Mr. Campbell: We received an online complaint yesterday. Some people are complaining that the factory where our shoes are being made is polluting the air.

Mr. Chambers: Those people are correct. We need to “go green” and change our company’s image.

Mr. Campbell: We could start by making our factory green. We can have rules about how much pollutant we release.

Mr. Chambers: We can also change our plastic bags and our shoe boxes to be green.

Mr. Campbell: Let’s have a meeting with the marketing department and start changing to a green image.

Learn about the business expression “going green” and how to use it.

Green is the newest business idiom in today’s environmentally conscientious world. Although, “going green” is not so new anymore. In the last year I have seen a huge push by companies to have green products, services, and information. All the big TV networks in America have their own slogans and commercials. “Green it! Mean it”, “Think Green”, “Green, just do it!” Everyone is starting to “Go Green.” It is everywhere.

Green is the color of life represented by trees and plants. That color has been used for being friendly to our environment and plant life. It represents being environmentally friendly. So the expression “go green” means to change the way you are doing things to be friendly to our environment.

“Going green is not only used in a business setting. It is used in everyday life. In your own personal life you can “go green.” This means recycling, using less electricity and water, riding a bike, buying energy saving light bulbs. This is anything you can do to help save the planet. The list goes on and on.

I have recently finished the book “Hot, Flat, and Crowded.” This was the latest book of Thomas Friedman. It is about how companies and people can go green and make a difference. It has some great examples of how people are making a difference without changing their lifestyle. Little things that we all do together can make a big difference.

In the business conversation above Jason and Neal have to “go green” because they are getting complaints by their customers. They will change from plastic bags to use recyclable paper ones. They will use recycled cardboard for their shoe boxes. The factory that makes their shoes will have less pollution.

Is your company green? If not maybe you should bring up some ideas on how to “go green.”

Read other articles on business idioms and expressions.

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