Businesses moving toward green practices

Smaller operations only making modest changes, report says

By CLARE MELLOR Business Reporter

Crossley Carpet Mills saves nearly a half-million dollars a year just by recovering the heat it uses to dye its carpets.

The Truro manufacturer is one of a handful of businesses singled out in a NovaKnowledge report released Tuesday for its business success in adopting environmentally sustainable practices.

"At Crossley, their dye house processes use a lot of boiling hot water to make the carpet turn the colour they want," said Phyllis Collier, author of the report.

"So they are capturing the dye that is wasted, and they have a process where they actually capture the heat. That heats their building and helps them with their energy costs."

The report, Environmental Economy: Seizing Opportunities, is based on discussions with more than 100 business owners at six workshops in the province last year. They were held in Sydney, Port Hawkesbury, Stellarton, Wolfville, Bridgewater and Yarmouth.

NovaKnowledge is a non-profit organization that promotes Nova Scotia’s knowledge economy.

Its report found that the majority of small and medium-sized businesses are only taking baby steps toward environmentally sustainable practices.

"They are very busy doing what they are doing for a living," Ms. Collier said Tuesday.

"Our feeling is that small and medium-sized enterprises lack the resources to really

investigate the science and look at the tools. Most of Nova Scotia businesses are under four people, and it just takes a lot of time and tools and access to the right kind of people, like an environmental engineer, to evaluate the process."

While many business leaders believe that becoming environmentally sustainable is costly, Ms. Collier said there is money to be made and saved by adopting environmentally sustainable practices.

Companies need to look at their waste stream and determine whether they can reuse heat or recycle items to make new products.

"Honestly, you need access to the best science," Ms. Collier said. "It is going to be pivotal that we see that our companies here have access."

Companies in the province that are becoming environmentally sustainable are reporting better productivity and profit as a result, she said.

Earlene Busch says running an environmentally sustainable business is giving her a competitive edge.

Chanterelle Country Inn & Country Cottages, located between Ingonish and Baddeck, features solar panels, low-emission materials and organic, locally grown food and wine.

It has 25 per cent higher revenues than comparable Cape Breton tourist operations, according to the report.

"I want people to know that not only does it mean environmental sense, it makes business sense," Ms. Busch said Tuesday.

"Last year our restaurant and wine sales just went through the roof. That’s what people come for. They want a unique experience. More and more people say they come here just because of that."

( cmellor@herald.ca)