EXPERT ADVICE____________________________________________ Back To Main Page

Many Women Businesses Have Gone Green

The Miami Herald Letter to the Editor by Nancy Allen

Dear Editor,

I read with great interest the recent Going Green articles in Business Monday. I was struck by the seeming lack of commitment of large corporations and their “wait-and-see attitude.” I hope that your articles bring the subject to the forefront and encourage readers to take action. There should be no wait and see—the facts are clear—we either adjust our ways now or pay a very high price later.

I have long been a supporter of Office Depot for its commitment to women business owners and was thrilled to see them being highlighted once more as a standard bearer, this time on environmental issues. Office Depot’s hiring of an in-house environmental advisor speaks volumes of their commitment.

I did note with mixed feelings that mention was made that there are not many small businesses going green. I run a women’s business development center (The WBDC/Florida Affiliate of WBENC) and count among my data base 8 women business enterprises in Florida that provide products or services directly related to the environment:

These are established, experienced and successful companies with revenue ranges from $1million to over $10 million. A preliminary survey of our women business enterprises (350+) also shows that many have implemented environmentally friendly policies within their companies.

I applaud the Miami Herald on these articles and hope that it will lead to a series. Wouldn’t it be great if a year from now we did a survey of Florida companies and found that the majority have environmentally friendly programs?

If you need further information about our women business enterprises, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Nancy Allen
President and CEO
WBDC/Florida Affiliate of WBENC