Alternative "How to Get Here" Directions

Most businesses have a page on their website with basic directions on how to get to their location. This is obviously beneficial for any business that wants to ensure customers can find their business easily. Of course people can just use Google maps or Mapquest or the like to find the location, but often times they are not detailed enough. So the extra bit of local knowledge on the businesses' website can help ensure customers don't get lost, give up, get frustrated and/or go somewhere else.

Of course one problem with these maps is that they are geared towards driving. So what is a customer or an employee that wants to walk, bike or take the bus supposed to do? An article I read this morning talked about some map websites working to add these options. The difficulty is that it takes local knowledge to develop them - road maps don't usually detail sidewalks, bike trails, bus routes, etc. This means that it's going to take time to develop. With Charleston being a smaller city it will likely be low on the list of cities to be bike/bus mapped. So it would be worthwhile for local businesses to provide this information on their websites. Even if they don't know the best bike or walking routes themselves, there are plenty of resources to help figure it out. CARTA provides good details on their website for figuring out bus routes. Figuring out walking routes might involve taking a walk and/or being observant of the sidewalks, paths and trails nearby. And there are cycling clubs that would probably help with figuring out bike routes. And of course if there are customers or employees already walking, biking or taking the bus it is rather simple to just ask them how they get there.

Will We See These Around Charleston Soon?

Cool 8-seat solar powered bike/car. This Flinstone-like car would be perfect for tours around town.

Supply Chain Footprint

Patagonia has a new, refreshingly honest feature on their site. It details the supply chain for several of their products. It maps the progression of the products from raw material to finished good. What makes me say "refreshingly honest" is that it's not just a highlight of what they do well. The do point out for example that the Synchilla vest, though it's made from recycled materials, travels a great distance throughout North America and much of that by truck. They even offer a total amount of carbon emitted to get the product from origin to distribution. Seeing how much traveling a product does should emphasize to everyone to buy locally produced products*, especially if reducing your own carbon footprint is a major emphasis.

* Note that I try to purchase as locally as possible for the Green Business Networking events. I'll take recommendations for good regional wine, since what I've been getting comes from California (even though it's essentially the store brand from Earth Fare.)

Greener Wine: Shipping by Sail

As a recurring theme here, one way businesses need to work to make their products more green is to improve the shipping process. Here's a story about French wine makers going back to the way they used to ship wine - by sail. I've said this on numerous occasions in discussions - we used to do things without the use of oil or major machinery and it would be wise of us to go back a reexamine those old ways. Shipping wine by sail, a product that does not need to rush to market, is a great example. Of course if the journey takes too long there might be a few cases missing by the time the boat reaches its destination.

Skysail Results

Last month in one of my blogs about ports I mentioned a project to add sails to a shipping freighter. Well, the first trip has been completed and the results are in. On a trip from Germany to Venezuela the ship cut fuel by 20%. That's, according to CNET, 2.5 tons of fuel, or in economic terms, $1000 per day. There's been plenty of talk that being more green makes business sense. When you get numbers like this, it's hard to refute that notion.

More About Ports

I posted a report a couple weeks ago about the state of pollution in ports, with Charleston being one of the worst. I've recently been reading more about what some businesses are doing about it. I'm sure many of you have heard about the Skysail: a large sail added to a freighter to reduce fuel usage (and thus emissions), used by DHL. Today I read about the Coalition for Responsible Transportation, which was founded by Target, among others, and recently joined by Wal-Mart. A quick description from their website:

C.R.T. is comprised of private sector companies who strive to be responsible stewards of the environment by not only complying with all environmental regulations but by implementing business practices that minimize diesel emissions and encourage sustainable practices. C.R.T. founding members, NYK Group Companies, Target, Total Transportation Services, Inc., are actively seeking to partner with other like-minded companies who share in their commitment to the environment and the communities in which they operate.

So are any local companies involved or thinking of getting involved?