employ fewer than 50 people.

As the commitment to sustainable development takes hold in national andglobal markets, this industry will grow rapidly. In Canada, the market forenvironmental products, services, and technology is about US $10 billion a yearand expected to grow to US $17 billion by 1997. In the United States, this $134billion industry is expected to grow 6 percent annually to $180 billion in 1997.In Mexico, the environmental services industry is a major new business areawith projected rapid growth of 15 percent, to $2 billion, in 1997.

With implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),Canada, the United States, and Mexico are hives of activity. Companies andgovernments are gearing up for opportunities in domestic and crossborderenvironmental cleanups and pollution prevention.

The Environmental Business International Journal estimates the global market forenvironmental industries at $295 billion, with a 44 percent increase, to $426billion, projected by 1997.

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“There’s a general understanding that environmental regulations will developin the future”, says Ted Owens, an industry leader who is Senior Vice Presidentof International Operations for Groundwater Technologies, Inc.“If they’re notin place now, they will be”and business opportunities will flow along side.

The Environmental Business International Journal outlines the evolution of anational environmental industry as follows:

• Public pressure to address environmental problems begins to mount.

• The government declares its policy, to meet public demands.

• Legislation is passed to implement government policy.

• Regulatory agencies are formed and regulations are promulgated.

• The emphasis is on enforcement; generators of environmentally unsoundproducts or practices begin to take compliance seriously, creating businessfor environmental companies.

• Generators start to take it upon themselves to actively manage and reducetheir own environmental problems, staying ahead of regulations.

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1992 Average 1997$ US Annual $ US

Billions Growth % Billions

United States 134 6 180Canada 10 11 17Mexico 1 15 2

Latin America 6 12 10Western Europe 94 7 132Eastern Europe/ex USSR 14 14 27

Japan 21 8 31Australia/New Zealand 3 9 5Southeast Asia 6 16 13

Rest of the World 6 8 9

TOTAL 295 8 426

The Global Environmental Industry

S o u rce: Env i ronmental Business International Jo u r n a l .4452 Park Blvd., Suite 306, San Diego, CA 92116-4039.Telephone: (619) 295-7685, Fax: (619) 295-5743.

• Environmental responsibility is internalized into methods that replacewaste- and pollution-generating pro c e s s e s . This reduces demand fortraditional environmental products and services, but opens new markets inpollution-prevention technologies and processes.

The United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Japan are the furthest alongon this evolutionary path and have the largest markets for both pollutioncontrol and pollution prevention technologies. Many countries in Asia, LatinAmerica, and Central and Eastern Europe are just starting to tackle pollutionproblems and as a result will have the fastest growing markets for remediationand control technologies. If the appropriate regulatory, economic, and fiscalincentives are put into place, and sufficient investment capital is available,companies and industries within these regions may be able to accelerate theadoption of prevention strategies.

Neatly measuring the transition from pollution control to pollution preventionis often difficult. Remediation and abatement technologies are easy to classifywithin the environmental industry. New products, manufacturing technologies,and process designs, however, tend to be categorized within their relevantindustry, and not as “environmental”. Compact fluorescent lamps and CFC-free, energy efficient refrigerators, for example, are classified as lighting andappliances, while flue gas desulphurization units (or scrubbers) are termed“environmental technologies”.

Unless environmental technologies are redefined, slower acting countries maybe perceived as having the largest environmental markets. In countries whereenvironmentally superior goods and technologies are sought in all sectors, thenumbers may erroneously appear less impressive.

Monitor and Participate in Voluntary Programs

As part of its ongoing effort to reduce air pollution and the emission ofgreenhouse gases, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched aseries of voluntary programs with industry. The actions “are good ideas oneconomic grounds alone,” says the agency. “Energy efficiency is indeed ‘noregrets’.” Participating companies will keep abreast of the latest technologydevelopments, be able to monitor the activities of competitors, and avoid beingleft behind in this rapidly changing field.

The first voluntary initiative, the Green Lights program, began in January 1991.By fall 1993, the owners of more than one billion square feet of commercial,industrial, and institutional space were improving the efficiency of their lightingsystems. More than 1,000 upgrades are under way, with three billion square feetof space committed, far exceeding the combined total office space in the

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metropolitan areas of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco,Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Dallas.

It is estimated that the resultant savings in annual electricity bills will be $870million. If the goal of committing 60 billion square feet of space by the year 2000is reached, annual savings will total $16 billion. A residential component wasadded in December 1992.

Another, utility-sponsored, initiative offered $30 million to the first company todesign and commercialize a CFC-free refrigerator with improved energye f f i c i e n cy. R e f r i g e rators consume 20 percent of all residential electricity.Whirlpool and Frigidaire, the winner and runner up, respectively, have bothdecided to market their entries.

A 1990 model refrigerator already uses about 40 percent less energy than its1970 counterpart. The new Super Efficient Refrigerator Program will furtherboost performance.

Federal standards issued in Canada in 1991 required a 30 percent improvementin energy efficiency by 1994.

Participants in the Energy Star Computers program, launched in June 1992,make 40 percent of all personal computers and workstations sold in the UnitedStates. As of September 1992, the list of companies committed to introducingmachines that automatically power down when not in use included:

Acer America EMPaC International NCRApple Computer Hewlett Packard Silicon GraphicsCompaq Computer Hyundai Electronics America Smith CoronaDigital Equipment IBM Zenith Data Systems

In February 1993, the manufacturers of 80 percent of the computer printers soldin the United States agreed to reduce energy consumption by 30 to 50 percentper printer, mostly as the result of powering down. Energy cost savings areestimated at $450 million per year. Since October 1993, all Federal agencies inthe United States have been required to buy computer products that meet theEnergy Star guidelines.

Products targeted for future technical improvements include:

industrial motors building shell improvementsbuilding technologies low flow shower headsrefrigerants clothes washers and dryersindustrial electrolytics advanced heat pumpsvariable speed drive motors for ventilation solar thermal water heatersresidential heating and cooling technologies amorphous core transformerscommercial/residential cooking equipment

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“Energy efficiency is BIG business”, according to EPA. Sales in just four productcategories — efficient lighting,personal computers, variable speed motor drivesfor ventilation, and refrigerators — “are expected to total $53 billion by the endof the decade, comparable to the entire domestic paper producing industry”.

Watch the Leaders in Pollution Prevention

Deciding it was time for the federal government to catch up with private sectorpollution prevention efforts, President Clinton signed an Executive Orderdirecting federal facilities to reduce their toxic emissions 50 percent by 1999,and to report any release of toxic pollutants to the public.

Similar legislation, covering 10,000 private manufacturers, took effect in 1986and has dramatically reduced toxic emissions. Many companies were shockedinto action when required to measure and tabulate their release of 317 toxicchemicals at individual production facilities, and to make the findings public.

A similar, but more recent program in Canada, the National Pollutant ReleaseInventory, applies to 178 chemicals. The first reporting deadline for firms thatemit these chemicals was June 1, 1994. Environment Canada intends to makethe information publicly available by December, 1994.

The effect of the U.S. legislation has been so pervasive that in 1991, onethousand U.S. companies agreed to participate in a voluntary EnvironmentalProtection Agency program known as 33/50.The companies pledged to reduceemissions of 17 chemicals 33 percent by 1992,and 50 percent by 1995. Some arefar exceeding their commitment.

One of the overachievers is Dow Chemical, once synonymous with napalm,Agent Ora n g e , and a variety of health-threatening pesticides. Fo r t u n emagazine recently ranked the company as one of the 10 cleanest U. S.manufacturers.The company cut toxic releases by 32 percent between 1988 and1991 — to a level that is among the lowest in the industry on a per dollar ofsales basis. Far from ravaging Dow’s bottom line, the environmental controlprogram is called Waste Reduction Always Pays.

As one of the first companies to put its senior environmental officer on theBoard of Directors, Dow knows the value of issuing guidelines from the top.Smart suppliers of environmental technologies don’t wait for purchasing agentsto inform them of changing company priorities.

Work Together for Maximum Effectiveness

New trade associations and industry networks are springing up to keepmembers abreast of rapid changes in the environmental technologies market,and growing domestic and export opportunities. The Environmental Business

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Council of the United States, and a growing number of state and regionalchapters,holds briefing and strategy sessions for members. Lobbying efforts arealso intensifying. In Canada, s even provincial env i ronmental industryassociations, and a national office in Ottawa, are also working to coordinateand strengthen member company activities.

See “Directories”, pages 133-135, for Environmental Industry Associations.

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Business Opportunities inSustainable Technology

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BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY

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Because of environmental and regulatory pressures and scientific advances, abroad range of innovative technologies is advancing rapidly. In order to

spark ideas for developing and marketing new technologies, this section looksat many different market drivers.

To keep abreast of rapid changes and potential markets, entrepreneurs need to:

• Follow trends in regulations and standards, where markets can be createdor destroyed overnight. Governments change regulations for a variety ofreasons, among them lobbying and scientific evidence.

• Become familiar with international env i ronmental agre e m e n t s . W h i l ecountries enter into agreements for the same fundamental reasons theymake regulations, an international protocol or convention signifies bothbroad international accord on a problem, and government commitment totackle it. The markets created from these agreements will be massive —cutting across many regions and industries.The technologies developed tocomply with the agreements will focus on eco-efficiency, p o l l u t i o nprevention, and sustainability.

• Monitor rapid technological advances, such as those now taking place inelectronics and photovoltaics. Technical advances, and reduced costs, makenew activities, products or services possible, thereby opening new markets.

• Watch for economic and social trends that are“pulling”the development ofsustainable technologies. These include higher, market-based prices formany resources, and a move by governments away from regulation towardthe use of economic instruments and performance standards.

The following tools offer ways to organize or select from the vast range oftechnical developments constantly under way.

• Technology trees, developed as part of the EarthEnterprise™ Project,organize technologies into functional groups.(See pages 50-55).They showwhich technologies should be regarded as competitors, which might beespecially promising, and which have the largest potential markets.

• Assessment criteria for technology opportunities help evaluate theappropriateness of a technology for a particular market and entrepreneur.Useful criteria include the state and timing of the technologicaldevelopment, its physical and financial scale, its potential market size, andbarriers to entry.

• Characteristics of the technology that make it sustainable.

The question answered here is not “What are the winning technologies?”, but“What are the techniques or tools for identifying winning technologies?" The

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following tools can be a source of ideas, an approach to filling out the details ofa concept, and a framework for demonstrating the quality of the concept.

The Demand Side: What Creates Markets for New Technology?Markets are the key issue for technological entrepreneurs. How can theentrepreneur or the investor ensure that they are targeting real markets? Howcan they ensure that the product or service actually meets customers’ needs?The following tools help answer these questions and minimize entrepreneurialrisks.

Understand Environmental Laws, Regulations, and Standards asTechnology Drivers

The entrepreneur must be equipped to efficiently identify and assess whichnational and state/provincial environmental laws, regulations, and standardswill affect business opportunities. The field is extremely complex, but stayingc u r rent and anticipating trends can help an entre p reneur capitalize onopportunities and stay ahead of the pack.

Whether applied in North America or elsewhere, to imported or exportedproducts, these regulations are driving the development of environmentalt e c h n o l o g i e s . Most companies in the env i ronmental sector attempt toanticipate and follow closely the introduction of new regulations and standardsthat may create or destroy technology markets.

Current laws, regulations and standards cover a wide range of subjectsincluding:

• Discharge of pollutants to air, water, and land;

• Worker and industrial safety;

• Product content, including chemicals and recycled materials;

• Technical performance, including energy and water use;

• Labelling information on environmental, energy, safety and performancestandards;

• Requirements for reusing/recycling products and packaging;

• Protection of endangered habitats and species.

Key Insights About Environmental Laws, Regulations AndStandards• The regulations will become more stringent.

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• The highest standard among trading partners will likely become therelevant measure of performance.

• Enforcement will increase.

• So-called “voluntary”standards will increase in number and stringency.

• There will be more use of third-party certification.

• There will be a slow transition to market-based mechanisms, e.g., a carbontax.

• The polluter pays principle will become more prevalent.

• The precautionary principle will be more widely adopted.

• A law passed in one country will have impacts beyond national boundaries.

The U. S. Clean Air Act is an example of legislation that is generating significantinternational business opportunities, primarily in abatement, but also inpollution prevention and sustainable technologies. N ew fuels, v e h i c l e s ,appliances, paints, and electricity generating technologies are being developedaround the world to comply with the Act.

The effects of voluntary and regulated standards related to appliance efficiency,paper bleaching, and packaging also ricochet around the world. Technologyleaders in the most advanced market soon become technology leaders globally.

Assess International Agreements as Sustainable Technology Drivers

The demand for sustainable technologies is being driven, in part, by therecognition of such global problems as atmospheric change, loss of biodiversity,toxic chemical accumulations, and resource degradation and depletion.

Scientists, environmental groups, governments, and international agencies aretrying to deal with these issues in international forums. Although tedious todraft, the binding agreements that result catalyze enormous change. Domesticlegislation and regulations follow as countries implement their internationalcommitments.

L o n g , d rawn-out negotiations and implementation schedules present awindow of opportunity during which entrepreneurs can judge whether aprofitable business venture will result. Recent international agreements onslowing ozone depletion, climate change, and biodiversity loss constitute aunique set of drivers for developing new pro d u c t s , t e c h n o l o g i e s , a n dproduction processes. Financial rewards await the companies that developtimely solutions. The key is being aware of, and able to assess, the agreementsfor their business potential.

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TOOL

Among the major international agreements driving technologies,now or in thefuture, are:

Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances

Adopted by 25 countries in 1987, the Protocol has been amended twice andratified by 127 parties. It calls for the complete phase out of fully halogenatedchemical emissions by the end of 1995. Emissions of halons, a chemical used infire extinguishers, were banned in 1993.The Protocol is undoubtedly the mostadvanced international agreement and has been implemented by nationallegislation in dozens of signatory countries.

It has spawned a flurry of business activity in CFC recycling equipment andservices, alternative refrigeration and air conditioning technologies, substitutechemicals, and new cleaning processes for electronic equipment. HalozoneRecycling Inc. has capitalized on the Montreal Protocol with its “Blue Bottle”forcapturing refrigerants used in household refrigeration, and in residential andautomotive air conditioning. A case study on Halozone, describing how theBlue Bottle was developed, financed and marketed appears on pages 64-69.

Framework Convention on Climate Change

There is growing concern that increasing emissions of greenhouse gases(GHGs), including carbon dioxide, will augment the natural greenhouse effecton the Earth’s atmosphere, and trigger climate change. Among the probableconsequences: flooding of low-lying areas, drought, and more severe weatherpatterns. Energy consumption is the principal human activity that producesGHGs.

The Climate Convention became law on March 21, 1994, after being ratified by50 countries. Many industrial nations are beginning to make commitments toreduce GHG emissions to 1990 levels. Business opportunities are thus growingin all fields related to energy efficiency. Developing, introducing, and globallydisseminating these technologies and practices will require new financing,communication, and management strategies. The sectors most likely to beinfluenced and some of the new technologies that may be required are shownon pages 52-54.

Convention on Biological Diversity

In addition to helping feed and clothe us, biological resources provide shelter,fuel and medications. Millions of the Earth’s species are still unidentified, andthe usefulness of many others has never been assessed. The ecosystems thathouse these species are being eroded by human activity. This Convention aimsto conserve biological diversity and to make sustainable and equitable use of itscomponents. Nations that sign the Convention agree to rehabilitate and protect

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ecosystems and to facilitate access to genetic materials for environmentallysound uses. Industrial countries will financially assist developing countries toimplement the Convention. The pharmaceutical, agricultural, energy, andforestry sectors will be the most affected. The Convention became law onDecember 29, 1993, after being ratified by 30 countries.

Shaman Pharmaceuticals is one of several companies that is trying to protectbiological diversity and to develop commercial drugs from rain forest plants.Using the knowledge of traditional medicine men in the tropics, the companytries to identify the active ingredient that might form the basis of a new drug.Shaman will devote a share of future revenues to protect the biological diversityof tropical forests and the cultural diversity and knowledge of their residents.Merck and Pharmacognetics have also promised to share revenues frombiologically derived drugs.

Principles on Managing, Conserving, and Sustainably Developing All Types of Forests

World-wide, forests are threatened by physical and chemical degradation andconversion to other uses. There is an urgent need to maintain or restore theworld’s ecological balance by conserving and planting forests in both industrialand developing countries. By June 1992, a series of principles for sustainableforest use had been developed and may form the basis of further negotiationsleading to a binding agreement. Entrepreneurs may find opportunities arisingfrom new management and harvesting methods, and from modified machinerythat encourages more sustainable practices and more efficient use of forestproducts.

Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the UnitedStates involves the governments of states and provinces bordering the GreatLakes. The Agreement’s focus on technologies and practices that minimizeemissions of toxic substances into the Great Lakes Basin is replicable in otherwatersheds. Over the past 20 years, the agreement has resulted in enormousinvestments in water pollution control and sewage treatment technologies andtheir installation. The emphasis is now shifting to water pollution preventiontechnologies.

International agreements are often difficult to understand and follow, especiallyfor companies with few resources.

While voluminous specialized information sources, government reports, andtracking services exist, they are intended to serve negotiators, regulators andlawyers, rather than the entrepreneur seeking a good idea. The first hurdle for

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the entrepreneur, therefore, is awareness. Be sure to follow newspaper reportsof general progress made on international agreements. To get more detailedinformation, phone the government agencies responsible for negotiating oradministering the agreement. For more specific questions,get in touch with therelevant industry association. Non-governmental organizations and specializednewsletters may also have valuable insights on market directions.

Entrepreneurs interested in exploiting the business opportunities created mustbe aware of the potentially long lead times between the negotiation ofinternational agreements and their implementation. Moreover, in spite ofglobal intentions, there are usually some countries that will not participate.Business must also be aware that international agreements are subject toslippage, acceleration, and re-negotiation. In spite of these shortcomings, theagreements are often signs of real social and market change.

Exploit New Demand Pulls for Sustainable Technology

As environmental protection becomes a higher priority and as the concept ofsustainable development becomes better understood and more bro a d l yimplemented, relative price changes are likely to pull technologies.

Commodity prices change in response to:

• Scarcity, (e.g. water, energy, minerals, or wood pulp);

• Removal of subsidies or price distortions by governments;

• Full-cost pricing, (e.g., time-of-use electricity rates).

When commodity prices increase (particularly when the increase is rapid, as itwas for oil in the 70s), a range of technologies and techniques suddenly becomemore financially attractive.They are“pulled”by what may previously have beenan indifferent market.

Many governments and utilities, particularly in North America, have recentlyinitiated new approaches to assessing their costs, and have intro d u c e dprograms to encourage the development and market penetration of newtechnologies.These initiatives have been of two major types:

• A wide range of programs to develop and promote new technologies thatimprove resource efficiency and environmental protection (e.g., energyefficient building standards, appliance rating systems, least cost capacityplanning, and renewable energy demonstration projects);

• Subsidies, rebates, and financing instruments to promote technologypenetration into new markets,primarily by reducing the initial cost of theseproducts (e.g., energy efficient lighting and appliances, and variable speeddrive motors).

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Better information, financial incentives, and infrastructure are pulling energysaving technologies onto the market at an accelerated rate.

Higher disposal costs for municipal and hazardous waste, and the use of landfillbans, have also pulled new technologies and products onto the market.Reducing the volume and toxicity of waste, and developing products made fromsecondary materials, have become big business opportunities. The recycling ofindustrial solvents, construction and demolition debris, tires, and plastics are allgrowing markets.

The Supply Side: Finding and Assessing NewTechnologiesThe pace of technical change in environmental sectors is accelerating. Evenrecently developed abatement technologies can be rendered quickly obsolete bynew pollution prevention and, increasingly, sustainable technologies.The eco-entrepreneur should be aware of the opportunities resulting from thesechanges.

Technology Trees: Cherry Picking for Success

In this section, we present a method for identifying the many technologicalpossibilities, based on a sound understanding of key influences and drivers.Opportunities are placed into a framework that clarifies the possibilities, andthe competition, and provides a longer-term outlook for investors.

The following "trees" categorize technologies based on their ability to satisfy aparticular market demand. An international agreement, such as the ClimateConvention, is taken as the driver. A resulting demand is increased energy andeco-efficiency. Within the energy sector, various activities are affected. Theseinclude energy supply, conversion, transmission, and end-use.

End-use functions include lighting, h e a t i n g , c o o l i n g , and tra n s p o r t a t i o n .Looking at just one category — lighting — there are many options ranging fromfluorescent to incandescent to induction. Within the fluorescent family, thereare tubes, compact lamps, and circlines. A specific compact fluorescent is thePhilips SL model.

Although the following "technology trees" are far from comprehensive, theassessment technique is the same. By evaluating what is or will soon be indemand, the products or technologies currently on the market, and the optionsbeing pursued, e n t re p reneurs can assess which technology they shoulddevelop, commercialize, sell, or use.

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TOOL

Figure 1

The Technology Tree

Classification System Explanation/Example

International Agreement — One of the recently concluded international agreements and consequent national regulations as drivers of technology changee.g., Framework Convention on Climate Change

Sectors Affected — Broad sectors of the economy affected by the agreements/regulationse.g., energy

Activity Affected — Activity affected within the sectore.g., energy use (end-use)

Product/Process Affected — Products/commodities/processes/services which will be affected or changed in order to meet sustainable development goals, regulations, targetse.g., efficient lighting

Family of Technology — Groups of related technologies required for the new products/processese.g., fluorescent lights

Technology — Types of technology within each group; a distinct technologye.g., compact fluorescent

Specific Technology — A manufacturer’s or patent holder’s specific (Brand or Patent Level) technology

e.g., Philips SL

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Figure 2

Economic Sectors Affected by Selected International Agreements

International Agreement Sectors Affected Activity Affected

1. Framework Convention 1.1 Energy 1.1.1 Energy Supplyon Climate Change 1.1.2 Energy Conversion

and Transmission1.1.3 Energy Use

1.2 Agriculture1.3 Chemicals1.4 Forestry1.5 Other

2. Convention on Biological 2.1 PharmaceuticalDiversity 2.2 Agriculture

2.3 Forestry2.4 Energy2.5 Mining2.6 Other

3. Statement of Principles 3.1 Forestryon Forests 3.2 Agriculture

3.3 Pulp & Paper3.4 Manufacturing3.5 Energy3.6 Other

4. Montreal Protocol on Ozone 4.1 Chemicals 4.1.1 Refrigeration, Air Depleting Substances Conditioning

4.1.2 Foam Production4.1.3 Industrial Solvents4.1.4 Aerosols4.1.5 Fire Protection4.1.6 Other

4.2 Other

5. Great Lakes Water Quality 5.1 Pulp and PaperAgreement 5.2 Iron and Steel

5.3 Municipalities5.4 Chemicals5.5 Petroleum Refining5.6 Agriculture5.7 Other

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Figure 3

Activities Affected by the Framework Convention on Climate Change

Product/Sectors Activity Process Family of Technology Specific Affected Affected Affected Technology Technology

1.1 Energy 1.1.1Energy Supply(CO2, CO, 1.1.2Energy ConversionCH4, N20) & Transmission

1.1.3Energy Use Lighting Fluorescent Compact Philips SLo o Fluorescent oo o o o

1.2 Agriculture Livestock Production(CO2, CO, Rice ProductionCH4, N20) Biomass Burning

FertilizationSoil CultivationDeforestationOther

1.3 Chemicals Refrigeration(CFC/HCFC) Foam Production

Industrial SolventsAerosolsFire ProtectionOther

1.4 Forestry Waste Burning(CO2, CO, Silviculture PracticesCH4, N20, Reforestationcarbon fixing) Other

1.5 Other Refuse DisposalCementOther

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Figure 4

Framework Convention on Climate Change and Energy Technologies

Activity Affected Product/Process Family of TechnologyAffected Technology

1.1.1 Energy Supply Solar Heating Water HeatersSolar Thermal Electric Power TowersSolar Electric Photovoltaic Amorphous

Silicon PolycrystallineOther

Wind Electric TurbinesBiomass Combustion

GasificationAlcohols

Nuclear FissionFusion

Natural Gas/PropaneGeothermalWaveOcean ThermalOther

1.1.2 Energy Thermal Electric Conversion Generation& Transmission Co-generation

Tri-generationDistrict HeatingOther

1.1.3 Energy Use Fluorescent TubeCompactCircline

Incandescent •Lighting HID •

Induction RadiowaveBallasts Core & Coil

ElectronicReflectors Silver

AluminumElectric DriveHeatingCoolingBuilding DesignInternal Combustion EngineTransportation ModesIndustrialOther

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Figure 5

Framework Convention on Climate Change and Agriculture


Livestock Production (75%) Cattle Production Selective Breeding(CH4) Bioengineering

Diet Supplements

(25%) Other Livestock

Rice Production (100%) Rice Paddies Biogas Digester(CH4) Selective Breeding

BioengineeringWater ManagementMethane Inhibitors

(0%) Dryland Rice

Biomass Burning Crop Residues Composting(CO2, CO, Biogas DigestersCH4, N2O) Slash and Burn Permaculture Techniques

Shifting CultivationLand Clearing Timber(Deforestation) Biomass Fuels

Nitrogen Fertilization Urea Selection of Fertilizers(N2O) Ammonium Nitrite for Low N20 production

Ammonium SulphateAmmonium PhosphateNitrogen SolutionsOrganic Farming Practices Planting Legumes

Soil Cultivation Chemical-based Cultivation(CO2, N2O) Tillage Practices Nil/Low Tillage

Organic Farming Practices MulchingPlanting LegumesOrganic Fertilizer

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Figure 6

Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances and AlternativeChemicals/ProcessesSector Affected 4.1 Chemicals (CFCs, HFCs, HCFCs, Carbon Tetrachloride, MethylChloroform, Halons, Methyl Bromide)


Refrigeration, Air Conditioners HFCs HFC 134aAir Conditioning Heat Pumps(R11, R12, Domestic Refrigerators/ HCFCs HCFC 22R113, R123) Freezers

Commercial Refrigerators/FreezersIndustrial Refrigerators/ Evaporative Cooling DirectFreezers Indirect

Absorption Cooling Lithium, Bromide-Water CycleAmmonia-WaterCycleOther

Dessicant Cooling Lithium ChlorideSilica GelOther

Other Refrigerants AmmoniaHeliumOther

Foam Production Insulation(R12) Cushioning

Packaging

Industrial Solvents Circuit Board Production, Cleaning

Aerosols Spray CansInhalers

Fire Protection Stationary(Halons) Transportable

Other Pesticides(Methyl Bromide)

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Technologists, innovators, and researchers can use technology trees to:

• Identify the relationship of a technology they may be developing to theinternational agreements that will drive the new technologies (i.e., is therea place for their technology on one or more technology trees?);

• Gauge the importance of their technology to sustainable developmentgoals (i.e., how prominent a role does the particular technology play inrelation to the driver?);

• Identify competing technologies that occupy the same niche and comparecost and performance;

• Identify unmet needs for technical innovation, (i.e., empty branches).

