I N T H E N E W S

‘Going Green’ seen as important for business

Large majority of area CEOs in survey believe it’s right thing to do regardless of cost
The Business News June 23, 2008
David Wegge, PhD Text

It is impossible to pick up The Wall Street Journal,

Business Week, Inc., Fast Company or any major business
publication and not find an article related to businesses
going “Green.”

In Northeastern Wisconsin it is clear: CEOs do not see the

Green movement as a fad. It is the real deal, and many
businesses are fast at work determining how this
movement may impact their business.

More than three quarters of the CEOs (76 percent)

believe that Green is a here to stay; only 22 percent
believe Green is a short-term fad. These are some of the
key findings from the latest Nicolet Bank Business Pulse
— a survey of CEOs in Northeastern Wisconsin.
Another three quarters (76 percent) indicate that going
Green is the right thing to do even if it costs them a little
more “Green.” In many cases, while additional up-front
costs may exist, these costs are oftentimes recaptured.
More than half (60 percent) of the CEOs and business
owners believe going Green could also be an important
differentiator for the economy of Northeastern
Wisconsin. These appear to be strong numbers that
provide a foundation for an effective Green and
sustainable business movement in region.
What are CEOs doing to reduce their impact on the
environment? Most are first taking the low hanging fruit
first. About three fourths of the businesses have
increased their recycling efforts (79 percent); 77
percent have increased energy efficiencies in their
facilities (lighting, heat, etc); 70 percent have recycled
their computer hardware; 56 percent use recycled
materials. These activities are actions nearly all
businesses can engage in.
Much lower levels of activities are present in
a series of actions that perhaps only certain businesses
could actually implement. For example, the reduction of
toxic emission is much more likely to take place in the
manufacturing sector than in the service sectors. About a
quarter (26 percent) indicate that they have reduced their
water use; 18 percent said they use energy efficient
cars; 17 percent have reduced their emissions; 16 percent
have reduced their use of pesticides; 12 percent use
renewable energy; 9 percent use Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for
building design.
The lowest level activities are programs that provide
incentives to employees to engage in certainbehaviors
and practices. Nine percent indicate that they have a
telecommuting program so employees can work from
home or a remote location; 7 percent have an incentive
program that encourages employees to use alternative
transportation such as biking to work; 6 percent have a
program to encourage carpooling.
While 76 percent of CEOs indicate that going Green is
simply the right thing to do, many are also influenced
by other factors when it comes to developing Green
and sustainable business practices.

Page 1 of 2 ‘Going Green’ seen as important for business | The Business News June 23, 2008
In many cases, businesses are responding to the growing
environmental movement that is seen among general
consumers — as well as other businesses. Nearly seven
in ten (69 percent) said that the fact that their customers
are demanding it was a Very Important (30 percent)
motivator for them to improve their impact on the
environment; 39 percent indicate that this was
Important; 31 percent said it was Not Important.
CEOs also see positioning their business as Green is a
good marketing strategy. Almost three quarters (74
percent) said using improvement of the environment as
part of their marketing strategy was Very Important (22
percent) or Important (52 percent) as a factor in their
decision to go Green; 26 percent indicate that it was Not
An Important factor.
Many CEOs also believe that making environmental
improvements would also improve their business
processes overall. Sixty-five percent said improving their
business process was part of what motivated them to
improve their impact on the environment with 18
percent saying this was Very percent said this was not
part of their motivation.
Somewhat fewer (42 percent) were motivated to make
environmental improvements because their
competitors were doing it (Very Important 12
percent/Important 30 percent) and 49 percent because
their suppliers may demand it (Very Important 10
percent / Important 39 percent).
While 60 percent of CEOs believe going Green could
be a competitive advantage for Northeastern
Wisconsin, fewer see it as competitive advantage for their
business in their market space.
About one in 10 believe To A Great Extent that going
Green could be a competitive advantage for their business
in their market space; 30 percent said to a Moderate
Extent; 28 percent to Some Extent, and 32 percent said
Not At All. Organizations with more than 50 employees
are somewhat more inclined to say that going Green
could be a competitive advantage in Northeastern
Wisconsin as well as for them in their market space.
Page 2 of 2
Seventy-one percent of service sector CEOs said they
Agree that going Green could be a differentiator for the
region, compared with 55 percent of those in the
manufacturing and construction sector of the
economy.
Interestingly, when asked if going Green could be a
competitive advantage for their specific business in
their market space, those in the service sector are less
likely to see this as competitive advantage specifically
for their company (31 percent said to a Great or Moderate
Extent) compared with those in the
manufacturing/construction industries (48 percent Great
or Moderate Extent).
As the economies in many parts of the world expand, we
will see the emergence of a much larger worldwide
middle class. Many more resources will be needed to
sustain the demand of this emerging class. This is one of
the major forces behind this shift to Green and
sustainable business practices. The Green Movement is
here to stay and most businesses are determining how
their business will be impacted — and how they will
respond.
Could Green be a differentiator in our region? Perhaps,
but the competition to create and occupy this market
niche is great and expanding at a very rapid pace.
‘Going Green’ seen as important for business | The Business News June 23, 2008