There are a number of important reasons to Go Green with your business. The most significant being that preserving the world’s natural resources is the responsibility of every individual at work and at home. People should be the highest priority in our life, but we all need a place to live, and we all want to pass it on to future generations. Additional reasons for your business to GO Green in Eco Detailing? * Setting a positive example for employees which boosts morale and company loyalty * Gaining a competitive advantage by differentiating yourself as an Eco Detailer * Improving efficiency and potentially lowering operating costs * Provides a cleaner and healthier work environment * It's the right thing to do for you and the environment, and your family * Places you in compliance with the law The primary objective of this article is to be a Green Enabler... Think of this as a journey, not a destination as well as a good education for your self and your employees think about why it is important to Go Green, and these ideas may provide a roadmap to greenify your business. This can be an incremental process as there will be easily attainable action steps and more advanced requirements. It is impossible to say how far along the green path any business should travel, but a focused and educated effort can have a meaningful impact. Any step towards a greener more responsible work ethic is one in the right direction There has never been a more appropriate time to Go Green in Eco Detailing. Being mobile or a fixed location it is equally important! Its value is recognized more so now that ever before. For those interested, we can work together to collaborate and achieve results together. Get Educated! Get Involved! One of the primary requirements is you have to go out and put energy towards getting informed. Just like you did when you developed skills in paint correction or high speed buffing, you will need to understand, and be able to communicate with your relevant customer base, and a good deal of this is knowledge at the local level. Does your City have a Building Green Program, who else is going green, etc? Read, get involved, go to meetings, do your internet research on eco-friendly, meet people! Let your intentions be known in your community, other like minded individuals will help and encourage you and confident that you will get numerous referrals as a result. Water Conservation! In our business, water conservation is the biggest win in terms of conservation and recognition of your efforts. First, you need to understand just how much water you are using. So start measuring, on Monday, put a precise amount of water in your tank. When you run out, divide that by number of cars and you have the average water per car. Now that you have a benchmark, you can seek to reduce the amount of water used in your business. With proper training and a repeatable / reliable systematic process, you can achieve the maximum outcome with the lowest level of water. There are many innovative products available (and the list gets longer every day). The most radical is to go waterless, while some waterless products are far from environmentally friendly, may are, and provide excellent results. The better ones are water based, yes "waterless" uses water, just like Coca Cola does, and a car can be cleaned with less than a pint of water Another innovative product is Optimum No Rinse, with more being developed by Optimum as well it, requires only 1-2 gallons of water to wash a car as it does not contain soapy surfactants to wash away and there are even Franchises that are built around the principle the "waterless" business models. In countries where water shortages are common there are many of these franchises, and they are quite successful, and they have a satisfied and loyal customer base Or, switch to steam to achieve great results while reducing water and chemical usage in washing your car or cleaning the interior as well with steam. Steam is not only efficient, but also is a great way to impress customers, and with its reduced use of chemicals it will improve your working environment and overall operating costs as well. When considering waterless and rinse less products there is also a large savings to be had in time. For the mobile operator not needing to deploy the affluent capture mat is a considerable labor savings in itself. Still want to improve, use deionized water that can help reduce water and dry time as it will not spot. In detailing we must also keep in mind that washing the car is but one small step in the process, and if one can save time and resources it’s also a smart business decision. You can also look outside the washing of the car. If you are a fixed based detail shop, you can collect the rainwater, and use that to water your plants and landscape. Mobile detail operators can hookup a drain or capture system in the ceiling vent of the trailer and direct the water into their water tank for your next day’s work. Outside irrigation solutions can significantly cut water usage. The same would go for your home residential efforts to conserve water. And, make sure you tell a couple friends what you have learned so that they might benefit and participate. More info at www.bewaterwise.com Water conservation can reduce related emissions & pollutions. Water related energy consumes 19% of California’s electricity, 30% of Natural Gas, 88 billion gallons of diesel fuel. Source: 2005 CA Energy Commission Report from SF Gate.com 4.20.07 For mobile operators reducing water also means less weight to carry around, a good fuel savings Control Water Run Off and Prevent Discharge! Federal EPA is pushing states to "clean up" their acts by requiring enforcement of regulations of the Clean Water Act. Reducing water usage is great but when you must use water it is imperative to contain the run off. Detailers must keep in mind that they are not only rinsing water down the drain but also the chemicals that were used and hazardous waste from the car. Storm drains are just that, for storms, and they should only carry water, most discharge directly into lakes and rivers. For a fixed location it’s also important to make sure that the drain you are using is connected to the sewer system (where waste gets treated) and not to the storm drains. For mobile operators make sure that you empty your reclaim tank often (no need to carry around that extra weight) and to a location where the waste will get treated. Equipment Contact your supplier, and let them know that it is important to you that they begin to offer equipment