What do shops need to know about going green?

Know that going green isn’t going to happen overnight. It, like most things in business, needs to have some thought and consideration and planning behind it. Otherwise, it’s going to be executed poorly and ultimately fail.

If you start off by thinking about the things you consume and the way your business operates and how that affects the environment, pick out two or three things that are measurable to try to reduce the impact on the environment.

Over a six- or 12-month period measure them and post your progress or at least communicate about your progress. You don’t have to be the greenest shop in the world to be attractive to vendors and potential customers who already have that mindset.

If you are open and honest about what your intentions are and what your actions are-no matter how small the impact is-just the act and the attempt is going to make you attractive to the people you want to have as your customers. You don’t have to be zero-impact, but make an effort and talk about it and be open and honest about it. That will provide an element of authenticity to the people you’re trying to communicate to.

—Shirt Pickle