Sustainability, which was once dismissed as an idealistic fad,is now a trillion dollar industry with corporate giants such asWalmart, McDonald's and Coca-Cola scrambling to go green.

Indeed, the annual global revenue for sustainable products isestimated to reach $10 trillion by 2017.

Why should credit unions make sustainability a priority? Isn'tit enough to have paperless e-statements, a recycling bin in thestaff lounge, and please consider the environment before printingat the bottom of emails? Perhaps.

But instead of seeing green as separate from your core businessmodel, what if credit unions saw it as an opportunity to cut costs,add value for members and employees, reduce regulatory risk, andtake advantage of a red-hot market trend?

The benefits to credit unions include:

Saving Money. 
With a return oninvestment of 10-50%, energy efficiency is one of the bestinvestments available to businesses in the United States. Comparedto the Standard & Poor 500 closing with 0% appreciation lastyear, those efficient pigtail light bulbs never looked so good.

Adding Value for Employees. 
Agreener workplace has been shown to increase staff commitment,productivity and satisfaction. It could also help attract moreGeneration Y applicants. A 2010 study by Johnson Controls titledGeneration Y and the Workplace found that 96% of 18- to35-year-olds aspire to work in a greener office.

Adding Value for Members. Sustainability can enhance membertrust and loyalty, help differentiate credit unions from corporatemega banks, and create innovative loan growth opportunities such asloans for hybrid cars or solar panels.

Benefitting the Local Community. By focusing on sustainability,credit unions can reduce their environmental footprint andencourage members and employees to experiment with green productsat home.

Reducing Risk. 
New energyefficiency laws, such as California AB 1103, mandate thatcommercial buildings meet strict efficiency requirements. Withoutany sustainability strategy, credit unions risk falling behind thecompetition as Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Chase make astrong push to capture the green market share.

Sustainability isn't just about polar bears. It's smartbusiness. Here are some steps credit unions can take to be greener.

Don't Get Solar (For Now)
While solarpanels are sexy, they are not always a wise first step on the greenpath. Why? Because solar requires a large, upfront capitalinvestment with a payback period of around 10 to 15 years. Thereare financing options that help avoid the upfront capital expense,but this will lock you into a 10- to 20-year contract.

Solar panels are a great investment over the long term. Butthere are cheaper, quicker and easier steps that you can takefirst.

Benchmark Your Building
You can't managewhat you don't measure. The first thing you should do is benchmarkyour building with the free ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager software(www.energystar.gov). Portfolio Manager compares your facility'senergy performance to similar buildings across the UnitedStates.

Once you input your monthly energy data, Portfolio Manager givesyour building a score between 1-100, with 50 being the nationalaverage and 100 being a top score. If your facility scores below a50, it's a red flag that you are wasting energy and money.

Get An Energy Audit
Regardless of yourbenchmarking results, an energy audit is an invaluable way toidentify your building's no cost and low cost efficiencyopportunities. An energy auditor will look at your lighting,heating and air-conditioning, and plug loads, which account for themajority of energy used in most office buildings.

By addressing these items first, you can significantly loweryour building's overall energy usage with little to no upfrontcost. Then, if you decide to invest in a higher cost item likesolar, your solar system will be cheaper to install and moreappropriately sized to meet your decreased electricityconsumption.

Engage Your Employees
A key and oftenoverlooked element in any green initiative is motivating andengaging your employees. Staff engagement will amplify yourefficiency savings, give employees a creative outlet, buildcommunity around a common goal and help ensure the longevity ofyour green efforts.

In order to do this effectively, however, it's important tounderstand what motivates people to change. Rather than using fear,shame or pleas to save the planet, the most effective approachcomes from something called the herd mentality. This suggests thathumans are more likely to adopt green behaviors because theirfriends, coworkers and neighbors already have. Humans don't want tobe the first or last to do something; they want to be safe in themiddle of the herd.

Instead of trying to change every individual opinion, asustainability initiative only has to motivate enough people to getthe attention of the herd. If you focus on making sustainabilityfun through things like energy efficiency contests, newsletters anda green staff of the month, your employees will start moving in thesame green direction.

Tell the World You're Green
When you feelconfident in your progress, you should consider introducingsustainability into your marketing efforts. Green marketing cancreate a halo effect, causing customers to view you as moretrustworthy, honest and superior to the competition because youcare for the planet.

Getting your facility Leadership in Energy and EnvironmentalDesign or LEED-certified or Energy Star certified can generateexternal recognition of your green efforts.

Expect Good Things
Once you start to seethat going green helps you save money, add value for members andemployees, and reduces risk, you'll realize that sustainability isnot a passing trend, it's the future of business. 

Ryan Honeyman is president of Honeyman SustainabilityConsulting.
Contact 415-515-1262 [email protected]