Wal-Mart recently made a decision that you need to know about: the country’s largest retailer announced that beginning in 2008, “packaging sustainability will be a formal part of [the company’s] purchasing decisions.” That means that over 61,000 suppliers will have to revamp their packaging if they want to continue working with the retailing giant. Now take a wild guess at who will ultimately be responsible for specifying these sustainable packaging materials and creating accurate label designs. That’s right: the honors land squarely with you.

But this isn’t a simple case of Wal-Mart twisting the arm of its supply chain; in fact, Wal-Mart’s environmental requirements may very well be a financial boon to your design practice. Last month’s Sustainable Studio described the ways in which greening your operations can significantly reduce your overhead; I’ll now share the ways in which it can actually increase your revenues, both directly and indirectly.

Add Value to Your Services

People are increasingly recognizing that sustainability is worth paying for—just look at the organic foods market, which has grown an average of 20% every year for the past two decades despite what was once considered prohibitive pricing. Nowadays, consumers aren’t the only ones willing to pay for the added value of not harming the environment; a recent Gallup Small Business Index poll revealed that fully two thirds of business owners surveyed indicated they would pay more for green services. Even AIGA points out that “Designers have an opportunity to create measurable ‘triple bottom line’ value for their clients by viewing their design and production decisions—a highly visible public expenditure of clients’ funds, if not a major portion of their total expenditures—through a lens of sustainable business principles and ethical priorities.” The implications are clear: sustainable practices can make your studio much more attractive to design buyers.

Manage Your Risk

Risk management is not, admittedly, the sexiest topic in graphic design. But independent design shops would be well advised to seriously consider how they mitigate their risk level in such a rapidly changing economy. There is, of course, the inarguable cost of energy, which continues to rise and impact supply costs and overhead. Imagine if you could counter those costs by reducing your energy use and finding cheaper sources of renewable energy.

There’s another kind of risk you need to address, too: your competitors are already implementing greener practices that are setting them apart and making them more appealing in the eyes of design buyers. According to Graphic Design USA’s 2007 Print Survey, “designers are adopting a new framework…that seeks to…encompass notions of sustainability.” As government, business and consumers continue to embrace sustainability, can you afford not to join them?

Increase Employee Productivity

For studios with employees, implementing sustainable practices can have dramatic effects on morale, turnover and productivity. To begin with, a firm with a clear environmental and sustainability policy is much more likely to attract a generation of design students who increasingly identify with sustainable practices.*

But you also need to invest in your human capital—your employees—to get the most from them. This might include offering a benefits package adjusted to their specific needs, a livable wage, soliciting and implementing employee suggestions, offering incentives for community service or in-house green practices, or any number of other options. Ideas like these can create a stronger employee commitment to your studio’s success. And employees who share such a commitment have continually demonstrated increased productivity, better customer service skills and lower turnover rates than their disconnected counterparts.*

Build Brand Equity

One of the most significant areas of improvement that a commitment to sustainability can bring is increased brand value in the marketplace. As much as we’d like to believe that our portfolio speaks for itself, sustainable practices are increasingly playing a role in the design buying process. This is evidenced both directly, in the form of more corporate environmental reports being issued, and indirectly, as organizations (like Wal-Mart) apply greener practices to their printed materials. “Designers,” says AIGA, “…can create special value and play a crucial role in supporting the requirements of business to be environmentally and socially responsible.”

But you don’t need to brand yourself as an exclusively “green business” to see the benefits. “Customers’ decisions are driven by their perception of your reputation—both in delivering a great product and in doing it in a responsible fashion,” writes Chip Conley in Marketing That Matters. He goes on to describe an Edelman PR Worldwide study that found “corporate reputation was the second most important driver of customer demand only after the perception of the quality of a company’s products or services.” With Wal-Mart’s latest packaging policy just the tip of the iceberg, companies will begin to seek out designers who are known for their ability to guide clients through a sustainable design process and who are familiar with best practices in sustainable design.

Clearly, there can be no denying that demand for sustainable design in the consumer marketplace is growing. Integrating sustainable practices into your business model—throughout your operations, your design workflow, or your marketing approach—can ensure your studio’s longevity, strengthen productivity and, ultimately, positively impact your financial bottom line. Next month, I’ll provide a beginner’s roadmap to these practices so you can start on the path towards a more sustainable studio.

Jess Sand | Principal | Roughstock Studios
Author, Small Failures: Sustainability for the Rest of Us | BoDo Author | The Sustainable Studio

How much money have you invested in design software, computer equipment, marketing your business and so on? The answer, no doubt, is a lot, not to mention your costs for electricity, gas, office supplies and other overhead expenses. It’s no wonder, then, that many designers think of sustainability as an added expense (and an unnecessary one at that). But what if it weren’t? What if you could integrate sustainable practices into your day-to-day business operations and actually reap financial rewards for it? The good news is, you can and I’m going to show you how. There are actually quite a few financial benefits to sustainable business practices, not all of which are immediately obvious:

• Cost savings
• Increased revenues
• Employee development
• Risk management
• Increased brand value

The beauty of sustainability is that it’s easy to start implementing simple changes today and see results almost immediately. Adobe cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 16% by reducing their electricity and natural gas usage; their initial investment has already paid for itself and they now save $1 million every year.

