In an experiment at its Swiss headquarters, Dow Europe encouraged employees to eliminate mailing lists and obtain receipts for memos indicating if a participant wanted to continue receiving the information. This resulted in a 30 percent reduction in office paper flow in six weeks. Dow also estimated an increase in labor productivity because people could focus on only what they really needed to read. AT&T reduced paper costs by 15 percent by simply setting office printers and copiers to print double-sided as noted by Amory Lovins, Hunter Lovins, Paul Hawken, Forest Reinhardt, Robert Shapiro and Joan Magretta in "Harvard Business Review on Business and the Environment" (2000).

Johnson & Johnson reduced waste by 2,750 tons of packaging and 1,600 tons of paper which equated to $2.8 million and at least 220 acres of trees annually. According to Amy Green in "Green Business: A Five-part Model for Creating an Environmentally Responsible Company" (2006), this savings came from using a stronger, but more opaque paper, and designing packaging more thoughtfully.

Interface Corporation, a leading maker for materials for commercial interiors, implemented a system for carpet manufacturing in Shanghai that required a liquid to be circulated through a standard pumping loop. Before construction began, an engineer realized that two very simple design changes would cut the power requirement from 95 horsepower to 7 -- a 92 percent reduction. The redesigned system cost less to build, involved no new technology and worked better in all aspects. With a simple focus on sustainability, Interface reduced costs and risk.

Such simple actions require little to no investment but can serve to motivate employees, increase productivity and reduce expenses.

Level 2: Greening the Office

This next level of sustainability may require some investment but can have some return if done right. The investment can be minimal compared to the increased shareholder satisfaction or reduce market risk. Businesses targeting Level 2 may plan to use a proactive approach to sustainability to gain market share or hire or retain top talent. Level 2 would include any company with people interested in the environment, but the best payback tends to be in large office buildings (100K to 500K square feet) or manufacturing facilities with an interest in the bottom line, but not much external market pressure to be sustainable. Additionally, companies with low market power that rely on very large customers may aim for this level in case they must address questions about environmental performance.

This level can also be called proactive. By taking purposeful steps to improve environmental efforts, companies can decrease cost and increase goodwill with consumers, earning the right to be called a sustainable business.

Greening your facilities can mean many things and also has many different levels -- from minor energy savings projects to holistic energy projects to comprehensive building projects incorporating site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection and environmental quality. While many projects, like energy and water efficiency, will pay back the investment in a reasonable amount of time, some materials and site development projects require an investment in the facility and in the employees. This returns us to the question of the price of your company's social responsibility.

The following table lists some simple projects and offers an overview of the investment needed to green a typical facility.

Costs will vary based on choices and vendors. Additionally, grouping facility measures together in a holistic building approach will maximize your return on investment (ROI) and minimize your cost.

Many executives pay little attention to facilities, as they account for a small percentage of total business costs. However, it is important to realize that any energy or water savings drops straight to the bottom line and represents a far greater percentage of profits.

Malden Mills, the socially conscious Massachusetts maker of Polartec, completed a warehouse lighting retrofit that reduced energy use by 93 percent, improved visibility and paid for itself in 18 months, Lovins and colleagues wrote in "Harvard Business Review on Business and the Environment."