Green Business has been around for years; the term "Green" however, is still relatively new. And for those still unfamiliar, Green is a term used to describe businesses which are sustainable (environmentally and socially responsible) and who align themselves with the triple bottom line: people/planet/profit.

As Green Business products, services and practices grow, so too does its shadowy counterpart; Greenwashing. Finding a true Green Business takes both experience and research.

In every genre of business, there are fundamental needs. The first of which usually involves an office and office supplies, so with our starting point secured, it seems appropriate to have this maiden business profile include a Green Office supply company.

Dolphin Blue

Dolphin Blue's founder, Thomas Kemper, started on his path towards sustainability seventeen years ago and has since established one of the first green businesses and certainly the first sustainable office supply company based in Dallas Texas.

On his website you can find information on everything from custom business stationary packs and business cards, to information on the environmental degradation caused by conventional products.

Dolphin Blue’s mission statement includes:

• Providing conscientious supplies for everyday business use
• Delivering the highest quality, environmentally responsible office and business products attainable
• Educating consumers on the effects of conventional office product consumption
• Conducting business with respect to the natural world

The Interview

When I opened the interview, the first question I asked Mr. Kemper was in regard to what he thought of Al Gore. It was a simple, non loaded question and the reply was just as swift.

He quickly responded, “Daily, I thank Al Gore for what he’s done”.

His statement certainly reflects appreciation of a leader who has brought the issue of Global Warming into the forefront of American News… and views.

Good Clean Fun

Growing up in, Fenton, Missouri, Kemper holds memories of cold, clear streams and hills covered with oak, sassafras and persimmons.

As a boy he and his friends had the "run of the valley". He remembers summers when they would fish or watch great frogs jumping around the streams, often exploring all day, occasionally running home to grab pails to harvest sassafras for tea.

His father would often identify songbirds in the region for the boys, and Kemper remembers his father made "soot" (feed made up of grease drippings and bird seed, which, when frozen was a perfect bird attractor) for the birds in winter.

Taken for Granted

While Kemper remembers his childhood fondly, he notes that during that period he had taken these experiences for granted.

It was not until after Vietnam, as a young adult, when he realized the region’s natural environment was becoming defiled.

Local chemical companies and electric contributed greatly to the areas ecological downfall. Spraying waste oil contaminated with dioxin and PCBs on the districts roads resulted in the die-off of many species of plants and animals. The regions problems were a result of, according to Kemper, disposing of waste in an "improper and cheap manner".

While these companies were never held accountable and made to fund the cleanup of the (Superfund) site, Kemper noticed that friends he’d grown up with were bearing children with birth defects.

He was now attentive to the fact that the beautiful area he’d grown up in was regrettably, being destroyed.

Changing Direction

Kemper was starting to understand the importance of taking action and states, "…[you] can’t just be a consumer anymore, you can’t just be along for the ride. A few events that motivated him to act on behalf of the environment were incidents like the garbage barges emblazoned on the front pages of Time Magazine and Newsweek, seeking a dumping location for New York City’s landfill waste.

In the spring of 1993 the great flood of the Mississippi occurred. Seeing the beaching of dolphins and whales in the time period after the flooding made Kemper think about the toxicity we’re creating in the oceans from all our agricultural runoff and industrial effluent.

Kemper understood that these and other human-created problems would not go away by themselves. He wanted to help, to "create a better world instead of supporting the destruction of it."

He decided to take action.

Getting Started

After conducting the first recycling event in Dallas, collecting glass, paper, and aluminum, Kemper realized that the effort, while well intentioned, did little to create ecological value. He was in for a challenge.

Among the local recyclables collection centers in and around Dallas, nobody wanted the three hundred fifty, 50-gallon bags of separated materials he had collected. Essentially, there was no market for the materials.

The Fourth R

Kemper kept on Researching and found a scrap yard in South Dallas where he met a man who had bins where glass and recoverable commodities he’d collected were stored. The scrap dealer agreed to take the recyclables off Kemper’s hands.

When he asked the man why, replied… "I’m gonna sit on it until the markets come around". At that point Kemper “realized the equation that makes recycling work… there has to be a market for the materials we place in the bins, for recycling to truly be effective”. To close the loop, we should buy products made of materials we place in recycling bins.

