A new Eco-bulary word...

TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE is my new word/s of the week. Sustainability was good, but if I am truly dedicated I need to progress. Here is what I've learned...at least from Wikipedia, and we all know, that if its in Wikipedia it MUST be true ;) So, in honor of this new vocabulary word that I will harp onto everyone who will listen, I have decided that my action of the week will be to take advantage of the real estate on printed paper. Designers are already accused of making the type too small to be readable, but I'll go ahead and use a smaller font size. Not only does it look better, but it can allow you to fit more words on a page, which requires fewer pages, which requires fewer trees, which requires fewer environmental crises. Ha. Brilliant! My apologies to the AARP and the farsighted.

The triple bottom line (or "TBL", "3BL", or "People, Planet, Profit") captures an expanded spectrum of values and criteria for measuring organizational (and societal) success; economic, environmental and social. With the ratification of the UN ICLEI TBL standard for urban and community accounting in early 2007, this became the dominant approach to public
sector full cost accounting. Similar UN standards apply to natural capital and human capital measurement to assist in measurements required by TBL, e.g. the ecoBudget standard for reporting ecological footprint.In the private sector, a commitment to corporate social responsibility implies a commitment to some form of TBL reporting. This is distinct from the more limited changes required to deal only with ecological issues.

In coming weeks, I will write about my experiences in planning my design business from the ground up. Every step of the way, I will consider how to make the most eco-friendly choices. I hope to explore some green design firms that I admire and share what I learn from them. I’ll cover everything from writing a business plan to targeting like-minded clients. I may even write about the endless amount of paperwork that comes along with starting a business (and how to reduce the actual paper used during it). As I get my business off the ground and pursue that triple bottom line (planet, people, profit), I’ll share insight I glean from the experience. I hope to learn from readers’ responses and comments as well, so please share your tips and ideas.

In the meantime, look at these cool sites I've found so far...

• http://www.powerofenvelopes.org/



• www.olypress.com/green



• http://www.ecoenvelopes.com/



• http://www.sustainablegroup.net/



• http://www.catalogchoice.org/



• more to come next week...

Love, Gigi

Dear paperless diary,

Sustainability. We'll thats my new buzz word of the month. This is my first blog and I am not a writer, by a long shot, but have decided to keep a "dear diary" of my efforts to get the ball rolling on this at home business I've wanted to have all my life.

First, I know I want it to be green. I have already gone into some debt by trading in my gas-guzzling monster van for a mini-cooper. I'll have to admit, it was mostly an impulsive purchase. I need to stop doing that. I also need to focus. Have you noticed how I'm already off subject. So, my new website is www.greengigi.com and I am beginning to work with the vendors (printing companies) that are already a part of my network to try and find a greener way to go about my business. I would like to print with soy inks. Yeah, there is SOY ink now. Soon we'll have soy tires and soy flooring and well we could go anywhere with this. I'm also only printing on FSC certified paper. FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council, and are a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world's forests. So, if they don't okay it, I'm not printing on it.

I have also learned about greener office supplies; check these guys out [www.sustainablegroup.net] and the more I google the less green I feel. I have taken the pledge at www.designcanchange.org and hope to report back on my findings and discoveries soon.

Love, Gigi
P.S. go do something sustainable...turn off a light or something.