Entrepreneurs in small and medium size businesses can use technology treesto:

• Identify promising technologies that leapfrog over existing contro lstrategies to incorporate pollution prevention and sustainability;

• Obtain an initial idea of the markets for a particular technology (i.e., byexamining the upstream pro d u c t s , p ro c e s s e s , a c t i v i t i e s , and sectorsaffected);

• Identify technologies competing for a particular niche and select the onewith the most technical, cost, and marketing advantages.

Investors and financiers can use technology trees to:

• Situate a proposed technology relative to market drivers and mandatedgoals;

• Identify competing technologies and evaluate any competitive advantage;

• Identify various potential markets for a technology.

Policy planners can use technology trees to:

• S u rv ey possible technology responses and identify opportunities foraccelerating market penetration;

• Orient government activities–including industrial strategy, science andfiscal policy, re s e a rch and dev e l o p m e n t , e nv i ronmental re g u l a t i o n ,technology tra n s f e r, and tra i n i n g – t o wa rd the technology/businessopportunities that promote sustainable development;

• Identify technologies that merit government support.

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Understand the Four Generations of Environmental Technology

T h e re are four generations of env i ronmental technology, ranging fro mremediation to sustainable. Some technologies can be modified to achieve thenext step along the evolutionary path. The generations illustrate the increasingsophistication of science and society in dealing with environmental problems.This tool can help entrepreneurs understand the risks and opportunitiesrelevant to each generation.

Remediation Technologies

Remediation technologies treat env i ronmental problems after they hav eoccurred and attempt to repair or remediate the damage.They include varioussoil clean up methods, treatment of surface or ground water, and a variety oftechnologies to restore damaged or degraded landscapes (e.g., replantingtailings areas). Remediation technologies are typically very expensive and provethe old adage that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Abatement Technologies

Over the past 30 years many abatement or “end-of-the-pipe”technologies havebeen developed to capture or treat pollutants before they escape into theenvironment. These technologies employ physical, chemical, or biologicalmechanisms to reduce emissions. Such technologies range from municipalsewage treatment systems, to catalytic converters for cars, to heavy metaltreatment for the plating industry, to electrostatic precipitators and flue gasdesulphurization equipment for the smoke stacks of coal-fired power plants.

Generally, these technologies do not prevent or eliminate the pollutant; theym e rely capture or treat the waste stream before it enters the natura lenvironment. Abatement technologies are usually capital and technologyintensive, require significant amounts of energy and resources to operate, andproduce a waste disposal problem of their own.Most regulatory and investmentactivity in the environmental field remains focused on abatement technologies.

Huge industries have developed to serve these markets and billions of dollarshave been spent to purchase and install abatement technologies. Enormousvested interests have slowed the transition to the next generation oftechnologies.

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Pollution Prevention Technologies

Pollution prevention technologies are attracting the interest of regulators,policymakers, and many parts of the private sector. Generally, there are two types ofpollution prevention technologies:

• Improved or alternative industrial and agricultural processes that avoid theproduction of pollutants. These include paper making processes thateliminate chlorine bleaching, cleaning techniques that eliminate toxicsolvents, reformulated manufacturing processes that eliminate the use ofheavy metals and toxic chemicals, and agricultural practices that eliminatethe use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

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Pointof

Generation Application Characteristics Examples

Remediation ◗ Symptoms ◗ After the Fact ◗ SoilTechnologies ◗ Damaged Resources ◗ Costly Remediation

or Environments ◗ Range from Low ◗ Toxic Site CleanupsTech to High Tech ◗ Water

Treatment

Abatement ◗ Pollutant Capture ◗ Captures Or Treats ◗ Flue GasTechnologies or Treatment at Pollutants Before Desulphurization

End-of-pipe Release ◗ Sewage◗ Capital, Treatment

Energy and PlantsResource Intensive ◗ Catalytic

◗ Generates a MufflersWaste Stream

◗ Fairly Costly

Pollution ◗ Industrial Process ◗ Changes Product or ◗ Chlorine-free Paper Prevention Design Process to Reduce ◗ Cyanide-freeTechnologies ◗ Product Design or Prevent Electroplating

or Composition Pollution ◗ Lead-free Gasoline◗ More Cost ◗ Closed-loop

Effective than ManufacturingAbatement

◗ Reduced WasteStream

Sustainable ◗ Alternate Product ◗ Multiple Benefits ◗ Daylight-sensitive,Technologies or Service Environmental/ Efficient Lighting

Economic/Social ◗ Renewable Energy◗ Bio-cosmetics

and Drugs◗ Organic Agriculture

The Four Generations of Environmental Technology

• Alternative products whose use and disposal prevents or reduces pollution.These include phosphate-fre e , b i o d e g radable deterg e n t s , l e a d - f re egasoline, mercury-free batteries, water-based paints and adhesives, andnon-toxic cleansers.

Pollution prevention is being driven by environmental regulation (particularlythe new focus on performance rather than prescription), and by the pressuresof economics, consumer awareness, and the need to modernize industry.Industrial pollution is often caused by outdated and inefficient technologiesthat are material and energy intensive and produce unwanted by-products.Improving and replacing these technologies with more eco-efficient processesgenerally reduces input costs, streamlines production, eliminates or reduceswaste streams, and saves money, at least over the long-term.

On the consumer side, green products help fulfill the growing demand for anenvironmentally friendly lifestyle. When first introduced, green products arefrequently priced somewhat higher than their conventional equivalents, butmarket acceptance and economies of scale often eliminate the price differential.Rising waste disposal costs, especially for hazardous substances, and proposedfiscal reforms, to favour environmentally superior products and tax unwantedpollutants, will increase the economic appeal of green products.

Sustainable Technologies

Because of the need to achieve a combination of environmental, economic, andsocial objectives, the transition to sustainable technologies is becomingimperative, not just for environmental sectors, but for all businesses. Thecharacteristics of these technologies are important enough to warrant their owntool, below.

Understand Sustainable Technologies

Sustainable technologies, and the products and services they provide, are goodsolutions because they produce a number of benefits simultaneously. Theyreduce the need for the environment/economy tradeoffs that characterizeremediation and abatement approaches–principally by capturing the economicadvantages of energy and resource efficiency.

Current examples of sustainable or near-sustainable technologies and productsinclude:

• Daylight-sensitive, efficient lighting products, free of toxics and heavymetals;

• Wood and wood products grown, harvested,and manufactured sustainably;

• Non-bleached, recycled paper with high post-consumer fibre content;

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• Cosmetics and pharmaceuticals made from plant extracts;

• Renewable energy technologies that are cost-effective, cause minimalpollution, and offer sustained yield;

• Heating/cooling technologies that are efficient, low in emissions, based onrenewable energy, and not reliant on CFCs;

• Organically produced agricultural products;

• Bicycles.

Because the concept of sustainable technologies is in its early stages, the toolshould be considered “Mark 1”: it gives new directions, not final answers. Itshould be used to spark new ideas and stretch the imaginations of thosed eveloping processes and pro d u c t s . The concept of “ n ev e r- e n d i n gimprovement”is relevant.

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Low Environmental Impact ◗ Very low or benign emissions to the environment in production, use, disposal

◗ No toxic releases◗ Benefits environment indirectly through its

use and/or inherent efficiency

Resource Efficiency ◗ Efficient utilization of materialresources, often using recycled material

◗ Based on renewable resources and energy (orminimal use of non-renewable resources)

◗ Efficient consumption of energy inproduction and use

◗ Durable, reusable and/or recyclable

Economic Advantages ◗ Economically cost effective compared toconventional product or service

◗ Incorporate externalities in market price◗ Can be financed by the user through various

financial saving streams◗ Improve productivity or competitiveness of

industry and commerce

Social Advantages ◗ Enhance or maintain living standards orquality of life

◗ Readily available and accessible by allclasses and cultures

◗ Consistent with themes of decentralization,individual control and democracy

Characteristics of Sustainable Technologies

Add Sustainable Attributes to Existing Technologies

There are many existing technologies, products, and services to which theattributes of sustainability can be added. A product can be made moresustainable by making it more resource efficient, or more renewable. Theproduct might be made from recycled material,or at least made to be long-livedand recyclable. It might be possible to reduce the toxicity of materials orbyproducts.There may be ways to improve economic benefits from the product,or make it self-financing through creative marketing schemes. There are anumber of ways that products and technologies can be improved to becomemore sustainable and more responsive to regulatory drivers and market forces.

An example is DEJA Inc., which makes shoes out of recycled tires, milk jugs,fabrics and coffee filters.The shoes are assembled with water-based adhesivesand coloured with non-toxic dyes. (See pages 108-109 for more information.)

Convert Defense Technologies

As the military-industrial complex ponders its future in the post-Cold Warp e r i o d , it is discovering green applications for a number of militarytechnologies. The entrepreneur should be aware of the value of “defense”technology: its high development costs have been borne by the military,through taxpayers. The additional cost of conversion to civilian environmentalapplications is often quite reasonable. The combination of high tech and lowmarginal cost can rapidly drive the technology into new markets. Entrepreneursmay want to explore opportunities with defense industry suppliers and relatedlaboratories.

One technology to be successfully converted was developed by General Electricto detect diesel smoke from submarines up to 100 miles away. A group of GEengineers obtained the license from GE,and now use the technology in devicesthat monitor air pollution.In the early 1990s, their company, Environment One,had annual sales of $12 million. Satellite technologies are increasingly beingused to track deforestation, soil erosion, and land use patterns. Propulsionsystems are being converted for electric vehicles and public transit networks.

Watch for the Impact of Technology Leaps or Breakthroughs

E nv i ronmental technologies, like others, often reach a plateau in theirdevelopment cycle, remaining stuck at a certain performance or cost level thatconstrains their ability to penetrate the market. The technical performance —e n e rgy efficiency, e n e rgy output, pollutant capture , e t c . — may be low,rendering the technology uncompetitive in the market. A l t e r n a t i v e l y,p roduction costs may be too high, despite good performance. But ab re a k t h ro u g h , w h a t ever the cause, can suddenly make the technology

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TOOL

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competitive and profitable. Successful entrepreneurs position themselves totake advantage of these breakthroughs.

The most obvious example of this phenomenon is the electronics industry,where ongoing research and development has led to dramatic improvements inperformance/cost ratios. Electronic thermostats, vehicle controls and wattagereducers are some of the new products that have been developed.

Entrepreneurs should be aware of intensive technical work being done in areasrelevant to their interests.

An excellent example in the environmental field is the increasing efficiency (i.e.,power output) and decreasing cost of photovoltaic cells. Once cost-effectiveonly in satellites and solar calculators,photovoltaic cells are now competitive inm a ny remote power situations and, with further dev e l o p m e n t , m ay becompetitive with grid power.

Opportunity Assessment: A Checklist

Entrepreneurs weighing opportunities for investing in sustainable technologieswill want to assess and screen a number of options. While it is not possible tooffer criteria that are, at the same time, all-purpose and highly specific, thefollowing set of qualitative criteria can be used by a broad range of eco-entrepreneurs.

See “Directories”, pages 136-149, for Technology Assistance Organizations.

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Group Criterion Questions/Issues

Importance Relative Environmental ◗ What is the relative environmentaland Resource Impact or resource impact of this

technology compared to current practice?

◗ Is the saving or benefit large comparedto the base technology?

Importance to ◗ How critical is this technology toSustainable achieving targets? Development Goals ◗ Does it have significant competing

technologies?◗ Is it a major player?

State of Phase of ◗ Which generation is the technology?Technology Development (see the Tool “Understanding the Four

Generations of EnvironmentalTechnology”)

◗ How close is the technology tocommercialization?

Timing of ◗ Can it be brought to market in 1 year,Development 3 years, 5 years, 10 years or more?

◗ What does this pace depend on; money,knowledge, other factors?

◗ If the technology is already in aparticular market, how long to transferto a new one?

Scale of Suitability to ◗ Can this technology be developed by aTechnology Small or Medium small or medium sized business?

Sized Enterprises ◗ Is it capital intensive?◗ Is it knowledge intensive?◗ What is the scale of the production

facility required?

Market Cost-effectiveness ◗ Is the technology cost-effective relative tocurrent products/processes?

◗ If not, how close is it?◗ Does it rely on legislation, subsidy or

other external factors to make it competitive?

Market Size ◗ What is the likely size of target markets?◗ What market share can it capture? Based

on what attributes?◗ Can it be marketed effectively overseas?

Market Barriers ◗ What are the major barriers orrequirements for achieving marketpenetration?

◗ Are they likely to be overcome?◗ In whose control are they?

Checklist for Assessing Technology Opportunities

Case Study: Halozone Technologies Inc. Halozone Technologies Inc.4000 Nashua DriveMississauga, ON L4V 1P8 Tel: (905) 405-8200Fax: (905) 405-8333Contact: Dusanka Filipovic, Deputy Chairman

Product/Technology:

• Recovery and Reclamation of Refrigerants

• On-Site Recovery and Reclamation of Halogenated Hydrocarbons

• Thermco Terminator

Applications

• Recovery of refrigerant from small volume applications such as householdrefrigeration and residential and automotive air conditioners. In largerapplications, the system is used in conjunction with existing equipment torecover residual refrigerants. Reclamation of refrigerants to ARI-700-93specifications is performed at the Halozone Reclamation Facility.

• On-site recovery and reclamation of:

– CFCs used as solvents and cleaning agents – methyl bromide when used as an agricultural produce fumigant

• Thermco Terminator is an internal secondary condenser applied to theliquid refrigerant lines of large scale refrigeration and air-conditioningsystems. It improves the thermodynamic efficiency of large refrigerationsystems, leading to reduced refrigerant use, improved energy efficiency,lower maintenance costs, and fewer leaks.

Status

• Commercial scale production is now in place. The Halozone ReclamationFacility has received the necessary Certificate of Approval from the OntarioMinistry of Environment and Energy. A full line of products has beendeveloped taking advantage of the Halozone Blue Bottle® technology.

• On-Site Units are being commercially demonstrated.

• The Terminator is in commercial production and is in service in fourcountries with over 5,000 units installed. One of the biggest customers inCanada is Loblaw Companies, Ltd., the grocery store chain. Some 50 storeshave purchased 100 Terminators each to help slash air-conditioning and in-store refrigeration costs.

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Product/Technology Profile

• The use of adsorption and zeolite filters in Halozone Recy c l i n gIncorporated's patent-protected (proprietary) Blue Bottle® technology ishelping the refrigeration and air conditioning industry meet MontrealProtocol targets and local government regulations.

The key to the Blue Bottle technology is a synthetic zeolite (Halozite™)which selectively adsorbs halogenated hydrocarbons. Halozone's BlueBottle system eliminates virtually all emissions of refrigerant in a widevariety of processes including routine purging of low pressure centrifugalchillers and during service and decommissioning of air conditioning andrefrigeration equipment. Adsorption is a phenomenon where moleculesconcentrate on a solid surface without any chemical change. Adsorptiontakes place due to unsatisfied forces in a surface that attract and hold themolecules on the surface. The Halozite inside the Blue Bottle cylinder actsas a selective molecular sieve, and therefore only refrigerant is captured. Noother compounds adhere to the Halozite. Refrigerant gases are captured atambient temperatures, and the capture occurs under atmospheric pressure;that important feature eliminates the need for special, p re s s u r i z e dtransportation vehicles and licensing.

Once a Blue Bottle cylinder has been charged with refrigerant, it is sent toHalozone's central reclamation facility outside of Toronto, where thecaptured refrigerant is reclaimed without chemical breakdown. Thesereclaimed refrigerants are returned to industry standard specifications(ARI-700-93) before being transferred to certified storage containers. TheHalozite adsorbent is regenerated and the Blue Bottle cylinders are sentback out to the field for reuse.

By reclaiming CFCs, Halozone's technology allows users to operate theirrefrigeration and air conditioning equipment until the end of its useful life,thus deferring the expense of conversion to alternative chemicals or coolingprocesses.

• On-site applications are turn-key recovery systems that effectively capture,recover and reprocess dilute emissions in industrial settings. In some cases,the end product is returned directly to the industrial process without furtherpurification. These industrial uses of halogenated hydrocarbons includeCFCs used as solvents and cleaners, the fumigation gas — methyl bromide,and the fire retardant — halon.

• The Thermco Terminator technology can improve the efficiency of thecondenser and evaporator in certain commercial refrigeration systems,permitting lower energy consumption by the compressor motor.Integrating the Terminator technology in a refrigeration system can lower

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the operating pressure and reduce the amount of refrigerant needed by upto 40 percent.The excess refrigerant can then be reclaimed and either soldor stored for future use.

Company Profile

Halozone Technologies Inc.is a public company on the Toronto Stock Exchangetraded under the symbol "HLZ." The Blue Bottle technology is licensedexclusively to Halozone by Praxair (formerly the Linde Division of UnionCarbide Canada Inc.). Halozone's Deputy Chairman,Dusanka Filipovic, P.Eng.,was the Linde Division's manager of new business development and is the co-inventor of the Blue Bottle technology, developed between 1986 and 1990. In1991 Filipovic left Linde to found Halozone.

Halozone has three distinct marketing and sales divisions:

• The Refrigerant Division whose mandate is to capture, reclaim and sellrefrigerants,

• The On-Site Division, whose products are on-site, turn-key recoverysystems, and

• The Thermco Canada Division, offering technologies such as theTe r m i n a t o r. These technologies improve operating efficiencies whererefrigeration costs are a significant percentage of total energy costs and therefrigeration units are under heavy load and in continuous use. Thisoperating environment is commonly found in the food processing, retailand warehousing sectors.

Source of Technology

• The Blue Bottle technology was developed by the Linde Division of UnionCarbide (now Praxair Canada Inc.). Union Carbide does not manufactureor market CFC products, nor is it involved in the recycling sector. Thecompany decided to license the technology in order to commercialize itrapidly. As co-inventor and a Union Carbide executive, Ms. Filipovic wasthe obvious choice as licensee. The main component, Halozite, is apatented modification of the adsorbent zeolite.

• Full scale, commercial, on-site recovery units have been designed anddeveloped with the assistance of M&W, a U.S. engineering firm.

• In 1989, Thermco entered into a partnership with the patent holder andinventor, Jerry Nivens of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.The inventorhas remained involved with Thermco and is assisting in continued productdevelopment.

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Development

• The full scale, commercial reclamation facility in Mississauga, Ontario,became fully certified and operational in 1994. Additional Blue Bottletechnology applications are being developed that are effective and easy touse by re f r i g e ration and air conditioning service technicians andcontractors.

• Development of on-site units continues to address different customerneeds.

• Thermco has recently developed a new, patent-pending technology calledthe Fluid Thermal Loop. The technology allows inexpensive glycol toreplace CFC-based gases in large refrigeration units. An innovative heatexchange process eliminates the need for traditional roof top condenserswhile providing free hot water and heating to customers.

Performance

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tests have certified that the BlueBottle technology exceeds standards for small volume applications. Ascientific evaluation was conducted by ORTECH International Inc.,following which Dusanka Filipovic won two engineering awards. TheHalozone Reclamation Facility meets required ARI-700-93 specificationsfor reclaimed refrigerant.

• The first commercial demonstration of the methyl bromide on-site unit wasconducted in cooperation with Stemilt Growers, a major U.S. fruit exporterthat uses 10,000 to 20,000 pounds of methyl bromide each year, and theU.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The on-site unit removed 95percent of the airborne methyl bromide fumigant with a recovery efficiencyof close to 100 percent. Subsequent USDA and Stemilt analysis of themethyl bromide recondensed by the on-site system revealed virgin puritylevels.

• The benefits of installing the Terminator technology include reduced energycosts of up to 22 percent, and reduced refrigerant use of up to 30 percent inexisting units and up to 40 percent in new facilities designed to use thetechnology. Performance tests were conducted by H.H.Angus & Associatesand the Canadian National Research Council.

Financing Strategy

Halozone is financed by public and private capital investment and governmentgrants. Equity funding of approximately $13.5 million has been raised, and theOntario Government, Ministry of Environment and Energy, is contributing$900,000 in grants over three years. In addition, Halozone is receiving $2.5

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million from Canada's Env i ronmental Technologies Commerc i a l i z a t i o nProgram, part of the Green Plan. Halozone's strategy is to proceed withcommercialization, sub-licensing, royalties and joint venture partnerships.

Marketing Strategy

Marketing is local and global, and is largely fueled by refrigerant and methylbromide regulations. In addition to the products, services and programsmentioned previously, Halozone will install scaled-up or scaled-down versionsof its Toronto reclamation facility — along with accompanying products andservices — in other geographic locations.

Thermco continues to pursue a "pay-back" strategy in selling its Terminatortechnology. The overall package is designed to either reduce long-term costs orgenerate revenue for the client, and to allow for self-financed conversion toCFC alternatives. This is made possible by Thermco's Refrigerant BankingSystem. Excess refrigerant, fully recovered with the Blue Bottle, may either bebanked for later use by the client or continually sold and recycled in domesticand international markets with the client receiving dividend payments, almostas a shareholder. Client savings, or revenue streams, are expected to rise as CFCproduction is phased out internationally and the price of CFC refrigerantscontinues to increase.

Halozone Technologies Inc. has developed and commercialized a family ofcomplementary products and services designed to recover, recycle, and reducethe use of ozone damaging chemicals. Sales packages, tailored to the needs ofthe specific end customer, may incorporate one or more of the technologies andservices offered by the company. Total system recovery of liquid and gaseousCFCs, halons, and methyl bromide is available on-site to capture diluteemissions, or to provide an alternative to venting during system repairs,retrofits, and conversions. The reclamation facility brings recycled refrigerantsup to industry standards and re g e n e rates the capture equipment. T h eTerminator and other Thermco technologies reduce the use of CFC refrigerants,while simultaneously trimming energy and maintenance costs.

As CFC emission regulations continue to become more restrictive in Canadaand internationally, Halozone's Blue Bottle technology, On-Site recovery units,and Thermco Division technologies are well positioned to assist numerousbusiness sectors to comply with the Montreal Protocol.

Key Lessons Learned

• A changing, but pre d i c t a b l e , re g u l a t o ry env i ronment provides anopportunity to offer new technologies as they are required.

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• Establishing a small company with proprietary, environmentally soundtechnology can lead to rapid technical and business development.

• Partial government financing at a crucial stage can help significantly and actas an endorsement of the product and company.

• When introducing new environmentally sound technologies into a matureindustry, partners and third-party endorsements are useful in overcomingentrenched attitudes.

• Acquisition can be an effective means of expanding and complementingexisting technology, products, and customer sets.

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Raising Money for Sustainable

Enterprises

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RAISING MONEY FOR SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISES

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The EarthEnterprise™ Project’s Sustainable Capital stream is designed tohelp entrepreneurs obtain investment and financing for their companies.

This section of the Tool Kit advises entrepreneurs on improving their capacity toseek capital. Second, it informs entrepreneurs about a number of key sourceswell disposed toward investing in green and sustainable enterprises. It assumesthe reader has some experience in business finance and, if not, will seek basicresource materials and qualified financial advisors.

Businesses the world over are built on the pillars of human ingenuity, hardwork, demand for products and services, and money.

The growth of sustainable enterprises in Canada, the United States, Mexico andelsewhere requires an infusion of finance and investment — debt and equity.However, because the concept of sustainable enterprise is relatively new andinnovative, securing the necessary funding from conservative capital markets isfrequently a challenge.

The relative unpredictability of environmental business sectors has led NorthAmerican lenders and investors to focus on risk and liability avoidance.Although some investors have recently added positive environmental or socialscreens to their evaluations, these organizations and individuals are primarily inthe secondary or stock markets, and are not particularly relevant for investingin small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Environmentally sustainable enterprises must also improve their financialperformance if sufficient new capital is to be attracted to the market.

Sustainability adds value in terms of the economic, environmental and socialobjectives of communities and nations. This thinking translates the concept ofsustainability into language that the average businessperson comprehends andworks with every day. The business that does not add value to a product orservice will be forced to leave the market place, especially in today’s increasinglycompetitive global economy. Taking a proactive view of the environment makesit possible to envision how productive activity not only protects or maintainsthe world’s natural resources, but actually improves the quality and quantity ofscarce resources for future generations.

The Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) calls eco-efficiencya requirement of sustainable business. Eco-efficient activities bring lower costsand economic gain, which is attractive to capital markets. Companies becomingeco-efficient, as well as those supplying the technology, goods,and services thatenable the transition, will benefit.

Some investors are beginning to recognize that non-sustainable practices affectperformance. New York City Comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman, declared that:

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As the emerging owner of corporate America, with a financial and futurestake in corporate activity, pension funds have an obligation to speak up. Poormanagement decisions, sloppy stewardship of natural resources, inattentionto the consequences of wasteful and hazardous production practices, canshrink the present return on our investments, and — a more soberingprospect — diminish our world.