But you don’t have to be a huge software company to better your bottom line. In fact, small design firms are often at an advantage because of their size. Since small businesses are generally more susceptible to limited cash flow and changing market forces, reducing overhead even slightly can make all the difference. Not to mention the fact that our smaller scale gives us the ability to adopt new practices and adjust old ones easily and efficiently.

Of course, the quickest way to reduce costs is to cut back on expenses. Now, I’m pretty sure that Adobe’s Creative Suite isn’t getting any cheaper, so let’s take a look at which costs of running a design studio we can change. According to the Sustainability Purchasing Network, “When organizations choose sustainable products they can also avoid costs that are hidden in the upfront costs of traditional products, but have financial implications over the long term.” The following ideas are not exhaustive by any means-they are intended to serve as a quick and easy starting point. Just remember: the more baby steps you take, the further you’ll go.

Install compact fluorescent bulbs.

CFLs come in a range of lighting options so you don’t have to worry about monitor calibration or proofing issues. They may be pricier than standard bulbs but they last nearly ten times longer and use up to 75% less energy than standard bulbs do, which often translates into whole dollars off your monthly electric bill.

Power down your electronics.

Nowadays, manufacturers are producing EnergyStar-rated office electronics that suck less power from the grid, which means you spend less every month. Other simple ways to save money on your electricity bill is to plug your office equipment into a surge protector and flip off the switch when you shut the office down, rely on natural light instead of artificial (open up those curtains!), and heat/cool your rooms individually only as you use them.

Watch your water.

If you’re considering a remodel, be sure to install low-flow toilets and faucets. These items don’t cost much more than standard fixtures and they save thousand of gallons of water a year. But just because you may not be ready to remodel doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to save. Fix your leaky faucet or running toilet and save almost 10 gallons of water a day. If your office is landscaped, water only every 3-5 days during the summer (less in the winter). Watering only at night or early morning means less evaporation, which also means you need less actual watering time.

Waste not, want not.

Chances are, you pay your city to haul away your trash. Many cities offer discounts if you reduce your waste enough (here in San Francisco, 20 gallons or less qualifies you for a discount). Other ways to cut down on waste include using real dishes in the kitchen instead of disposables, bringing your travel mug when stopping by the coffee shop on the way to work, and buying products that use less packaging.

Recycle and reuse.

Designers love paper but nobody likes paperwork. Switch to a PDF workflow and save both money and time. Designer Dani Nordin of The Zen Kitchen says she “instituted a PDF workflow in the studio that makes proofing jobs significantly easier and saves printing costs.” She also bought a printer that easily turns out double-sided prints, which she insists has “saved money, time, headaches and trees.” I haven’t bought a single note pad since I started using all those not-quite-perfect printouts as scratch paper instead of simply tossing them. Electronics, old furniture and other items that you would typically throw out can often be either donated or recycled. If you’re unsure where to send them, do a quick search by zip code on Earth911.

Exercise your purchasing power.

Don’t fall for the myth that greener products are necessarily more expensive. If you can’t find cost-competitive recycled copy paper, for example, just use less of it. This is where you begin to see how all of your actions are connected to serve the larger goal of sustainability. But there are plenty of cheaper options out there if you just know where to look, from office supplies (DolphinBlue, Green Office, Give Something Back), to electronics (EnergyStar), to furniture (Ikea is surprisingly green, Baltix), to utilities (Working Assets, renewal energy list).

The above steps are all simple things that, when combined, can truly impact your overhead. It doesn’t require much extra time or effort-only the willingness to give it a shot. Try tracking your own gas, electric, water and garbage expenses for a few months to see where you stand. Once you have an idea of your patterns, implement as many of the above changes as possible. Keep tracking your expenses as you go, and watch what happens. Chances are, you’ll appreciate those smaller bills and start looking for other ways to financially benefit from greening up your studio. We all know, of course, that there’s more to your company’s profits than cheaper utility bills. In part two, coming next month, I’ll show you the indirect ways a sustainable studio can mean bigger profits. I’ll show you how to increase employee productivity, attract higher revenues, and beat out the competition by building your brand through sustainable practices.

Additional Resources:

• Choose Green Report-Office Supplies: Offers specific ways to replace your conventional office supplies with more sustainable options, including specific product recommendations.
• Green Office Checklist: An additional list of things you can do to green your office.
• National Green Pages: Co-Op America offers a directory of green businesses to help you find almost any office product you might need.

Jess Sand | Principal | Roughstock Studios
Author, Small Failures: Sustainability for the Rest of Us | BoDo Author | The Sustainable Studio