RICK PONCE: Cleaning the right way to be green

Published online on Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009

What is good for the environment is bad for business. What is good for business is bad for the environment. At least those arguments are often heard.

An Associated Press/Stanford University poll found that 65% of Americans felt that U.S. businesses harmed the environment at least "moderately."

Some 44% of respondents said they disapproved of the way businesses handled issues involving the environment. Only 7% said business helped the environment "a lot" or "greatly;" 62% characterized this support as little to none.

It is time these perceptions change. Doing right by the environment is a sound business strategy. Every executive wants to reduce corporate energy and water usage costs so those dollars can be used to grow the business. And everyone wants a clean, safe community in which to live and work.

This is nothing new. The textile rental industry, in which I work, has helped many industries reduce solid waste for years. We rent and launder cloth products (with pickup/delivery service) that help keep businesses clean and neat.

For example, grocery stores put our reusable towels to work in their meat, produce and bakery areas; restaurants use them for kitchens and dining rooms. These towels are long-lasting alternatives to paper wipers with short lives that quickly end up in landfills.

Because we do so much laundry for so many businesses, we provide huge economies of scale in the use of water, electricity, and detergent. Rental work uniform service epitomizes this benefit.

Businesses that rent these garments for their staffs do not require employees to wash these work clothes at home. This really helps conserve water; according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, clothes washers account for almost 22% of home water use.

In addition, we are reducing strain on the environment by using more efficient plant equipment. In 1999, our industry pledged to the federal EPA that we would reduce by 10% the amount of energy (natural gas plus electricity) and water needed to clean a pound of laundry.

Over the intervening 10 years, the industry achieved 14% and 28% drops, respectively. My company, Prudential Overall Supply, had 25% and 33% reductions. POS operates in seven states.

Here in Fresno, our facility reduced its fresh water intake by 30%. Natural gas use fell 23% and electricity, 13%.

More businesses need to publicize their similar achievements and lead by example, not to show off, but to model best environmental practices the public can also adopt.

For example, in our industry, commercial laundry, setting proper wash load sizes is a key to profitability. We need to do the largest loads possible to make the most efficient use of water, gas, electricity and soaps.

You can conserve, too, in the way you launder at home. How often do you wash a small load?

According to Waterwise, the U.K. conservation nonprofit, some half-loads use almost as much water as a full load. Two half-loads can use more water and energy than a full one. Washing full loads saves a family of four more than 3,400 gallons of water each year, EPA says.

Perhaps you use a new washer that requires less water than conventional machines for partial loads. If you do not have this technology, I hope you postpone household laundry until you can completely fill your machine.

"Going green" is often inconvenient and does not come cheaply. But in the long run, it saves the planet and your money.