New York City public workers’ pension funds are already invested in a fewenvironmentally sensitive companies, including 47 small enterprises that havedemonstrated their ability to operate sustainably.

Sustainable enterprises offer new opportunities through which investors andentrepreneurs can find common ground, at least after undergoing a transitionprocess. For investors, the transition will involve developing a long-terminvestment orientation and strategy and an appreciation of opportunities insustainable companies and markets. E n t re p reneurs will have to dev e l o pcommercially attractive, sustainable enterprise opportunities and offerings andknow how to gain access to investors disposed to this type of market.

The Unique Features of Sustainable Investment

Sustainable investment is a new concept, basically an innovative way ofreconciling environmental preservation and social responsibility with economicactivity and then adding value to all. It is not radical, but conserving; notunrealistic, but profoundly practical. Sustainable investment is a sophisticatedway of shifting capital to companies (particularly SMEs) that are smart enoughto position themselves to create and take advantage of opportunities arisingfrom the new economic paradigm.

Sustainable investment is the same as traditional investment in that:

• It is placed in companies that do the fundamentals well. G ro w t hprojections are based on sound management and business principles.Business plans and investment offerings have all the t’s crossed and all thei’s dotted.

Sustainable investment is placed in SMEs that:

• Have identified and developed emerging markets for their products andservices;

• D evise and market technologies (hard and soft) that meet pre s s i n genvironmental, social and economic needs;

• Use every environmental efficiency that is economically viable.

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Sustainable investment is different from traditional investment in that:

• Money will come first from investors who share an understanding of thenew economic paradigm of sustainability.

As the sector shows the ability to generate competitive returns, more investorswill be attracted to sustainable enterprises.

The challenge for sustainable entrepreneurs is to appreciate the distinct featuresof sustainable investment and understand what they mean to businessplanning and efforts to attract capital.

Get the Fundamentals Right to Approach Capital Markets

Because of their limited internal resources and size, and as a result of the capitalmarket’s bias in favour of large companies and investments, SMEs, includingthose that are sustainable, are in a weak position when seeking financing andinvestment.

Sustainable entrepreneurs have to be prepared to change the way they plan andcarry on business, and how they seek capital.They have to go to the investment“mountain”, and not expect it to come to them.

Checklist

• Ensure that the return/risk ratio (as judged by possible investors) iscompetitive with other potential investments. Sustainable entrepreneurscannot expect concessional or “soft”consideration by lenders and investors.Thoroughly examine the target markets and ensure that there is adequate,genuine demand for the product. Technologies, goods and services do notcreate markets. Sustainable entrepreneurs need to be more adept thanothers at responding to and planning for market demand. At times, new orgrowing sustainable enterprises can shape or increase the size of a market,but it is folly to attempt to make a business fly in the absence of existingdemand.

• Devote the time, money, and enthusiasm needed to educate potentiali nvestors and capital markets about the emerging opportunities forenvironmentally sustainable enterprises in North America and globally.

• Do a first-rate business plan and offering. The challenge of seeking capitalfor sustainable SMEs requires that business planning and investmentofferings are virtually perfect in form, content and presentation. While theneed is technical in part, it may also raise questions about the very productsor services the company intends to produce, and the markets it hasi d e n t i f i e d . In other wo rd s , if the sustainable entre p reneur cannotsuccessfully present a first-class offering to capital markets, he or she may

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need to question whether the intended product or service is a winner. Anyprofessional skill brought to bear on the task can be considered money wellspent.

• Target your sources of financing and investment. As an entrepreneur, youshould know which sources of financing and investment are more disposedto venturing into environmentally and socially sustainable markets. Putthem on the “A”list. Entrepreneurs are often at a loss to know where thesesources are, and which ones are warmly disposed to the products andservices their company produces, and/or the markets they are pursuing.This information is vitally important and difficult to obtain, and ispresented in the “Directories”on pages 150-170.

Jump Over Perception Barriers

If lenders, investors, and sustainable entrepreneurs are to do business together,they must have a shared perception about each others’interests and practices.

Most environmental companies seem to know little about the investmentcommunity. Some aren’t aware of the difference between debt and equity and,in the case of debt, fail to understand that banks and other lenders are riskaverse and will not lend unless fully secured.

An Investor

Financial institutions are not the favorite organizations for the SME. Manycompanies have horror stories about unsympathetic and arbitrary loanmanagers, staff changes, credit lines slashed or pulled, loans called, andintentions misunderstood.

An Environmental Entrepreneur

Investors seem to believe that sustainable or environmental entrepreneurs:

• Lack knowledge about the realities of capital markets;

• Use financing and investment rationales that emphasize societal oremotional appeals rather than straight business thinking;

• Do not understand the investor’s interests, especially with respect toprotecting the investment.

On the other hand, entrepreneurs believe investors:

• Are completely uninterested in sharing risk or being partners in theirenterprises;

• Lack appreciation for emerging markets;

• Don’t take the time to listen.

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These perceptions by both sides, whether or not they are compatible withreality, are an obstacle to placing and obtaining capital.

Leaping perceptual barriers requires an appreciation of investor interests. Thisenables the entrepreneur to markedly improve any presentations made tocapital markets and enhances the likelihood of success.

Business Planning for Sustainable Enterprises

While much of the advice in this section is applicable to all businesses, theinnovative nature of sustainable enterprises makes paying attention to thebasics even more important.

An integrated financial strategy and product/service commercialization targetsare required business planning. Among the “musts”are:

• A clear, tightly written statement of purpose;

• A well-defined sense of where the company should be in one, two and fiveyears;

• Defining features of the business;

• A thorough description of the market, including necessary market researchand analysis.This will also involve an evaluation of competitors in the sameand related markets;

• Details of the production, distribution and sales systems;

• Development plans for a management team which fills all the roles neededto convert the business opportunity identified into a commercial success;

• Precise costing and pricing, including source costing, internal budgetingand pricing for the market place;

• Detailed cash flow and financial projections over a three- to five-yearperiod;

• A description of planned financing vehicles and the structure of theinvestment offering.

The entrepreneur will also need to attract various advisors (board members andexperts) and enter into a range of agreements with individuals and otherorganizations (e.g., suppliers, sales agents, brokers etc.) that round out thefirm’s capacity to seek capital and achieve the enterprise’s business plan.

The sustainable enterprise that does not adhere to the tried and true rules ofbusiness planning will find it nearly impossible to obtain funds from capitalmarkets.

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Some of the business planning aspects unique to sustainable enterprises areaddressed in the following sections on Markets, Technology and Operations.

Markets

Markets for sustainable enterprises (env i ronmental and otherwise) arerelatively new and, in many cases, nascent. Many are also global.To reassure theinvestor that markets for the products/services exist or can be developedsuccessfully, entrepreneurs should:

• Be able to describe and document existing markets for theirproducts/services and how these markets will grow in the future. Trendprojections are very important.

• Explain how they will enter the global market place (perhaps throughtargeted markets) to create economies of scale. This may involve alliancesand joint ventures with other firms.

• Incorporate into their business plans marketing activities that will nurturethe market and help it grow.

Technology

The environmental problems that confront the world, from climate change totoxic waste to ozone depletion, a re sometimes directly addressed bytechnological solutions offered by sustainable enterprises. This fact must becommunicated to investors. Capital markets are generally not well informedabout the scale of environmental degradation and such drivers as globale nv i ronmental agre e m e n t s . (See the Business Opportunities in SustainableTechnology chapter.) The economic benefits of technologies such as wind turbines,which are rapidly becoming more competitive, a re not well known to inv e s t o r s .

Sustainable entrepreneurs should:

• Clearly link their technologies and the market potential for their productsor services to existing environmental problems and note these relationshipsin their business plans.The technology trees, on pages 50-55 can help;

• Quantify the environmental and cost savings their technologies can offercustomers;

• Identify the ways their technologies reduce environmental liability andcreate a cleaner environmental profile for their customers.

The sustainable entrepreneur will find technology a powerful card to play whenseeking investment. It has two potentially strong suits:

• When the technology’s key selling feature is cost savings, the investorreadily understands and appreciates the potential demand and return;

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• When there is an opportunity to finance “first on the street”technology, theinvestor may appreciate getting first dibs.

Operations

The sustainable enterprise respects the environment by minimizing energy andmaterials use and by reducing waste generation. These practices reduce thefirm’s operating costs and liability exposure.

Sustainable entre p reneurs should emphasize these advantages in theirbusiness plans by:

• Highlighting the cost reductions, in budgets and cash flow, that areachieved by employing responsible environmental practices;

• Noting practices that will insulate the company against future cost increases(e.g., waste disposal levies or oil prices);

• Explaining that liability risks are reduced by responsible environmentalpractices.

The nub of the message is that sustainable entrepreneurs can place themselvesin a stronger position to raise capital by ensuring that their business planshighlight and incorporate the emerging markets from which the business willp ro f i t , the technological solutions the company offers to env i ro n m e n t a lproblems, and the sustainable manner in which the company operates.

Tips on Preparing the Investment Offering

Much of the advice here applies to all SMEs seeking capital. It is includedbecause of the importance of preparing a good investment “offering”.

The offering is the final piece the SME puts before inv e s t o r s . M a nyentrepreneurs do not appreciate the relative complexity of even a basic offering.A well thought out and structured offering reassures potential lenders andinvestors that the SME knows what it is doing and understands the interests ofcapital markets.

By far the largest proportion of SME offerings are private placements. In thisfield, investment bankers, small business fund managers, venture capitalists,socially responsible investors and high net worth individuals known as“angels”, are the most important. (The interests of other types of investors willbe addressed later.)

There are certain essential elements in any investment offering. It must beconsistent with the SME’s business planning, notably its financial (includingcash flow and return) projections.The business plan is the foundation on which

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the investment offering is built. Some companies choose to include it in theirofferings.

The investment offering should be structured to keep open the possibility ofparticipation by a wide range of investors and lenders. Cast the net wide to seewhat you can catch, but at the same time go fishing in specific ponds.

Investment offerings are often written principally for investors but should caterto both lending and investment sources. Covering both debt and equity sourcesbuilds an ideal financial base for pursuing business objectives. The offeringshould involve various instruments, including senior debt, s u b o rd i n a t e ddebentures, preferred stock and common stock. (Refer to a business financetext or other resource book for information about these instruments.) Each hasdifferent properties, making it necessary to select carefully to ensure theinstrument matches the financial and operating requirements of the enterprise.The offering should also be flexible, and the entrepreneur should be preparedto negotiate with potential lenders and investors.

The offering should be strong on fundamental economic issues such as: areasonable rate of return, tax considerations, liquidity or exit provisions,controlling company interests and risk minimization.

Identify Potential Investors and Types of Financing

The following list of North American investment and financing sources is by nomeans exhaustive. It includes a key group of investors and lenders interested inplacing funds in environmental enterprises, who may also have an interest insustainability. The suggestions are doors into the world of investors andlenders: a world that is often intimidating and threatening to the SMEunfamiliar with capital markets.

In certain cases, the company identified is not the direct source of funds, but isa broker or intermediary active in the private placement market forenvironmental enterprises. The list of government sources has been kept to aminimum because there are other directories that describe them.

Financing comes in many different forms. SMEs must decide which type isdesired and then approach the appropriate source. Financing instruments toconsider include working capital, leasing,project financing, long and short termdebt financing, and equity financing. The sources listed at the end of thissection provide these types of financing.

As entrepreneurs are well aware, there are a number of different types ofinvestors. They include commercial banks such as Bankers Trust, leasingcompanies like Bank of Boston, mutual and other funds such as the Crocus

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I nvestment Fund, socially responsible investors like the Calvert Gro u p,investment bankers such as ScotiaMcLeod,and export financiers like the ExportDevelopment Corporation. Venture capitalists, strategic investors that use theirown corporate equity to invest in other companies, community loan funds andgovernment investment agencies, such as the Federal Business DevelopmentBank, are also sources to consider.

Each type of investor has different interests. Some focus on debt instrumentsand others on equity. Their requirements for guarantees or security vary, as dothe rates of return they seek, their degree of involvement in the companies inwhich they invest, and how they realize their return.

It is preferable for an enterprise seeking capital to receive it from a number ofdifferent sources. This allows a match between debt and equity raised andbusiness requirements, and generally increases the likelihood of meetingfinancing targets. While banks and other sources of debt financing willundoubtedly be important, certain sources of equity financing are absolutelycrucial to successfully capitalizing a SME.

Venture capitalists are often criticized as being tough on SMEs, but their risk orventure orientation makes them desirable sources of investment. Venturecapitalists look for growth-oriented companies and often provide sorely neededfinancial leadership to young firms.

High net-worth individuals (“angels”) are good sources, especially for earlystage financing. In North America, angels are becoming more common,particularly as the older third of the population enjoys a higher level ofa f f l u e n c e . SMEs should approach these individuals through accountants,lawyers, investment advisors, and other professionals. Angels tend to invest intheir own communities or areas of expertise and can add greatly to a firm’smanagement capacity.

Investment bankers manage their own equity or the funds of others, and oftenhave a strategic interest or area of specialty. They also bring enterprises tocapital markets for additional investment.

General and mutual funds seldom invest in SMEs. They tend to stick tosecondary markets — stocks and bonds. Some fund managers, however, dofocus on small and/or sustainable businesses.Socially responsible investors alsotend to stay in secondary capital markets but sometimes create specific fundsfor SMEs. These funds are usually included in an internal portfolio or directedby an independent manager.

Strategic investors are a largely unknown source of capital for SMEs. Certainlarger (and some mid-sized) companies invest their equity in SMEs in order to

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access new technology or research and development projects. Others do so tointegrate their companies horizontally or vertically.

Engage a Financial Advisor

As noted earlier, the SME should integrate the investment offering directly intooverall strategic efforts and business planning. Most entrepreneurs do not dothis, however, because their area of expertise is generally in research anddevelopment, marketing, or production, rather than in finance. Because the in-house (or board member) financial advisor is rare, the SME is wise to seek theassistance of an outside expert.

Financial advisors can lead the company’s financial strategy and integrate thestructuring of investment offerings into business planning. Financial advisorsare both strategists and doers. They are part of the senior management andstrategy team, and can present the business plan and offering to potentialinvestors. The best place to find a financial advisor is through investmentbankers and venture capitalists, who often provide advisory services.

See “Directories”, pages 150-170, for Sources of Capital.

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ADOPTING NEW BUSINESS PRACTICES AND

RELATIONSHIPS

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ADOPTING NEW BUSINESS PRACTICES AND RELATIONSHIPS

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Businesses committed to promoting and profiting from the transition tosustainable development often have a longer time horizon and a broader set

of goals than traditional companies. Typically, they are unsatisfied with thestatus quo and want to operate in a socially responsible manner, as well asprotect and enhance the integrity of complex ecosystems.They value the well-being of employees, societies, traditional cultures and future generations.Theycannot afford to ignore short-term cash flow, but their own definition of successis more sophisticated and includes a range of long-term objectives.

Often, founders of these companies have a well-articulated set of goals andprinciples that guide the business and help to instill the same values andobjectives in employees. By declaring their goals publicly they may inspire trust,create a model for their industries, and provide a benchmark by which actualachievement can be measured. Smaller companies, which are often at adisadvantage when recruiting employees, can attract creative and talented staffby offering workplaces that are more participatory, have greater sensitivity towork and family issues, share more of the wealth, offer more fun, andencourage more trust between management and employees.

This broader vision of success requires new business tools, practices andrelationships.Changing the world does not happen in isolation and the numberof organizations willing to help may come as a surprise. Being receptive to newideas and suggestions opens the door to an array of opportunities that wouldotherwise pass you by.

North America is in the midst of profound social change. Looking out strictlyfor number one, shopping until you drop, and dominating the natural world areno longer viewed as worthy aspirations by many members of society. A largeshare of the workforce complains of burnout and lack of job satisfaction.Protecting the planet, promoting the health and well-being of employees andcommunities,and enjoying some good natured fun together enables companiesto bring meaning and gratification back to the workplace. This section of theTool Kit is designed to provide you with the means to prosper during the ’90s— “the decency decade”. The current focus on environment, empowerment,education, enjoyment and ethics is not likely to be a passing fad. People arefinally waking up to the need for workplaces that protect our environment, oursocial well-being, and our future.

Internal ConsistencyEnsuring that the values of sustainable development permeate throughout thecompany, from CEO to purchasing agent to distribution and marketing usuallystarts at the CEO’s office.The best intentions are meaningless, however, if theyreside in the head of only one individual in the company. Forming or changing

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a company’s culture and outlook requires contributions and efforts fromeveryone, working as a team.

Prepare a Mission Statement

A mission statement is a clearly articulated declaration of the goals, principlesand operating procedures of a company. It will vary from one company to thenext, depending on the nature of the enterprise, and can be instrumental incharting a company’s course. Best issued from a firmly committed CEO, themission statement should be distributed to all employees and stre s s e drepeatedly. If employees know that performance will be measured against thestated goals, and are given the resources to achieve them, the missionstatement will be taken seriously.

The CERES Principles, issued by the Coalition for Environmentally ResponsibleEconomies, are a good source of ideas for your mission statement. Drafted by acoalition of socially responsible companies, i nvestment firms, a n denvironmental groups, the principles offer guidance and a set of high standardsagainst which companies can measure themselves.

The ten principles commit companies to protecting the earth, using energy andresources wisely and sustainably, minimizing waste, and selling safe productsand services. Signatories back up their commitment by pledging to reduce risk,disclose hazards and compensate for damages.They also agree to provide high-level management support for environmental activities and to gather anddisseminate information about their env i ronmental performance, b o t hinternally and externally.

Although stringent, the principles have been adopted by 80 companies inindustries ranging from finance to footwear. In February 1993, t h ePhiladelphia-based Sun Company, the twelfth largest U.S. oil business,becamethe first Fortune 500 company to sign the principles. Four additional Fortune500 companies had signed on as of September 1994. They are H.B. Fuller,General Motors, Arizona Public Service, and Polaroid. Many small firms havealso decided to adhere to the principles.

Evaluating the mission statements and business practices adopted by theleading firms in your own or similar industries is another way to gainperspective on your objectives. Innovative companies are often happy to sharetheir mission statements. Many of these firms hope that they will be able topersuade entire industries to embrace and adopt their goals.

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The CERES Principles (Formerly the Valdez Principles)

Introduction

By adopting these Principles, we publicly affirm our belief that corporationshave a responsibility for the environment, and must conduct all aspects of theirbusiness as responsible stewards of the environment by operating in a mannerthat protects the Earth. We believe that corporations must not compromise theability of future generations to sustain themselves.

We will update our practices constantly in light of advances in technology andnew understandings in health and environmental science. In collaboration withCERES, we will promote a dynamic process to ensure that the Principles arei n t e r p reted in a way that accommodates changing technologies andenvironmental realities. We intend to make consistent, measurable progress inimplementing these Principles and to apply them to all aspects of ouroperations throughout the world.

Protection of the Biosphere

We will reduce and make continual progress toward eliminating the release ofany substance that may cause environmental damage to the air, water, or theearth or its inhabitants.We will safeguard all habitats affected by our operationsand will protect open spaces and wilderness, while preserving biodiversity.

Sustainable Use of Natural Resources

We will make sustainable use of renewable natural resources, such as water,soils and forests. We will conserve nonrenewable natural resources throughefficient use and careful planning.

Reduction and Disposal of Wastes

We will reduce and where possible eliminate waste through source reductionand recycling. All waste will be handled and disposed of through safe andresponsible methods.

Energy Conservation

We will conserve energy and improve the energy efficiency of our internaloperations and of the goods and services we sell. We will make every effort touse environmentally safe and sustainable energy sources.

Risk Reduction

We will strive to minimize the environmental, health and safety risks to oure m p l oyees and the communities in which we operate through safe

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technologies, facilities and operating procedures, and by being prepared foremergencies.

Safe Products and Services

We will reduce and where possible eliminate the use, manufacture or sale ofproducts and services that cause environmental damage or health or safetyhazards. We will inform our customers of the environmental impacts of ourproducts or services and try to correct unsafe use.

Environmental Restoration

We will promptly and responsibly correct conditions we have caused thatendanger health, safety or the environment. To the extent feasible, we willredress injuries we have caused to persons or damage we have caused to theenvironment and will restore the environment.

Informing the Public

We will inform in a timely manner everyone who may be affected by conditionscaused by our company that might endanger health, safety or the environment.We will regularly seek advice and counsel through dialogue with persons incommunities near our facilities. We will not take any action against employeesfor reporting dangerous incidents or conditions to management or toappropriate authorities.

Management Commitment

We will implement these Principles and sustain a process that ensures that theBoard of Directors and Chief Executive Officer are fully informed aboutpertinent environmental issues and are fully responsible for environmentalpolicy. In selecting our Board of Directors, we will consider demonstratedenvironmental commitment as a factor.

Audits and Reports

We will conduct an annual self-evaluation of our progress in implementingthese Principles. We will support the timely creation of generally acceptedenvironmental audit procedures.We will annually complete the CERES Report,which will be made available to the public.

Disclaimer

These Principles establish an environmental ethic with criteria by which investors and others canassess the environmental performance of companies.Companies that sign these Principles pledge togo voluntarily beyond the requirements of the law.

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These Principles are not intended to create new legal liabilities,expand existing rights or obligations,waive legal defenses, or otherwise affect the legal position of any signatory company, and are notintended to be used against a signatory in any legal proceeding for any purpose.

This amended version of the CERES Principles was adopted by the CERES Board of Directors onApril 28, 1992.

Companies That Have Adopted the Ceres Principles

Ally Capital Corporation – Equipment FinanceArizona Public Service Company – Electric UtilityAtlantic Recycled Paper Company – Recycled Paper ProductsAurora Press – PublishingAveda Corporation – Personal Care Products

B & B Publishing – PublishingThe Beamery, Inc. – Timber Frame HomesBellcomb Technologies, Inc. – Structural Building PanelsBen & Jerry’s Homemade – Ice Cream ProductsBestmann Green Systems, Inc. – Bioengineering

The Body Shop International – Personal Care ProductsThe Bullitt Foundation – PhilanthropyC-A-P-D Consultants, Inc. – Environmental ConsultingCalvert Group – Financial ServicesCalvert Social Investment Fund – Social Investing

Clivus Multrum, Inc. – Waste ProcessingCommunity Capital Bank – BankingConsumers United Group – Community DevelopmentCo-op America – Social InvestingCouncil on Economic Priorities – Social Research

Coyote Found Candles, Inc. – CandlesCrib Diaper Service – Diaper ServicesCyclean, Inc. – Asphalt RecyclingDEJA, Inc. – Recycled FootwearDomino’s Pizza Distribution Corporation – Food Distribution

Donat/Wald Company – MarketingEarth Action Network – PublishingEarth Care Paper Company – Recycled Paper ProductsEarth Communications, Inc. – Telecommunications ServicesEarthrise Trading Company – Nutritional Products

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Eco-Invest Publishing, Ltd. – Investment PublishingEco-Logical Marketing – MarketingEcoprint – PrintingEnvironmental Risk – Consulting

& Loss Control, Inc.Esalen Institute – Education

Falcon Partners Management, L.P. – InvestmentFirst Affirmative Financial Network – Social InvestingFranklin Research & Development – Social Investing

CorporationGeneral Motors Corporation – AutomotiveGeo. W. King Company – Printing, Advertising

Global Environmental Technologies – Water PurificationGreenworld Products Corporation – Lawn & GardenHarrington Investments – Social InvestingHarwood Products Company – Lumber ProductsH.B. Fuller Company – Specialty Chemicals

The JG Press – PublishingIndian Foods Company – Food ProductsLecTec Corporation – Medical ProductsLouisville & Jefferson Metropolitan – Sanitation

Sewer DistrictNatural World, Inc. – Personal Care & Home

Nature’s Fresh Northwest – Natural Foods ChainNew Heights Schools – EducationOil Mining Energy Corporation – Residual Oil RecoveryPacific Partners International Investments – InvestingPaper Service, Ltd. – Recycled Paper Products

Parson Capital Management – Financial ServicesPerformance Computer Forms – Recycled Paper ProductsPhoenix Heat Treating, Inc. – Heat TreatingPolaroid Corporation – ImagingProgressive Asset Management – Social Investing

Real Goods Trading Corporation – Mail Order DistributionRecycled Paper Company – Paper Distribution, PrintingRinger Corporation – Lawn & GardenService Litho-Print – PrintingSeventh Generation – Mail Order Distribution

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Smith & Hawken – Mail Order DistributionSource Solutions Group – Financial ServicesStonyfield Farm Yogurt – YogurtSullivan & Worcester – Legal ServicesThe Summit Group – Marketing

Sun Company, Inc. – PetroleumThe Timberland Company – Outdoor ClothingTom’s of Maine – Personal CareTown Creek Industries – Electric Vehicle ResearchTree-Free EcoPaper – Paper Products

United States Trust Company of Boston – Banking & InvestingVanCity Savings Credit Union – BankingWalnut Acres – Organic FarmingThe WATER Foundation – Radio ProgrammingCounty of Westchester, NewYork – Municipal Government

For further information contact Judy Kuszewski, Coalition for EnvironmentallyResponsible Economies (CERES), 711 Atlantic Ave., 5th Floor, Boston, MA,02111. Telephone: (617) 451-0927, Fax: (617) 482-2028.

Measure and Report on Your Progress and Performance

Internal and external communictions and seminars can report on companyprogress in achieving social, financial and environmental goals. By developingbenchmarks against which to measure progress, and reporting on successesand failures, companies reinforce their commitment to stated objectives andalert employees and other stakeholders to areas where additional effort isneeded. Just as financial reports help employees focus on cutting costs andmaximizing return on investment, environmental and social reports — andaudits — also sharpen company focus.

A growing number of large corporations are starting to issue annual reports ofe nv i ronmental performance. By defining short and long-term goals andd eveloping tools to measure pro g re s s , these companies gain a betterunderstanding of how their operations affect the environment and where theycan improve performance, often reducing costs.

