GREEN BUSINESS VIEWS

Posts Tagged ‘green business certified’

In high-powered corporate environments, the need of one or more college-trained sustainability officers may be the way to go; but for the vast majority, the concept of a CSO is still new.   Of course, the cost of hiring a sustainability officer or bringing in a consulting firm may be equally expensive.  The solution is to train one of your existing employees to handle what is certain to be a great deal of industry and governmental environmental-type demands.

The role of the Certified Sustainability Officer is the role as an in-house person who is trained and skilled to provide environmental guidance to the company as it refines its operational programming.  This should never be a person will a willing spirit, but not lacking in expertise.  The environmental questions are no longer a matter of good will and token gestures.   We are entering a period where greenwashing and token efforts are being rejected as inadequate responses to a giant environmental challenge faced by all of us.

The Sustainable Forum is launching monthly peer-review and training events across America and Canada.  The goal is to have a representative from every business in the community to provide an ongoing support system of best practices for sustainability plans.  Also, the community at-large will benefit from the collective efforts of The Sustainable Forum in the area.

There is no membership fee, although there may be shared costs for the meeting room requirements.  It doesn’t matter if the attendees are already acting as sustainability officers, have been thrown in to duty, or want to become a sustainability officer.  The goal of The Sustainable Forum is to raise up a standing army of well-schooled, and well-equipped professio0nals who have the resources to provide a superior sustainability plan for any business.

The primary duty of the sustainability officer is to create a comprehensive and well-designed sustainability plan.  There isn’t a great deal of quality training for this business-related task.  The Green Business League is the leader in Green business applications, and has been training Certified Sustainability Officer longer than anyone else.  Many have found the training needed at www.CertifiedSustainabilityOfficer.com, but now there is even a better solution.

The Sustainable Forum is launched hundreds of these monthly programs designed specifically for those serving (or wishing to serve) as the sustainability officer for a company.  This is not a networking event, but a peer-review, educational meeting designed to better equip those serving as CSO of their company, large or small.  Meetings are scheduled once a month, and missed meetings will be allowed to review the event by a nationally-presented archive version.  This is a great idea, and the right time!

Joe’s Toxic Waste Service is proud to announce that they have earned their Green certification, despite the fact that they are one of the worst polluters in their state.  Joe’s Toxic Waste is a clandestine and unethical service that has found numerous ways to skirt to law, dump toxins in the dead of night along roadways, and deposit liquid waste into waterways.

As Joe’s reports, “The company has a real image problem.  We perform a service for a fee just like any other business, and frankly there just isn’t anyone out there willing to do what we do.  You have to ask yourself, do companies want to pay the fees required to properly dispose of toxic waste, or to have my service get rid of it for half the price?”

It was an uphill battle to put a better face on the business.  Joe tried the reputable Green programs like Green Seal, LEED, Green Business League, and ISO; but he was quickly shown the door and told never to return.  There was absolutely no way that this company could pass the review process.  Besides, these companies were more interested in their reputations than they were the collection of a fee.

Joe was, nonetheless, determined to get a Green certification for his company.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t that willing to change the company’s processes.  Certainly, there was an easier way to Go Green and have some company that would accept him without any serious requirements.  Honestly, Joe knew that his company wasn’t Green, but wouldn’t it improve his image to have a Green business certification?

Joe searched the Internet looking for a company that would certify his toxic waste service.  To his great joy, he found several website companies that were offering Green business certifications without even visiting his workplace.  Reading through the website, Joe saw that it really came down to paying a fee and filling in forms.  This was like a welcome mat for any company to greenwash their business without any scrutiny.  Joe knew it was wrong, but why else would these websites leave the door wide open?  All they wanted was money, and they would give him what he wanted.

So, Joe signed up with a handsomely-designed website and paid the fees via credit card.  No one called, and all he got was an automated welcome letter praising his extraordinary commitment to Green and his wisdom for choosing their website.  More than that, he was invited to take his company to even higher levels of certification by filling in a series of online assessments.  Again, no one would call on the business.  All that was needed was the completion of some questionnaires deceptively called audit forms.

