What does it really mean, to be "green"? How is "green" measured, and how can you improve your overall score?

Often, the environmental impact of a business (or any entity, for that matter) is summarized in a number called the carbon footprint. Your carbon footprint is a measure of the greenhouse gases attributable to your business activities, expressed in units of carbon dioxide, and it presents a broad view of your businesses' environmental impact and establishes a baseline by which you can measure your improvements.

A number of organizations offer free online calculators to help you estimate your carbon footprint*. Terrapass is one example of a relatively simple and versatile carbon footprint calculator.
 
Sometimes the resulting numbers are difficult to understand in a global context. With a single click, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator can express your carbon emissions as equivalent barrels of oil consumed, homes heated, or acres of forest cut.

Once you’ve calculated your overall footprint, visit our Energy, Materials, Assurance, and Purchasing pages to find more specific details for greening your business. Then contact an EMAP environmental consultant for any additional questions you may have.

*Various "green" calculators exist to allow businesses to assess their operations. While EMAP cannot endorse one calculator over another, we have researched and selected some that will be useful to our small business clients.