Green Officers and Green executives, listen up!  While there are those who suffer an environmental paranoia concerning the cost required to Go Green, it is time to get some fresh ideas on the subject.  The Green Path program brings a new perspective to the value of running a Green and sustainable business.

Our goal is to show each and every one of our members that the Green Path Program is more than saving the world, it is also smart business.  It is a healthy, efficient business program that can pay for itself in 12 to 24 months, or less – a much better return on investment than the LEED examples of 10 to 12 years on capital-intense projects.

An obvious and exciting business-friendly idea that will benefit virtually any Green business is the biometric time-clock.  If your company has more than a few employees, you are well aware of the cost in man-hours of keeping track of employees, reporting weekly numbers, and ensuring employees are not able to “circumvent” the system.

The biometric time-clock provides the perfect solution to these employee issues.  It allows employees to check in and out by fingerprint recognition and personal ID code.  It is no longer possible for a buddy to clock in or out for his or her fellow worker…who will most likely return the favor.

When it comes to payback, your company will save on timecards as well as the labor of printing, delivering and collecting them.  What also must be taken into account are the man hours required to transfer the information into the payroll or accounting system.

The efficiency of buying one of these devices for a few hundred dollars is so obvious that it cannot be ignored.  The old paper method of time-tracking has cost businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars.  The savings in employee fraud will be considerable as well.  There is no need for intense study of this application – the evidence is easily found.

A small thumb version can be used for keeping track of employees, security people, and even employees working from home.  The software can make hourly requests for desk time which would be only a minor time constraint with great results.

An added advantage of biometric time-clocks is that they feed directly into your company’s accounting system.  The process is seamless, simple to use, and smart for business.  Payroll is one of the largest financial investments of any business.  Refining the antiquated process of time-tracking can be simplified by these new solutions, and there is no down-side to the installation of this system.

The EcoPath program highly recommends the biometric time-clock system.  These systems have shown to be more accurate and effective than the lanyard ID cards used in many closed-business environments.

Potential Green Practices Value … 8 to 16 points
(Expect a new list of Green solutions from the Green Path Guide every month)