The U.S. Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, passed in1986, has proved a valuable stimulus for measuring progress. The law requires10,000 manufacturers to report their annual releases of 317 toxic chemicals toair, water, and land. The plant-specific data are accumulated in the publiclyavailable Toxics Release Inv e n t o ry. After compiling their first pollutanti nv e n t o ry, these companies had a baseline for establishing quantitative

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emissions reduction strategies. Many have already reduced emissions by morethan 30 percent.

Though small and medium sized companies are not yet required to complywith the legislation, that day may not be far off. Once large companies haveexhausted cost-effective emissions reduction and pollution prev e n t i o nstrategies, regulators will start to look more closely at the many small firms thatg e n e rate emissions. This is alre a dy happening in California, w h e re airemissions regulations now apply to bakeries, fast food re s t a u ra n t s ,lawnmowers, and outdoor barbecues.

Corporate monitoring of ethical and social performance is still rare, butspreading. Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Inc., The Body Shop, Patagonia, andTom’s of Maine report on the causes they promote and their communitydevelopment efforts.A few companies now include ethics in employee trainingprograms and provide mentors to give moral guidance to new employees.When staff members feel valued, empowered and fairly treated, they are morelikely to treat colleagues, suppliers, and customers the same way.

In-House Waste Reduction and Pollution Prevention Teams

G reen teams, comprising personnel from different departments, can beeffective in devising strategies to improve environmental performance. Top-level support, adequate budgets, and ready access to all employees arenecessary to execute team strategies.

Start by setting easily achievable goals and get more ambitious as confidenceand expertise are gained.Asking all employees to bring their own coffee mugs,and purchasing mugs for visitors, is an easy first step. Requiring all printing andcopying to be done double-sided, providing refillable pens in the supplycabinet, and turning off unused lights and equipment are other starting points.

Establishing paper and packaging recycling programs, asking suppliers forgreen alternatives, and installing energy-efficient fluorescent light bulbs mightcome next.

After momentum and interest have been established, tackle the tougher issues.Talk to maintenance staff about biodegradable soaps and cleaning products andask for bathroom tissue and paper towels made from recycled fibre. Approachyour landlord about installing timed thermostats, water-efficient toilets andplumbing fixtures, and lighting systems responsive to outdoor light. Quantifythe payback associated with these capital investments, so that everyoneunderstands the financial benefits of env i ronmental re s p o n s i b i l i t y.Manufacturing firms can target their in-house production processes.

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As staff becomes increasingly aware of the cost and environmental benefits andthe ease of implementation, suggestions for improvements are likely toincrease. At companies such as 3M and Pacific Gas & Electric, employees arerecognized and rewarded for suggesting environmental improvements thatsave the company money.

Materials that Inform Employees about Economic, Environmental,and Social Trends

Informed employees will be better equipped to promote company goals andrespond effectively to major trends. Appealingly written books and articles,videotapes, and the occasional guest speaker or outside course can put thecompany’s efforts into perspective.

Ted Turner, the American media mogul, distributes copies of the WorldwatchInstitute’s State of the World series to all new producers and reporters. Ben andJerry’s Homemade, Inc. purchases multiple copies of Co-op America’s NationalGreen Pages to encourage employees to purchase goods and services from othersocially responsible companies. Many employees want to perform better: theyjust need a better understanding of current trends and workable solutions.

Open and Direct Lines of Communication

Regularly scheduled staff meetings, electronic mail connecting all personnel,accessible managers, and,in larger companies, an in-house newsletter can keepthe lines of communication open. Centrally located and universally accessiblebulletin boards or suggestion boxes can stimulate discussion and ideas.Humanresources staff who treat employees as individuals and assist them in copingwith the competing demands of work and family promote candour andengender loyalty. When employees are given the rationale for major decisions,they are less likely to heed rumours and counter-productive speculation.

At Tom’s of Maine, a company that makes natural health and beauty products,all meeting convenors tell participants if the group is in a “ c i rc l e ” o r“hierarchical”mode — a circle if they are being asked to reach consensus, orhierarchical if they are being invited to make suggestions.

Robert Leav e r, former president of New England Businesses for SocialResponsibility, reports that workplace issues are more difficult to grapple withthan community and env i ronmental concerns for the org a n i z a t i o n ’s 300member companies. Even the most caring managers are hard put to meet theneeds of employees who want to work at home, work flex time,arrive with theirdependents, contribute fully to decision making and be respected as uniqueindividuals. Rather than giving up, companies in the organization strive tocooperatively develop innovative and workable solutions.

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Call Me Roger

Ecoprint founder Roger Telschow almost sold his environmentally responsibleprint shop in Silver Spring, Maryland, because of the frustrations he suffered asa hierarchical manager.

“For the first few years, while my staff grew to three employees, I heeded theadvice of others in the business. I insisted that employees call me ‘Mr.Telschow’, and I never ate lunch with any of them. In an attempt to get thingsdone right, I alternated between issuing ultimatums and asking too little ofpeople in hopes that I’d win them over by being ‘nice.’Neither method workedto my satisfaction or theirs.”

Then Telschow decided to do something revolutionary: be himself.

“I remember going into the shop and telling my employees that I needed theirhelp. I said that I felt as if I had been trying to run the company single-handed.From now on I told them,I wanted them to manage their own jobs themselves,but I would help in any way I could.The bottom line, I said, is that to succeed,we’ve got to work together. And, I added,‘Just call me Roger’. I began revealingthe monthly profit-and-loss statement to the whole staff and explaining whywe made or lost money.”

Today, Ecoprint’s customer satisfaction is above 95 per cent; 99 per cent of jobsare delivered on the day promised; employee absenteeism averages less thanone day per year per staff member; employees outproduce the industry averageby 57 per cent; and, over the past four years, sales volume has increased sixtimes faster than the industry average. The company has never laid off anemployee and has a policy that none will be laid off unless senior managementfirst takes a 25 per cent pay cut.

A quarterly profit sharing bonus tied to company performance is now“reinvested”in employees. In good years, this has amounted to 22 percent ofprofits, the equivalent of six weeks added pay for workers. A $5 cash reward,paid on the spot, goes to those who discover errors on work orders. Last year,it cost the company $300 and saved an estimated $5,000. Ecoprint also donates10 per cent of pre-tax profits to organizations that protect and preserve thenatural environment and is a signatory of the CERES Principles.

Ecoprint stocks unbleached and recycled paper, uses vegetable oil-based inksthat reduce air pollutants by as much as 90 percent, and employs safesubstitutes for pollution-causing solvents and roller washes.The company alsorecycles its waste paper, reclaims silver from photographic film, and offers anon-site recycling program for employees. By working with new suppliers,Ecoprint has reduced the copper, zinc, and barium contents of its ink from ashigh as 3,500 parts per million to as low as five parts per million.

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Many of the changes at Ecoprint required new technologies and most called fornew supplier relationships.All required Ecoprint employees to alter their workhabits. The company’s customers and employees couldn’t be happier, and giveRoger the credit.

This profile was adapted, with permission, from an article written by RogerTelschow for the January 1993 issue of Nation’s Business, published by the U.S.Chamber of Commerc e . For more information, contact Roger Te l s c h o w,President, Ecoprint, 9335 Fraser Ave., Silver Spring, MD, 20910. Telephone:(301) 585-7077, Fax: (301) 585-4899.

External CredibilityCustomer loyalty, public credibility, and investor confidence are gained bycompanies perceived to be doing things right. Perfection is an unachievablegoal, but definable progress and effective communications are essential.

Annual Sustainable Development Report

An annual report highlighting progress made toward reducing emissions,improving environmental performance, and enhancing workplace and societalwell-being may be the best possible advertisement for your company. Read bycorporate stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, employees, investors,regulators, members of the local community, and environmental groups, thereports can go a long way toward demonstrating your company’s commitmentto environmental protection and social responsibility.

A clearly articulated set of internal goals, a method for measuring achievement,and candour about current failings make companies look responsible andhuman. It takes a brave firm to adopt the warts-and-all approach in its reports,but the gains are usually worth it.

Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Inc., the Vermont producer of exotically flavouredpremium ice creams, is committed to promoting a variety of causes, includingrainforest protection, world peace, and community economic development.TheBen & Jerry’s Foundation established by the company channels 7.5 percent ofp re-tax profits to charities around the wo r l d . Ice cream ingredients arepurchased from companies that employ formerly homeless people, recoveringalcoholics, and drug addicts, as well as from indigenous harvesting collectivesin developing countries.

To make sure its programs are on track, Ben and Jerry’s courageously asks anoutsider to write its annual social audit, part of each year’s annual report, andpromises not to make changes. Paul Hawken, co-founder of the gardeningcompany Smith and Hawken, wrote the 1992 review, in which he criticized thecompany for the environmental damage it causes by transporting ice-cream in

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refrigerated trucks across North America. Vermont, of course, benefits bykeeping jobs and suppliers close to home.

In his “Declaration of Sustainability,” in the September/October 1993 issue ofthe Utne Reader, Hawken calls Ben and Jerry’s “America’s premier sociallyresponsible company. Are there flaws? Of course. Welcome to planet Earth. Butthe people at Ben and Jerry’s are relaxed and unflinching in their willingness tolook at, discuss, and deal with problems.”

In a published interview, company co-founder Ben Cohen said,“When we firststarted out with our social mission, the lawyers, accountants, pundits, andbusiness people all said it would be our undoing.Ironically, it’s because of thesevalues and actions that we are becoming so profitable.” Economics professorsStephen Erfle and Michael Fratantuono at Pennsylvania’s Dickinson Collegehave studied the link between companies’social performance and profitability.They found a positive correlation between profits and the following five criteria:e nv i ronmental performance, a dvancement of wo m e n , a dvancement ofminorities, charitable giving, and community action.

In an era when companies are not trusted and everybody’s a cynic, being openabout your failures, as well as your achievements, can go a long way towardbuilding trust and cultivating loyalty.

A Commitment to Honest and Accessible Public Relations

“There is nothing more damaging than a spokesperson who does not know orcare about the issues,”wrote John Elkington and Peter Knight in their book, TheGreen Business Guide.

Successfully conv eying information about your company to customers,journalists, the local community, and anybody who has an interest in what youdo requires an up-front approach and clear, understandable language. Peoplenaturally fear or are skeptical of what they don’t know. With knowledge comesfamiliarity, security, and often support.

In recent years, many consumer products companies have established toll-freetelephone numbers to sell merchandise and respond to customer inquiries.When staffed by knowledgeable and courteous personnel, 800 numbers canprovide information on how products are made and how to dispose of them safely. They can also convey a “corporate soul.” By the same token, an 800operator who is not helpful and is unable to answer or redirect questions willfrustrate and annoy customers.This can be especially damaging when the calleris phoning about a real or perceived risk or hazard.

Companies that make or sell highly technical equipment and products faceanother challenge: scientists and technicians are often incapable of explaining

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what they do in lay terms. If this is the case at your company, well-informedmarketing or communications staff should do the public speaking and answermedia calls.

If your company is new to the community, has just developed a greatproduction process to solve an environmental problem, or is the victim ofdamaging rumours,an open house can help raise awareness,build support,andquell fears. Community groups often want to feel pride in local companies, butyou have to give them something to feel proud about.

When Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, opened new Canadianheadquarters in October 1993, she invited many guests and explained why thebuilding was the most environmentally sound structure in Toronto. Favourablepress, of any type, can boost sales and engender customer loyalty.

Bad press is bad business. Avoid it with readily available, credible informationon your successes, failures, and routine activities.

A Commitment to Community Development Efforts

Although many companies still measure their contribution to the communityby the size of the cheque they write to local charities, a growing number areengaged in more active community development work.

At Tom’s of Maine, employees are paid for contributing as many as five hours aweek to community pro j e c t s . To assist Kennebunk establish a re cy c l i n gprogram, Tom’s purchased recycling bins for every household in town.

Employees at 900 Body Shops around the world are encouraged to devote onepaid day a month to community education and development efforts.Body Shops t o res routinely donate valuable display space to local env i ro n m e n t a l ,community development, and get-out-the-vote drives. Anita Roddick knowsthat environmentally savvy and informed customers will want to be her clients.

Patagonia, an outdoor equipment and clothing supplier, gives 10 per cent of itsprofits to grassroots environmental groups. More than 350 organizations havebenefitted from grants, ranging from a few hundred dollars to $20,000. Thecompany gives away more money than it spends on advertising. And it startedgiving the money away four years before mentioning it in the sales catalogue.Patagonia has also published a manual to teach environmental groups how towork with the media.

As more female entrepreneurs achieve market success, day care centres,educational facilities, and organizations assisting battered women are startingto receive more corporate donations.

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Leveraging Your Resources

Work with Innovative Business Associations

A growing number of trade associations and business networks are issuingenvironmental performance guidelines for members, preparing educationalmaterials on environmental and social issues, and holding seminars on timelysubjects of interest. Following are some of the organizations likely to be ofinterest to eco-entrepreneurs.

Business for Social Responsibility1030 15th Street, NWSuite 1010Washington, D.C.20005 USATel: (202) 842-5400Fax: (202) 842-3135Contact: Kathy Grimes,Vice President

Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), founded in 1992 in Washington, D.C.,focuses on human resource issues, environmental performance, communityrelations, and resolving international problems. Its 850 members and affiliatedcompanies pay from $150 to $5,000 a year to belong and to receive advice onimproving their social, environmental, and financial performance. A book,Beyond the Bottom Line: Putting Social Responsibility to Work for Your Business andthe World, and a booklet documenting Environmental Practices of MemberC o m p a n i e s w e re published in Fa l l , 1 9 9 4 . Assessing member initiatives,implementation strategies, and effects on the company and community is anongoing effort designed to enlighten and educate other BSR members, abroader business audience, and public policy makers. A series of nationalworkshops on eco-efficiency will be launched by the BSR Education Fund inJanuary 1995. As of September 1994, BSR chapters had been formed in 24regions across the United States.

Canadian Business for Social Responsibility Hope Unlimited Gift Store2206 W 4th AvenueVancouver, BC V6K 1N8Tel: (604) 732-4438Fax: (604) 482-8283Contact: Nancy Bradshaw

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Canadian Business for Social Responsibility is a new organization forcompanies committed to socially responsible business policies and practicesthat actively contribute to improving the quality of life in their communities.

Any for-profit business whose chief executive officer agrees with the guidingprinciples of the organization may become a member. There will be one majorevening speaker event every quarter. Members will have the opportunity toattend monthly workshops to exchange ideas on implementing social ande nv i ronmental principles. Topics will include community inv o l v e m e n t ,environment, and employee remuneration. Members will have the opportunityto attend the annual BSR conference in the United States and receive itsnewsletter.

For those interested in forming a chapter in Halifax, please contact

P’lovers5657 Spring Garden Road, Box 224Halifax, NS B3J 3R4Tel: (902) 422-6060Fax: (902) 425-2990Contact: Liz Crocker

Co-op America Business Network1612 K Street, NW, #600Washington, D.C. 20006Tel: (202) 872-5307 Toll-free: (800) 584-7336Fax: (202) 331-8166Internet: [email protected]: Russ Gaskin

The Co-op America Business Network in Washington, D.C., has screened eachof its 1,200 member companies to evaluate their adherence to the principles ofsustainable development. Prospective members are asked to fill out a socialresponsibility profile that covers the company’s relationship with the localcommunity, customers, employees, and the environment. The Network islooking for demonstrated efforts that go beyond general standards butrecognizes that no company is perfect. Only those companies regarded associally responsible are approved for membership by the board of directors.Firms that do not satisfy minimum criteria are asked to stay involved andreceive materials, but are not promoted by the Network and will not beincluded on its business-generating referral list.

The Network publishes the National Green Pages, which has 100 productcategories and asks readers to refer to it any time they make a purchase worth

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more than $50. Another Network service sources products for U.S. cataloguesand home shopping channels from socially re s p o n s i b l e , s u s t a i n a b l eenterprises. The new Green Business Maps program helps members in majorU.S. cities create cooperative advertising in the form of metropolitan area mapsshowing where green businesses are located.

Other discounted or low-cost services provided to member companies are:travel, long distance telephone, credit card processing, and group health andlife insurance.

Council of Sustainable Industries of New Jersey and New YorkAmerican SoilP.O. Box 295Ramsey, NJ07446-0295Tel/Fax: (201) 327-2312Contact: Rob Young

The Council of Sustainable Industries of New Jersey and New York promotesco-operation among the “rising tide of private and community ecologicalentrepreneurs”. The 50-member Council provides referrals for those seekingsustainable goods and services, educates the public about companies makingfalse environmental claims, and promotes quality standards and legislation thatreflect the true social and environmental costs of goods and services.

Business Environmental Network ProjectPeninsula Conservation Center3921 East Bay Shore RoadPalo Alto, CA 94303 Tel: (415) 962-9876Fax: (415) 962-8234Contact: Carol Kraus Lauffer

The Business Environmental Network Project, sponsored by the PeninsulaConservation Center, issues a bi-monthly newsletter, Eco-Opportunities, whichdescribes what companies and individuals in the San Francisco Bay area andSilicon Valley are doing to improve their environmental performance. Serving120 small and large companies, the Project holds regular events to discusscurrent environmental topics and company policies to address the problem.According to organizer Carol Kraus Lauffer, this is one of the few subjects aboutwhich high-tech companies concerned about confidentiality are willing toshare information.

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Social Venture Network1388 Sutter Street, Suite 1010San Francisco, CA 94109Tel: (415) 771-4308Fax: (415) 771-0535Contact: Jennifer Chapman, Deputy Director

The Social Venture Network, formed in 1987 and headquartered in SanFrancisco, is a membership organization composed primarily of entrepreneurs,investors, and investment professionals who believe that business is not only ameans of financial success but a potentially powerful force in creating a morejust, humane, and sustainable world. The organization strives to build acommunity of business leaders who have demonstrated concern for socialissues and to strengthen the credibility of innovative business initiatives.

The 400-member organization sponsors national meetings twice a ye a r.Members receive specialized mailings and regular newsletters, and informationon resource people, services, projects, and businesses of interest to them. Adata-base is maintained on each member’s activities and interests.

Membership is by invitation only for individuals who have demonstratede n t re p reneurial talent, substantial net worth coupled with active priva t einvesting, experience in corporate leadership or investment management,p h i l a n t h ropic or organizational leadership, or who can make a specialcontribution to the Network’s efforts.

Tap the Expertise of Non-Profit Organizations

Non-profit organizations have a wealth of expertise and contacts to share.Although some still engage in adversarial relationships with the businesscommunity, many others are open and willing to participate in collaborativeefforts.

When Loblaw, the Canadian grocery giant, decided to launch its Green Lineproducts in 1990,the company went to Friends of the Earth and Pollution Probefor advice. Both organizations suggested products for the line, evaluated themerits of a variety of items, and made recommendations on marketingstrategies. The organizations’familiarity with a range of environmental issues,coupled with their ability to distinguish the truly superior environmentalproducts from those making spurious claims, gave credibility to the entirelaunch effort.

Thermco, of Mississauga, Ontario (see pages 64-69), a manufacturer of energye f f i c i e n t , reduced-CFC condensers for re f r i g e ration and air conditioning

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systems, has also solicited advice from Friends of the Earth (FOE).The companybenefits from FOE assessments of policy and industry trends, and receivesvaluable free advertising. Friends of the Earth gets the satisfaction of helpingput its policies into practice in the market place and gains private sectorcredibility.

B ryan T h o m l i s o n , formerly Canadian marketing director of Church andDwight, makers of Arm and Hammer baking soda, started working withenvironmental groups after receiving an unexpected phone call from ane nv i ronmental leader. She told him the env i ronmental community wa spromoting baking soda as an alternative cleanser, but the company was nottaking advantage of new opportunities. Thomlison met with her and learnedrapidly about impending regulations and the soon-to-be released agendas of avariety of environmental organizations. After taking the advice of his “ongoingfocus group”,Thomlison watched as baking soda sales, which had been flat forseven years, grew 30 per cent in 36 months. Arm and Hammer Super WashingSoda also increased its market share, from 25 to 40 percent.

The company moved Thomlison to the United States to replicate the Canadiansuccess. He now boasts a computer data base of 1,200 regulators, legislators,environmental educators, and reporters. By listening to and cooperating withenvironmental organizations, Church and Dwight has reaped the rewards ofthe groups’advocacy and education efforts.

In 1989, when the U.S. Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) approachedMcDonald’s with an offer to collaborate on reducing the company’s waste,neither side knew exactly what to expect.After many meetings and site visits toget a sense of each other’s operations, the two developed a sound workingrelationship that resulted in revamped McDonald’s packaging, procurement,and waste management practices.

The 42 initiatives in the Waste Reduction Action Plan developed by EDF havethe potential for cutting the waste at McDonald’s 8,500 restaurants by morethan 80 percent. The company not only accepted EDF’s advice, it committeditself to implementing the initiatives over a two-year period. At the end of thefirst year, McDonald’s had completed 19 of the initiatives and added 20 more.By cooperating with EDF, M c D o n a l d ’s ov e rcame corporate inertia anddiscovered suppliers willing to cooperate in reducing waste. The company issaving money and has received a tremendous amount of favourable publicity.

In 1993, EDF formed a corporate task force to increase the use ofenvironmentally preferable paper and paperboard products. Duke University,the Env i ronmental Defense Fund, Johnson & Jo h n s o n , M c D o n a l d ’s ,NationsBank Corp, the Prudential Insurance Company of America, and Time

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Inc. collectively spend more than $1 billion annually on business and writingp a p e r s , p u b l i c a t i o n s , and packaging. When the group issues its modelpurchasing guidelines in late 1994, suppliers of recycled and unbleached paperp roducts are certain to respond; some are alre a dy re - evaluating theirinvestment plans.

Contract With the Best

The construction industry has long relied on primary and subcontractors toperform various components of a large job. Pooling resources can be useful toany company trying to create a stronger, more competitive whole.

When Wal-Mart built its new Eco-Store in Lawrence, Kansas, and the AudubonSociety built its new headquarters in NewYork City, both called on experts fromcoast to coast. Innovative architects, lighting firms, and suppliers of sustainablebuilding materials worked together to create the most energy efficient retails t o re and office building in the country. Off-the-shelf products andt e c h n o l o g i e s , as well as new inv e n t i o n s , w e re used to develop healthy,appealing interior spaces that cost significantly less to heat, cool, and ventilate,and that reduce water use.

Until the 1980s, undertaking large projects, entering major new markets, orworking globally was the exclusive privilege of big corporations andconglomerates. Today, thanks to the innovative use of virtual corporations,strategic alliances, and joint ventures, small and medium sized companies arebeginning to compete and to win contracts outside of their traditional markets.Rapid advances in communications technologies, a global orientation withineven the smallest business, and the greater efficiencies that can be offered by ateam of small players, enable these firms to perform on the global stage.

Virtual corporations, with low overhead and geographically dispersed staff, canbe cost competitive and provide a range of skills and geographical expertise.Many consulting firms, for example, now employ professional staff working oncontract out of their homes. Fax machines, modems,and electronic mail enablestaff to work independently. Customers may still visualize an office building,but the reality is far different.

By entering into strategic alliances, small and medium sized companies canbuild ongoing competitive capacity in the market place. E nv i ro n m e n t a lengineering companies, marketing firms, and financial advisors, for example,can work together to provide a comprehensive set of skills, such as thoseoffered by the Ontario Environmental Training Consortium. Joint ventures arealso good vehicles for combining two or more companies to produce newproducts and services. Joint ventures between companies in different countries

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provide the opportunity to enter global markets without incurring many of thecosts.

Use Incubators to Help You Grow

More than 500 business incubation facilities in Canada and the United Statesnow offer a broad range of services to small start-up companies in fieldsranging from high technology to micro-enterprise service. Access to office andmanufacturing space, meeting ro o m s , a d m i n i s t rative help, and businessequipment can defer costly outlays when a company is getting on its feet orbeing run from a garage or dining room table. Business incubators acceleratethe successful development of entrepreneurial companies.They provide hands-on assistance and a variety of business and technical support services for start-up and fledgling firms during their most vulnerable years.

Although still a relatively new and underutilized service,incubators can providevaluable referrals. They can often arrange for high technology companies tohave the use of laboratory and testing equipment at universities and privatecorporations. Indeed, some incubators, such as the Advanced TechnologyCentre at the university research park in Edmonton,are designed specifically toassist high-tech start-ups.

For information on an incubator near you, contact:

National Incubation Business AssociationOne President St.Athens, OH 45701Tel: (614)593-4331Fax: (614)593-1996Contact: Terry Murphy

Director of Member Services

Advanced Technology Centre 203, 9650 20th AvenueEdmonton, AB T6N 1G1Tel: (403) 462-2121Fax: (403) 428-5376Contact: Ron Holland, Director

Directory of Business Incubators (U.S. and Canada) Published annually. $19.95.International Venture Capital Institute (IVCI)P.O. Box 1333Stamford, CT 06904Tel: (203) 323-3143Contact: Mr. C.A. Greathouse, President

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Have Fun, Stay Healthy, and Enjoy Your Work in an IncreasinglyStressful World

Burn out is a common complaint, but some low cost, innovative changes inbusiness practices can reduce the toll. At Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Inc., thevolunteer Joy Gang makes the working environment more fun. At Hasbro toysin Rhode Island, workers get Friday afternoons off in the summer. Otheremployers permit staff to dress down on Fridays, or all the time, and some hostinformal happy hours.

At Quad/Graphics, the Wisconsin-based printing firm, owner Larry Quadracciemploys the services of his goat, Gruff. “Be a Gruff...Recycle Stuff” is hiscompany’s slogan for its recycling program and Gruff has his own electronicmail address for receiving and responding to questions and comments aboutrecycling and the environment.

As more employees try to exercise away stress, a growing number of companiesare establishing health clubs or offering discounted memberships at localfacilities.Companies are installing showers and lockers for workers who bike orrun to work. Calvert Social Venture Partners in Bethesda, MD, buys runningshoes for employees who walk to work and Patagonia buys locks for those whocommute by bicycle.

