Waste Not, Want Not

I recently have been spending a bit of time on LinkedIn. I located many of my associates (current and former) and joined a few groups of local interest. Just a few days ago I was browsing a list of potential groups, and I found one called "The Green CPA".

Many of you are aware that I am concerned about preservation of open space, conservation of wilderness and wildlife, along with clean air and water. These are typically "green" goals, though not necessarily liberal or conservative.

At any rate, the group's name drew me in. I found out that the group was started by the VP of a company that encourages organizations to focus on "triple bottom line" accounting. The idea is to encourage accountants (particularly CPAs) to explore how following greener practices actually can make a company more profitable. There are some who would like to see "green" accounting included as part of standard financial statements.

I for one support this effort. My own feelings are that going green really is a three-step cycle, following the traditional "reduce, re-use, recycle". The recycling of some materials is a clear net energy saver (like metals and newspaper), but the facts are cloudier for items like coated paper and plastic. This means that our greatest opportunity for reducing potential environmental harm may lie in reducing waste.

Using less of certain key natural resources would certainly reduce the strain we place on the planet, and allow the resources currently available to provide more adequately for expanding populations.

In this vein, I must agree with the LinkedIn group that water and electricity are two of the most wasted resources at an office, and that we might easily reduce our consumption of both.

But what to do? What if you already use fluorescent lighting, shut down your computer every night, and only use the toilet once or twice a day at work? Some of the problems are bigger, but as those of us who are relatively new to our professions move along, I hope that we can keep this in our minds, and I hope that we CPAs can find some useful metrics for showing how responsible behavior can be financially rewarding as well.