The Green Business "Sceptic":
A Green Entrepreneur Case-Study.
The following is an interview held in September 2009 between Ciaran Fitzgerald, MD of The
Blue Haven Collection and Mike Collins of
The Coaching Partnership.
Mike Collins: "I have put you down as the "sceptical green entrepreneur". Although you seem to be attracted to green solutions like waste management, use of electric bicycles and so on - you seem to look at these things on the basis of the hard business case. So, let's start with one example - Electric Scooters for Pizza delivery - what were you thinking when you made that decision?"
Ciaran Fitzgerald: "Firstly, it's something we want to do - the founding reason for that decision would be business-orientated, in this case we wanted to provide an extra service to our customers which was delivery of Pizza."
"Second on the list would be the novelty factor and the marketing/pr element to having electric scooters delivering Pizza. It's a new, novel, forward-thinking way of delivering a Pizza."
"Thirdly, it's cost-effective from a business point of view. The scooters are cheap to buy - I was surprised at how cost-effective they were to purchase. Easy to store, easy to operate."
"And, lastly, there is an environmental line to it - which ties in with overall way the business is going - our environmental policy and how we are changing things to be more environmentally friendly."
MC: "Are your clients expecting a positive environmental message from your business?"
CF: "I wouldn't say it's a driving force - but it does help. I would say that a large percentage of my customer base would be that way. There is a lot of that type of thinking in Kinsale. But, the primary driving force behind our waste, environmental policies and others - and we have replaced every light bulb in our buildings over the last 3 months - is cost. Making the business more efficient. And this ties in being green and seen as green."
MC: "Yet, you still seem to do unusual things compared with a lot of your peer group - many of whom have the same cost-savings pressure."
CF: "The lucky thing is that most of the decisions being made at the moment are both cost effective and environmentally friendly."
"Since we introduced our waste management policies and environmental policies last year, our costs have driven down phenomenally - 1000's of euros a month. And we are all far more conscious of energy savings."
MC: "Do you think you are unusual at the moment in backing these "green solutions" or do you think that many other business owners are up there with you?"
CF: "I wouldn't say so - it's hard to call - but I'd say we are in the top 25% of people doing this stuff."
MC: "What would be you "call to action" to some of those people who have yet to adopt similar "green policies" such as your own?"
CF: "It's mostly a mindset change - as well as an investment of money and time. Every business owner, whether they like it or not, has waste. We were not concerned about it in the last couple of years. Now, we have been forced to think about being more efficient."
"We probably started the process earlier than other people did. These green solutions that have been there for the last number of years are now being considered as real answers to real problems."
MC: "Looking to the future with the Blue Haven Collection, what other areas do you think are ripe for action with green solutions?"
CF: "Firstly, marketing potential - being seen as leading the field in the hospitality sector from the point of view of green initiatives e.g. we are giving free bike hire for use around Kinsale, down to delivering your Pizza using an Electric vehicle."
"So, when someone wants to come on a holiday to Kinsale, it's a point of difference. There are more and more people tuning into that now - it gives us more of an edge."
"From a business cost aspect, we have Green Team in the Blue Haven, who meet every month. They monitor and come up with ideas and new actions."
"One other big area we need to look at is energy generation. We still use fossil fuels. We have addressed consumption first. We have looked at different options but I feel they are evolving so fast that we are kind of afraid to invest, just in case it is the wrong thing. It's perhaps a lack of education in that area on my part."
MC: "Looking out at the world of green investment - wind energy and so on - what area would you consider investing in if you had the money?"
CF: "Honestly, I don't know enough about it. I find it interesting - but would I put my money into it? I really don't know. I also think it's such an evolving area - so I'd be hesitant from that point of view at the moment. People suggest solar panels, wood pellet boilers and so on - but I don?t know the right answer."
MC: "So, you've looked at the present challenges you have - and possible solutions - and it just happened that many of those solutions were in the "green solution" area."
CF: "Yes, it's turned out to be a win-win all around when it came to our use of green solutions for the business - in cost reduction and marketing - and satisfying a customer base with a big interest in this area."
MC: "Ciaran, thank you for your time."
