Guidant Financial Group Blog

Really. Despite the nation’s current economic woes, we’ve found a surprisingly effective way to improve Guidant’s bottom line while helping to protect the environment. It’s a proverbial “killing two birds with one stone” . . . with neither of the birds being an endangered species! Simply put: We’ve increased the number of employees who telecommute. The result: Savings on the costs of leasing office space, savings for our employees who now spend less on gas, and a significantly diminished company-generated carbon footprint. Our CEO David Nilssen reports on this in Inc.com’s great article about environmentally friendly ways to manage a business during economically hard times (see Five Ways to Save Money [Layoffs Not Included]).

Guidant has always been sensitive to the greater community through charity work and ramping up our recycling program, encouraging more carpooling, trading in paper cups for ceramic Guidant mugs, and so forth. So we’re kind of surprised ourselves that we didn’t think of taking this fiscally fabulous telecommuting step earlier. As many investors have probably noticed, you can get so focused on what others are doing for/to your bank account – or what oil companies are doing for/to the health of the world – that you forget to consider what you can do yourself.

Our telecommuting efforts are paying off, and our telecommuting staffers are so tickled “green” that we’re now eagerly searching for other ways to cut expenses while contributing to Mother Nature’s health and wellbeing. In our research, we’ve come across some great ideas for businesses wishing to incorporate more green practices. We encourage you to check these out and think about ways you can save money while saving the Earth:

· September 15 “Driving a Low-Carbon Commute” article on greenbiz.com
· Green business tips and advice on allbusiness.com
· “How to ‘Greenify’ Your Office”
· The Illinois CPA Society looks at the financial impact of going green

The more we learn about green business practices the more we’re convinced that investing in the environment generates a very healthy rate of return!