This Thursday (April 22nd) is Earth Day, making this the perfect time for small businesses such as mortgage brokerages to make the effort to "go green."
Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., Novato, Calif., has some ideas that small businesses can implement to go green, save money and lower their operating costs. Given the thin margins many mortgage originators operate at, this could be the difference between survival and closing.
First, it suggested evaluating your building to identify opportunities. This allows a small business owner to identify and prioritize improvement opportunities. This involves benchmarking, conducting a self-evaluation and seeking outside assistance, if needed.
Fireman's Fund recommends using a benchmarking tool such as the Environmental Protection Agency's Portfolio Manager, a program of the U.S. EPA Energy Star Division. This tool helps track and assess energy and water consumption, and carbon footprint within individual buildings as well as across an entire building portfolio. The tool allows small business owners to benchmark a building's energy performance to develop energy management goals and identify opportunities for savings.
After completing the benchmarking process, small business owners need to analyze their buildings and operations. The best way to maximize self-evaluation efforts is to focus on only one or two aspects, Fireman's Fund said. For most small businesses those areas include: lighting, heating and air conditioning, office equipment and water (hot and cold).
"Fireman's Fund offers self-evaluation checklists to help guide small business owners that detail what to look for, potential savings and benefits for each item, implementation costs-most items are no or low cost-and additional information resources," said Lyman Munson, vice president of risk services and solutions.
Finally, seek outside assistance if time or resources are limited. Fireman's Fund suggestions include asking your utility provider if they offer free or inexpensive energy audits and/or rebates for energy-efficiency upgrades. One resource is the Energy Crossroads web site that includes a consolidated listing, by state, of many of the utility energy-efficiency programs available for small businesses.
Business owners can invite contractors to their facility to suggest upgrades and provide free estimates. They can also contract with a water or energy conservation professional to coordinate and manage the project.
