news

March 3, 2008

Investing in sustainability can pay off for small businesses

Kerry Gold
For bchydro.com

Doing our part for Mother Nature and meeting the bottom line are not mutually exclusive. In fact, that blend can add up to a happy marriage.

A small business can dramatically reduce its impact on the environment, make its mark in the community and increase its own profit margin. That’s the three-pronged approach to sustainability emphasized by BC Hydro Power Smart program manager Christy Intihar, who delivered a lesson in how to build such a business plan at Vancouver’s first sustainability expo for small business.

The sustainability expo was organized by the Strathcona Business Improvement Association and co-sponsored by BC Hydro. Intihar was one of about a dozen guest speakers at January’s four-hour event attended by a packed audience of small business owners and sustainability enthusiasts, and capped by a keynote speech by entrepreneur and MLA Gregor Robertson.

In her Hydro role in the commercial sector, Intihar works with small- to mid-size businesses to help them make wise energy use decisions. But Intihar, who once co-founded a software company that grew to a staff of 70, knows first-hand where the small business owner is coming from. She outlined “the triple bottom line,” a rough guide that considers a sustainability business plan from angles that are financial, environmental and social.

“We use this methodology at BC Hydro for our own business cases,” said Intihar. “We consider impacts to all three of these measures.  Each of you will put different emphasis on each element to align with your own business goals.”

Consider the cost of running a light bulb

One way to apply the triple bottom line is to consider the pedestrian 60-watt incandescent light bulb. If a business chose to turn that light bulb off for the 12 hours a day when it isn’t open, it would save about $13 per year, said Intihar.

“Okay, so that’s pretty simple right? But let’s talk about what that means,” she said.

She gave a straightforward example. Lighting accounts for about 40 per cent of the average commercial customer’s electrical consumption. If a business starts flipping off the lights for the 12 hours that the business is closed, they save 20 per cent on their electricity bill. If electricity is 5 per cent of its operating costs, that means a one per cent increase to profits – by flipping the switch.

Taking it a step further

Intihar asked her audience to take a look at what would happen if a business were to make a little more effort, and were to change that 60-watt incandescent to a 13-watt compact fluorescent bulb. Since the 60-watt bulb lasts about 1,000 hours, it would have to be changed about five times per year, at $1 each – plus the cost of maintenance hours to change the bulbs. That adds up to $32 a year in total electricity, bulbs and maintenance.

The 13-watt CFL costs more at $4 to $6, but it lasts 8,000 hours, which is nearly two years, maintenance free.

“You can see that there are a number of things you have to examine to determine the actual benefit of a change – including hours of operation, the consumption, product costs, operational costs and the maintenance costs,” said Intihar. “Or to put it another way, the full product lifecycle cost. Don’t just consider the up-front cost, because that may be deceptive.”

One small step for man, one giant leap for the environment

“You may be thinking, ‘I’m a small business. There is no way that if I make a few changes to my business operations, that I can create any significant benefit to the environment – it’s all about big industry.’ That’s not true,” said Intihar.

It comes back to the light bulb. If a company uses an incandescent light bulb in its exit sign, it lasts about a year. The LED lamp, on the other hand, lasts more than 11 years. That’s one LED lamp vs. 11 incandescent light bulbs for the landfill. Score one for the environment – reduced waste, reduced electricity consumption – and a lot less expense for your business.

Intihar asked her audience to consider what that means to the big picture. BC Hydro has roughly 70,500 small and mid-size business customers. If each of those customers replaced just one 60 W incandescent light bulb with one CFL, and replaced one exit sign with an LED light, the savings could power more than 3,100 homes every year. And if every business reduced its energy consumption by a mere five per cent, the savings could power almost 22,000 homes.

“So yes, you can have an impact on the environment,” said Intihar.

How’s your social life?

This part of the equation could be considered a no-brainer. The business that leads in conservation has the potential to change the face of its community.

“Businesses that start taking steps to conserve are showing leadership within their community, and creating benefits for those around them,” said Intihar. “Although hard to measure, businesses that are benefiting from conservation financially are also in a better position to support their community with stable operations, jobs and so forth.”

Related links:

• Power Smart Product Incentive Program
• Power Smart Partner Program
• High Performance Building Program
• Power Smart Success Stories

Kerry Gold is a Vancouver-based freelance writer who spent a decade covering music for the Vancouver Sun.