Over the past 16 years, I have been involved in 5 successful startup companies ranging from an energy company, to several .com companies. Now I am focusing all of my attention on creating the tipping point in the sustainability movement by pushing initiatives in government, business and the broader social landscape. 
Many people are curious, what I am doing since I left Powerset. Well, the short story is that I have decided to dedicate myself to what I call the new Green Economy and I am working on several initiatives with other leaders in government and businesses that all fall under the responsibility of non-profit that I am founding called SF Green. 
Cliff Waldeck is a San Francisco business owner with his finger on the pulse of how the new Green economy could affect his industry. Check out his post.
It is time for an office products green giant to step up to the plate. While many companies in our industry already have a niche "green" department ... Office Depot has its award winning green book. United Stationers is getting ready to come out with a green catalog for their dealers ... most of us are just dabbling in the green world.
No one, not dealer, manufacturer or wholesaler, has embraced the concept wholeheartedly and laid claim to an effort to radically change the paradigm of the office products industry by offering only environmentally friendly products and developing new products and services to make the office a cleaner and healthier workplace.
I understand why no one has yet to go all out green. With a majority of our existing profit stream still coming from non-green minded customers, it would be financial suicide to switch to all green model when the demand just isn't there.
But look at the issue from a numbers perspective. Let's say our industry is a conservative $100 billion in sales and only 10% of the purchasers are green minded. If a green only dealer channel could secure 10% of that market, that would represent a cool and very environmentally healthy $1 billion a year in sales.
Government demand for environmentally friendly products is increasing and if a Democrat is elected to the White House, this trend will only intensify.
Furthermore, the giant players in our industry are all showing signs of major metal fatigue. All the big box stocks are falling with little new to offer except internal cost cutting efficiencies and more private branding of commodity products....all pretty boring!
The time is ripe to topple the giants of our industry with a new paradigm that makes both economic and environmental sense. Don’t forget, many green products like remanufactured laser/ink jet toners, energy efficient lighting and machines, paperless document management systems and more actually save money for the consumer.
Add ergonomics, air purifiers and other products that make for a healthier/cleaner office and increased worker productivity and you have the makings of a very strong, nimble green entry into the marketplace.
This uber-green giant can take many forms. It could be a manufacturer devoted to developing new green alternatives to the market place. It could be a distributor/wholesaler committed to exclusively providing environmentally friendly and healthier office products to the workplace. It could be a "roll up" of many like minded independent dealers, devoted to a common green goal.
Or, it could start as something as simple as a franchise marketing program like Ken Johnson's nationwide “All Value Office Products.” Hey Ken, how about “Green Value?”
In the here and now, all office products dealers should at least make themselves aware of what green products are available for the purpose of creating a viable green option for their existing customer base. With more and more of those customers recognizing the importance of environmentally-responsible office practices, they might just find it putting more green of a different kind in their pockets!
Comments
FYI, Cliff may want to know that others support his vision: http://thegreenoffice.com/
Posted by: Zoey Koppelman | March 26, 2008 10:00 AM