That’s the message of the Smart Business Forum, an online program helping small and medium-size businesses reap the economic, social and environmental benefits of green programs. The forum is an outgrowth of the Waukesha County Economic Development Corporation’s Partnerships for Sustainability and was introduced at a conference in Pewaukee this fall.

Companies start the program by considering 90 practices with measurable components, covering everything from water use to waste reduction. Greg Bell, executive director of the Smart Business Forum and a former green team leader at JohnsonDiversey, Inc., adapted the tactics from among 400 outlined in Daniel Sitarz’s book, “Greening Your Business: The Hands-on Guide to Creating a Successful and Sustainable Business.”

InPro Corp., a Muskego-based manufacturer of plastic architectural products such as handrails, door and wall protections for health care, hospitality and other businesses, successfully benefited from the program and was honored at the Pewaukee conference.

Phil Ziegler, president of InPro, was inspired by a similar conference in 2009 and set up a sustainable business practices team. “Twenty-two people volunteered,” he said, the largest committee ever assembled at the 350-employee firm. Focus on Energy assisted the company with energy audits.

Ziegler said the team divided its efforts into three areas: products, corporate culture and return-on-investment projects. For its products, the company began using more environmentally friendly plastics and introduced a new line of products including non-PVC plastic, Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood, rapidly renewable bamboo, and coatings and adhesives with low volatile organic compounds.

Changing the corporate culture, Ziegler said, involved behavioral changes. That included reminding employees to turn off lights; recycling batteries and cell phones; encouraging carpooling, use of hybrids and bicycling to work; not printing anything that didn’t need to be printed; an Earth Day celebration; and more. The team significantly increased its use of Skype, a web-based communication portal, for conferences and utilized green travel venues on company trips. 

While he’s still tabulating the cost savings on ROI projects, Ziegler said some of the major savings include:

• Switching from running an energy-intensive plastic chipper machine 24/7 to running it for only two hours at off-peak hours, an annual savings of $65,000;
• Installing timing devices on baseboard heaters in offices to shut them off at night when not in use at a cost of $800 per device;
• Replacing 23 high-flow toilets with low-flow models at a total cost of $13,000, a move that will save $9,000 annually on water bills;
•  Installing a $13,000 high-speed garage door that will reduce energy lost when fork-lift operators move shipments among buildings;
• A $17,000 prairie restoration project that will save $36,000 annually on watering, fertilizing and maintaining grass at the Muskego factory;
•  Replacing 188,000 Styrofoam cups with environmentally sustainable cups for visitors and requiring employees to bring their own mugs;
• Switching to an online newsletter to eliminate $17,000 in paper costs;
• Reviewing the mailing list and eliminating duplications for a savings of $42,000.

All told, the final tally for the first year was $199,748 in savings, said Ziegler. In the second year, he expects savings to start around $213,000.

The program is being tested and modified through January 20, said Bell. After that, companies can use the program and share experiences in the unique online forum, which includes experts and other participating companies. The annual fee for the forum is $500.

For more information on the Smart Business Forum, go to smartbizforum.com or call 414-301-1723.

By John Hill

You can contact John Hill by e-mail at jhoythill@sbcglobal.net.