Since SDM started covering the industry’s green there has been a shift in the conversation. More and more part of the conversations we’re having with businesses throughout the channel reveals an evolving attitude towards green worth mentioning: sustainability can have a direct connection to the bottom-line of businesses.  

As Reg Shiverick, president, Dakota Software, writes in “The Business Case for Corporate Sustainability Tools,” today’s corporate sustainable practices are shifting.

“There was a time when corporations treated sustainability as nothing more than the topic du jour of environmental activists, or an issue they recognized only because the law required it. The corporate sustainable practices of today have undergone a remarkable shift. Now, sustainability is pursued by way of an intelligent and conscious decision by corporations focused on the scope of their business as a whole.

“Sustainability is being integrated into the bottom-line of businesses. The era of corporate sustainability has arrived, and it is beginning to entrench itself as fundamental tothe basic workings of business,” Shiverick summarized. Download the full reporthere.

In a survey by the United Nations Global Compact of 766 CEOs worldwide, 93 percent of CEOs said sustainability issues will be a critical factor to the future success of their business. 96 percent said sustainability should be fully integrated in business strategy; and 88 percent said sustainability should be integrated into the supply chain.”

“With over 60 technicians around the country, we are saving more than $4,000 per week in shipping charges sending paper contracts to a central location now that we are using the eContract application designed by Monitronics,” says Brian Fabiano, chief operating officer at Alliance. “It’s a very convenient and cost-effective alternative to shipping paper contracts to multiple locations. And we are excited to be helping the ‘go green’ initiative.”

Case in point, Protect America’s green initiative is the result of an efficiency audit that sought ways to limit costs and reduce overall waste. Reducing the amount of paper waste associated with packaging, manuals, and invoices quickly became the focus of the new project as the cost of paper has increased substantially over the years.

“We quickly realized the cost savings of our recycling and environmental programs,” said Melissa Walker, a spokeswoman for Protect America. “We’re looking for more areas to expand our efforts and we’re confident more can be done to eliminate waste.”

Those are just a few examples of many. It’s no secret. Green is good business, not just an environmental responsibility.

Earth Day (April 22, 2013) continues to be a great reminder to highlightthe best of this industry’s green and sustainability via print and the Web. There are so many ways to be “green.” Maybe you’ll be inspired to expand into new green or sustainable areas.

Have you thought about going to a paperless office? Read more about how Monitronics and Protect America have added the decidedly green feature to their operations. Explore more of what the security industry is doing to rethink projects, products and processes to better respect the environment and the future of the planet, and please — send us what you are doing as well. Every bit counts.

Happy Earth Day 2013!
— The SDM Editors

Note: Are you doing something green or sustainable that should be covered? Contact SDM’s Senior Editor Heather Klotz-Young at 630-962-0096 or youngh@bnpmedia.com.