that is green or at least greener that what you have. Get a new or modify your existing pressure washer to use less water, and make sure your hoses and fittings are free of leaks. Maybe a biodiesel generator is part of our future. If you have a fixed base shop, buy Energy Star appliances; Have a free energy survey done on your shop. Consider solar panels for your business there are many tax incentives as well as aggressive rebate programs that can cut your cost in half for the purchase and installation of the units. If you wash towels on site, use a front load washer to reduce water usage. Eco-friendly towels are emerging see www.towelpros.com for further info. Summer gas prices may force the decision, but if you reduce the amount of water you need to carry, then you can also reduce the size of the vehicle or trailer you will need to get your job done. Additionally, try to carry only the supplies you need for the day. There is no way you will go through a gallon of rough compound in a day, but that weight with all the other dead weight contributes to excessive fuel consumption. Put your rig on a diet, and if you have a van and a trailer try to schedule days where only the supplies in the van are needed, and leave the trailer at home (it deserves a holiday once and a while). It's very important to capture all of our waste liquids, but negotiate with your waste disposal facility to be able to empty your waste water tank more frequently, have them charge on a per gallon basis and not a per dumping basis. That way you are not paying the as to haul your waste. Until they get a Hybrid that is reasonable in both function and cost, seek to lower the gas mileage. Still not satisfied, then plant trees to offset you carbon emissions. Here is a Calculator, and you can give a tax deductable donation, and this site will plant 17 trees; Green Fleet. You can drive 55, have your tires at proper inflation levels and plan your mobile route to minimize drive time and gas usage. UPS Trucks have software to eliminate the amount of lefts they take which reduces idle time. Products If you have to use products, green choices are now available that have the same if not improved efficiency over the historically chemically-laden traditional products. These plant, polymer and nano technology product offerings are taking the place of petroleum based chemicals and offer the cleaning power combined with environmental safety. Coconut and citrus are popular plant based formulations as cleaning agents. Polymer based technology cross links molecules and nano technology uses small particles to perform both cleaning and surface protection. These can be used for exterior and interior detailing. Marketing Capture Customer's Emails: Take the time to capture the customer's emails which will eliminate your paper marketing waste and allow you to facilitate a 1 to 1 and 2 way relationship with customers. Instead of marketing and sending out postcards wasting paper, consider an online newsletter to compliment your website and to further brand your valuable business. 1% for the Planet: Join Patagonia and other thought leaders www.onepercentfortheplanet.org . Even simpler, donate $1 of every tip to a green organization; suggest to make it local to be more meaningful. Get Public relations; Get recognized for your efforts: Go wash the Mayor’s car at City Hall before a meeting, or invite them to your shop or car wash. Contact the local newspaper, introduce yourself and offer a free Wash to demonstrate your Eco Detailing. Get creative, and make a big splash. Get involved in the City's Education & Outreach programs. They will invite you to City Events where you can set up a booth and talk to residents. Write a Monthly Column for the Newspaper, publish an e newsletter and put on your Website. Attend local Green & Eco Events, hand out Marketing Materials and introduce your self. Start an eco-friendly blog for your business. Also free PR with numerous press release websites that can tell your company story to the world by submitting a press release ( www.1888pressrelease.com ) or a paid one which is more effective (www.prweb.com) to get the word out even more. Regulation and Code Compliance Be an industry leader. Meet and or exceed the local and federal regulations, and then climb a tall tree and make sure everyone knows about it. MSDS Sheets: Material and Safety Data Sheets. It is a requirement that all businesses have them on site or on their mobile unit with the appropriate Hazardous Communication plan and safety & health plan. You should not only carry them, but look at them and read them. Choose chemicals that are low in toxicity and Biodegradable to help limit customer and employee exposure. Proper labeling. Make sure they are VOC Compliant (Volatile Organic Compounds). Don’t know how to read an MSDS Sheet or identify VOC’s ? … ask your supplier to educate you or visit www.osha.gov for a complete description on how to interpret and read the MSDS sheet. Drinking Water In this business, you work up a thirst. Get yourself a reusable drinking vessel, and stop using bottled water. Tap water is required to be safe, and costs 1,000 times less than bottled water Bottle Facts… Lighting Focus on opportunities in lighting in your energy audit. Seek to introduce CFL lights wherever appropriate. Use your Detail lights only when necessary, and turn off lights when not in use. The industry needs a solution to deliver the good light we need to perform our services, yet decrease the energy. Contact your supplier, keep your eyes and ears open, and let people know when you have identified an improvement. Try to detail outside as much as possible in a cool shaded location and use the ambient light as much as possible to you advantage while your shop lights are off. Energy If a fixed base location, ask for an energy audit from your local Utility. Seek to add natural light when ever possible. Change your light bulbs. Use CFL bulbs in your non detailing areas. Partner with Companies that share your Go Green Passion Target other businesses that are trying to Go Green. Many drive to work, and some even have fleets of vehicles you can Eco Detail. Banking: Wachovia comes to mind for their efforts in achieving sustainability. Bank on Sustainability. Or, choose a local Credit Union or Community Bank that can offer local solutions, consistent with your Eco Detailing business. Reduce, Reuse, And Recycle This is the mantra … Perhaps you are already doing this, but there is an opportunity to do more than recycle returnable bottles and loose change.

Provided by: