WICHITA, Kansas, April 9, 2008 – The “green” movement has been around for decades. However, with the price of energy now, environment-friendly business practices help the bottom line.

Roger Scholfield wants to do things that reduce his business' ecological footprint. But like most of us, he wondered how he can make the most impact. So he called together his managers and created the Honda Green Team. They have identified ways to 'green up' the dealership.

“We recycle our oil,” said Scholfield. “We recycle our batteries that we take out of cars. We recycle our scrap metal. We recycle our tires.”

Scholfield Honda donated a natural gas Civic last year to Greensburg Kansas. Honda has built natural gas vehicles for 11 years and now they are becoming popular. The cars can be refueled at home at a cost that is one half to two-thirds less than unleaded gas. The cars cost about

$6,000 more than a conventional Civic, but tax incentives can make up that difference.

“Right now, because of the gas deal, Honda was producing about 160 natural gas cars a month nationwide, and now they are on a two to three month backlog,” said Scholfield.

Roger has created the Honda Green Zone with a state of the art conference center. It's still under construction and he wants to invite speakers to come and talk about green topics. He's also going to let the public use this room for free if they have an environmentally-conscious group that needs a place to meet.

The addition to the dealership isn't completely “green,” but by using recycled building materials and green furniture, it's a start.

“You know you can't just go out and wave a wand and be magically “green,” Scholfield said. “You've got to take it step by step and look at it.”

For the next step, Roger wants to create a statewide organization that encourages “green,” business practices.