As often as I can, I will provide tools and resources, including books, blogs, links, and guides which will help you set up and run a green office anywhere. Check back often, as this Green Office section will undoubtedly grow steadily. And don’t keep this valuable info to yourself. Rip it, web it, post it, share it, e-mail it …. this info is on the move.
Recommended Reading – Green Business
These are books that I have read (and re-read) and that I highly recommend.
75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make A Difference
Starting Green: An Ecopreneur’s Toolkit for Starting a Green Business from Business Plan to Profits
Greening Your Office: From Cupboard to Corporation, An A-Z Guide
101 Ways to Turn Your Business Green: The Business Guide to Eco-Friendly Profits
Build a Green Small Business: Profitable Ways to Become an Ecopreneur
These are some of the applications, tools, and resources that I use daily and recommend to all my clients and friends.
Web Presence
Super Green Hosting – 100% Carbon Neutral Green Hosting! Free Domain & Setup
– Proudly display that your web site is on Carbon Neutral “Green” Web Hosting with this badge.
BlueHost – reliable, inexpensive, easy web hosting (4 out of 5 of my clients use them).
iPage Web Hosting — Go Green for only $3.50/mo. – iPage Web Hosting — Go Green for only $3.50/mo.
WordPress – an easy content management (CMS) system great for blogs, galleries, portfolios, business sites & more.
WooThemes – Premium WordPress Templates“>WooThemes – awesome, GPL-licensed themes for WordPress.
ThemeForest – great, inexpensive HTML templates, themes for WordPress and other CMS programs.
JROX – e-Commerce Innovations. Their incredible shopping cart and affiliate program is amazing. I’ve been using it for years.
Gadgets & Gear
Surge Hybrid Solar Charger for iPhone 3G – State-of-the-art solar panel technology allows your iPhone 3G and 3G S to powerup with the power of the sun.
Apple MacBook Pro – intuitive, highly-customizable. The 13-inch unibody aluminum model has been great to travel with.
iPhone 3G – As far as technology goes, this is easily one of the best purchases I have ever made in my life. Seriously. it is life-changing.
Airport Express – will turn almost any ethernet connection around the world into a wifi network.
Backup your files frequently. When I am at home I back up my HD with TimeMachine. But I also have Mozy for online backup. They are as awesome as their competition, and they have a monthly plan so you don’t have to dish out $50 – $100 in advance if you don’t want to. Check them out. Mozy Unlimited Backup – $4.95/Month!
Cleaning Supplies (non-toxic)
Communications
GMAIL – I’ve had gmail for so long that I don’t eve remember what it’s like to have anything else, but I do know it is better than anything else out there. Honestly. It’s amazing.
AwayFind – AwayFind is a powerful web application that finds your most important emails. When you receive an urgent message, AwayFind will notify you with a call, SMS, IM, DM (Twitter), or delegate the message to someone you specify.
Skype “>Skype – One low monthly fee to make unlimited calls.
http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html – Available by invitation only. Check it out.
http://twitter.com/ – learn how to use it
bit.ly – Shorten, share, and track your links.
Adium or Meebo can connect AIM, gTalk, MSN, Yahoo chat, Facebook chat and more.
Tinychat – free chat rooms & audio video conferences online.
FreePhoneConference.com – gives you a free dial-in teleconference number for multiple users.
Online Collaboration
Adobe ConnectNow – Reduce travel costs, save time, and increase productivity with a web conferencing solution that’s easy to access and simple to use.
Collabtiv – free alternative to web-based project management apps like Basecamp.
Box.net – store and share large files online.
Google Calendar – shareable calendar and schedule organizer.
Google Docs – With Google documents, you can easily create, share, and edit documents online.
e-Commerce & Invoicing
Your eBay digital delivery will be provided by E-junkie.com“>e-Junkie – handles all the payment and fulfillment for your ebook, audio, or other information products.
FreshBooks – simple online invoicing and bookkeeping.
PayPal – easily send & receive money online.
Marketing & Promotion
AWeber – leading provider for mailing/customer list management, promotional marketing, and autoresponder newsletter campaigns.
LinkedIn Answers – Get fast and accurate answers to your busines-related questions. Receive business advice from hundreds of thousands of experts.
Su.pr – install the bookmarklet in your browser toolbar, submit your links and they’ll be automatically sent to Twitter, Facebook & StumbleUpon!
Money & Finance
– Text Link Ads are unique because they are static html links that can drive targeted traffic and help your link popularity which is a top factor in organic search engine rankings.
Resources, Blogs, and Websites
www.biomimicryinstitute.org: Biomimicry is the study of living systems and using what is learned to design more efficient and greener products, processes, and systems. The Biomimicry Institute founded by Janine Benyus is a non-profit promoting the widespread adoption of biomimicry-based solutions in business.
www.ecogeek.com: Blogging and news about green technology and gadgets, and the companies and people who are developing them.
www.epa.gov: The United States Environmental Protection Agency, a center of government regulation and interaction with businesses working to reduce their environmental impact.
www.eere.energy.gov: The Department of Energy/Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
www.greenbiz.com: A wide-ranging resource about how businesses are going green in many different industries.
www.grist.org: Environmental and political news, blogging, and commentary.
www.lazyenvironmentalist.com: Site of author, radio show host, and entrepreneur Josh Dorfman about green products and green living.
www.natcapsolutions.org: Natural Capitalism Solutions, consultancy lead by green business leader Hunter Lovins, one of the authors of Natural Capitalism.
www.nrel.gov: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, one of the US Federal Governments main labs doing research on various forms of renewable energy.
www.RenewableEnergyWorld.com: Renewable Energy World, with constantly updated news and information about a wide range of renewable energy issues.
www.rmi.org: The Rocky Mountain Institute, lead by energy efficiency expert Amory Lovins.
www.treehugger.com: Green media outlet with thousands of blog entries for consumers about green products, news, and opinions.
www.usgbc.org: The website for the US Green Building Council, which supports green building and created the LEED certification system for green buildings
