Q: Hardly anyone in my part of the industry is even asking about sustainability. Do I really need a tool to help with sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions reporting?

A: Whether or not your customers are currently asking for sustainability reporting, the main value of the Sustainability Dashboard Tool is that it is good for business. As the adage goes, "we can't manage what we don't measure", and our Tool makes it easy to visually see (measure) what is happening in a number of key areas. And, the Tool provides "improvement tips" to help improve performance. Candidly, we believe that the focus on Sustainability will make its way to all parts of the country in the near future.

Q: I operate a small distribution company and don't have a dedicated sustainability person or computer programmers. Is this a Tool that I can use?

A: Our Sustainability Dashboard Tool is designed for organizations of all sizes. It does NOT require dedicated personnel or one with a degree in computer science. Our Tool is designed to be user-friendly and at a price that works for small organizations.

Q: My organization has three locations. Do I need a license for each one?

A: Yes. The Sustainability Dashboard has been designed for use at each individual location. We have done this because our primary mission is to help organizations improve their performance and we fundamentally believe that this will only happen if people at the local level (rather than at the corporate headquarters) actually take ownership of what's taking place. After all, it is the local managers who will ultimately be responsible for the improvements.

Q: If I buy licenses for multiple locations, does the Tool provide overall information for my entire organization?

A: The Sustainability Dashboard offers a portfolio comparison for your entire organization. Perhaps you would like to know which of your locations had the highest and lowest energy cost last quarter. And which region sold the most sustainable products last year.These are questions that can be easily answered within the portfolio comparison. You can quickly compare locations and groups, as well as see a top-level view of your organization to highlight performance measures of interest that track achievements and indicate potential problems.

Q: The Sustainability Dashboard is pretty inexpensive compared to similar products on the market. Is it adequate for what my organization needs and good enough to show to sustainability experts?

A: Unlike competitive software programs which were designed for large, multi-national corporations who can afford expensive and complicated solutions because they have the money and resources (dedicated programmers and users), the Sustainability Dashboard is specifically and intentionally designed for small to mid-size organizations, which simply cannot afford expensive products and cannot hire dedicated staff to manage an enterprise software tool. With the Sustainability Dashboard, we have found a way to generate 95% accuracy for 5% of the cost compared to competitive products. We believe this is the right approach, because our ultimate goal is not reporting, but to help companies begin the journey towards becoming more sustainable.

Q: I know you say that the Tool is designed to be simple and easy-to-use, but some of this doesn't look as simple as you make it sound.

A: The Sustainability Dashboard is designed around 6 primary "categories" (energy, transportation, waste/recycling, water, office supplies, and cleaning products) and within each category we have pre-populated the Tool with templates that allow you to begin using the categories that make sense for you. Furthermore, the Tool is NOT an "all or nothing" proposition. You can start with the easy things, such as entering your bills for utilities (energy and water), waste, fuel, and transportation information. This will help you get started as each only has a few numbers that have to be entered each month. Thus, with a relatively small amount of data entry each month, you will have generated important Greenhouse Gas reporting, and you are on your way. Then, each following month, you can add more categories or even begin adding individual product subcategories at a pace that makes sense to you.

Q: My understanding of sustainability addresses three areas - environmental, financial and social, but it appears that your Tool only addresses the first two. Is this correct?

A: What you are seeing is the 1st module of what will ultimately be a suite of Tools. Thus this module is focusing on operations and will provide information on the impacts from warehousing, logistics, internal operations, products and more. In the future we will develop modules specifically for your HR departments to report on human rights, training and other appropriate information.

Q: Does that mean we will have to buy multiple modules?

A: All modules will be optional. You only need to buy what best meets your needs. We started with the Operations module because we believe that this is the best place for you to begin your journey, and is what the marketplace is currently seeking. While we hope you will consider future modules, they will not be required.

Q: Can your Tool help with LEED reporting?

A: Yes. The Sustainability Dashboard Tool is designed to capture data in several organizations that are consistent with LEED-EBOM reporting. For example, our Tool will help document the data you will need for your submittals in the following prerequisites and credits: EA Prerequisite 2: Minimum Energy Efficiency Performance; MR Credit 1: Sustainable Purchasing - Ongoing Consumables; MR Credit 2: Sustainable Purchasing - Durable Goods; MR Credit 4: Reduced Mercury in Lamps; IE Q Credit 3.3: Green Cleaning - Purchase of Sustainable Cleaning Products and Materials; IE Q Credit 3.4: Green Cleaning - Sustainable Cleaning Equipment

Q: I know Steve Ashkin has been a leader in the Green Cleaning Movement, but what does he know about sustainability and web-based software tools?

A: Steve has been a real leader of the industry and the Sustainability Dashboard reflects his vision for providing inexpensive and easy-to-use Tools specific to the needs of organizations who are tracking their sustainability efforts. While Steve has been intimately involved with the issue of sustainability and is quite knowledgeable, the Tool itself relies on the appropriate "frameworks" such as the Global Reporting Initiative, Carbon Disclosure Project, US EPA, Walmart's GHG reporting and USGBC's LEED-EBOM requirements. The architecture of the Tool has been created with cutting edge programming led by Dr. Christopher Haynes, who has a PhD in computer science, and Cynthia Schultz, who has a Master's Degree in Instructional Systems Technology. Furthermore, we have relied on Steve's personal relationships with leaders of the Green Building Movement developed over the past 20 years to help provide the "improvement tips" which make the Tool not only effective at reporting on sustainability, but provide organizations with the information that actually helps them succeed.

Q: Do you offer telephone support?

A: Clients with billing questions are invited to call (812) 269-2805 or email info@green2sustainable.com. Telephone support for technical questions is provided via another number as a premium service for clients above the Green Plan level of subscription. Technical support is provided all clients via email using the Help button.

Q: What is your cancellation and refund policy?

A: Our billing cycle runs on 30 days of service, starting from the date you sign up. At the end of each 30 days of support your are billed for the number of facilities for which service is provided at that time. Please confirm that our service meets or exceeds your expectations before the end of the billing period, as refunds are not offered. Service for a facility may be cancelled at any time by visiting the Portfolio Comparison page (the first page), locating the name of the facility, and selecting the delete button [x] to the right. Support for a deleted facility, including all data entered, may be restored up to a year after deletion for a service charge. Click the Settings and then Edit Subscription buttons to see the next bill's date, which is the end of the month trial period, and amount, which is based on the current number of facilities.