Yesterday, I was part of a panel discussion on green business at the Connecticut Minority Supplier Development Council’s (CMSDC) Business Expo and Conference at Foxwoods Resort.  The session was entitled Going green and supplier diversity – is it the next wave?  The room was filled with representatives from large OEMs and service providers and small to mid sized minority owned (MBEs) and women owned businesses (WBEs).  The goal of the panel was to present best green  business practices and the idea that MBEs and WBEs may want to consider embracing these practices in order to get ahead of the curve and wow purchasing departments of large providers who are already green.  Today, it’s great if your company can help diversify a supply chain but it is even better if you can add a tint of green to it.

I was joined by Keri Davis who is a Chain-of-Custody Associate at SmartWood which is a program of the Rainforest Alliance and Jill Davis of The Malet Group. Wayne Moore of Tychon Energy and Dan Murphy of Pfizer, Inc. had been scheduled to join us but both were unable to attend.  (Auggie’s note: Jill and Keri are not related.) Anyhow, Jill moderated and Keri and I delivered the green message.

Keri went first and introduced attendees to all the different green certification programs that are available through the Rainforest Alliance.  I had no idea.  Keri did a great job in introducing certification procedures and the whole chain-of- custody thing.  I learned a lot of good stuff.  Actually, I may introduce Keri to the knuckleheads at AuctorVerno  and see if we can use them on several of our projects.

Then it was my turn. I discussed a few items regarding the emerging green economy, how large companies are greening their supply chains and then some general observations.   Here are some of the points I discussed:

The Language of green or greenspeak.  I discussed how there’s a green language and in order for a company to enter the green market place, it should learn the words and phrases associated with green business.
Examples included, LEED, RoHS, VOC, Geothermal, micro gas turbines, fuel cells, cradle to cradle and so on.

Green business needs more diversity.  MBEs need to be more engaged in green business circles and have a seat at the table.  There is also a great opportunity for MBEs to be green business leaders and messengers. Currently, there’s only a hand full of minority green business champions here in Connecticut. Hopefully that number will increase.

The media is gaga for green. You need to find your own green space.  The media is awash right now with tons of green stuff. What is your green hook?  Can you do something that is really unique.

Greenwashing/certifications/transparency – You can’t slap a leaf on your logo and say you’re green. LEED, FSC, Free Trade Coffee are certification labels that have done the real work.  What’s the future of certifications? Will more and more states and municipalities get in the green certification game?  When you tell your green story put it on our Web site and else where.  Also, look to produce a Corporate Responsibility (CR) report and share it with employees, customers, vendors, shareholders and your community.

To close, Keri and I tagged teamed for a Q and A session with the audience moderated by Jill.  We did a solid job of delivering the message and now it’s up to the MBEs to seek their own green destiny.  After the lunch, MBEs and WBEs participated in one-on-ones with CMSDC’s corporate members such as UTC and all of its divisions, Pitney Bowes, and Northeast Utilities.  The question – how many  MBEs and WBEs decided to see if they could identify ways to make there pitches a little greener?

Filed under: Green Attitudes, Green Business