Creating a day care centre, providing sick child care, and offering flexibleworking hours and opportunities to work at home can ease the stress ofemployees with children.

Small companies, unable to provide amenities like day care and health clubs,can provide flexibility and the occasional entertaining or relaxing surprise.Twicea year, for example, the Ecoprint staff goes on an outing to experience theenvironment they work to protect.

See “Directories”, pages 171-172, for publications on New Business Practices.

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ProfilesThe combination of business acumen, vision, and perseverance is resulting in agrowing number of innovative companies profiting from the transition towardsustainable dev e l o p m e n t . As the following three profiles illustra t e , o n edetermined entrepreneur can begin to reorient an entire industry.

CAERAN: A New Recipe for Success

After researching the cause of her infant son’s skin irritations, Sharon De Cloetfounded CAERAN, a manufacturer of environmentally responsible cleaningand personal care products.

Numerous phone calls to laundry detergent manufacturers had left De Cloetfrustrated. All she wanted to know was,“what was in laundry soap and howcould she avoid those allergy-causing ingredients?” Nobody would answer herquestion. Finally, De Cloet met a chemist who identified the ingredientscausing her son’s problem — fluorescent whitening agents, enzymes andartificial perfumes — and who made a recipe for her to use.As requests to sharethe recipe increased, De Cloet realized she was on to something.

Founded in 1989, CAERAN now manufacturers 30 products and has a 150-person sales team across Canada. Starting with sales of $18,000 in 1989, thecompany expects sales of $500,000 in 1994. A single parent with two children,De Cloet works out of her home and gets up at 5 a.m. to get some office workdone before getting her children off to school.

An outspoken environmental advocate, De Cloet lists each product ingredienton the label and provides a description of each ingredient in the companycatalogue. Customers receive two mailings a year, including a newsletter thatfocuses on environmental issues and new products.

De Cloet is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and volunteers her time tomentor other business owners. She offers two tra i n i n g , m o t i vation andeducation workshops a year for her national sales staff and awards topperformers. Recognizing the need for her own team of mentors, De Cloetorganizes an annual soul searching and strategy meeting to plan the company’sfuture and revise her business plan. Recipient of the Home Entrepreneur of theYear Award in 1992,De Cloet won the New Initiative Award for EntrepreneurialCanadian Women in 1993. CAERAN has been identified as one of Ontario’s 50hot new companies to watch by the Ontario Business Journal.

For further information contact Sharon De Cloet, President, CAERAN, 25Penny Lane, Brantford, Ontario, Canada, N3R 5Y5. Telephone: (519) 751-0513,Fax: (519) 751-3976.

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O Wear: Wearing Your Commitment

A 25-year veteran of the wholesale apparel industry and a committedenvironmentalist, George L. Akers founded O Wear, America’s first 100%certified organic cotton clothing company by serendipitous accident.

In 1989,Akers began manufacturing merchandise for environmental groups ona volunteer basis and it was then that he realized the clothes he was makingwere not as “clean”as the groups he was making them for would have liked.They were manufactured with the aid of fabric-stiffening washes, and theslogans the clothes bore were silkscreened with polluting inks. Worst of all, thecotton from which these clothes were made had been grown with harmfulchemical pesticides and fertilizers.

On a trip to London that year, Akers happened into an environmental boutiqueand discovered “green cotton”T-shirts — a product of German environmentalgroups that used unbleached, undyed cotton.

Back home in Los Angeles, Akers began to take a harder look at his industryand found three primary areas of concern: chemical intensive cotton farmingmethods; toxic cloth production techniques; and toxic dyeing methods. He metwith farmers in California’s San Joaquin Valley and discovered the answer to hisfirst problem: organic cotton. He found that small amounts of organic cottonalready were being grown as cover crops at a few organic produce farms. Butsince there was no market for organic cotton, the farmers were selling it atconventional cotton prices and losing money. Akers contracted to buy as muchorganic cotton as they could grow, and at profitable prices.

At the same time, he began working with his subcontractors throughout theapparel manufacturing process to find new ways of spinning thread, knittingand weaving cloth, and piecing garments. For example, instead of usingformaldehyde in the finishing stage and chemical washes for pre-shrinking,Akers’suppliers used only hot water and safe soaps.

With a new “clean”apparel production system in place, Akers founded GreenCotton Environment, a line of casual wear he sold at his retail store at FredSegal for a Better Ecology in Santa Monica, CA. The store is now known as“Pure Evolution”.

By 1991, Akers’ business was growing rapidly. He had virtually cornered theexisting organic cotton market and was creating farmers’ co-ops across thecountry to encourage more farmers to grow their cotton organically. Then, inJanuary, 1992, Akers’ small company was acquired by VF Corporation, thenation’s largest apparel manufacturer. The company was renamed “O Wear”(Ofor organic) and Akers became Executive Vice President of Operations.

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In this role Akers oversaw all organic cotton sourcing and apparel. He led OWe a r ’s continuing effort to help conventional cotton farmers make thetransition to growing organically, and today O Wear is one of the world’s largestpurchasers of organic cotton. For his efforts,Akers and O Wear received the firstUnited Nations Fashion and the Environment Award from the United NationsEnvironment Programme in April, 1993.

Akers’ commitment to environmental issues extends beyond his professionallife. He serves on the Advisory Board and the Merchandising Committee ofHeal the Bay, a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to cleaning up SantaMonica’s polluted coastal waters and beaches, and he was honored in 1993 byHeal the Bay with its “Superhealer Award.”Additionally, he is a member of theAdvisory Council of the California Organic Growers & Processors Association;member, Board of Directors, The Fashion Association; member, AdvisoryCommittee, Earth Action Report; and member, Board of Advisors, FashionInstitute of Design & Merchandizing - L.A. In May, 1993 he received the FirstAnnual Los Angeles Magazine “Environmental Pride Award for Innovation.”

For more than 20 years prior to founding O Wear, Akers concentrated on the“start-up”of numerous clothing companies including Ragtime, Brittania, TexasRose, Union Bay, Generra and others.

Currently Akers, who continues to retain his equity position in O Wear but hasfulfilled his employment contracts with VF Corporation, has gone on to his nextchallenge: to expand organic farming by developing unique companies tomarket organic food, fiber and fashions.

For further information contact George Akers, 10430 Scenario Lane, LosAngeles, CA 90077. Telephone: (310) 474-3315, Fax: (310) 474-4556.

DEJA SHOE: Footwear With a Past

In 1990, Julie Lewis, an Oregon recycling activist, turned her goal of creating amarket for re cycled materials into DEJA Inc., a shoe company thatmanufactures casual/outdoor footwear from 23 recycled materials. DEJA™SHOE, The Environmental Footwear Company™, based in Portland, Oregon,produces shoes that are leather-free and made from recycled and sustainablyharvested materials. Old milk jugs, wet suit trim, coffee filters and automobiletires are among the 23 pre- and post-consumer materials used to produceDEJA’s growing product line. DEJA is also the first company to use TreeTapVegetal Leather, a plant material obtained by rubber tappers in the Amazonrain forest, in its footwear. In spring 1995, DEJA will introduce footwear madeof natural hemp fibre, grown in Hungary.

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The non-toxic adhesives used by DEJA eliminate the use of smog-producingand health-damaging solvents. The company’s leather-free footwear policyalleviates the health and environmental impacts associated with tanning. DEJAalso gives 5 percent of its pre-tax profits to The Species Survival Commission,in support of its work to protect endangered plants.

The shoes are carried by a variety of retailers, including Bloomingdale’s andDayton Hudson, and can be purchased through Real Goods catalogue.They aredistributed throughout Canada by Roblin Athletic, based in Winnipeg. Armedwith the vision and zeal of company founder Julie Lewis and the footwearindustry expertise of president and CEO Bruce MacGregor, formerly of Avia,DEJA was able to attract $2.5 million of start-up venture capital from threecompanies in Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco. A second round of $1.2million was obtained from the same team.“From virtually a dead start, DEJAhas achieved national recognition as a footwear industry leader in themanufacture of its environmentally friendly products,” said Cheryl Krane ofBancBoston, one of the investors.

DEJA stays on track with a mission statement and two pages of corporatep o l i c i e s . “As a company committed to sustainable development ande nv i ronmental stewa rd s h i p, D E JA SHOE will manufacture and marketfootwear made from recycled materials, as well as ecologically obtained plantm a t e r i a l s , and develop new technologies, uses and markets for thesematerials,”says the mission statement.

“The major principles upon which we have established our company includethe sustainable use and conservation of re n ewable and non-re n ewa b l ere s o u rc e s , p rotection of wildlife habitats, open spaces and wilderness,preservation of biodiversity, and environmental stewardship. Alleviation ofpoverty through economic sharing, both locally and globally, is an importantp re requisite of sustainable dev e l o p m e n t , and we are also committed toaddressing this broader social issue. Our goal is to leave the Earth healthy andsafe for future generations,”says the corporate policy.

For additional information contact Mary E. C a m p b e l l , C o m m u n i c a t i o n sM a n a g e r, D E JA SHOE, The Env i ronmental Footwear Company, 7 1 6 5Southwest Fir Loop, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97223. Telephone: (503) 624-7443,Toll-free: (800) 331-3352, Fax: (503) 624-2620.

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Despite unparalleled technological advances in electro n i c s ,telecommunications, medicine, and other key industries, all of the earth’s

major ecosystems are in decline. Yet few leaders in the business and researchcommunities have latched on to pollution prevention and societal well-being asmajor business opportunities.

Public concern generated by a local smoke stack or waste dump is only slowlyleading to a broader awareness of the environmental and social costs of manyof today’s economic activities. Consumers, investors, and government agenciesare just beginning to translate this awareness into new behaviour. Over time,our purchasing, investment, job training and economic development decisionsare likely to change significantly.

The concept of sustainable development provides direction as we work tod evelop solutions to our economic, e nv i ro n m e n t a l , and social pro b l e m s .Sustainable development illustrates the interdependence among economicviability, environmental health,and societal well-being.It calls for change in theway we use resources, develop technologies, make investments, and manageour businesses so that both future and present needs are met.

The role of business in the transition to more sustainable behaviour is todevelop and market, at a profit, the products and services that will help solvemany of these problems. Given the scope of change that is necessary, theopportunities are enormous. The Business Council for SustainableDevelopment estimates that we must reduce our energy and resource use atleast 20-fold, primarily through efficiency advances, if we are to live within theEarth’s carrying capacity. Product modifications alone will not be enough.Entirely new technologies, designs, concepts, and ways of working, living, andtransporting goods and people will be required.

EarthEnterprise™ was created to provide support to the entrepreneurs andinnovators who are developing and marketing these new products, services,and technologies. This support comes in the form of networks, meetings, andpublished information such as the Tool Kit and the EarthEnterprise Exchangenewsletter.

Our research and the experiences of the many people who are part of theEarthEnterprise™ Network indicate that a small but growing share of thebusiness community is ready to adopt sustainability as a goal. To successfullytap the growing markets and substantial opportunities ava i l a b l e , e c o -entrepreneurs must possess keen business acumen, a sound understanding ofemerging trends, and new tools and skills.

The challenge of building businesses that profitably achieve environmental andsocial objectives is a new one. Some of the leaders have been mentioned in this

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book. Many others are working hard to get their small companies on the map.Charting the development of these firms is difficult.Most are private,do not fallnicely into standard industrial classifications, and cannot be measure dadequately using existing growth indicators.

All eco-entre p reneurs re q u i re a good understanding of their markets.Competition will be ruthless, both from other start-ups and from large,established companies that decide to exploit the green niche. Although marketexpansion appears inevitable, it can be hastened by the regulations andprocurement policies of governments and corporations. Tracking these kick-started markets can result in large pay b a c k s , and a head start on thecompetition.

New markets arising from international environmental agreements, legislation,and revised resource pricing will require the development and use of newtechnologies. The remediation and abatement technologies that launched theenvironmental industry are often capital intensive. Small and medium sizedentreprises, without vested interests in traditional technologies, can jumpdirectly to more efficient, pollution prevention and sustainable technologies.Wind turbines,small-scale cogeneration units, and manufacturing technologiesthat incorporate recycled materials are examples.

Investors are often unaware of these emerging markets and technologies.Theyare interested in high and relatively safe returns on their investments. Tellingthem they can protect the planet will not convince them to part with theirmoney. But eco-entrepreneurs with a sound business plan, lower than averageprojected costs, and reduced contingent liabilities can convince investors toback their enterprises. Enthusiasm, competence, and trust are essential.

Sustainable enterprises are interested in a financial, environmental, and socialbottom line. They tend to make public commitments and then report on theirprogress. Their openness often leads to unusual and profitable partnershipswith organizations that can extend the reach and influence of a small company.

In order to thrive, sustainable enterprises need bigger markets for theirproducts, services and technologies. Increased public awareness, enlightenedprocurement policies, and strong enforcement of environmental regulationswill increase demand. Over time, as all products and services are made to paythe full cost of the environmental and social burdens they cause, sustainableenterprises will have a considerable advantage in both consumer and financialmarkets. It is our hope that this Tool Kit will accelerate both the supply anddemand for sustainable enterprises.

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Canadian Standards AssociationEnvironmental Programs Director178 Rexdale Blvd.Rexdale (Toronto), ON M9W 1R3Tel: (416) 747-4003Fax: (416) 747-2476Contact: John Wolfe

Environmental ChoiceM ProgramEnvironment Canada107 Sparks Street, Suite 200Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3Tel: (613) 941-6770Fax: (613) 952-9465Contact: Alayne Martell

Public Relations Officer

Industry CanadaMerchandise Standards DivisionConsumer Products BranchPlace du Portage, Phase I50 Victoria StreetHull, QC K1A 0C9Tel: (819) 997-1177Fax: (819) 953-2931Contact: Jay Jackson

Federal Trade CommissionSixth St. and Pennsylvania Ave., NWWashington, D.C. 20580Tel: (202) 326-3158Fax: (202) 326-3259Contact: Michael Dershowitz

Under FTC guidelines, eachmanufacturer, wholesaler,distributor or retailer making anenvironmental claim is liable forsubstantiating it.The Commissionhas pursued dozens ofenvironmental labelling claims and

has issued 27 “cease and desistorders”. If they are violated, the FTCwill impose $10,000 fines.

Green Seal1730 Rhode Island Ave., NW Suite 1050Washington, D.C. 20036-3101Tel: (202) 331-7337Fax: (202) 331-7533Contact: David Hauck,

V. P. , Business D ev e l o p m e n t

National Retail HardwareAssociation/Home CenterInstitute5822 W. 74th StreetIndianapolis, IN 46278Tel: (317) 290-0338, ext. 235Toll-free: (800) 772-4424Fax: (317) 328-4354Contact: Richard Lindsay,

Director of Industry/Environmental Affairs

Scientific Certification SystemsThe Ordway BuildingOne Kaiser Plaza, Ste. 901Oakland, CA 94612Tel: (510) 832-1415Toll-free: (800) ECO-FACTSFax: (510) 832-0359Contacts: Linda Brown,

Vice President of CommunicationsChet Chaffee,Vice President of Marketing

117Directories


Product Certification and Labelling Organizations

Consumer Catalogues

Real Goods Trading Co.966 Mazzoni St.Ukiah, CA 95482Tel: (707) 468-9292Toll-free: (800) 762-7325Fax: (707) 468-0301Contact: John Schaeffer, President

The Real Goods catalogue featuresenergy and water saving appliances,clothing, books, and toys.Thecompany’s Solar Living Sourcebook isthe foremost resource guide totechnical information on renewableenergy systems and energy- andwater-efficient technologies for thehome.

Seventh Generation 49 Hercules DriveColchester,VT 05446Tel: (802) 655-6777Fax: (802) 655-2700Contact: Jeffrey Hollander,

President

Co-op America1612 K Street, NW, #600Washington, D.C. 20006Tel: (202) 872-5307Toll-free: (800) 584-7336Fax: (202) 331-8166Contact: Russ Gaskin

Co-op America’s National GreenPages contains 100 productcategories ranging from clothing tolighting to pest control and lists1300 businesses.

The Directory of Mail OrderCatalogs 1995.Grey House PublishingPocket Knife SquareLakesville, CT 06039Tel: (203) 435-0868Fax: (203) 435-0867Contact: Leslie Mackenzie,

Publisher & Editor

Lists 7,000 consumer-oriented mail-order catalogues representing over40 industries.

The Catalog of Catalogs III: TheComplete Mail-order Directory1993.$19.95. Written by Edward L. Palder.Available through Woodbine House6510 Bells Mill RoadBethesda, MD 20817Tel: (301) 468-8800Toll-free: (800) 843-7323Fax: (301) 468-5784

Updated directory of variouscatalogues, some of which may begood sales avenues for eco-entrepreneurs’products.

Direct Marketing List SourceStandard Rate and Data Service 3004 Glenview RoadWilmette, IL 60091Toll-free: (800) 851-7737Fax: (708) 441-2252Contact: Customer Service

Catalogue of over 50,000 consumerand business mailing lists for direct

118 International Institute for Sustainable Development


Marketing Resources and Sales Leads

mail marketing. Also lists brokers,compilers, and list managers.

Sales to Retailers

Home Depot2727 Paces Ferry Road, NWAtlanta, GA 30339Tel: (404) 433-8211Fax: (404) 319-2381Contact: Mark Eisen, Manager,

Environmental Marketing

The Natural Connection(catalogue for retailers)P.O. Box 8233North Brattleboro,VT 05304Tel/Fax: (802) 368-2711Contact: Kevin Connelly

Wal-Mart702 South West 8th StreetBentonville, AR 72716Tel: (501) 273-8228Fax: (501) 273-1931Contact: Steve Schwitters,

Environmental Marketing Manager

Sheldon’s Major Stores & Chains1994.$140.Phelon, Sheldon & Marsar, Inc.15 Industrial AvenueBox 517Fairview, NJ 07022-1685Tel: (201) 941-8804Toll-free: (800) 234-8804Fax: (201) 941-5515Contacts: Joseph R. Marsar Jr., CEO

Kenneth W. Phelon Jr.,Editor

A family business since 1864.Publishes directories of retail stores

and chains throughout the U.S.,Canada, and Mexico. Informationlisted is store’s name, completeaddress, telephone and faxnumbers, year established, numberof employees, sales volume, numberof stores in a chain, headquarters,name of resident buying office,executives and their titles, all thelines of merchandise the stores selland the names of the buyers foreach of the lines.

The following are directories ofinterest to eco-entrepreneurspublished by:

CSG Information Services3922 Coconut Palm DriveTampa, FL 33619-8321Tel: (813) 664-6835Toll-free: (800) 285-6835Fax: (813) 664-6888Contact: Heidi Hawkins,

Territory Manager

CSG has distributed exclusiveinformation on leading retailers andwholesalers in the U.S. and Canadafor over 65 years. Informationprovided in any format includingelectronic, mailing labels andhardcopy.• Chain Store Guides (various);• Supermarket, Grocery and

Convenience Store Chains;• Single-Unit Supermarket

Operators;• Discount Department Stores;• Drug Store and HBC Chains;

119Directories




• General Merchandise, Varietyand Specialty Stores;

• Department Stores;• Women’s & Children’s Wear

Specialty Stores;• Men’s & Boy’s Wear Specialty

Stores; • Home Furnishings Retailers;• Home Centre Operators &

Hardware Chains;• Hardlines Distributors;• Value Added Resellers;• Computer & Software Retailers;• Automotive Aftermarket

Suppliers;• High Volume Independent Drug

Stores.

Environmental Guides,Directories, and Trade Shows

The Green SupermarketShopping Guide John Wasik and The New ConsumerInstitute, an international networkand think-tank on greenmanagement and marketing.P.O. Box 51Wauconda, IL 60084Tel: (708) 526-0522Fax: (708) 526-1174

Includes information on greenmarketing, professionalassociations, and publications.

EcoLinking: Everyone’s Guide toOnline EnvironmentalInformation 1992.352 pp. Written by Don Rittner.Peachpit Press2414 Sixth StreetBerkeley, CA 94710Tel: (510) 548-4393Fax: (510) 548-5991

Excellent general guide andintroduction for online usersseeking environmental information.Global networks, electronic bulletinboards, commercial online servicesand libraries that never close arecovered in this easy to understandguide.

Greater Los Angeles GreenPages: The Local Handbook forPlanet MaintenanceA project of Environment Now andthe Green Media Group. It is anenvironmental primer and directorywith 150 alphabetically listedcategories and subcategories. Allproceeds to be contributed to LosAngeles-based environmentalorganizations. To order:The Green Pages24955 Pacific Coast HighwaySuite C201Malibu, CA 90265 Tel: (310) 456-2163Fax: (310) 456-3989

Local Green PagesMany regions now publish a “GreenPages”, essentially a Yellow Pagesdirectory for environmentallyoriented products, services, andcompanies. Entrepreneurs mayconsider becoming listed in theGreen Pages, and can potentiallyuse them to identify localcompanies and retailers with whichto do business.

Natural Resources CanadaEnergy Efficiency Sector580 Booth Street, 15th FloorOttawa, ON K1A 0E4Tel: (613) 995-2943Fax: (613) 943-1590Contact: Louise Gravelle

This federal ministry publishes anannual EnerGuide that rates theenergy consumed by variousappliances.

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy1001 Connecticut Ave, NW, # 801Washington, D.C. 20036Tel: (202) 429-8873Fax: (202) 429-2248Contacts: Howard Geller,

Executive DirectorGlee Murray,Publications Director

Publishes the annual ConsumerGuide to Home Energy Savings , andother books and reports on energyefficiency technologies andprograms. Free publicationscatalogue.

Eco-Expo14260 Ventura Blvd., Suite 201Sherman Oaks, CA 91423Tel: (818) 906-2700Fax: (818) 906-0367 Contact: Marc Merson, President.

North America’s largest combinedconsumer and industry tradeexhibition for green products andservices. Also sponsors The GreenBusiness Conference, which hostsdiscussion panels on greenindustries and issues.

Trade Shows WorldwidePublished annually in November.$179.Gale Research Inc.835 Penobscot BuildingDetroit, MI 48226-4094Tel: (313) 961-2242Toll-free: (800) 347-GALE or

(800) 877-4253Fax: (313) 961-6083Toll-free fax: (800) 414-5043

C overs over 5,200 trade shows ande x h i b i t i o n s , as well as pro d u c t i o nc o m p a n i e s , g overnmental sponsors,and facilities. Includes geogra p h i c a l ,c h ro n o l o g i c a l , and subject indexes,including env i ro n m e n t a l l y - o r i e n t e dshows.

121Directories


GreenMarketing/EntrepreneuringPublications

In Business: The Magazine forEnvironmental Entrepreneuring Six issues/year.The JG Press, Inc.419 State AvenueEmmaus, PA 18049Tel: (215) 967-4135Fax: (215) 967-1345 Contact: Jerome Goldstein, Editor.

Magazine specifically for eco-entrepreneurs. Covers marketing,sales, trends, industry updates andprofiles. Subscription Price: US $29;Canada $31 (in US funds).

The EnvironmentalEntrepreneur: Where to Find theProfit in Saving the Earth 1992.241 pp. Written by John Thompson.Longstreet Press Inc.2140 Newmarket ParkwaySuite 118Marietta, GA 30067Tel: (404) 980-1488Fax: (404) 859-9894



Sales to Government Agencies

British Columbia PurchasingCommissionPurchasing Services Branch4000 Seymour Place, 2nd FloorVictoria, BC V8X 4Y3Tel: (604) 389-3386Fax: (604) 389-3370Contact: Mr. W.D. Collisson,

Executive Director

Administrative Services BranchOntario Ministry of theEnvironment40 St. Clair Avenue West 8th FloorToronto, ON M4V 1M2Tel: (416) 314-4070Fax: (416) 325-6362Contact: Louis H.C. Leung, Senior

Contract Consultant

GIPPERGovernments IncorporatingProcurement Policies to EliminateRefuseChair: Mr. L. Pagano, Director ofPurchasing and Material SupplyDivisionManagement Services Department City Hall, 100 Queen St., W.18th Floor, West TowerToronto, ON M5H 2N2Tel: (416) 392-9111

switchboardTel: (416) 392-7311 direct lineFax: (416) 392-0801

Vice-chair: Mr. G. Khan, Manager,Program Developmentand Review

Purchasing Services BranchManagement Board Secretariat,Ontario6th floor, Ferguson BlockQueen’s Park Toronto, ON M7A 1N3Tel: (416) 326-1234

switchboardTel: (416) 327-3580 direct lineFax: (416) 327-3573

The City of Toronto, Purchasing andMaterial Supply Division, hascoordinated an information list ofsuppliers who claim they offer awide range of goods and servicesthat are environmentally sound, andwhich are available for salethroughout the country, as well asoutside Canada.The directory is ajoint effort initiated by ACCESS(Association of Canadian Cities onEnvironmentally Sound Strategies),supported by GIPPER, anddistributed at cost by the City ofToronto, Purchasing and MaterialSupply Division.

National Institute ofGovernmental Purchasing, Inc.11800 Sunrise Valley Dr., Suite 1050Reston,VA 22091Tel: (703) 715-9400Fax: (703) 715-9897Contact: James Brinkman,

Exec.Vice President

123Directories


Sales Leads for Green Procurement

Membership limited to governmentpurchasing agencies and theiremployees. Operates in the U.S. andCanada.

National Association of StatePurchasing Officials167 West Main St., #600Lexington, KY 40507Tel: (606) 231-1963Fax: (606) 231-1928Contact: Jodie Spears,

Program Manager

Publishes guidebooks on how toeffectively market to stategovernments, as well as a handbookof purchasing preference practicesof each state.

American City & CountyMunicipal Index — ThePurchasing Guide for City,Township, County Officials andConsulting Engineers Published annually in March.$52.95.Argus Business6151 Powers Ferry Rd., NWAtlanta, GA 30339Tel: (404) 618-0396 Fax: (404) 618-0476Contact: Lisa Sutherland,

Listings Editor

While the majority of contentconsists of listings andadvertisements of products andservices for city governments, theguide also lists procurementofficials, along with their addressesand phone numbers, in all U.S.cities with a population of 10,000and above.