Creating the Market

Kemper decided he would start by creating a market in Dallas. With the help of friends and family, he was able to raise sixty thousand dollars to initiate his business.

Beginning with only remanufactured toner cartridges and recycled copy paper, Dolphin Blue had early successes with the City of Grand Prairie, TX, the US Postal Service and United Parcel Service’ local offices. Eventually all these customers chose to buy from larger providers who offered lower prices.

Dolphin Blue Today

Dolphin Blue provides a variety of environmentally responsible office supplies ranging from laser cartridges, to 100% post consumer recycled paper, letterhead and envelopes, business cards and more; generally focusing on the utilization of post consumer recycled material.

Dolphin Blue counts among its thousands of customers, the Social Security Administration, Iberdrola Energy, Manning Architects, GGOArchitects, Twisted Limb Paperworks, US Postal Service, TelerX, Parnassus Investments, North Texas Tollway Authority, and thousands of small and medium-sized businesses – all creating a sustainable planet by purchasing products made of recycled materials.

A View from Dolphin Blue

What would you like to see more businesses doing?

T.K.: I’d like to [see them] create more sustainable processes, finding benefits in changing to more energy efficient business practices.

How do you see them doing this?

T.K.: If they own their business, start by looking at the building itself; does it have an updated HVAC system, are they using energy efficient lighting, are they encouraging employees to ride-share or take public transit, buying recycled products, organic food, and planting native species in their landscape?

What are some of the obstacles we face as a country?

T.K.: [We need to] understand what we are leaving our kids; we are in the habit of wanting everything, and consuming… There are so many of us wanting, wanting, wanting, we aren’t even cognizant of our consumption. We’re going about it unconsciously.

We’ve got a political system that doesn’t work because it favors the interest of the campaign donor . Sustainability of the world is being stifled by our legislators who are beholden to their campaign contributors.

[Another thing] we need to address is population…the world can probably only hold 5-6 billion people comfortably. We need to have public discussions on population and the burden an ever-increasing growth places on our planet and future generations. The good news is, social consciousness is occurring… bad news is; there are interests who are supporting an ever-increasing population.

Eco-Inspiration

In life, we all have heroes; people who help guide us in life through their passions. Who are some of your Eco-heroes?

Rachel Carson: She’s one of those who caused an awakening; she was truly one of the groundbreaking creators of awareness that started something leading to the first Earth Day

Jane Goodall: I respect the work she did.

Jaime Lerner: (governor-mayor-governor-mayor-governor of Curitiba Brazil)… He transformed transportation and mobility in a heavily traffic-laden downtown area, creating [within it] a sustainable community, he also inspired recycling collection programs and community gardens in the barrios of Curitiba

Bill McKibben: A writer for the New York Times who wrote “Second Nature” and “Hope, Human and Wild”, he has been a great inspiration to me. An amazing, award-winning writer.

Paul (Hawken): In 1991 I learned about his book “Ecology of Commerce”, at the time I couldn’t comprehend what Paul was saying read it, but when I picked it up again, in 1996, I devoured the book, aligning with every thought he expressed.

Ned Fritz: A 94 year old Dallas environmental attorney who has done amazing conservation work in Texas. I’ve learned a lot from just walking in the woods with him.

Green Good-buy

As our interview commenced, I questioned Mr. Kemper about his life’s work and the inspiration he’s been to the Dallas community. He commented on a write up that had been done by D Magazine (Dallas publication) which covered Dolphin Blue and Sustainable Dallas (a non-profit begun in 1999 by Kemper, www.sustainabledallas.org) an organization designed to teach Dallas businesses to become more sustainable. “Even in Dallas,” he said, “the big-hair capital of the world, there’s a shift in consciousness – not deep green, but much more so than I could have imagined.”

To reach Thomas Kemper or Dolphin Blue:

Thomas Kemper
President
Dolphin Blue
3401 Main Street
Dallas, TX 75226
1.214.565.0355
Dolphinblue.com

Sustainable Business: Live it. Lead it. Love it