Five Ways To Go Green

Many businesses now like to show off their green credentials. For instance, Ikea has announced that it will charge 10p for each carrier bag issued to customers to help protect the environment, and Tesco (LSE: TSCO) plans to transport non-food products by rail rather than by road. Not to be outdone, some of Britain's biggest companies that include Vodafone (LSE: VOD) and Shell (LSE: RDSB) have lobbied the Government for tougher targets to cut greenhouse gases.

It seems that green or environmental issues at the forefront of the minds of many captains of industry. That is bound to be good news for companies that are able to offer green solutions.

Take Symphony Plastic Technologies (LSE: SYM), which manufactures biodegradable plastics. Its proprietary d2w additive allows plastics to degrade at a controlled rate. So, depending on the quantity of d2w added, polythene can break down into water and carbon dioxide from as quickly as 60 days. Revenues at Symphony have jumped almost three-fold in four years to over £9m, though it is still making a loss.

Or what about Imperial College spin-off, Ceres Power (LSE: CWR)? It has been referred to by Tony Blair as a 'world leader' in the development of fuel cells. It currently has a contract with Centrica's (LSE: CNA) British Gas division to design, build and evaluate fuel cells that are smaller and lighter than the average car battery. The Combined Heat and Power or CHP product is based around its 1kW fuel cell stack that is capable of generating sufficient power for the average home.

Another company that may be worth a gander is Fonebak (LSE: FON), which either recycles or repairs old mobile phones. Recycling involves extracting precious metals such as gold, platinum, silver, palladium and copper. Meanwhile, phones that can be repaired are refurbished and sent to emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. Profits at Fonebak are expected to rise from £2.4m to £3.2m, which values the company at 12 times earnings.

Sticking with salvaging, Mercury Recycling Group (LSE: MRG) specialises in recovering glass, metals and mercury used in the manufacturer of lamps. In May, Mercury Recycling reported its fourth consecutive year of rising sales, though it made a small loss of £164,000 after tax.

Finally, AIM-listed Bodisen Biotechnology (LSE: BODI), which is also listed in the US, is reckoned to be the 16th fastest-growing company in China. It develops, manufactures and sells pesticides and organic fertilisers, which aim to reverse years of destruction to Chinese soil through the use of chemical fertilisers. As pointed out on our US site a few months ago, "Their fertilizers appeal to farmers because it allows crops to be labelled as organically grown and, in China as in the United States, the label generally means higher prices."

And in case you weren't aware Environment Week kicked off on 5th June, with many councils around the UK promoting green events. Interestingly, being environmentally friendly doesn't have to cost lots -- just simple things such as airing your washing outdoors rather than putting it in the tumble dryer can help. What's more, it will also save you money, which is all the more reason to think green.