Environmental Protection Agency401 M St., SWWashington, D.C. 20460Tel: (202) 260-2090

directory assistance and personnel directory

Tel: (202) 260-7751 public affairs information center

Recycled content procurementguidelines for government agenciesand contractors; voluntary programsto improve the efficiency of lighting,appliances, computer equipment,heating and cooling technologies,and plumbing fixtures; andvoluntary pollution preventionprograms.

Executive Office of the President Office of Federal ProcurementPolicyNew Executive Office Bldg.725 17th St. NW, Room 9013Washington, D.C. 20503-5802Tel: (202) 395-5802Fax: (202) 395-5105Contact: Linda Mesaros,

Deputy Associate Administrator

Develops and promulgates policyand guidance for small anddisadvantaged businesses on howto do business with the U.S. federalgovernment.



125Directories


Council of Great LakesGovernors35 East Wacker DriveSuite 1850Chicago, IL 60601Tel: (312) 407-0177Fax: (312) 407-0038Contact: Sheila Leahy,

Deputy Director

Cooperative purchasing of paperand other products among sevenstates.

Government PurchasingGuides and Directories

Stock Item Supply CataloguePublic WorksGovernment Services Canada1010 Somerset St.Ottawa, ON K1A 0T4Tel: (613) 952-8940Fax: (613) 952-6140Contact: Monica Henderson

This office product catalogue forfederal purchasing agents uses theEcoLogoM symbol to designateenvironmentally certified items.

Directory of EnvironmentallySound Products1991.$50.Management Services DepartmentPurchasing & Material SupplyDivisionCity Hall, 100 Queen St., W.18th Floor, West TowerToronto, ON M5H 2N2Tel: (416) 392-7311Fax: (416) 392-0801Contact: Anne Carino, Analyst

Environmental Products Guide1994.General Services AdministrationCentralized Mailing List Service(7CAFL)P.O. Box 6477Fort Worth,TX 76115-9939Tel: (817) 334-5215Fax: (817) 334-5227

Recycled Product Directory April 1993,Directory of Recycled ContentBuilding and ConstructionProducts January 1994,Clean Washington Center(A Division of the Department ofTrade and Economic Development)2001 6th Avenue, Suite 2700Seattle, WA 98121Tel: (206) 587-5520,

publications(206) 464-7040,switchboard

Fax: (206) 464-6902Contact: Tom Yurovchak

The Recycled Product Directory, forbusinesses and governmentagencies, features wholesalers andmanufacturers who sell nearly 600recycled content products, rangingfrom office supplies to fuels.TheDirectory of Recycled Content Buildingand Construction Products, forarchitects and builders, featureswholesalers and manufacturers whosell nearly 500 recycled contentproducts, ranging from concrete tofurnishings. For governmentagencies and businesses seeking toincrease their purchases of recycled



content products, the Center alsohas samples of procurementpolicies.These policies includesample language for inclusion inproduct specifications and contractbids, sample preferential purchasingpolicies, and other information.

Getting Started in FederalContracting: A Guide through theFederal Procurement Maze 1987.$21.95.Panoptic EnterprisesP.O. Box 11220Burke,VA 22009-1220Tel/Fax: (703) 451-5953Toll-free: (800) 594-4766

Lists hundreds of governmentprocurement offices and otherfederal offices which purchase frombusinesses. Includes products andservices purchased, as well asterritories of each office.

Women Business Owners: Sellingto the Federal Government 1993.Superintendent of DocumentsU.S. Government Printing OfficeDocument Sales ServiceWashington, D.C. 20402-9325Tel: (202) 512-1800Fax: (202) 512-2250

Contains information on marketingproducts and services togovernment, including invitationsfor bids, RFPs, unsolicitedproposals, etc.

Government Prime ContractsDirectoryPublished annually in February. $15.Government Contracts & Sub-Contracts Leads DirectoryPublished annually in March.$89.50.Government Data Publications, Inc.1661 McDonald AvenueBrooklyn, NY 11230Tel: (718) 627-0819 Toll-free: (800) ASK-GOVTFax: (718) 998-5960

The Government Prime ContractsDirectory covers contractors whohave received contracts specificallyrequiring special treatment forsmall-businesses as sub-contractors.Includes index by zip code.TheGovernment Contracts & SubcontractsLeads Directory lists companies thathave received prime contractsduring the previous 12 months.

Commerce Business DailyPublished daily by the U.S.Department of Commerce.Superintendent of DocumentsU.S. Government Printing OfficeDocument Sales ServiceWashington, D.C. 20402-9325Tel: (202) 512-1800Fax: (202) 512-2250

Sales to Corporate Purchasers

S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.1525 Howe StreetRacine, WI 53403Tel: (414) 631-4728Fax: (414) 631-2944Contact: Cynthia Georgeson,

Manager, Environmental Communications Worldwide

Publishes semi-annual Partnersnewsletter to inform suppliers aboutthe company’s environmental goalsand objectives. Also published theglobal Environmental Progress Reportand North America: The Environment:Public Attitudes and IndividualBehavior.

Xerox CorporationExecutive Offices3400 Hillview AvenuePalo Alto, CA 94303Tel: (415) 813-7065Fax: (415) 813-7811Contact: Abhay K. Bhushan,

Manager, Environmental Leadership Program

General Motors CorporationNorth American OperationsContainerizationMail Code P1911 Pontiac PlazaPontiac, MI 48340—2952Tel: (810) 857-5482Fax: (810) 857-6397Contact: Kenneth J. Horvath,

Senior Project Engineer

G.M.’s WE CARE program hasadopted a “zero-landfill”goal for allpackaging received from suppliers.

Environmental Business Guidesand General Directories

World Environmental Directory1991.Business Publishers, Inc.951 Pershing DriveSilver Spring, MD 20910Tel: (301) 587-6300Toll-free: (800) 346-3787

(within the U.S.)Toll-free: (800) 274-0122

(within Canada)Fax: (301) 585-9075Contact: Bill Wade, Editor

Eco-entrepreneurs may want tobecome listed in this directory.Included are product manufacturers;professional services; federal andstate/provincial governmentagencies; independentagencies/commissions; professional,trade and public interestorganizations and educationalinstitutions; as well as corporateenvironmental officials. Each listingincludes name, address, phone andfax numbers, and key personnel. Asecond edition is anticipated for1995.

127Directories


Directory of Business to BusinessCatalogs 1995Grey House Publishing, Inc.Pocket Knife SquareLakeville, CT 06039Tel: (203) 435-0868Toll-free: (800) 562-2139Fax: (203) 435-0867Contact: Leslie Mackenzie,

Publisher & Editor

Lists 5,500 catalogues in 35 productareas, from art to security.

Dun & Bradstreet Million DollarDirectory Updated annually.Dun and Bradstreet, Inc.,Dun’s Marketing Services3 Sylvan WayParsippany, NJ 07054Tel.: (201) 455-0900Fax: (201) 605-6930

Standard & Poor’s Register ofCorporations Updated annually.Standard & Poor’s Corporation25 BroadwayNew York, NY 10004Tel: (212) 208-8000Fax: (212) 208-0098

Thomas Register of AmericanManufacturers Updated annually. $210/set.Thomas Publishing Co.5 Penn Plaza, 9th FloorNew York, NY 10001Tel: (212) 290-7277Toll-free: (800) 638-7523, ext. 500Fax: (212) 290-7365

U.S. Industrial Directory$179.2000 S. Clearwater DriveOak Brook, IL 60521-8806Tel: (708) 574-7081Fax: (708) 574-7080

Computer Databases

11 Million Businesses’ PhoneBook$49. Published on CD ROM.Available at computer and softwarestores.American Business Information5711 South 86th CircleOmaha, NE 68127Tel: 402-593-4595Fax: 402-331-6681

Canadian Business Information495 King Street W., Suite 100Toronto, ON M5V 1K4Tel: 416-348-0255Fax: 416-348-0260

Covers virtually every business’sname and phone number in theU.S. and Canada.

BusinessLINE Donnelley Marketing InformationServices 3135 Kifer RoadSanta Clara, CA 95051Tel: (408) 970-1847 Toll-free: (800) 866-2255Fax: (408) 970-9999Contact: David Cabello,

Demographic Specialist



Canadian Corporations –CanCorpMicromedia Ltd.20 Victoria St.Toronto, ON M5C 2N8Tel: (416) 362-5211Fax: (416) 362-6161

CD-ROM provides online access toover 8,000 Canadian companies,including private companies andCrown corporations.

Non-profit Organizations

Co-op America BusinessNetwork1612 K Street, NW, #600Washington, D.C. 20006Tel: (202) 872-5307Toll-free: (800) 584-7336Fax: (202) 331-8166Internet: [email protected]: Russ Gaskin,

Assistant Director

Twelve hundred dues-payingbusiness members whosecompanies have been screened foreligibility. Provides technicalassistance and financial advice tomembers. Puts large and smallmember companies together forsourcing opportunities. Issued theFinancing Guide for SociallyResponsible Businesses. With Co-opAmerica, it publishes the NationalGreen Pages, which has 100 productcategories; a catalogue featuring theproducts available from its smallestmember companies; the Co-opAmerica quarterly newsletter; andthe Socially Responsible FinancialPlanning Guide. Provides advocacy,

technical support, and publicity forthe Green Retailing Association.

Environmental Defense Fund1875 Connecticut Ave., NW 10th FloorWashington, D.C. 20009Tel: (202) 387-3500Fax: (202) 234-6049Contact: Richard Denison

or

257 Park Avenue, SouthNew York, NY 10010Tel: (212) 505-2100Fax: (212) 505-2375Contact: John Ruston

Coordinating a national, private-sector task force to increase the useof environmentally preferable paperand paperboard products. Worksclosely with leaders from a varietyof industries to cost effectivelyimprove environmentalperformance.

Harmony Foundation201A-45 Bastion SquareVictoria, BC V8W 1J1Tel: (604) 380-3001Fax: (604) 380-0887Contacts: Michael Bloomfield,

Executive DirectorKatherine Ratcliffe,Institute Coordinator

Publishes the Workplace Guide tohelp organizations improveenvironmental practices. Coversenergy, hazardous materials, waste,water, transportation, purchasing,property management, educationand training.

129Directories


Buy Recycled Business AllianceNational Recycling Coalition1101 30th Street, NW, Suite 305Washington, D.C. 20007Tel: (202) 625-6406Fax: (202) 625-6409Contact: Phil Bailey

The Alliance is a group of over 800companies committed to increasingtheir purchases of products madefrom recycled content. It providesinformation and guidance tocompanies interested inestablishing or expanding their in-house Buy Recycled programs. BuyRecycled seminars are heldthroughout the United States andhow-to materials are distributedfree of charge. Member companieshave increased their purchases ofrecycled content paper, plastic,packaging, and office supplyproducts, and an increasing numberare offering recycled contentproducts to customers.There is nocharge to join this organization.

Canadian Buy-Recycled Alliance35 Crescent RoadToronto, ON M4W 1T4Tel: (416) 925-1583Fax: (416) 925-2531Contact: Wendy Cook

Now in its formative stages, theAlliance will work to expand publicand private sector markets forrecycled-content products.Members will receive informationon how to buy recycled and on themarket availability of new recycled-content products.They will also

receive free or at-cost access to on-line product directories and trainingworkshops. Membership fees willvary depending on the size of theorganization and all members willbe asked to commit to buyingrecycled whenever feasible.

Publications

Winning Combinations:Entrepreneurial PartnershipsBetween Large and SmallCompanies 1991.$24.95. Written by James Bokin andJana Matthews.John Wiley & Sons, Inc.1 Wiley DriveSomerset, NJ 08875Tel: (908) 469-4400Toll-free: (800) 225-5945Fax: (908) 302-2300

or

John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.22 Worcester RoadRexdale, ON M9W 1L1Tel: (416) 675-3580Fax: (416) 675-6599

Gives cases and guidelines forestablishing successful ventureswith larger companies.

The E Factor1993.Written by Joel Makower.Tilden Press1519 Connecticut Ave, NWWashington, D.C. 20036Tel: (202) 332-1700 Toll-free: (800) 955-GREENFax: (202) 332-3028



Forty Ways to Make GovernmentPurchasing Green1992.Written by Eleanor J. Lewis and EricWeltman.Center For the Study of ResponsiveLawP.O. Box 19367Washington, D.C. 20036Tel: (202) 387-8030Fax: (202) 234-5176

The Green Partnership Guide: 12Steps to Help Create anEnvironmentally Friendly Settingfor our Guests, Ourselves, andOur Future1992.Written by Warner Troyer.Canadian Pacific Hotels & Resorts 1 University Avenue, Suite 1400Toronto, ON M5J 2P1Tel: (416) 367-7111Fax: (416) 863-6097

Periodicals

Green Business Letter Published monthly byTilden Press1519 Connecticut Ave, NWWashington, D.C. 20036Tel: (202) 332-1700 Toll-free: (800) 955-GREEN Fax: (202) 332-3028Contact: Joel Makower, Editor

Management strategies, how-toadvice, new products and trendsrelated to corporateenvironmentalism. Introductorysubscription price: US $127, Canada$132 (in US funds).

Business and the EnvironmentPublished monthly byCutter Information Corp.37 BroadwayArlington, MA 02174-5539Tel: (617) 641-5125Toll-free: (800) 964-5125 Fax: (617) 648-1950Toll-free fax: (800) 888-1816.Contact: Kathleen M. Victory,

Editor

Subscription price US $497, outsideNorth America, $597 per year.

EcoOpportunities Published bi-monthly by theEnvironmental Business NetworkProject of the PeninsulaConservation Center3921 East Bay Shore RoadPalo Alto, CA 94303Tel: (415) 962-9876Fax: (415) 962-8234Contact: Carol Lauffer, Editor

Membership price $89 (US) forcompanies with less than 100employees.

131Directories


Environment Reporter Published weekly, and International EnvironmentReporterPublished bi-weekly, by the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.Circulation Department9435 Key West AvenueRockville, MD 20850Tel: (202) 452-4200 Toll-free: (800) 372-1033 Fax: (800) 253-0332

(within the USA) Fax: (301) 294-6650

(outside the USA)

Call for subscription prices.

Environmental Digest BiWeeklyand Recycling Canada MonthlyPublished bySydenham Publishing344 23rd Street WestOwen Sound, ON N4K 4G7Tel: (519) 371-6289Fax: (519) 371-3676Contact: Stella Coultas, Editor

Subscription price: C$235 for 25issues of Environmental Digest Bi-Weekly plus GST & PST; $110 for 12issues of Recycling Canada Monthly.



United States

Environmental Business Council ofthe United States, Inc.31 Thorpe Road, Suite 202P.O. Box 833Needham, MA 02194-0006Tel: (617) 449-5600Fax: (617) 449-1132Contacts: Donald Connors,

PresidentMartin Cohn,Communications Director

Composed of a broad range ofenvironmental technology andconsulting firms throughout theUnited States, the Council sponsorsa variety of educational andinformation-exchange meetings. Itis working for improved marketaccess and trade opportunities forenvironmental technologies.Referrals are provided to the rapidlygrowing number of EnvironmentalBusiness Councils across the UnitedStates.

New England

Environmental Business Council ofNew England, Inc.150 Federal Street22nd FloorBoston, MA 02110-1726Tel: (617) 737-0060Fax: (617) 951-8736Contact: Diana Coates,

Executive Director

California

California Environmental BusinessCouncil1855 Diamond Street, Suite 5-306San Diego, CA 92109Tel: (619) 581-0713Fax: (619) 581-1280Contact: Brian A. Runkel,

Executive Director

Canada

Canadian Environment IndustryAssociation6 Antares DrivePhase l l, Suite 204Nepean, ON K2E 8A9Tel: (613) 723-3525Fax: (613) 723-0060Contact: G. Steve Hart, President

Alberta

Environmental Services Associationof Alberta250-10508 82nd AveEdmonton, AB T6E 2A4Tel: (403) 439-6363Toll-free: (800) 661-WASTEFax: (403) 439-4249Contacts: L.B. (Sandy) Sutton,

Executive DirectorKen Armstrong,President

133Directories


Environmental Industry Associations

British Columbia

CEIA - BC333 Dunsmuir StreetVancouver, BC V5H 4M2Tel: (604) 590-7444Fax: (604) 590-5347Contact: Bill Dinsmore, President

Manitoba

Manitoba Environmental IndustriesAssociation Inc.501 D, Weston StreetP.O. Box 192, Station LWinnipeg, MB R3H 0Z5Tel: (204) 775-6157Fax: (204) 775-9381Contacts: Shirley Seidel,

Executive DirectorMichael Van Walleghem,President

Newfoundland

Newfoundland EnvironmentalIndustry AssociationBox 43, Atlantic PlaceSuite 602, 215 Water StreetSt John’s, NF A1C 6C9Tel: (709) 722-3786Fax: (709) 722-3879Contacts: Elizabeth Atkinson,

Executive DirectorDavid Robbins, President

Ontario

Canadian Environment IndustryAssociation, Ontario Chapter63 Polson St., 2nd FloorToronto, ON M5A 1A4 Tel: (416) 778-6590Fax: (416) 778-5702Contact: Gary T. Gallon, President

Quebec

L’AESEQ (Association ofEnvironmental Contractors ofQuebec)1400, rue Sauvé ouestSuite 232Montreal, QC H4N 1C5Tel: (514) 745-3580Fax: (514) 745-3582Contacts: Jean-Guy Laberge,

Directeur GénéralHans Gruenwald,President

Saskatchewan

SATMA/SWSAS (SaskatchewanAdvanced Technology ManagementAssociation Inc./Special WasteServices Association ofSaskatchewan)Sentar Consultants300-333 25th Street E.Saskatoon, SK S7K 0L4Tel: (306) 665-7655Fax: (306) 665-3312Contact: Don Somers,

Executive Director



Mexico

Two helpful directories:

Listas de empresas que ofrecenservicios ambientales en México (AList of Businesses OfferingEnvironmental Services) andDirectorio Verde (A Directory ofGreen Non-governmentalOrganizations) are available from

Dr. Edgar Gonzalez GaudianoDirector of EnvironmentalEducationDirección General de Investigación y Desarrollo TechnológicoInstituto Nacional de EcologiaRío Elba No. 20—7 PisoCol. Cuauhtémoc06500 México, D.F.Fax: (52) (5) 553-9753

Trade Shows

The GLOBE SeriesThe GLOBE Foundation of CanadaSuite 504 - 999 Canada PlaceVancouver, BC V6C 3E1Tel: (604) 775-1994Fax: (604) 666-8123Contact: John D. Wiebe, President

A biennial international conferenceand trade show focusing onbusiness opportunities and theenvironment.

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Federal Research Organizations

Biotechnology Research Institute National Research Council6100 Royalmount AvenueMontreal, QC H4P 2R2Tel: (514) 496-6182Fax: (514) 496-1575Contact: Dr. Charles Greer,

Group Leader,Environmental Section

Areas of Specialty

• biochemical, genetic andprotein engineering

Canada Centre for Mineral andEnergy Technology (CANMET)Natural Resources Canada555 Booth StreetOttawa, ON K1A 0G1Tel: (613) 995-4267Fax: (613) 995-3192Contact: Keith Belinko, Director,

Corporate Planning and Communications Policy,Planning and Services Branch

Areas of Specialty• Energy Research Laboratories:

synthetic fuels, carbonizationresearch, combustiontechnology, conservation andefficiency, energy systems

• Mineral Sciences Laboratories:chemistry and processing of ore

• Metals Technology Laboratory:materials, corrosion, steel

• Western Research Centre: tar

sands, coal and petroleumprocessing and products

• Energy Research DiversificationLaboratory: alternative energyand hybrid systems, natural gastechnologies, heat managementtechnologies

• Mining Research Laboratories:safety, instrumentation,explosives

• Energy Efficiency Division:energy efficient systems

• Alternate Energy Division:alternate transportation fuels,renewable energy

Environmental Technology CentreEnvironment Canada3439 River RoadGloucester, ON K1A 0H3Tel: (613) 991-5633Fax: (613) 998-1365Contact: D.E.Thorton, Director

Areas of Specialty• technical, and research and

development, support topollution assessment andcontrol programs, includingfederal regulatory initiatives

• measurement of air pollutantsin ambient air and emissionsfrom mobile and stationarysources

• analysis of organic andinorganic compounds in diversesample matrices

• forecasting and coordinating thechemical and biological test



Technology Assistance Organizations – Canada

methodology needs forEnvironment Canada'sEnvironmental ProtectionService

• evaluation, development anddemonstration of technologiesfor the cleanup of leakinghazardous waste sites

• emergency response to oil andchemical spills

Institute for EnvironmentalResearch and TechnologyNational Research Council ofCanadaBuilding M-12, Montreal RoadOttawa, ON K1A 0R6Tel: (613) 990-6618Fax: (613) 957-8231Contact: Terry Kimmel, Head,

Business Development

Areas of Specialty• airborne emissions reduction• recycling solid and liquid wastes• improved thermal energy

efficiency• accurate chemical

measurements forenvironmental contaminants

Wastewater Technology CentreOperated by Rockcliffe ResearchManagement Inc.867 Lakeshore RoadP.O. Box 5068Burlington, ON L7R 4L7Tel: (905) 336-4855Fax: (905) 336-4765Contact: John Neate, Chief

Operating Officer

Areas of Specialty• municipal and industrial waste

water treatment and disposaltechnology

• waste water process technology• waste minimization• pollution control systems• site remediation

Provincial and TerritorialResearch Organizations

The regional research organizationsspecialize in services to small andmedium sized businesses throughconsulting, applied research,development and testinglaboratories, and technologytransfer assistance in a variety ofspecialty areas.They also workclosely with the National ResearchCouncil’s Industrial ResearchAssistance Program (discussedbelow).

Alberta Research Council P.O. Box 8330Edmonton, AB T6H 5X2Tel: (403) 450-5111Fax: (403) 450-1490Contact: Dr. John Kramer,

Manager, Joint Research Venture Program

Areas of Specialty• advanced computing and

engineering• biotechnology• environmental technology• forestry products

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• energy technology• pulp and paper products

BC Research Inc.3650 Westbrook MallVancouver, BC V6S 2L2Tel: (604) 224-4331Fax: (604) 224-0540Contact: James Dodds,

Vice President,Operations

Areas of Specialty• systems engineering• product development• ocean engineering• remediation and control of air

emissions, wastewater and solidwaste

• occupational health, food,nutrition and ergonomics

• forest biotechnology

Centre de recherche industrielledu Québec 8475 rue Christophe-ColombMontréal, QC H2M 2N9Tel: (514) 383-1550Fax: (514) 383-3260Contact: Gilles Lessard,

Vice President,Marketing and Sales

Areas of Specialty• biofiltration• biotechnology• combustion• wastewater treatment• air pollution• soil remediation• physical and chemical processes

Manitoba Economic Innovationand Technology Council 1329 Niakwa Road EastWinnipeg, MB R2J 3T4Tel: (204) 945-6000Fax: (204) 945-1784Contact: Trevor Cornell, P. Eng.,

Manager, Technical Operations

Areas of Specialty• agri-food• environmental and analytical

chemistry services• air quality• waste and wastewater• electronics and mechanical

product design• vibration and noise engineering

Northern Research Institute Yukon CollegeP.O. Box 2799Whitehorse,YT Y1A 5K4Tel: (403) 668-8735Fax: (403) 668-8890Contacts: Juergen Korn, Industrial

Technology AdvisorGerald Isaac, First Nations Liaison OfficerTed Lambert, Manager,Client Services

Areas of Specialty• Yukon and Northern Studies• organic analysis• water quality• electronics• northern building construction• northern heating systems• alternative energy • contaminants



Nova Scotia Research FoundationCorporation 101 Research DriveWoodside Industrial ParkP.O. Box 790Dartmouth, NS B2Y 3Z7Tel: (902) 424-8670Fax: (902) 424-4679Contact: Dr. J. W. (Bill) Thorpe,

Director, Laboratory and Testing Services

Areas of Specialty• analytical and environmental

chemistry• biology and microbiology• materials testing and corrosion

analysis• bio-resource machinery for

forestry and fishery• agriculture• fisheries• wastewater treatment

technologies

ORTECH International2395 Speakman DriveMississauga, ON L5K 1B3Tel: (905) 822-4111Fax: (905) 823-1446Contact: Bill Fossen,

Technology AdvisorAreas of Specialty• engineering transportation• environmental management• materials technologies• product engineering• materials• environment• process engineering• energy conservation

• alternative energy/fuel

• pharmaceutical/bio-technology

Research and ProductivityCouncil 921 College Hill Rd.Fredericton, NB E3B 6Z9Tel: (506) 452-8994Fax: (506) 452-1395Contact: Charles Wiesner,

Section Manager,Biotechnical Dept.

Areas of Specialty• fisheries and aquaculture• environmental chemistry• bioremediation• biological pest management• pesticide technology• process and environmental

technology• engineering materials and

services• electronics

Saskatchewan Research Council 15 Innovation Blvd.Saskatoon, SK S7N 2X8Tel: (306) 933-5499Fax: (306) 933-7896Contacts: Tim Hutch, President

Tony Rawa,Vice President,Technology Transfer

Areas of Specialty• energy conservation (esp.

buildings)• alternative energy/fuel• air quality• biotechnology• environmental engineering

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• toxicology

• water quality

Science Institute of theNorthwest Territories P.O. Box 1617Yellowknife, NT X1A 2P2Tel: (403) 873-7592Fax: (403) 873-0227Contact: Dr. Joe Ahmad, Manager,

Technology DevelopmentAreas of Specialty• renewable energy• general mechanical engineering• environmental technology

Additional Sources ofTechnology Assistance

Three Canadian EnvironmentalTechnology AdvancementCentres (CETACs) have beenestablished in partnership with thefederal government (EnvironmentCanada and Industry Canada),provincial governments,environmental industryassociations, and the private sector.These not-for-profit corporations,operating at arm's length from thegovernment and linked to form anational network are: Enviro-Accès,serving Quebec and the Maritimeprovinces; Ontario Centre forEnvironmental TechnologyAdvancement (OCETA), servingOntario; and CanadianEnvironmental Technology

Advancement Corporation (CETAC)– WEST, serving Western Canada.

