Green your business, free online

Participants can download weekly modules dealing with various aspects of greening businesses. Module titles are A Changed World; Ground Rules: Compliance and Benchmarking; Company Buy-in for Organisational Change; Creating Capacity and Team Support; Implementation: Getting Down to Work; and Reporting and Communication.

The course will help participants to:

• Understand basic concepts of sustainability, current economic constraints, and prospects for a greening economy
  
• Introduce them to the compliance aspects associated with sustainability
  
• Measure the environmental impact of their company
  
• Build a business case to gain management approval for implementation
  
• Understand how to use benchmark data to set policies and targets
  
• Facilitate product innovation
  
• Find and apply for green initiative funding
  
• Familiarise them with what is needed to manage a sustainability team
  
• Familiarise them with core principles of the Global Responsibility Initiative (GRI), the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and sustainability reporting
  
• Turn milestones into internal and external communications content
  
• Facilitate staff motivation for participation
  
• Realise returns on investment by building a sustainable brand

"Taking sustainability seriously"

"With the COP 17 Climate Change Conference about to take place in Durban, South African businesses are finally starting to take cognisance of their environmental responsibilities," says Terry Shapiro, new business development manager for BDFM, publishers of Business Day.

"However, it's not just a matter of managing your environmental risks. Taking sustainability seriously can lead to the creation of new products, sustainable markets, cost savings, community goodwill, and reputation enhancement."

The course is particularly aimed at small- and medium-sized business managers, executives, staff and owners, but is equally applicable to big businesses. "This course is ideal for anyone who needs to understand what it takes to manage the risks associated with ignoring environmental challenges, and to realise the cost savings, opportunities in new or changed products, brand reputation, community goodwill, and creation of sustainable markets that well thought-out and structured sustainability programmes can offer."

For more information and registration, go to www.greeningyourbusiness.co.za.