Is Your Small Business a Green Gazelle?

In early May of each year, America’s small businesses are recognized by the U. S. Small Business Administration for their numerous contributions during Small Business Week activities, and rightfully so. As a small business owner and the author of this column, I always enjoy learning about the new and exciting innovations and successes of small businesses.

Byron Kennard, executive director of The Center for Small Business and the Environment (CSBE), recently shared with me the successes of several “Green Gazelles,” small businesses who make a profit doing environmental good. The CSBE, a non-partisan/non-profit organization, works to promote small businesses and entrepreneurs that are succeeding by developing and using new technologies and processes to dramatically increase efficiency and resource productivity and exploiting lucrative opportunities in environmental protection, pollution prevention, energy and materials efficiency, and resource conservation. Whew!

You may question whether there is a market for these Green Gazelles. A recent study conducted by the Center for Women’s Business Research shows that more than 75 percent of women business owners feel that the environmental friendliness of a product is either a moderate or major influence on their purchase decisions. Similarly, 77 percent of working women said that environmental friendliness is either a major or moderate influence on their products. And, factor this information with the fact that women business owners are the fastest growing segment and that women are 52 percent of the population, and there is definitely a market for environmentally friendly products and services!

The story of A.C. Wilson gives hope to the thought that small businesses can help save the planet. The Knoxville, Tennessee-based entrepreneur has invented a device that allows long-haul truck drivers to heat and cool their cabs when they stop to rest without having to keep their engines running. Federal law requires truck drivers to rest for eight hours for every 10 hours they drive, so they pull into a truck stop and run their engines to heat or cool their cabins as needed. Drivers often complain that the noise and fumes from the idling engines makes it difficult to sleep. Not to mention the effect this practice has on fuel consumption!
Wilson’s company, IdleAire Technologies Corporation, has its individual heat and air units above parking spaces at truck stops. These units are powered by electricity. A tube attaches these units to a console that allows drivers to turn off their engines and still adjust interior temperatures, providing a safer, quieter sleep environment. The units also allow access to cable TV and the Internet! Talk about a win-win situation. Not only is the environment being protected from potential pollution but the drivers state they are saving as much as 40 percent for the cost of fuel that otherwise would have been consumed as well as saving wear and tear on the trucks’ engines.
The potential for Wilson’s product is far reaching when you consider that there are more than 1 million long-haul trucks operating in the United States who consume 4.4 billion gallons of diesel fuel each year when drivers have to stop and rest and leave their engines idling. The impact on the economy is already being felt. Wilson is creating 3,000 new jobs and his plans for growth don’t end there as he works to become the leading expert on environmental improvements at truck stops.

Already Wilson’s product is finding customers outside of the truck stops. Majora Carter and her environmental group Sustainable South Bronx located in New York City are hoping IdleAire units will help to reduce the high rate of asthma in the South Bronx. The community is home to Hunts Point, the world’s largest wholesale food distribution center, making it a magnet for long haul, heavy-duty diesel trucks. Carter and Wilson have formed a partnership with the Hunts Point Cooperative Market and the New York Power Authority to install IdleAire technology at the market. The demonstration will accommodate 32 trucks 24-hours a day, and will be up and running by the time you read this article.

Then there’s T/J Technologies of Ann Arbor, Michigan. This small research company is making batteries that are smaller, lighter and more durable than ordinary batteries. They are made of environmentally benign materials. Compared to the current batteries, the T/J Technologies batteries are expected to deliver five times longer run time and be instantly “rechargeable” simply by refueling.

Will A.C. Wilson, Majora Carter and T/J Technologies save the world from pollutants? No, but their efforts combined with those of other small businesses can add up to something big. And, these three companies illustrate the incredible creativity of small business owners. Kennard says that two-thirds of all technological innovations come from small business. It’s this entrepreneurial spirit that we celebrate and acknowledge during National Small Business Week.

The column is written by Terry Neese, entrepreneur, past national president of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), and co-founder of Grassroots Impact. Terry founded Terry Neese Personnel Services, located in Oklahoma City, 25 years ago.

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