Name: Amee Quiriconi
Position: CEO/Founder
Business Name: Tiger Mountain Innovations, LLC
What does your business do/what industry are you in?
Manufacturer of eco-friendly/recycled-content countertop slabs
What are your “Green” activities (please be specific)?
We make two recycled-content materials, utilizing local ingredients such as crushed plate/window glass and cross-cut shredded paper. During manufacturing we have a water recycling system for our main water consuming equipment.
How long have you been doing these activities?
The company was founded in 2003 with the guiding principle to balance environmental responsibility with social integrity and profitability.
Why did you implement them?
It was an academic endeavor to see if a business with a strong ethic from the outset could be at least as successful as companies more focused on bottom-lines regardless of environmental or social consequence.
How hard were these actions to implement?
Since it was my company it was very easy to start up and to keep. Having a set of guiding principles not only shaped the overall culture of the company but helped define our main product, Squak Mountain Stone, and other future products.
What was the result –Financial/Bottom Line, Environmental, Good Will, etc.?
The largest benefit and outcome was that using this baseline of ideas around combining people, planet and profits was Squak Mountain Stone. And this product has no peer in the industry today which has been a blessing to us in a bad economy – our uniqueness in our product has sustained us because we still see growing demand for Squak even as others have gone out of business. And our support is combination of people liking the unique aesthetic of our product as well as wanting to support our business because of what we stand for.
Do you have any advice for other small to mid-sized businesses who want to “Go Green”?
Search for programs that can help offset the costs of incorporating green strategies through grants or free services. For example, in Seattle/King County there is a county program called Link-Up (http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/LinkUp/) that helps a company integrate recycled materials into their products or helps a company that wants to make recycled materials start by offering marketing, research and testing and sourcing help. It was invaluable when I started my company.
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I truly liked Green Business: Countertop Slabs | The Action Blog|Green Living, Conservation, Animal Welfare. It’s laborious to find educated individuals on this matter, however you sound like you know what you’re talking about!