Areas of Specialty• assessing innovative technology

and providing technicalassistance

• matching entrepreneurs withideas to groups that can helpturn those ideas into productsand services

• business counselling• regulatory and market analysis• locating foreign sources of

technology and promotingCanadian technology

• bringing technology developerstogether with venture capitaland financing groups

Enviro-Accès Inc.855 rue Pepin, Suite 310Sherbrooke, QC J1L 2P8Tel: (819) 823-2230Fax: (819) 823-6632Contact: Manon Laporte, Chief

Executive Officer

Ontario Centre forEnvironmental TechnologyAdvancement (OCETA) Inc.63 Polson Street, 2nd FloorToronto, ON M5A 1A4Tel: (416) 778-5264Fax: (416) 778-5624Contact: S. Edward Mallett,

President and C.E.O.



CETAC – WESTSuite 420 715 Fifth Avenue SWCalgary, AB T2P 2X6Tel: (403) 777-9595Fax: (403) 777-9599Contact: Joe Lukacs,

President and C.E.O.

Canadian Industrial Innova t i o nCentre156 Columbia St. WestWaterloo, ON N2L 3L3Tel: (519) 885-5870Fax: (519) 885-5729Contact: Gary Svoboda,

Marketing ManagerAreas of Specialty• market research and analysis• invention assessment• early stage product

development and design• computer modelling• seminars• books, tapes and software• technology transfer databases

Environmental TechnologyCommercialization Program Environmental Affairs BranchIndustry Canada235 Queen Street, 07EOttawa, ON K1A 0H5Tel: (613) 954-3242Fax: (613) 954-3430Contact: Program Manager

Areas of Specialty

• The ETCP provides leveragefunding over a six year period tofacilitate the development andcommercialization of

environmental technologies.Projects must lead to and/or berelated to first-time pilot or full-scale demonstrations.Theprogram does not fund basicresearch. Technologiessupported include those thatpromote cleaner processes,waste reduction and recycling,air pollution control, and waterconservation.

The Industrial ResearchAssistance Program National Research Council CanadaMontreal Rd., Building M55Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6Tel: (613) 993-3996Fax: (613) 954-2524Contact: Steve Palmer, Industrial

Technology Advisor

Areas of Specialty

• 270 IRAP advisors across thecountry provide technical andfinancial assistance to small andmedium sized firms for R&D inmanufacturing, resource,construction, and serviceindustries

• technical assistance may begained through externalconsultants, universities,colleges, governmentdepartment laboratories, andprovincial researchorganizations

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Newfoundland and LabradorAlliance of Technical Industries Box 41Atlantic Place215 Water St., Suite 602St. John’s, NF A1C 6C9Tel: (709) 722-3069Fax: (709) 722-3879Contact: Andrew Collins,

Executive Director

Areas of Specialty• consists of several companies

who may do contract technicalwork

• numerous areas of expertise• the alliance will connect the

individual (company) with theappropriate associate industrialcompany

Networks of Centres ofExcellence

Each individual network focuses ona specific field of interest. Eachnetwork contains several “centres”of excellence, which tend to beindividuals in universities,government, and private research.

Insect Biotech Canada Queen’s UniversityKingston, ON K7L 3N6Tel: (613) 545-6557Fax: (613) 545-6806Contact: Dr. B . Hutchinson,

Executive Director

Areas of Specialty• biotechnology for insect pest

management• biotechnology/biological control

re: insects

• physiology studies

Ocean Production EnhancementNetwork Dalhousie UniversityBiology DepartmentHalifax, NS B3H 4J1Tel: (902) 494-6741Fax: (902) 494-5118Contact: Denise Cassidy,

Executive Director

Areas of Specialty• fisheries research• ocean modelling dynamics• fisheries management

The Nova Scotia Centre forEnvironmentally SustainableEconomic Development (CESED)P.O. Box 1000Halifax, NS B3J 2X4Tel: (902) 420-7936Fax: (902) 429-4866Contacts: Mary Patterson, Manager,

ProductsMichael Bowie, Manager,Development and AssessmentLauren Munro-Cape,Manager, Finance and Administration

The Centre facilitates multi-sectoralpartnerships between the research,private, and public sectors toaddress specific issues insustainable development.Throughthe development of commerciallyviable products with exportcapabilities, CESED assists in thedevelopment of innovativetechnology and stimulation of the



local economy. The Centre providesfinancial assistance to some projectsto a maximum of 50%, which isrepayable through royaltyagreements upon commercializationof the product.

Areas of Specialty• proposal development• partnership building• project financing through

relevant government agencies

Technology DevelopmentDirectorateEnvironment Canada425 St. Joseph Boulevard, 4th FloorHull, QC K1A 0H3Tel: (819) 953-5669Fax: (819) 953-9029Contact: Glenn Allard,

Director General

Areas of Specialty

The Technology DevelopmentDirectorate (TDD) deliversprograms for the development,transfer and commercialization ofenvironmental technologies.Research and development isconducted at the EnvironmentalTechnology Centre in Ottawa andthe Wastewater Technology Centrein Burlington, Ontario. Severalfinancial incentive programssupport the development of a widerange of environmentaltechnologies. The Directorateprovides comprehensiveinformation and networking onclean air technologies. TDD alsodelivers technology transfer andcommercialization services to

departmental research institutesand programs, and to the privatesector through CanadianEnvironmental TechnologyAdvancement Centres (CETACs).Technology outreach is providedthrough technical conferences andtraining initiatives and throughEnvironmental Protection Servicepublications.

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United States National Labs

Argonne National LaboratoryEnvironmental Sciences9700 S. Cass AveBuilding 900Argonne, IL 60439Tel: (708) 252-3759Fax: (708) 252-5217Contact: Dr. Terry Surles,

General ManagerAreas of Specialty• energy systems analysis• environmental assessment• environmental research• information systems• resource management• restoration and reclamation• waste management

Battelle Pacific NorthwestLaboratoriesP. O. Box 999Richland, WA 99352Tel: (509) 375-2139Fax: (509) 375-2718Contact: L. Donald Williams,

Director, Technology Transfer

Areas of Specialty• applied physics• earth and environmental

sciences• life sciences• materials and chemical sciences• molecular science research• reactor technology

• technology planning andanalysis

• waste technology

Brookhaven National LaboratoryBuilding 902-CUpton, NY 11973Tel: (516) 282-7338Fax: (516) 282-3729Contact: Dr. Margaret Bogosian,

Deputy Manager, Office of Technology Transfer

Areas of Specialty• high-energy physics• basic energy sciences• biological research• environmental research• mechanical engineering• electrical engineering• fuels and combustion• environmental remediation

Lawrence Berkeley NationalLaboratoryUniversity of CaliforniaBuilding 90-1070Berkeley, CA 94720Tel: (510) 486-6467Fax: (510) 486-6457Contact: Cheryl Fragiadakis,

Technology Transfer Department

Areas of Specialty• biotechnology• advanced materials• transportation• computing



Technology Assistance Organizations – United States

• environment• energy

Lawrence Livermore NationalLaboratoryP.O. Box 8087000 East AvenueMail Stop L-795Livermore, CA 94550Tel: (510) 423-5660Fax: (510) 423-8988Contact: Pam Burke, Technology

Transfer Initiatives Program

Areas of Specialty• lasers, optics, electro-optics• engineered materials• atmospheric and geosciences• electronic systems• biosciences• computation and

microtechnology• materials• manufacturing processes and

systems• sensors• non-destructive evaluation

Los Alamos National LabIndustrial Partnership OfficeMS M899Los Alamos, NM 87545Tel: (505) 665-2133Fax: (505) 665-3125Contact: Irene Gabel, Technical

Assistance FacilitatorAreas of Specialty• analysis and assessment• bioscience and biotechnology• complex experimentation and

measurement• earth and environmental

systems• nuclear and advanced materials• nuclear science, plasmas and

beams• nuclear weapons science and

technology• theory, modeling and high-

performance computing

Oak Ridge National LaboratoryMartin Marietta Energy SystemsP.O. Box 2008Oak Ridge,TN 37831-6255Tel: (615) 574-0292Toll-free: (800) 356-4872Fax: (615) 574-1011Contact: Joe Culver, Public Affairs

Manager, Office of Technology Transfer

Areas of Specialty• environmental science• soil treatment• waste disposal• physical science• center of manufacturing support• information data systems• bioprocessing, biomaterials• biotechnology• computational sciences• environmental impact analysis• advanced materials

Sandia National LaboratoriesTechnology Transfer andCommercialization ProgramP.O. Box 5800Albuquerque, NM 87185-1380Tel: (505) 271-7813

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Fax: (505) 271-7856Contact: Warren Siemens,

Technology Transfer

Areas of Specialty• energy: combustion, geo-

technologies, coal and fuels,solar, batteries and fuel cells

• materials: organic chemistry,metallurgy

• engineering sciences: fluids,thermal sciences and solids

• solid state research• computer science and

information systems• microelectronics• manufacturing technology• environmental remediation

technologies• information networking

Additional Sources ofTechnology Assistance

California EnvironmentalTechnology Center9500 Gilman Drive, 0241La Jolla, CA 92093-0241Tel: (619) 534-8400Fax: (619) 534-8270Internet: [email protected]: Ed Furtek, DirectorAreas of Specialty• coordinates environmental

technology research at California's public and privateuniversities

• assesses public and privatemarkets for environmentaltechnologies

• prioritizes publicly fundedresearch and development ofenvironmental technologies

• assesses legal, regulatory, andfinancial barriers to innovation

• verifies the performance ofnewly developed technologies

• develops and implementstechnology transfer andcommercialization services forindustry

• provides access to businessplanning, venture capital, andother funding sources

Center for SustainableTechnology (CST)Georgia Institute of TechnologyMason BuildingAtlanta, GA 30332-0355Tel: (404) 894-2201Fax: (404) 894-2278Contact: Jorge A.Vanegas,

Associate Director

Areas of Specialty• testing and evaluation of

sustainable technologies• applied research in sustainable

technologies• technology transfer• continuous education and

training• bio-engineering• chemical engineering• electrical engineering• civil and environmental

engineering• industrial and systems

engineering



• materials science andengineering

• mechanical engineering

Federal Laboratory Consortiumfor Technology Transfer P.O. Box 545Sequim, WA 98382Tel: (206) 683-1005Fax: (206) 683-6654Contact: George Linsteadt, FLC

AdministratorAreas of Specialty• primary purpose is to

disseminate government-developed technologies topotential users

• technical assistance by drawingon federal laboratories, stateand federal technologyapplication centres, Battelle, anduniversity centres for a widerange of technical expertise

• consists of six regionaltechnology management andcommercialization centers

Inventors WorkshopInternational7332 Mason AvenueCanoga Park, CA 91306-2822Tel: (818) 340-4268Fax: (818) 884-8312Contact: Alan Arthur Tratner,

PresidentAreas of SpecialtyIn addition to educational andmutual support functions, theInventors Workshop has significantreferral contacts and aninternational network of resources.

It sponsors a special chapter foreco-inventors and eco-entrepreneurs, a new environmentaltechnologies exhibit at Eco-Expo,and an eco-inventors contest foryouth. In addition, the Workshopoffers a patent saver plan forintellectual property protection.

National EnvironmentalTechnology Applications Center University of PittsburghApplied Research Center615 William Pitt WayPittsburgh, PA 15238Tel: (412) 826-5511Fax: (412) 826-5552Contact: Robb Lenhart, Director,

Business ServicesAreas of Specialty• environmental technology• bioremediation• pollution prevention• waste minimization• air quality • water quality and treatment• hazardous waste• energy conservation• commercialization assistance• education and training• marketing research and

assessments• regulatory evaluations

• medical waste management

• information databases

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National Technology TransferCenter316 Washington Ave.Wheeling, WV 26003Tel: (304) 243-2510Toll free: (800) 678-6882Fax: (304) 243-2539Contact: Jim Reed, Director of

MarketingAreas of Specialty• free access to and

commercialization of federally-funded technologies

• personal referrals to federallaboratories and federally-funded university research

• electronic bulletin boardannouncing technology transferopportunities

• training on technology transferissues

• strategic partnering conferences



Canadian EnvironmentalDirectory1993/1994.The Canadian Almanac & DirectoryPublishing Company Ltd.55 St. Clair Ave. West, Suite 225Toronto, ON M5W 2J8Tel: (416) 972-6645Fax: (416) 972-6648

Canadian Sources ofEnvironmental Information1990.Environment CanadaLes Terrasses de la Chaudière10 Wellington StreetOttawa, ON K1A 0H3Tel: (819) 997-2800Toll-free: (800) 668-6767Fax: (819) 953-2225

Directory of Pollution PreventionFunding Organizations1994.Results from a survey oforganizations that fund researchand other activities in pollutionprevention and waste reduction inthe United States and Canada.Conducted by Battelle SeattleResearch Center. Published byPacific Northwest PollutionPrevention Research Center (PPRC)1326 Fifth Ave., Suite 650Seattle, WA 98101Tel: (206) 223-1157Fax: (206) 223-1165

Gale Environmental Sourcebook Gale Research Inc.835 Penobscot BuildingDetroit, MI 48226-4094Tel: (313) 961-2242Toll-free: (800) 347-GALE or

(800) 877-4253Fax: (313) 961-6083Toll-free fax: (800) 414-5043

Industry, Technology, and theEnvironment: CompetitiveChallenges and BusinessOpportunities1994.U.S. Congress Office of Technology AssessmentWashington, D.C. 20510Tel: (202) 224-8996Fax: (202) 228-6098

Technology for a SustainableFuture1994.U.S. National Science andTechnology CouncilEnvironmental Technology StrategyStaffOffice of Science and TechnologyPolicyRoom 403Old Executive Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20500Tel: (202) 456-7116Fax: (202) 456-6021

149Directories


Publications Listing Research and DevelopmentAssistance Organizations

Alberta Opportunity Company5110 - 49 AvenueP.O. Box 4040Ponoka, AB T4J 1R5Tel: (403) 783-7011Toll-Free: (800) 661-3811Fax: (800) 783-7079Contact: John Ablett,

Branch Manager

Investment Operations

The Alberta Opportunity Companyis a crown corporation which servesas an alternate source of financingfor small business across Alberta. Itprovides start-up and expansionfinancing ranging from a fewthousand dollars up to a cap of $1million. In addition to term loanfinancing, the company provides arange of business consultingservices.

Investment Interests

The company finances many typesof business enterprises.The onlyareas it explicitly avoids areagriculture and residential housing.

Atwick Financial Group1 University AvenueSuite 302Toronto, ON M5J 2P1Tel: (416) 359-2840Fax: (416) 359-2842Contacts: Bryan Long,

Managing DirectorWilliam Simmons,Managing Director


The company provides capitalthrough medium- and long-termdebt including project financing,financing for lease portfolios, anddirect equity investments.Thecompany seeks investment inenterprises that are oriented toincreasing book value and wish tocapitalize on growth opportunities.The company utilizes a range oflending instruments in the $1 – $5million range.


The company has an interest incapital-intensive industries such aspower generation and naturalresources, particularly the oil andgas sector. For the sustainableentrepreneur seeking debt financingthrough leasing and otherinstruments that increase workingcapital for day-to-day and growthdemands, this company offers aninteresting fit.



Sources of Capital for Sustainable Enterprises – CanadaDisclaimer: The information in this Directory was supplied by the companies andorganizations listed.IISD does not accept responsibility for any losses or damages resultingfrom the use of this information.

Canadian Western Bank10303 Jasper AvenueSuite 2300Edmonton, AB T5J 3X4Tel: (403) 423-8844Fax: (403) 423-8897Contact: Graham Gilbert,

Vice President,Marketing


The company is a WesternCanadian regional bank with a full-service banking operation. It serveslocal businesses well.The bankoffers commercial lending, retaillending, and corporate financingservices.


The company has an interest inattracting SMEs as customers. Itoffers good service to retailoperations. For the sustainableentrepreneur in Western Canada,the company can play a useful rolein capitalizing the growing greenconsumer market.

Crocus Investment Fund275 Broadway, Suite 303Winnipeg, MB R3C 4M6Tel: (204) 925-2400Fax: (204) 942-2785Contact: Marty Donkervoort,

Vice President


This labour-sponsored fund wasincorporated in 1992 to respond tothe need for investment capital bysmall and medium sized companies

in Manitoba. It has lending andequity financing capability. It isparticularly interested in enterprisesthat promote community economicdevelopment.


Worker-owned enterprises are thecompany’s prime target market.Thecompany is interested in businessesthat preserve the local environmentwhile helping communitiesstrengthen their economic base. Forthe sustainable entrepreneur, whowants to capitalize on Manitobamarkets, the company will be ofparticular interest. With assets inexcess of $10 million, the Fund isactively seeking investmentopportunities.

EnviroCapital Management Inc.2540 boul. Daniel Johnson, #910Laval, QC H7T 2S3Tel: (514) 687-2040Fax: (514) 687-9283Contacts: Normand Balthazard,

PresidentRaymond Brouzes,Vice President,Scientific Affairs


In partnership with Fonds desolidarité des travailleurs du Québec(FTQ) and Banque de Vizille inFrance, the company providesventure capital, strategic advice, andongoing supervision for companiesat the start-up or developmentstages. Technical and managementsupport, extensive international

151Directories


networks, and strategic allianceswith other venture capital funds inNorth America and Europe makethis company a solid source ofleads, information, and capital.


The company invests in 8-10environmental technologycompanies with a preference forenterprises located in Quebec.Strategically targeted fields includerecovery and treatment of gaseousand liquid emissions; wastemanagement, recovery, andrecycling; research anddevelopment; clean technologies;and technology transfer. For theentrepreneur interested in a closeworking relationship with a firmthat is well positionedinternationally, this company will beof particular interest.

Federal Business DevelopmentBank(Venture Capital Division)700 - 601 West Hastings StreetVancouver, BC V6B 5G9Tel: (604) 666-7815Fax: (604) 666-7650Contacts: David Bennett, Assistant

Vice PresidentTony Charnish,Investment Manager


The company is a major source ofventure capital in Canada. Itoperates nation-wide.The companytakes minority interest positions inprivate enterprises. It prefers

instruments which include varioustypes of share ownership ordebentures.


The company will invest directly inCanadian enterprises in all sectors,though it avoids speculativeinvestments.The company has aninterest in significant, innovativeleading edge technologies whichhold the potential to create aCanadian competitive advantage.For the sustainable entrepreneur,the company can offer the weight ofa major investor who is willing toinvest large, i.e., $5 million, to small,i.e., $500,000 amounts.

Fonds de solidarité destravailleurs du Québec (FTQ)1550 rue Metcalfe Suite 1100Montreal, QC H3A 1X6Tel: (514) 383-8383Fax: (514) 383-2506Contact: Denis Dionne,

Vice President


The company has a large pool ofcapital, and carries largerinvestments, i.e., $2 – $3 millionand up, in its portfolio. It will offerenterprises various types offinancing at all stages ofdevelopment.


The company has a geographicalpreference for Quebec enterprises.It has an interest in enterprises in



the informatics, energy, andinstrumentation areas. For thesustainable entrepreneur, thiscompany will be of interest whenseeking a substantial amount ofequity financing.

Golden Capital Securities1177 West Hastings StreetSuite 168Vancouver, BC V6E 2K3Tel: (604) 688-1898Fax: (604) 682-8874Contacts: Peter Lee, Partner,

Corporate FinanceDanny Siu,Vice President


The company specializes inassisting enterprises that needcapital to grow. It operates as afinancial advisor and broker, with afull-service brokerage house on theVancouver Stock Exchange.Thecompany prides itself on its serviceto small businesses and has a rapiddecision-making operation.


The company can provide valuableassistance to enterprises planningexpansion or diversification. It hasuseful investor contactsinternationally, notably in the Asia-Pacific region. For the sustainableentrepreneur, the company canprovide personal financial advisoryservices and access to capital from anumber of sources.

Gundy & Associates Ltd.49 Wellington St. EastSuite 301Toronto, ON M5E 1C9Tel: (416) 368-2464Fax: (416) 368-0875Contacts: Michael Gundy,

PresidentEmile Van Nispen,Vice President and Director


The company focuses primarily onproject financing in Canada andoverseas. The principals havesubstantial experience in raisingfunds and endeavour to participateearly in the project developmentcycle.The company is particularlyskilled in business planning andinvestment structuring for theprivate and publicly-traded markets.


The company has a track record inassisting environmental companies.It seeks to marry the raising offunds with value-added advisoryservices. For the sustainableentrepreneur with products/servicesin engineering and technology, thecompany will be of particularinterest.

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Kingswood Capital Corporation701 West Georgia StreetSuite 502Vancouver, BC V7Y 1A1Tel: (604) 687-1520Fax: (604) 687-6539Contacts: Joseph Segal, President

Gary Segal,Vice President


The company manages mergers andacquisitions and ownershipchanges. It makes investmentsduring periods of transition. Itutilizes a number of different debtand equity instruments includingconvertible or participating debt. Itwill invest in most parts of Canadabut prefers firms in BritishColumbia.


The company is more interested inexpansions and turnarounds than instartups. It has a significant interestin environmental technologies andproduct and service enterprises.Thecompany will be of interest toenvironmental enterprises requiringinvestments of modest level, i.e.,$200,000, and up.

Penfund Partners Inc.1 University AvenueSuite 601Toronto, ON M5J 2P1Tel: (416) 865-0300Fax: (416) 364-6912Contacts: Ian Collier, Executive

Vice President Barry Gekiere, Executive Vice PresidentGraham McBridge,Vice President


The company is interested in laterstage investments, especially forexpansions and commercialization.It will participate in consortia andalso lead certain deals.


The company is active in a widerange of fields. It prefersinvestments in the $1 – $4 millionrange. For the sustainableentrepreneur in the consumer,industrial products and equipment,and import/export sectors, thecompany will be of interest.

Quorum Funding Corporation1505 - 150 King Street WestP.O. Box 5, Sun Life TowerToronto, ON M5H 1J9Tel: (416) 971-6998Fax: (416) 971-5955Contact: Ron Patterson,

Vice President,Investments


The company has a significant poolof capital and a core group of

investments. It is a good companywith which to establish a long-termrelationship.


The company is open toinvestments in a wide variety offields and has a national scope inCanada. For the sustainableentrepreneur, the ability of thecompany to consider investments insectors from informationtechnology to financial servicestechnology to environmentalservices is a real asset.

Royal Bank Capital CorporationRoyal Bank Plaza200 Bay St., 13th FloorSouth TowerToronto, ON M5J 2J5Tel: (416) 974-2591Fax: (416) 974-8411Contact: Jacques Sayegh, President


The company invests in emerginggrowth firms with sales of $5million or more. A typicalinvestment will cover a period ofthree to five years; range from $1 –$10 million; and provide forcompany expansion, productdevelopment, and acquisition. Inreturn, the investor receives anownership interest ranging from 10to 49 percent.The company hasoffices in Montreal, Toronto, andVancouver.


The company has a primary pool of$150 million to invest in the

expansion of knowledge-based andexport-oriented enterprises.Businesses specializing inenvironmental technology,biotechnology, recycling processes,and pollution control are of specialinterest. For the sustainableentrepreneur in a knowledge-basedfirm who is ready to expand, thiscompany will be of special interest.

SB Capital International, Inc.2 Bloor Street EastSuite 3304Toronto, ON M4W 1A7Tel: (416) 967-5439Fax: (416) 928-1472Contacts: Mitch Kostuch

Nicholas Parker


The company has been structuredto pursue international investmentopportunities, particularly inemerging economies which aregoing through the liberalizationprocess.The company looks forinvestments in high-growthcompanies at all stages ofdevelopment. The company addssignificant value to its investmentsthrough participation in meetingthe strategic objectives of theenterprise.


The company has an interest ininvesting in companies located in orexporting to the rapidly growingeconomies of India and EasternEurope. A major focus of thecompany is environmental

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technologies, especially those whichare front-of-the-pipe and havestrong commercial drivers.

Technocap Inc.119 Prince RupertPointe Claire, QC H9R 1M1Tel: (514) 642-2458Fax: (514) 879-3410Contact: Richard Prytula, Manager


Technocap is a recently establishedventure capital company with $50million of available capital. Itsfounding shareholders are theCaisse de dépôt et placement duQuébec, Investissement Desjardins,the pension funds of Bombardierand de Havilland, the Fonds desolidarité des travailleurs duQuébec, Hydro-Québec, the SociétéInnovatech du Grand Montréal, andTechnocap’s manager, RichardPrytula.The amount of investmentswill range from $250,000 to $2.5million. Investments will targetcompanies at the start-up stage aswell as those that want to expand.While Technocap is Montreal-based,it does not have a geographicrestriction.


Technocap focuses on businessesengaged in technology sectors,particularly information technologyand telecommunications, computersystems and software, electronicsand instrumentation, energy,environment, and health. Technocapwill invest primarily in small andmedium sized businesses seeking

an active partner in theirdevelopment. Technocap focuses oncompanies that will benefit from itsexpertise and business networks.Technocap can provide added valueby contributing to the developmentof a company’s commercial andfinancial strategies. For thesustainable entrepreneur engagedin environmental research,Technocap holds good potential. Todate, Technocap has invested in fourcompanies.

Given its newness, Technocap doesnot have a track record.

Trilwood Investments Ltd.161 Bay StreetSuite 4320Toronto, ON M5J 2S1Tel: (416) 869-3945Fax: (416) 869-1778Contacts: John Puddington,

PresidentDoug Moore,Vice President


Trilwood is a privately-ownedinvestment company. It placesequity investments in enterpriseswith a clear strategic direction andstrong management team. It is opento investing in companies at thegrowth stage. It leans towards largerinvestments, i.e., $3 – $7 million.The company invests in companiesin both Canada and the UnitedStates.


