California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

Although the majority of business owners say they are doing at least “everything that
can be justified by cost” to help the environment, many say the economy has made
them change their plans to “go green,” according to a survey done for Wells Fargo Bank.

Its most recent Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index found that one-third of small
business owners say the country’s economic situation has affected their plans to become
more environmentally friendly. Seventeen percent said their companies are doing “very little
or nothing at all” to help the environment.

A major factor may be the belief that customers are not willing to pay more for goods and
services described as environmentally friendly, mentioned by nearly 70 percent of respondents
(an increase of 37 percent from April 2007).

Many business owners are actively involved in some “green” activities, the survey says. Over
the past 12 months, almost 90 percent of business owners surveyed participated in recycling,
and more than three-quarters (77 percent) switched to more environmentally friendly products
such as cleaning products, energy-saving light bulbs or recycled goods.

Thirty-two percent said that over the past 12 months they used some type of alternative
transportation such as walking, biking or public transportation, rather than a car, to save energy.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.

Results are based on telephone interviews with 604 small business owners nationwide conducted
Jan.22-Feb. 2. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points.