For Earth Day this year, a group of local people wants to show businesses how being green can actually be good for a bottom line.

"Any waste you produce is lost profits, lost product," said Rick Foote, Hall County natural resources coordinator. "Any energy that you waste, that's essentially lost profit. Any water that you waste, water costs money these days, that's inefficiency and lost profits."

Eliminating those losses will be the focus of an Earth Day forum on sustainability in business taking place today at the Featherbone Communiversity.

This is the fourth year a group of community leaders and organizations have come together to present an Earth Day program in Gainesville.

Last year's forum focused on the happiness found in a green lifestyle.

Frank Armstrong, a board member at the Elachee Nature Science Center and one of the event organizers, said this year's program will dispel some common misconceptions in the business world.

"Business and industry is the only institution that's large enough and pervasive enough to do anything about the problem," he said. "Business and industry formerly has not perceived sustainability as being profitable or the right thing to do when in fact it's both."

The forum speakers will be Jim Hartzfeld, managing director for sustainability consultation firm InterfaceRAISE; Elizabeth Umberson, president of the wind turbine producer ZF Wind Power; William Silva, president and CEO of the solar energy provider United Renewable Energy; and Carol Couch, senior public service associate for the College of Environment and Design at the University of Georgia.

While the event is focused on businesses, the organizers said the whole community would benefit from being a part of the discussion.

"A household is like a business," Foote said. "You have costs of doing business at your household. You have utilities, you have sewer charges. You have water charges. You have electrical charges, telephone. And you can implement efficiency measures at your own household."