PUTTING THE “FUN” IN BEING GREEN
Fun Photo Guys® is seeing green by becoming a “CERTIFIED GREEN BUSINESS”
Fun Photo Guys®, a professional photography company serving the Tri-Valley, Diablo Valley and SF Bay Areas has become a “Certified Green Business” by going beyond basic environmental compliance and has completed a rigorous inspection process. This was accomplished by implementing a series of changes to its business services and purchasing practices. The changes have been noticed by prospective clients that are choosing greener alternatives, and the “green” has started to roll in.
THE STORY BEHIND BECOMING GREEN
Dave Krider, owner of “Dave’s Cuisine” asked Fun Photo Guys® to take pictures of his booth at the Earth Day celebration on April 21, 2007 at the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez. Kevin Slovick, a Fun Photo Guys® founder, saw how other businesses were making an effort to be greener, how it benefited the environment, and how much his values and his digital photography business plan aligned with a green business model. He knew that a change here and a change there would help reduce the impact on the environment even more.
After taking his son’s photo holding a jackhammer at the County Water District’s booth, he visited the Bay Area Green Business Program booth. This is where the light bulb popped on (compact florescent, of course). He realized that he could use his business not only to provide photography services that were greener, but use it to encourage others to become greener themselves and save money. Fun Photo Guys® could emphasize to their clients the benefits and savings of combining digital photography and the Internet. For example: California State sales tax law allows waiving the sales tax when a photographer delivers digital images using the Internet if they do not provide any tangible items, such as prints, CDs, or DVDs. Customers not only receive the photos faster over the Internet, they benefit from the cost savings.
For several months, Fun Photo Guys® worked with the Contra Costa County arm of the Bay Area Green Business Program to go through a methodical checklist and inspection process to become a “Certified Green Business”. Changes included: establishing a green mission statement, fine tuning the website, changing consumable products to those with recycled content, taking steps to reduce energy usage, changing light bulbs to compact florescent, replacing major appliances with energy efficient models, optimizing the power saving settings on computers, changing cleaning chemicals to those that do less harm to the environment, increasing recycling, and changing the way products are purchased.
Being recognized as a Green Business has increased the company’s visibility. For example, Google “Certified Green Photographer” and see what pops up. New customers have chosen Fun Photo Guys® because of the green mission statement on the website. From a business perspective, becoming green has not only increased the number of clients, but it saves money everyday.
If you’d like more information about Fun Photo Guys® please visit their website at www.FunPhotoGuys.com or contact Kevin Slovick at 925-676-5458, Kevin@FunPhotoGuys.com.