The company has a number ofsectoral preferences includingconsumer industries, energy andnatural resources, and import andexport. For sustainableentrepreneurs, this company will beof interest for relatively large scaleexpansions in Canada and abroad.

Vancouver City Savings CreditUnion (VanCity)P.O. Box 2120Station TerminalVancouver, BC V6B 5R8Tel: (604) 877-7621Fax: (604) 877-8226Contact: Karen Currie,

Vice President,Human Resources and Environment


Canada’s largest credit union hasestablished an array of innovativemeans to assist local for-profit andnot-for-profit organizations in theirefforts to promote positive socialand environmental change.Initiatives include donations,sponsorships, awards, scholarshipsand loans.


The EnviroFund aids projectsproviding long-term and proactivesolutions to environmental concernsin the Vancouver/Fraser Valleyregion.The Corporate Sponsorshipand donations programs supportcommunity projects with grants.The Community Investment

Deposit Fund invests in housing,job creation and environmentalprojects.VanCity Enterprisesdevelops affordable housing andthe VanCity Community Foundationoffers grants and technicalassistance to community economicdevelopment endeavours.

Ventures West Management Inc.250-375 Water StreetVancouver, BC V6B 5C6Tel: (604) 688-9495Fax: (604) 687-2145Contacts: Michael Brown,

President,VancouverMark Leonard, Senior Vice President, Toronto


The company is a long-standingmanager of a number of investmentand venture funds. Ventures Westprovides capital to early stagetechnology companies located inCanada and the United States.Ventures West has over 100 years ofexperience, together with directhands-on operating experience. Ithas general business, marketing andtechnical experience which addssignificant value to the developmentof investee companies.


The company emphasizes earlystage investment in enterpriseswhich hold potential for substantialgrowth. It is active in a number ofkey sectors including alternativeenergy and environmentaltechnologies. For the sustainable

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entrepreneur with an innovativetechnology and significant growthpotential, this company is attractive.

Women’s World FinanceP.O. Box 1142, 54 Prince StreetSydney, NS B1P 6J7Tel: (902) 562-1772Fax: (902) 562-4273Contact: Adele MacDonald,

Executive Director


The company is part of theinternational system of Women’sWorld Banking which providestechnical support and financialassistance to women to establishnew private enterprises.Thecompany makes small loans (lessthan $10,000) to enterprises led andowned by women.The oneCanadian chapter currently operatesonly on Cape Breton Island in NovaScotia.


The company is highly innovativeand offers an investment source forwomen without a track record inbusiness or a credit history. For thefemale entrepreneur looking for arelatively small amount of start-upcapital, branches of the Women’sWorld Banking System are goodsources to approach.



AVI Management PartnersOne First StreetSuite 12Los Altos, CA 94022Tel: (415) 949-9862Fax: (415) 949-8510Contacts: Peter Wolken,

General PartnerBarry Weinman,General PartnerBrian Grossi,General Partner


The company is a private venturefirm investing its own capital. Itparticipates at the early stages ofthe development of an enterprise. Ithas a preference for investments onthe West Coast of the United States.


The company is active in a numberof sectors, notably the informaticsarea. For the sustainableentrepreneur, this company will beof interest if the enterprise involvesinformation technologies.

Calvert Group4550 Montgomery Avenue Suite 1000NBethesda, MD 20814Tel: (301) 951-4820Toll-free: (800) 368-2748Fax: (301) 654-2960

Contact: Wayne Silby, President,Calvert Social Investment Fund


The Calvert Group manages $4.6billion in mutual funds includingthe Calvert Social Investment Fund,the World Values Global EquityFund, and the Strategic GrowthFund. It specializes in two of thefastest growing investment arenas— socially-screened and tax-freeinvestments. A small percentage ofthe money is placed in privateequity investments in small sociallyand environmentally responsiblecompanies.


The group has invested in twoWashington, D.C., firms — EnergiaGlobal and the Clean Air CabCompany. Energia Global suppliesand sells energy-efficienttechnologies in Latin America andthe Clean Air Cab Companymanages the first natural-gas-powered cab company in theUnited States.

For more complete information on anyCalvert Fund, including all charges andexpenses, call for a free prospectus. Readit carefully before investing or sendingmoney.

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Sources of Capital for Sustainable Enterprises – United StatesDisclaimer: The information in this Directory was supplied by the companies andorganizations listed.IISD does not accept responsibility for any losses or damages resultingfrom the use of this information.

Calvert Social Venture Partners7201 Wisconsin Ave, Suite 310Bethesda, MD 20814Tel: (301) 718-4272Fax: (301) 656-4421Contact: John May, President

This $10 million fund invests incompanies that make an activecontribution to healthcare or theenvironment. Its portfolio includes atire-recycling company; a companythat is developing an infraredtechnology for sorting andcontrolling quality on food-production lines; and a drug-discovery company that uses theknowledge of medicine men todiscover and develop naturalpharmaceuticals.

Chemical Venture Partners270 Park Avenue, 5th FloorNew York, NY 10017Tel: (212) 270-3220Fax: (212) 270-2327Contacts: Jeffrey Walker, Senior

Managing PartnerJack Baron, PrincipalDavid Ferguson, Partner


The company is an internationalprivate equity firm, with $2 billionof committed capital in over 150companies. CVP’s sole limitedpartner is the Chemical BankingCorporation, a $140 billionworldwide banking entity. The firminvests in the U.S.A., Europe,Southeast Asia and Latin Americathrough offices in New York, LosAngeles, London and Singapore.


The company is widely active innew venture capital, managementbuyout, recapitalization, growthequity and mezzanine transactions.It actively invests in healthcareinsurance, specialty retailing,apparel, automotive, energy, media,environmental and consumerproducts. For the sustainableentrepreneur, CVP will be ofinterest if major investments aresought, including related bankingadvice.

Edison Venture Fund997 Lenox Drive #3Lawrenceville, NJ 08648Tel: (609) 896-1900Fax: (609) 896-0066Contact: Rick Defieux,

General Partner


The company has a stronggeographic interest in the EastCoast of the United States. It makesmedium scale investments: $1 – $2million and up. It is actively seekingnew investments in companies withsignificant turnover.


The company invests in a numberof sectors, including energyconservation, pollution and wastemanagement systems, andenvironmental services. For theestablished entrepreneur seekingsubstantial capital to expand, thecompany holds potential.



Fowler, Anthony & Co.20 Walnut StreetWellesley, MA 02181Tel: (617) 237-4201Contact: John Quagliaroli,

President


The company operates as aninvestment banking firm placing itsown capital and that of its clients. Italso engages in financial services,particularly in arranging privateplacements. It caters to smallercompanies and makes investmentsin the $100,000 – $5 million range.The company prefers New Englandventures, but is also interested inenterprises in the rest of the UnitedStates, Canada, the UnitedKingdom, France, and Italy.


The company is active in numerouseconomic sectors. It has an interestin alternative energy, energyconservation, technology-relatedproducts and equipment,environmental services, and naturalgas.

HFG Expansion FundP.O. Box 81367Wellesley, MA 02181Tel: (617) 431-2322Fax: (617) 431-7103Contact: Artemis Joukowsky,

Chairman

This $12 million venture fundmakes investments in companiesfocused on environmental andeconomic concerns, specifically

those in recycling, energy, andnatural foods. Its portfolio includesa company that recycles municipalsolid waste, diverting 85 percentfrom landfills; a company thatproduces and markets an all-natural, nutritious sweetener calledSucanat; an energy-servicecompany that structures energy-saving projects for commercial,municipal and government clients;and a fish farming company thatgrows 1.5 million pounds of fish peryear on a one acre site whilerecirculating 99.9% of the water.The Fund is seeking a final $2.1million so it can continue to fundthe growth of the four companiesdescribed above.The Fund is fullyinvested at this time.

Hambrecht & Quist VenturePartnersOne Bush St.San Francisco, CA 94104Tel: (415) 986-5500Fax: (415) 576-3621Contact: Nancy Pfund,

Managing Parter


This venture capital and investmentbanking firm manages over $500million in venture capital funds,including a $17 millionEnvironmental Technology Fund.Capital is available for both start-upand developmental phasecompanies.


Monies are invested in companiespursuing a variety of

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environmentally significantproducts, technologies, and services.This includes underlyingtechnologies such as analyticalinstrumentation, process control,separations, selected specialtychemicals, and energy conservationproducts and services.The companyprefers to invest in pollutionprevention and consumer-relatedenvironmental products rather thanclean-up, site remediation, andtraditional environmentalengineering.

M & F Associates45 Rockefeller PlazaSuite 601New York, NY 10111Tel: (212) 332-2929Fax: (212) 332-2920Contact: Jon Murphy


This company utilizes internal andexternal capital to assistmanagement buy-outs and theretirement of debt financing.Thefocus is on growth enterprises withinvestments in the $3 million range.It has no geographical preference.


The company prefers enterprises inconsumer-related and industrialgrowth markets.This includesenvironmental industries such aspollution control and wastemanagement systems. For thesustainable entrepreneurexperiencing good growth andrequiring financing to retire debt

and consolidate investment, thiscompany holds good potential.

Nazem & Co.600 Madison Avenue14th FloorNew York, NY 10022Tel: (212) 644-6433Fax: (212) 751-2731Contacts: Fred Nazem, Managing

General PartnerEmile Geisenheimer,General Partner


The company is open to smallerinvestments, i.e., $500,000, butprefers medium sized, i.e., $1million and up. The companyreceives unsolicited offerings whichshould include projections of annualsales, profits, and losses for a twoyear period. Profits are expectedwithin two years. It has nogeographical preference.


The company is particularly activein computer-related equipment,energy and natural resources, andindustrial products. For technology-based enterprises, the companyholds promise.

NEPA Venture Fund125 Goodman DriveBethlehem, PA 18015Tel: (215) 865-6550Fax: (215) 865-6427Contacts: Glen Bressner

Marc Benson


The company invests in enterprisesat all stages of development andhas a particular interest in seed andstart-up stage ventures. Investmentsare preferred in the $250,000 – $1.5million range.There is ageographical preference forenterprises in the NortheasternUnited States.


The company has strong interest ina broad range of technology-basedventures.

Northwest Ohio Venture Fund300 Madison AvenueSuite 1525Toledo, OH 43604Tel: (419) 244-9112Fax: (419) 244-9554Contacts: Barry Walsh,

Managing PartnerCurtis Crocker,Investment Manager


The company places investments inthe $500,000 – $1 million range. Itfocuses on enterprises in theMidwestern United States. It willenter at all stages of companydevelopment, from seed throughR&D financing.


The company has a strong interestin the environmental sector. It isopen to investments in alternativeenergy, energy conservation, andtechnology-related products and

equipment. It is also active inelectronic components andinstrumentation.

PNC Equity Management Corp.Fifth Avenue and Wood StreetPNC Building19th FloorPittsburgh, PA 15222Tel: (412) 762-8892Fax: (412) 762-6233Contact: David Hillman, Executive

Vice President


The company is a venture capitalsubsidiary of a commercial bank. Itwill place investments ranging from$2 million for growth capital to $8million for management buy-outs.The company is actively seekingnew investments and has ageographical preference for theEastern and Midwestern UnitedStates.


The company has a distinct non-technology focus, includingconsumer products, manufacturing,and distribution companies. Itsaffiliation with the PNC Bank Corp.offers additional financingrelationships. For the seasonedentrepreneur who has a “laterstage”enterprise and requires arange of investment and financialservices, this company has goodpotential.

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Patricof and Co. Ventures, Inc.445 Park AvenueNew York, NY 10022Tel: (212) 753-6300Fax: (212) 319-6155Contacts: John Baker,

Senior Vice-President,General PartnerGeorge Jenkins,Vice-President,General Partner


The company manages funds for agroup of investors who are majorcorporations in the health,industrial and environmental fields.It also has a relationship with acorporate financing company. Thecompany invests in enterprises at allstages of development with apreferred range of investment of $3– $10 million. Its management teamis spread out in many locationsincluding NewYork, Palo Alto,London, Munich, and Paris. It hasno geographical preference.


The company has a wide range ofinterests in many sectors, includingcomputer-related, industrialproducts, and agriculture. It isparticularly interested in energyconservation and alternative energyenterprises. For the sustainableentrepreneur seeking a significantamount of capital for internationaloperations and with a large annualturnover, this company should beconsidered.

Poly VenturesPolytechnic UniversityRoute 110Farmingdale, NY 11735Tel: (516) 249-4710Fax: (516) 249-4713Contacts: Shelley Harrison,

General PartnerRobert M. Brill,General PartnerSusanne Harrison,General Partner


The company invests in small tomedium sized enterprises and instart-up companies involving newtechnologies. Its preferred range ofinvestment is $500,000 – $1 million.The relationship with PolytechnicUniversity leads to cross-fertilization of ideas and commercialopportunities.The company has ageographical preference for theNortheastern United States.


The company is interested in new,innovative technologies that willshow promise fairly rapidly thusfacilitating an exit through publicstock offering (IPO) ormerger/acquisition.



Prime Capital Management1177 Summer StreetStamford, CT 06905Tel: (203) 964-0642Fax: (203) 964-0862Contact: Dean Fenton, General

Partner, President


The company focuses on smallerenterprises and makes investmentsin the $250,000 – $750,000 range. Itinvests its own capital and has ageographical preference for theNortheastern United States,especially Connecticut.


The company is active in a numberof sectors, includingcommunications, insurance,distribution, and energy. It avoidsinvesting in hydrocarbon energycompanies.

Technology Funding2000 Alameda de las PulgasSan Mateo, CA 94403Tel: (415) 345-2200Fax: (415) 341-1400Contacts: Dag Syrrist, Manager,

Environmental OperationsThomas Toy, Partner


The company is a private venturecapital group investing capitalraised from public and institutionalinvestors. It will function either as adeal originator or an investor indeals created by others. Minimum

investment: $250,000. Preferredinvestment: $500,000 – $2 million.The company has a geographicalpreference for the United States.


The company is active in manysectors, including environmentaltechnologies, communications,computer-related technologies,industrial products and equipment,and medical and health-relatedproducts and services. The companyis currently seeking newinvestments.

Ventana Environmental18881 Von Karman AvenueSuite 350Irvine, CA 92715Tel: (619) 291-2757Fax: (619) 295-0189Contacts: Mark J. Schulz,

Managing DirectorSusan M. Ferrin,Communications Director


Ventana’s North AmericaEnvironmental Fund is the firstprivate equity fund formed topromote the commercialdevelopment of the environmentalindustry between the U.S., Mexico,and Canada.The Fund providesequity investments in established,expansion-driven environmentalcompanies based in Mexico, and isactively seeking joint ventures,strategic alliances, and technologytransfer agreements between

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environmental companies in theU.S., Mexico, and Canada.This $30million fund seeks investments inthe $1 – $3 million range.


Targeting high growthenvironmental opportunities, theFund focuses primarily on airpollution control, alternative energy,hazardous waste management,medical waste, resource recoveryand recycling, waste-to-energy, andwater treatment projects.

Ventex Management 1000 Louisiana StreetSuite 1095Houston,TX 77002Tel: (713) 659-7870Fax: (713) 659-7855Contacts: Richard Smith, President

David Miller,Vice President


The company is a small businessinvestment partnership that actsboth as an investor and anintermediary for enterprises. It looksfor medium scale investments, i.e.,$2 million, and has a geographicalpreference for the SouthwesternUnited States.


The company is active in a widerange of fields, includingenvironmental industries. It isinterested in alternative energy,energy conservation, andtechnology-related products and

equipment. For the sustainableentrepreneur with a pollutionprevention or energy minimizationangle, this is a good company toapproach.

Women’s World Banking8 West 40th Street10th FloorNew York, NY 10018Tel: (212) 768-8513Fax: (212) 768-8519Contact: Nicola Armacost,

Communications Coordinator


The company provides technicalsupport and financial assistance towomen in 40 countries around theworld to establish new privateenterprises.The company makessmall loans (less than $10,000) toenterprises led and owned bywomen.There are currently fivenon-profit affiliates operating in theUnited States.


The company is highly innovativeand offers an investment source forwomen without a track record inbusiness or a credit history. For thefemale entrepreneur looking for arelatively small amount of start-upcapital, branches of the Women’sWorld Banking System are goodsources to approach.



Several programs launched orexpanded under the CanadianGovernment’s Green Plan helpfund the development anddemonstration of newenvironmental and energytechnologies. For generalinformation on programs available,call the Inquiries Department atEnvironment Canada. Telephone:(800) 668-6767.

Specific programs of interest to eco-entrepreneurs follow.

D➯RECT ProgramTechnology DevelopmentDirectorateEnvironmental Protection ServiceEnvironment CanadaHull, QC K1A 0H3Tel: (819) 953-7827Fax: (819) 953-4705Contact: Al Gullon, Manager

The D➯RECT Program has beenoperating for 15 years with amandate to expedite the scale-up ofinnovative waste reduction andrecycling technologies that also saveenergy. Administered byEnvironment Canada and jointlyfunded with Natural ResourcesCanada, the program pays amaximum of 50 percent of projectcosts, up to $200,000 annually.

Environmental InnovationProgram8th Floor, Place Vincent Massey351 St. Joseph Blvd.Hull, QC K1A 0H3Tel: (819) 953-4069Fax: (819) 994-1691Contact: Amanda Brady, Manager

The Environmental InnovationProgram provides financialassistance for the development ofnew environmental products andservices. Canadian industries, nativegroups, universities, non-government organizations, andindividuals with innovative researchand development proposals in theenvironmental sciences area mayapply. Proposals may be submittedat anytime to Environment Canada.Projects must be unique, fit withinthe Green Plan, be sponsored by atleast one other federal governmentdepartment or agency, and receivefunding from additional sources,preferably private. Funding rangesfrom $5,000 to $200,000 per project.

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Additional Sources of Financing and Investment –CanadaDisclaimer: The information in this Directory was supplied by the companies andorganizations listed.IISD does not accept responsibility for any losses or damages resultingfrom the use of this information.

St. Lawrence CentreTechnology DevelopmentDemonstration Program 685 Cathcart Street, 8th floorMontreal, QC H3B 1M6Tel: (514) 283-3557Fax: (514) 496-2901Contact: Gerald Girouard,

Technology Section

The St. Lawrence CentreTechnology DevelopmentDemonstration Program providesup to 50 percent of the cost fordevelopment and demonstration ofnew technologies that treathazardous wastes andcontaminated soils or that restorecontaminated sediment.Corporations or partnershipsoperating in Canada are eligible andmay submit applications at anytime.

Royal Bank of Canada11th fl., South TowerRoyal Bank PlazaToronto, ON M5J 2J5Tel: (416) 974-6212Fax: (416) 974-3733Contact: Ralph McDonald,

Product Manager

The Royal Bank of Canada offersone-stop shopping forentrepreneurs seekinggovernmental financial assistance.Canada’s largest bank has hookedup with an on-line data basedeveloped by Dalhousie Universityin Halifax, which contains details on750 programs that disburse a totalof $20 billion a year. The programs

are offered by 139 federal andprovincial government departmentsand agencies.The information isupdated daily. Key businessbanking centres across Canada willoffer the service.

Additional Sources ofInformation on Raising Capital

Your Guide to Raising VentureCapital for Your Own Business inCanada1993.Written by Iain Williamson.Productive PublicationsP.O. Box 7200Station AToronto, ON M5W 1X8Tel: (416) 483-0634



Investors’ Circle2400 East Main StreetSuite 103St. Charles, IL 60174Tel: (708) 876-1101Fax: (708) 876-0187Contact: Susan Davis, President


The not-for-profit membershipnetwork includes America’s leadingprivate investors in sustainabledevelopment. Its members enjoythe benefits of an extensivemembers’directory, a monthlymailing of social venture deal flow,and a twice-yearly Social VentureCapital Fair showcasing 15-20socially responsible companiesseeking investment. Deals rangefrom $100,000 to the tens ofmillions.


Any socially responsible companyinterested in raising private capitalmay submit a two-page executivesummary for the monthly mailingto the Circle’s 140 members.Thecost is $300.These companies arethen considered for presentations atthe Social Venture Capital Fair.Companies at all stages, from seedto IPO, are considered. All niches ofsocially responsible investing areincluded, from energy efficiency to

poverty alleviation and from organicfood to environmental technologies.

Te ch n o l o gy Capital Network atMIT201 Vassar Street, Building W59Cambridge, MA 02139Tel: (617) 253-7163Fax: (617) 258-7264Contact: Neil Rodberg,

Director of Operations

The Technology Capital Network isa non-profit program thatintroduces start-up and growthcompanies to potential investorsthrough a confidential,computerized matching service.Themajority of participating investorsare high net worth individuals, whoare“accredited investors”with aspecial interest in early stage firms.Collectively, they represent $40million available for investment.Professional venture capital fundsand corporations seekingentrepreneurial partners alsoparticipate.

Entrepreneurs interested in beinglisted in the database must submitan application, a two-pagesummary of their business plan, anda one-page summary of theirfinancial plan. Investors submit anapplication describing theirinvestment criteria.The network

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Additional Sources of Financing and Investment – United StatesDisclaimer: The information in this Directory was supplied by the companies andorganizations listed.IISD does not accept responsibility for any losses or damages resultingfrom the use of this information.

alerts investors of opportunities thatfit their criteria. Investors areresponsible for initiatingintroductions. Membership fees are$300 per year for entrepreneurs andprivate investors in Canada, Mexicoand the United States. Corporationsand venture capital firms pay $600per year.

Additional Sources ofInformation on Raising Capital

Directory of Venture CapitalNetworking Organizations(Clubs) and Allied Resources —lists over 450 organizations.

Directory of Seed and Early StageVenture Capital Funds — lists 224venture capitalists. Both publishedannually.

International Venture CapitalInstitute (IVCI) P.O. Box 1333 Stamford, CT 06904Tel: (203) 323-3143Contact: Mr. C.A. Greathouse,

President

VenCap Data Quest™Electronic Database DirectoriesAI Research Corporation2003 St. Julien CourtMountain View, CA 94043-5411Tel: (415) 852-9140Fax: (415) 852-9522



Beyond the Bottom Line: PuttingSocial Responsibility to Work forYour Business and the World1994.Written by Joel Makower andBusiness for Social Responsibility.Published by Simon & Schuster.Available from: Business for Social Responsibility1030 15th Street, NWWashington, DC 20005Tel: (202) 842-5400Fax: (202) 842-3135

The Ecology of Commerce1993.Written by Paul Hawken.HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.10 East 53rd StreetNew York, NY 10022Tel: (212) 207-7000Fax: (717) 941-1599 Toll-free fax: (800) 822-4090

The Soul of a Business: Managingfor Profit and the Common Good1993.Written by Tom Chappell.Bantam Doubleday Dell 1540 BroadwayNew York, NY 10036Tel: (212) 354-6500

The Republic of Tea: Letters to aYoung Zentrepreneur1993.Written by Bill Rosenzweig, MelZiegler, and Patricia Ziegler.Bantam Doubleday Dell 1540 BroadwayNew York NY 10036Tel: (212) 354-6500

Business Strategy for SustainableDevelopment: Leadership andAccountability for the ’90s1992.Written by the InternationalInstitute for SustainableDevelopment and Deloitte Touche.

Coming Clean: CorporateEnvironmental Reporting —Opening Up for SustainableDevelopment1993.Written by Deloitte ToucheTohmatsu International, theInternational Institute forSustainable Development, andSustainAbility.International Institute forSustainable Development161 Portage Avenue East, 6th FloorWinnipeg, MB R3B 0Y4Tel: (204) 958-7700 Fax: (204) 958-7710 Contact: Stephan Barg,

Business and Government Program

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Publications on New Business Practices

Company EnvironmentalReporting - A Measure of theProgress of Business & IndustryToward Sustainable Development1994.Technical Report No. 24 United Nations EnvironmentProgramme Industry and Environment39-43, Quai André Citroën 75739 Paris Cedex 15FranceTel: (33) (1) 4437-1450Fax: (33) (1) 4437-1474Contact: Jacqueline Aloisi de

Larderel, Director

KPMG International Survey ofEnvironmental Reporting1993.KPMG Environmental Services, Inc.P.O. Box 31Commerce Court Postal StationToronto, ON M5L 1B2Tel: (416) 777-3778Fax: (416) 777-3077Contact: Richard M. Harris

Business EthicsBi-monthly magazine published byMavis Publications, Inc.52 South 10th Street, Suite 110Minneapolis, MN 55403-2001Tel: (612) 962-4700,Fax: (612) 962-4810.Contact: Craig Cox$29.00 per year for phone orders.

In Business: The Magazine forEnvironmental Entrepreneuring Six issues/year.The JG Press, Inc.419 State AvenueEmmaus, PA 18049Tel: (215) 967-4135Fax: (215)967-1345 Contact: Jerome Goldstein, Editor.

Magazine specifically for eco-entrepreneurs. Covers marketing,sales, trends, industry updates andprofiles. Subscription Price: US $29;Canada $31 (in US funds).



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IISD I N T E R N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T EFOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

There’s a new bottom line ahead for business. Besidesmeasuring financial success, it includes environmental

and social performance. Restoring environmental healthand societal well-being is an enormous challenge,

presenting virtually limitless opportunities. Innovativeentrepreneurs with keen business acumen and a desire tomake the world a better place will be the ones to profit.

The EarthEnterprise™ Tool Kit provides the insightsand practical tools that small and medium sized

enterprises need to succeed in a sustainable economy.Entrepreneurs will learn how to track and tap newmarkets and how to evaluate the potential of new

technologies. They will discover the financing sourcespredisposed to investing in environmentally and sociallyresponsible firms. And they will see, through examples,

how new management practices can extend the reach andinfluence of small companies.

If you’re tired of business as usual, read this.

Earth Enterprise Tool Kit

Business

Transcript of Earth Enterprise Tool Kit