Among the many advertisements calling for environmental friendliness, we can’t be attentive to every single detail, especially when they produce additional costs. But here is a major one that is healthy to both the environment and your bank account: hanging your clothes.

With all the bigger pieces of paper that we conscientiously throw into recycling bins, we may feel that the tiny receipts that we get from shopping are no big deal.

Ever been bothered by the waste of time incurred from waiting at intersections? What about the gas that you burn and emissions produced while sitting idle?

Bottom Line: Join the Challenge - keep track of miles and minutes biked and compare to other cyclists around the region.

Did you know that 40% of all urban travel in the US happens within 2 miles of where people live? Nearly all of that travel is by car!  Switching the bike travel for these shorts trips is a great way to lower your carbon footprint and get healthy at the same time.

While May's Team Bike Challenge and Bike to Work Day have come and gone, gung-ho cyclists can keep track of their daily mileage and minutes biked - and compare their stats with those of cyclists around the region - all year long using the new iBikeChallenge app. The app uses your iPhones GPS to track daily miles and posts those miles on a monthly leaderboard.

Bottom Line:  Establish a baseline and goal for water efficiency in your facility.

In order to know how effectively you are saving water, you must first know how much water you've been using. Establish your baseline use during a certain year and then compare ongoing use to that baseline.

Childcare can be a significant part of a household budget, especially during tough economic times.  But there are a range of childcare options available to parents in San Mateo County that can assist with the expense of childcare.

Bottom Line: Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL's) need to be disposed of properly

Swapping incandescent lightbulbs for compact fluorescent lightbulbs is one of the easiest things you can do to help the environment. CFLs last about 10 times longer and quickly pay for themselves. If every household replaced one incandescent bulb with a CFL, we would prevent pollution equal to the removal of 800,000 cars from the road, according to the federal government.

Bottom Line: A home energy efficiency audit will identify ways that you can save money on your energy bill and improve the comfort and health of your home.

Ever wondered how your building envelope affected your home’s energy efficiency? Probably not. Ever had a thermostat war in your family?

Bottom Line: The federal government makes it easy for homeowner’s to make energy improvements to their homes through energy efficient mortgages.

What is an Energy Efficient Mortgage?

An Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) is a mortgage that credits a home’s energy efficiency in the mortgage itself. EEMs give borrowers the opportunity to finance cost-effective, energy-saving measures as part of a single mortgage and stretch debt-to-income qualifying ratios on loans thereby allowing borrowers to qualify for a larger loan amount and a better, more energy-efficient home.

Bottom Line: Reducing your business’ carbon footprint will not only make your operations more sustainable, but it will also improve your financial bottom line.

PG&E has teamed up with the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG) and San Mateo County RecycleWorks to provide energy efficiency services and incentives to the County’s qualifying businesses. The San Mateo County Energy Watch project aims to help businesses save energy and money while reducing their carbon footprint.