Like many people these days, I try to pay attention to my carbon footprint. The town where I live­­­­­ -- Chapel Hill, North Carolina -- has free bus service to encourage that kind of thinking, and it’s so easy to get around here by bus and by bike that a year and a half ago, I got rid of my car. The payoffs have been terrific. I get more exercise, have fascinating conversations as I’m out and about, and stay blissfully ignorant of the price of gas.

So when Signal Hill asked me to head out to San Francisco to meet clients a while back, I decided to see if I could make the trip just a little bit greener. The challenges: traveling on someone else’s dime, I had to make sure I stayed within budget; traveling on business, I had to balance greenery with efficient use of my time.

Plane travel makes a big, whomping stomp of a footprint, of course, but without the time to travel by train, there was nothing I could do about that. My sister told me about the eco-friendly Good Hotel just south of Market Street, a refurbished older building conveniently located near public transit. The hotel reuses grey water, collects rain to irrigate its landscaping, and makes it easy for visitors to volunteer an hour or two with local nonprofits. They had fleece blankets made from recycled soda bottles, drinking glasses made from real glass, push-button toiletry dispensers instead of tiny disposable bottles. And for my add-on personal day, they had loaner bikes. It turned out to be a great choice -- fun, comfortable, chic and reasonably priced.

The next decision was how to get around. The Bay Area Rapid Transit and 511 Web sites revealed I could get everywhere I needed to go by train and bus, but some trips would take a fair bit of time and I had many meetings to pack in. Not knowing what the weather would be like, I didn’t want to chance the bike-and-bus combo I often use at home. Still, I wanted to avoid the usual business trip routine: pick up a rental car at the airport and just drive everywhere, alone in your bubble.

The solution turned out to be ZipCar, a car sharing arrangement I’d heard of but never used. They keep a car right at the Good Hotel and many more near BART stops and other locations. Their rates initially looked high, but then I realized they include gas and insurance. Many of their cars are hybrids, and you don’t have to pay for a whole day when you only need wheels for a few hours.

So I took transit where it was quick and easy -- which it often was, much quicker and less stressful in fact than negotiating heavy traffic and finding my way in an unfamiliar city. When time was of the essence, I took ZipCars from the ends of BART lines. That too worked out beautifully.

The bottom line? I saved roughly 100 pounds of carbon emissions--not a lot, I know, but a small balm for the conscience. I arrived on time and relaxed at all my meetings, and I kept the trip expenses under budget.

Going a little greener did take some extra planning, but it had some bonuses too. Now that I’ve discovered ZipCars, I use them now and then here in Chapel Hill. And one morning during the trip, a Signal Hill colleague picked me up at the BART station near her home and took me for coffee before dropping me at my first appointment. As I’ve discovered at home, asking for a ride can give you the chance to get to know somebody you work with a little better. And that’s always a good thing.