Greener Solution, Greener Houston
How some businesses picked up alternative options to save money.
The world saw how COVID-19 changed daily operations for businesses with social distancing, extra PPE, and limited hours. These changes ultimately affected how we live and buy and as a result, some stores went out of business while others thrived. To adapt, some stores from small businesses to large corporations have found cost-effective business options to save their green, even while going green. This includes using low-water flow toilets to save water, ordering from suppliers that have consumer materials made from recycled goods, and repurposing consumer materials and waste for additional use are among many sustainable options.
There were some businesses already ahead of the pandemic by implementing green methods of business, but others faced difficulties when suppliers could not deliver demand when ordered. This resulted in delays and frustrations for many businesses. Small businesses being the worst hit. However, having alternative options for supplies can be more cost-effective than ordering name brand supplies while helping the environment. Businesses reduce their total of the shipping order by ordering these supplies instead.
Going green does not have to be hard or complicated, it can be as simple as ordering a different product. Connie’s Frozen Custard is a small family-owned business in Northwest Houston that is a local hotspot for ice cream desserts. Having ordered some of their consumer goods from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, they reduce their costs while ensuring quality products that are biodegradable, are more environmentally sustainable, and have a lower carbon footprint than plastic. With all the consumer good products in the supply chain market, there is almost an alternative for all of them!
With the increased demand for better packaging, suppliers have gotten more competitive on quality and social impact. One out of three Americans have actively tried to buy products packaged in something other than single-use plastic. Having the SFI label on products lets consumers know the product comes from a sustainable source. Studies show that 52% of consumers are aware of the label and of those, 90% trust it. This creates an opportunity for forest products to offer better choices for those consumers and for the planet.
A growing company-owned restaurant that prides itself in community sustainability is Snooze AM Eatery. Having opened and started with a recycling service in 2006 to its goal of purchasing 50% of electricity from renewable sources for 2025, Snooze sets an example of how a restaurant can continue to go green. As well, Snooze uses their own compost hauling program, switched to paper straws upon request, and uses low-water flowing toilets to save water. With seven Houston area locations, Snooze AM Eatery is greening its communities and cities.
You never know what you are going to find in Houston. I found Tacos del Tony in Cypress passing by, a food truck owner with portable solar panels attached to his vehicle.
With increases in costs everywhere, these challenges lead to innovations. Sustainable innovations. These trucks are known to use compostable serving utensils and regionally-sourced ingredients for their carbon footprint. Leftover cooking oil from the previous day helps power the trucks. Solar panels installed on the roof of the truck are a one-time investment instead of gas-run generators that come with unavoidable monthly expenses. Truck owners can even sell excess energy back to solar companies for a profit.
Even large corporations like Walmart are finding ways to be environmentally friendly.
Walmart employees wear vests from recycled plastic bottles. The manufacturer that makes the vests uses less new petroleum, emitting fewer greenhouse gases and conserving water and energy in the process. Walmart’s use of Repreve, the lightweight fabric used for the vests, is part of its “ongoing mission to provide products that sustain people and the environment,” the retail giant says. By using a regenerative approach, the company can reduce waste in operations and the global value chains.
The city’s own University of Houston goes green with their propane-fueled bus shuttles. This is how parking and transportation can work to reduce the campus’s carbon footprint. Switching to propane instead of gasoline is an economical and important step toward cleaner air. Using propane reduces the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and air pollutants link carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide.
Houston is taking steps to be sustainable. Going green is not easy, but it’s rewarding and the right thing to do for the planet. These sustainable methods are becoming less of an act, but rather the norm as they are cost-effective for businesses and good for the environment. As we slowly phase out fossil fuels with renewable ways of producing energy and practice sustainable business efforts, we mitigate the effects of climate change making a cleaner and safer Earth. With greener solutions, we are making a greener Houston.
