Small Biz and the Green Economic Revolution

Written by Bill Roth

Going green is a trillion dollar industry propelled by the energy independence and global warming solutions your customers, colleagues, investors and competitors desire now. The scale and growing pace of the "green collar economy" creates opportunities for your business to grow revenues, enhance your brand and save money.

Now you should be asking yourself: 1. How much of that $1 trillion am I harvesting?
2. What should I be doing to jump aboard this trend as it transforms how the world does business?

To help you answer these questions, this column will spotlight companies that are making and saving money by implementing green policies. I'll also coach you on what has and hasn't worked, based on the results of companies that have adopted green business practices and allies in marketing, stakeholder outreach, business processes and product design.

Let's spark your creative juices by providing two areas of green entrepreneurial opportunities. Refer to them often as you think about how this green economic revolution will impact your business.

1. The United States produces 2 billion barrels of oil a year, but imports 5.5 billion barrels. About 3.3 billion barrels of that produces gasoline every year. Our largest known untapped oil reserve is believed to be in northern Alaska with an estimated 4.4 billion to 11 billion barrels. Get it? We can't achieve energy independence by predominately running our cars on gasoline. Looking for an entrepreneurial opportunity? How about the estimated $5 trillion plus to re-engineer our 200 million vehicle national transportation fleet and the additional trillions in selling parts, services, financing, non-gasoline-based fuel supplies, etc.?