All of us in Hawai'i want to make our state a better place. Few would argue that as individuals and as businesses we need to take responsibility to reduce the environmental impact of our business operations and our personal habits to contribute to the self sufficiency of our Island communities. The overarching context is that we must preserve our way of life for our children and future generations.

Yet I will admit that as much as I enjoy the beauty of our Islands and our spirit of community, I was skeptical and isolated from much of what I had been hearing about "sustainability" and "green" agendas. And, I was having a difficult time reconciling the concept of the business community leading efforts to build a sustainable Hawai'i.

I have heard a lot of speakers, learned of worldwide efforts by designers, architects, builders, who conceive of and build green buildings, utilizing energy neutral designs, retrofitting energy efficiency in older buildings, of entire communities designed to give back resources.

But as good as it all sounds, it is hard to connect with this; it all appears beyond the scope of what I could do. After all, as a tenant like many local businesses, it is not like I can control the office space I rent, nor do I have a big manufacturing operation that I can re-engineer. I'm probably like the vast majority of businesses who care about the environment but not in the business to do much about it.

And while going green sounded good, I wasn't sure that turning off a couple of lights and recycling soda cans could do much to keep the polar ice caps from melting or preserve Hawai'i for future generations.

But I soon found out otherwise.

Turning off the lights and converting to CFLs can amount to a big deal. I always thought that CFLs were relatively expensive. It could cost about $8 for one of those as opposed to 50 cents for a traditional light bulb. But Miles Kubo of Energy Industries explained to me that the cost really lies in the energy usage. Over a year, the total cost of using a 100-watt bulb can be $275, as opposed to $50 for a CFL bulb. Energy savings could be viewed in rate of return analysis — pay a little bit up front, but a simple NPV or IRR analysis would reveal that you could save a lot of money with a little investment in energy savings. And, applying the same concept to broader sustainability issues, it makes economic sense for businesses, as well as individuals, to embrace the concept of preserving the environment.

I realized that we had practiced a lot of conservation measures that were, in essence, part and parcel of what we now call sustainability — from recycling toner cartridges to offering bus passes to employees. We needed to get a better understanding of what efforts we were undertaking, and translating that to actual consequences.

So this fall I challenged AIG Hawai'i's 320 employees to recycle, reduce and reuse through a Go Green campaign. After just one month, the numbers are encouraging: We recycled 2.2 tons, or 440,000 sheets, of paper, saving 53 trees. Recycling 1,547 aluminum cans saved 619 kilowatt-hours of electricity, nearly enough electricity to power an average Hawai'i home for a month. Recycling 780 plastic bottles saved 34 pounds of trash out of our waste stream. As they say, do the math.

Sustaining our quality of life is the ultimate goal of sustainable programs, and that also starts with individual commitments to helping those in need in our community. An important component of our program is the economic and social contributions of our company, and our employees, as measured in total volunteer hours per employee and total local spending per employee. We have a team of employees who are focusing time and financial contributions where we can have the greatest impact in our community.

When it comes to sustainability, you don't have to be an expert on carbon footprints, you don't have conduct a complex business study. Everyone can make a difference and have a positive impact on the environment and on our community, and achieve critical cost savings and business growth in the process. Our collective efforts will make a difference to build a sustainable and economically stronger Hawai'i.

Robin Campaniano is president and chief executive officer of AIG Hawai'i. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.