Tip 1 – Find a Good Location for Your Business

When setting up a home business you really need to think critically about where you set up your office/workspace. To reduce the amount of energy used for your business you will want to select an area that has the best ventilation, light, heat and other natural amenities. This will reduce your need to create light, heat and ventilation mechanically.

Tip 2 – Only Use What You Need

It is easy to leave lights, electronic devices and other things up and running when you are working from home. However, if you want to control the size of your carbon footprint you need to be more prudent when it comes to what you have on while at home. For example, you can reduce the amount of electricity that you used during business hours by only having lights on in the room that you are actually in. You can also save energy by lower heat (in winter) in rooms not used during business hours. Also, consider a portable radio as opposed to having music on in several rooms.

Tip 3 – Think About the Products You Use

The products that you consume during your business activities will have a significant impact on your carbon footprint. When you go shopping think about what you are buying. Look at how far it has to come to get to your office, what ingredients or materials it is made from and who makes the product. Green business practices related to consumerism will involve researching suppliers to ensure you select products that are manufactured using green business practices and nontoxic materials.

Tip 4 – Find Green Ways to Dispose of Your Waste

The final tip is to think critically about how you dispose of your waste. You have two types of waste, biodegradable and non-biodegradable. Biodegradable waste products can be recycled or composted, but not all non-biodegradable waste can be. To ensure you are operating a green business, you need to find the best way to safely dispose of your non-biodegradable waste. This may be recycling it, or it may mean that you take it to a special hazardous material disposal site.

Running a green business is important to Madeline Binder. She is constantly encouraging young scientists to do green science fair projects so that the future generation becomes active in living green. Her Students Guide to Science Fair Projects makes it easy for kids to become engaged in the process.

Aside from the increasing environmental consciousness of those who are house hunting, the government are also implementing regulations making the industry greener. Developers and investors are building and looking for houses that would be able to meet the government environmental standards. International organizations and institutions are also playing major roles in pushing both the private and public sectors in rethinking their environmental actions.

In fact, construction companies which are indispensable to real-estate developers, are working hard to be “green certified.” According to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), 5% of commercial construction companies were able to secure LEED certification in the previous year. Aside from that, major companies like IBM, JP Morgan Chase, etc. are moving into green buildings.

According to the McGraw-Hill report, there are developers that would buy houses and properties which they would convert into green buildings and homes. The McGraw-Hill survey reported that green buildings tend to bring 3% and 7.5% higher revenues.
The National Association of Home Builders stated that the market is experiencing increase in demands for eco-friendly homes. As a matter of fact, the American Institute of Architects in their 2006 survey stated that 90% of people are willing to pay $5,000 more just to have a house that uses less energy and earth-friendly.

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, more homes are becoming environmental-friendly due to its numerous benefits. What are these benefits?

• Greener homes use less energy which means less money on bills. The price of fuel is constantly increasing over the past years. Reducing your energy bills would allow you to allocate your budget for other important things needed in the household. According to Energy Star, a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, about 15 to 20% of house energy is lost because of poor construction.

• Better and healthier air quality. Indoor air is two to five times more polluted compared with outdoor air, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Indoor air can aggravate allergies and asthma. Using home materials and machines that produce better air quality are those materials (paints, stains, glues) that have low content of toxic chemicals. They could cost more, it would be better for the homeowners’ health, in the long run.

• Opting for greener homes and buildings means that you are helping save the earth. Homeowners and real-estate developers are reducing waste-production because they are working with materials that would last longer and recycled items. Also, less consumption of energy means you are consuming less fossil fuel, and less carbon footprint.

When thinking about making your real-estate property eco-friendly, you could always coordinate with a local or regional green building organization. They have network of architects and builders who would be able to help you improve your home. There are also guideline when building green houses, so make sure that you are properly informed. Before proceeding with any green real-estate developer or builder, make sure to check their previous works or generate as much information from former clients.