CriticalEdge Group Goes Green, Offers Free Green Business Tips

Businesses around the world are acknowledging the benefits of going green – that green business can be both environmentally friendly and cost-efficient. CriticalEdge Group (www.CriticalEdgeGroup.com), a Connecticut-based Microsoft Dynamics GP firm, has gone green to lower costs and decrease the company’s carbon footprint. To help other businesses do the same, CriticalEdge Group is releasing a series of free green business tips on running a more environmentally conscious company.

Hamden, CT – October 14, 2008 – Specialists in accounting support and Microsoft Dynamics GP, Connecticut-based CriticalEdge Group has gone green. The company recently brought in a consultant to aid in the transition towards not only having a smaller impact on the environment, but also an impact on the firm’s bottom line. Changes (including energy-efficient lighting, light sensors, the use of a recycling company for paper waste, and the simple act of shutting down computers nightly) are expected to offer significant savings. CriticalEdge Group is releasing a list of free green business tips to help other businesses follow suit – saving money while saving the environment.

“While many business owners would love to operate in a more environmentally friendly way, going green is often associated with higher costs,” says Sandra Glick, President of CriticalEdge Group. “The current slowing economy can leave companies torn – do they start green initiatives or do they focus on saving money? We’re here to let them know that they can do both.”

The accounting software experts of CriticalEdge Group offer the following tips, showing that going green can be practical for businesses even during tough financial times:

1. Turn off the lights. While turning off lights at the end of the work day may be an obvious move, consider turning off the lights during the day as well; not in your work areas, but in less-utilized locations around the office. For example copy rooms, storage rooms, break rooms, and even rest rooms may be using unnecessary energy if lights are left on throughout the day. Consider having sensors installed in these places, where it might be common for employees to forget to turn off the lights when leaving.

2. Unplug unused electronics. Businesses are often filled with electronic gadgets, machines, and appliances. What some business owners don’t realize is that these items still draw power (and run up energy costs) when they’re turned off. The only way to completely minimize their environmental, and fiscal, impact is to unplug anything not in use. That may mean anything from unplugging the office coffee machine to unplugging entire work stations that aren’t currently assigned to an employee.

3. Recycle in-house. While ideally companies will recycle all of their paper waste, they can take it a step further (and save money on paper costs) by recycling paper themselves first. For example papers that have been used on one side (and that don’t contain confidential information, which should be shredded) can be re-used on the other side. Sheets of paper can be cut (often into quarters), stacked, and even bound into note pads for employees to use for anything from jotting down ideas to taking phone messages.

4. Print only when necessary. These days many business tasks can be handled completely digitally. Don’t increase costs (and paper waste) by printing anything that can be dealt with otherwise. For example, use a fax-to-email system rather than an ordinary fax machine, so employees to can print only the faxes they need. Rather than sending office memos on paper or a print employee newsletter, consider email memos and newsletters.

5. Shut down for the night. Encourage all employees to shut down not only their monitors, but also their computers and any other electronics in their station or office when they leave for the evening. People may not be thinking about the office and energy costs when they head home, but those electronic devices will continue to use power and run up costs after-hours.

As CriticalEdge Group demonstrates, a tough economy is no excuse to avoid green efforts in business; if anything, it should give business owners an added incentive.

About CriticalEdge Group
CriticalEdge Group is a Gold-Certified Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) firm, founded by Sandra Glick in 1988 and serving customers in the greater Connecticut area. As a qualified team consisting of CPAs, Microsoft-Certified Dynamics GP installers, consultants, and developers, CriticalEdge Group advises mid-sized firms in business processes and accounting software systems previously reserved for larger corporations. In all years from 2006 to present, CriticalEdge Group achieved the highest level of competence certifiable by Microsoft: Gold Certified Partner. They have granted this certification level to less than 5 percent of U.S. Microsoft Partners.

For more information about CriticalEdge Group, please visit www.CriticalEdgeGroup.com or contact Daniel F. Marzo at 203-281-0006.

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