{"id":729,"date":"2013-06-12T14:50:02","date_gmt":"2013-06-12T14:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/?p=729"},"modified":"2013-06-12T14:50:02","modified_gmt":"2013-06-12T14:50:02","slug":"survey-finds-going-green-boosts-bottom-line-for-small-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/survey-finds-going-green-boosts-bottom-line-for-small-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Survey finds going green boosts bottom line for small businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"smb-tech-trends\"<\/a>Going green is not only good for the environment; it appears it can boost your small business. A just released survey <\/a>of small businesses conducted by Green America (GA),<\/a> EcoVentures International (EVI)<\/a> and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO)<\/a> indicates that nearly four out of five (79 percent) respondents strongly agreed that offering green products and services gives their businesses a competitive edge. Furthermore, during the 2008-2011 economic down turn, 75 percent of respondents who sell green products or services experienced an increase in sales of their offerings.<\/p>\n

According to the survey, over the past 10 years, the market for green products and services has expanded dramatically. As an example, the green building market has increased by 1,700 percent compared to the conventional building market, which has contracted by 17 percent. The organic food market has increased by 238 percent in comparison to the non-organic food market’s expansion of only 33 percent.<\/p>\n

More green means more sales<\/strong><\/p>\n

Conducted from late June through early August last year, the survey of 1305 small businesses indicated that of the small businesses that reported increased sales during the recession, the more green<\/i><\/b> the company was, the more likely it was to experience increased sales.<\/p>\n

\"Eco<\/a>The survey segmented respondents into three groups based on the social and environmental attributes of their offerings and adoption of sustainable business practices \u2013 efficient use of water, energy and\/or waste.\u00a0 The \u201cdeep green\u201d segment of the survey (the 27 percent of small business owners who embrace green products and practices the most) reported stronger performance compared to their \u2018light green\u2019 peers (38 percent of respondents). A \u2018medium green\u2019 segment accounted for 35 percent of the respondents. Specifically the survey indicated:<\/p>\n