Reduce our carbon footprint. Go green. Save the environment. While there is no shortage of information on this topic, it's primarily focused on facilities -- lighting, heating methods, building construction. But real opportunity doesn't stop there. Changing your business practices themselves can help your customers and your business "go green."

Most companies will not buy a product or service simply because it is green. As noted Harvard professor Michael Porter established, competitive advantage is achieved by price or differentiation. The objective becomes providing eco-friendly offerings that also save costs and deliver superior results.

The first step involves identifying the opportunity. Ask yourself, is it possible to continue providing this good or service using fewer resources? If so, you may have found an eco-friendly or less costly solution -- or both. Remember, you don't have to re-invent the wheel. For small companies, making a difference is most often not a dramatic change, but rather a small step or a series of small steps.

Think about the areas of greatest consumption within your company. Does your product or service require guzzling gas, devouring paper, or creating waste? That should give you a starting point.

Our firm has been a traditional printing company. Most of our clients have a large customer base and do frequent high-volume billing. Clearly, we consume a lot of paper products. We developed a technology that allows our clients to provide electronic notification of statements to their customers and process online transactions. In turn, our clients save money because they reduce postage costs, consume less paper, and receive quicker turnaround of customer payments. The result not only lowers costs, but improves service results, achieving the differentiation described by Porter to achieve competitive advantage.

It sounds obvious, but it isn't always easy. Change is difficult, and selling this solution as simply "green" isn't enough. Even though replacing paper invoices with this electronic approach is a logical green step for companies that generate many bills, we sell it first and foremost as a cost-saver. For our customers, the fact that it's an eco-friendly solution is secondary. But we've found the green aspect is important to an increasing number of clients, and it can be very important to some of our clients' customers (again, differentiation).

So consider what changes your company can make either technologically or environmentally that can help you go green. While it remains secondary in the sales process today, it's becoming increasingly relevant. As companies continue to go green, they will require the same of their business partners and vendors. Take some small steps now to become more eco-friendly and let your clients know about it. Whether you're competing on price or differentiation, green practices and green solutions can only help you create competitive advantage.

-- Ohm is president of Laser-Net, a data management firm with offices in Green Bay and West Allis.

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