Over a glass of wine last week, a colleague was showing me plans for how their multi-national was going to embark on the green journey. “What do you think?” He was eager and tentative.

I looked at the list. Electric cars, green roofs, e-waste recycling, lunch time talks with noted ‘local experts’. I nodded but was quiet.

“Where can we fine tune it… I mean what should we tackle first?”

Here’s what I shared that I thought readers going down the same route might want to know:

1. What’s your goal? If reducing your impact on climate change is the goal, only do projects that reduce your GHG emissions. Biggest contributors? Buildings (50%) and transportation.

2. Pick the projects that don’t involve people changing behavior in order to get a result. Why? We don’t like to change our habits. Many habits that contribute to GHG emissions are unconscious. Too hard. Examples? Change the lighting  and look at other lighting and energy controls in every building throughout the multi-national organization. Measure electrical and GHG emissions usage before and after. Get help doing this from this handy reference and look at other organizations’ examples like the University of Victoria.

3. Celebrate your achievements. Tell everyone what you will do, how you will measure it, do it and then show them the result. Do this internally first, then tell the world.

“Light bulbs? Like Live Earth was going on about?” He looked at me like sustainability and greening should be harder than that.

“You will get big results. Employees, leaders, suppliers, will be proud. You will be doing a good thing, being a great ripple.”

I added the next thought with a smile. “Then you will have buy-in for the tougher stuff that involves people doing things differently. You be a good ripple for them, they will be a good ripple for you. You have to start first.”

“Oh and by the way, make sure you get budgetary approval first by showing the cost savings the lighting change project will save. Payback is usually 1-2 years. Then you’ll get the buy-in from the CFO too, especially if he reads this survey of what other companies are doing about energy costs and how they are viewing the economic vs. environmental payback.”

The sun came out about that point. He nodded. ”I can do this… no, we can do this.”

Our conversation will continue in later posts while you digest this one.

For every new innovation that causes a positive ripple for the innovators, it leaves catch 22s for the status quo… until the statu quo learns how to turn it into a business opportunity ripple for themselves.

Take eggs. Everyone buys them. Some people care about free range, others care that they come in a recyclable container and then there are buyers who them cheap and plentiful. Labels are confusing. Different target markets, right? If you are a farmer, could you cater to them all? Not very well, it turns out.

The plight of chickens held in captivity to produce our eggs is becoming a big uncontrollable variable in many farmers business plans. Why should you care? PETA and the Humane Society are out to protect chickens, not only for their benefit but for our health benefit too. They want the recently caged Paris Hilton as the chicken spokesmodel. They have been successful in getting educational institutions and city governments to ban all but free range eggs.

If more institutions and governments follow this ripple it will then affect:

1. Packagers – Will styrofoam packaging finally be a foot note in our landfills? Will this increase business for recycled cardboard packaging or some other innovation?

2. Grocers (Safeway, Costco, Whole Foods) Will consumers vote with their wallets? Or will grocers take a stand too and only sell the cruelty-free eggs in recycled packaging? Wild Oats and Whole Foods have adopted new policies. But then what if they can’t get any true free range eggs? How deeply will they invest in their supply chains to help those farmers convert? Could be a ripple, or a Catch 22.

3. Food supply (Compass Group) Will they have to build new supply agreements with Free Range chicken Farmers who are already producing at maximum output?

4. Regulatory bodies (Egg Marketing Boards) Will they have to bow to grass roots interests and really live up to their mandate ‘to ensure a safe (for both human and chicken?), clean (for both human and chicken or is it the egg?) and consistent supply’? Or will they wait for consumers to demand that to be safe and clean for humans then you have to have safe and clean for chickens laying the eggs? Then the board would have to scramble to catch up. Catch 22.

5. Caged Chicken/Egg Farmers – Will they find sales declining which may force them to change their chicken accomodation practices? Hilton, anyone? What new service suppliers may now spring up to help this conversion from prison to freedom? Who will help match newly minted free-range egg farmers with newly green grocery chains? New business innovators already hatching plans, I hear.

6. Free Range Chicken/Egg Farmers – Will growing demand outstrip their ability to supply forcing the price of their eggs up even higher, making it difficult for lower income people to participate in the greening of the economy? Will farmers have to pay consulting groups to change their chicken management practices?

6. Chicken/egg systems and cage manufacturers (not needed anymore?) Will new chicken management systems be needed to monitor running chickens instead of caged chickens?

For every ripple there is a catch 22 for some business. How your business deals with it can make or break your future home on the range. Go on, get cracking!