By Tom Hulsey, Cyber Group, Inc.

Today’s green initiatives are many times misunderstood in terms of the value opportunity at the bottom line as well as environmental improvement. Going Green is more than just reducing a company’s carbon footprint because all the reductions in emissions, electric power use, fossil fuel consumption and related costs, directly benefit the company that takes the action and its stakeholders.

Many companies do not know if their business is one that can benefit from a green initiative, how to determine if it actually can benefit, where to start if the potential benefit is proven and when they should start. A company wishing to go green needs to carefully validate the viability of investing in a green initiative. They cannot do it alone and usually require development and implementation partners with proven experience in green solutions.

San Antonio-Texas-based H-E-B, founded more than 100 years ago, is an icon in the retail grocery industry. H-E-B is one of America’s largest independently owned retail grocery chains. It is a major user of electrical power and refrigerants in its stores and distribution facilities. It saw going green as an opportunity to reduce energy costs, cut refrigerant emissions and better manage a number of related assets. The company focused primarily on the bottom line impact of investing in a green initiative, along with the positive impact on the environment. H-E-B serves millions of consumers and has nearly 50,000 employees. It knew the favorable public relations aspect of the initiative would positively impact its brand.

Not all types of businesses can realize bottom line value from a green-initiative. Energy consumption and emissions remain the two key areas for measurable bottom line results. New software and hardware technologies that can automate the management of energy use, emissions distribution and the related processes are the key to maximizing cost savings. Part of the H-E-B initiative included a comprehensive solution to manage refrigerant emissions and disposal of empty refrigerant containers along with energy use optimization.

Regardless of the opportunity and implementation requirements all green initiatives will be unique and a customized technology solution remains the driver of success. The H-E-B solution allowed them to manage and monitor energy savings, emission reductions and disposition of used refrigerant containers. Verisae, Inc. is the primary solutions provider for the H-E-B project and Cyber Group, Inc. (www.cybergroupusa.com) provided the software development services to Verisae, Inc.

Tom Hulsey is Director of Field Operations for Cyber Group, a provider of system engineering and security solutions for public safety. For information visit Cyber Group at www.CyberGroupUSA.com. You can contact Tom at thulsey@CyberGroupUSA.com or 469.916.7730 ext. 309.