Aug 26, 2008 – The Herald Sun CHAPEL HILL — Businesses in Orange County and beyond increasingly tout environmentally-friendly green practices in their attempts to woo customers.
A new initiative from the Institute for Sustainable Development, a partner of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, aims to recognize businesses that are truly green by developing a method for measuring sustainability.
The institute is now testing Green Plus, a certification program intended to both quantify the green practices of businesses and help owners connect with resources for saving money
though better conservation.
“We want to provide small businesses with actionable information to improve and we want to reward them for that by helping them be recognized by the community and their customers,” said Chris Carmody, director of the chamber’s Sustainable Business Initiative. “We think the brand, the certification, will ultimately help these businesses win customers, because people are more environmentally-conscious than ever.”
Carmody describes the test version of Green Plus as an online workbook that guides business owners through a series of approximately 75 questions designed to identify green strengths and weaknesses. The process is interactive, leading the test taker to links with additional information. Test participants fill out a survey about the process and may be contacted by an institute representative seeking further feedback.
Full certification will cost approximately $500 when testing is completed and the final process is rolled out, probably in October, Carmody said. Businesses participating in the test will not pay anything now and will receive a $200 credit toward full certification.
“I went through the questions a few weeks ago,” said Barbara Jessie-Black, executive director of the PTA Thrift Shop and chair of the chamber’s Foundation for a Sustainable Community. “It was one of those things where it took me some time to go through it, but it made me think, which was a good thing.”
Jessie-Black said the questionnaire helped her step outside the normal routine of analyzing her company’s successes and think about ways to improve — and save money by limiting waste — in the next year.
“I think it’s a very valuable tool,” she said. “It allows you to look at your business in a way that you didn’t look at it before.”
When the final version of Green Plus is online, participating businesses will need to achieve a specified score to be certified. Those that don’t make the cut will have six months to adapt their business practices to the standard. The institute will keep participants honest by auditing the responses of approximately 10 percent of businesses as well as posting some answers online.”
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Filed under: Green Plus Beta Test | Tagged: Herald Sun-Chapel Hill Chamber of Commerce-Institute fo
