As environmental issues become more important to consumers, many companies are taking steps to cut down on waste and use more eco friendly manufacturing techniques. The surprising part of of this new environmentally conscious business atmosphere is that many of these companies found that going green for business is good for the bottom line. The new policies they have adopted have helped make or save the companies' money. Some examples of green for business ideas are here to inspire other business people to find new and innovative eco friendly ideas.

Cereal giant, General Mills, maker of Cheerios, used to pay to have their oat hulls hauled to a land fill. Someone in the company realized that oat hulls are a renewable, sustainable fuel source. They can be burned to create energy. Instead of paying $100 a ton to haul off the hulls, General Mills now sells them. As of 2006, General Mills was recycling 86% of it's solid waste, more than covering the cost of the waste they must send to landfills. Making a profit on garbage is good for the environment and the company.

Dell, the electronics corporation known for its' PCs and laptop computers, reclaimed 40,000 tons of unwanted electronic equipment for recycling in 2006. Since most discarded electronics end up in land fills, this is an idea whose time is here. Dell will take back electronics that consumers are discarding and use the parts to make more electronic equipment. This saves tons of waste in landfills. While Dell doesn't state whether this idea is helping the profit margin, its a great way to go green for business.

The Philadelphia Eagles football team, wears green jerseys and claims to be the greenest sports team in the nation. In 2005, the Eagles began a new program in the stadium. The trash pick up crew now makes two sweeps of the stadium after the game. The first sweep is to pick up recyclables and the second is to pick up trash. The recyclables are sent to a recycling center instead of ending up in a landfill. Good green for business sense for a sports team whose color is green.

Walmart, the retail mega retailer, has provided research funding to major truck manufacturers to develop a heavy duty, diesel hybrid semi tractor. They put the resulting hybrids in the own fleet, which is the second largest commercial fleet in the United States.

At Walmarts' urging, two major detergent manufacturers have made their products more concentrated. The more concentrated products require smaller bottles meaning less plastic, and they need less room in trucks when being transported, saving on fuel. Unilever makes triple-concentrated All and Proctor & Gamble is switching all it's liquid products to double concentrations. Walmart obviously takes green for business seriously and deserves recognition for their efforts.

Going green for business is good for the bottom line as more consumers look for environmentally friendly products and business practices. It can also save companies money. For businesses it is a win-win situation. Going green makes for great public relations and creative ideas save the environment and money.