The Environmental Defense Fund has published the report on green innovations I think every business owner, no matter the size of the business, should read. And it’s only 36 pages: I think most folks are going to be able to fit it into their day. It’s available as a PDF at the EDF website.

EDF compiled a lengthy list of green innovations that various companies have implemented successfully — and that’s the key to what has me all excited. A lot of cool innovations that could make a business greener are still under research. They aren’t necessarily practical yet: they aren’t cost efficient or they won’t pay off any time soon. Instead, this list has examples of techniques that various companies are actually using — that companies have been able to implement and still keep their costs down, or even reduce them.

The EDF report is broken down into the functions of the various innovations:

• Real Estate
• Operations and Manufacturing
• Fleet Management
• Packaging
• Information Technology
• Finance
• Human Resources

Not all of their suggestions are exactly practical for small firms, but overall, these ideas are worth keeping in mind. For instance, in the Real Estate category is a discussion of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), a method of financing the high costs of installing solar panels. According to the EDF, companies like Wal-Mart, Whole Food and Target have made use of PPAs to cover the big flat roofs typical of a big box store in solar panels to reduce energy costs. Even these well-known companies would have struggled to pay for the installation of solar panels, but PPAs have made the practice reasonably practical.

The case studies that the EDF includes are careful to note where companies can save money through these techniques, by reducing energy purchasing needs, recycling material to cut down on new material costs or requiring less manufacturing overall.  As Casey Sheahan, the president and CEO of Patagonia, Inc., told the EDF, “Through recognition such as this, we're able to show other businesses that placing the environment at the core of your mission is good business. As our founder Yvon Chouinard has said, ‘Every time we've made a decision for the environment, we've made money.’”

This report goes beyond the simple steps that most business has figured out. Consider it more of a guide of what to do after you’ve replaced all your light bulbs to compact fluorescents — Green Business 201, if you will.

Image — The Environmental Defense Fund