It was here that Joe’s assumptions were confirmed.  These online certifications were frankly as bogus Green as his own company.  Joe filled in the forms and lied as necessary.  After all, everyone by this point knows the game.  Lies were not encouraged, but the were not questioned either.  So, Joe’s Toxic Waste Service earned the gold certification as a certified Green business.

Over time, hundreds of other businesses also bought into the same phony website certifications as Joe, but they were foolish enough to think that these websites were reputable, credible, and were not just a money collection scheme.  Eventually, a curious investigative reporter checked out the curious fact that Joe’s Toxic Waste company was Green certified.  His investigation become a local and then nationwide explosive expose of these Green website certifications.

Other customers of these Green websites were slammed with unkind reporter calls, upset customers, and an inability to get through to the Green certification provider.  In fact, the website was suddenly “Under Repair,” and rumors of a government investigation sloshed about on the Internet.  Business owners were frantically demanding that their programmers “Remove the Damn Logo!”  Workers were sent to scratch off the logos once proudly displayed, and all advertisement with the now defamed logo were quickly trashed.  The ugly backlash of customers who read of the incriminating articles made matters even worse.

Yes, this story is a spoof to illustrate the hazards of making a bad choice when considering a Green certification.

This is why LEED, Green Business League, and ISO require verification by live audits.  It is literally impossible for an embarrassing membership to be approved.  The Green Business League has more than 350 Certified Green Consultants and requires that every Green business certification be the result of an audit review by a professional Green consultant.  The nightmare of a business embarrassment cannot happen when there is an independently, audited review by a Certified Green Consultant.

DOWNLOAD FREE WHITEPAPER ON GREEN CERTIFICATION

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I have had a number of people ask me how Green Business League could certify a gas station of all things.  After all, they deal in petroleum products, you know?  This is a good question, but let’s take a look as the ideology of Green Business League.   Simply stated, the basic concept is that “The environmental crisis is a universal problems that requires universal participation.”  The concept rings true, but can it be that inclusive?

Let me first point out that there is no 100% environmentally compliant company.  So, we are really talking about improved performance rather than perfection.  This opens the door to any number of businesses even though they may seem unlikely candidates.  The CITGO gas station in Deerfield, Illinois was a very progressive operation.  Owner, David Welch, had been working on Greening up his business before meeting Izz Kharasch, a Certified Green Consultant, but found an ally in his quest to be a serious Green business and community leader for the environmental cause.

David employs a variety of energy saving ideas to cut his energy bill including a timer that shuts off equipment when the store is closed.  In the picture provided, this CITGO station captures the rainwater from the roof which is then used to irrigate the xeriscaped greenery that now enhanced the landscape of the gas station.  Inside his store, David has a section dedicated to Green products from his clients, and of course he proudly displays the Green Business League certification seal on his door, but has even placed the logo on the water collection barrels of this store.

To promote a greater Green awareness, David has announced a “Go Green, Get Green Scholarship” program that targets juniors and seniors in local schools.  David offers a combination of cash prizes and gas cards for Deerfield High School students can obtain a card that is punched at every visit.  Completed cards are deposited for the drawing, and the message is that Going Green has rewards.  Embedding environmental values into the upcoming generation is one of the best ideas we have seen in any business.

Gasoline is a commodity that can be used well or used badly.  The community is better off in many ways because of the example that is being lived out every day at the Deerfield CITGO gas station.  David reports an increase in traffic by area resident who will actually go out of their way to do business at a Green gas station.  The fundamental issue is that every business takes ownership of the environmental crisis concerns and that steps are taken to make progress at every level.  There should be no business excluded from the Green program, and the Deerfield CITGO gas station has proven to be a stellar example of environmental commitment.  The Green Business League can help any business earn a Green business certification that recognizes environmental advancement.  Give them a call.

Michele Moran found a career that provided a more fulfilling way to invest her life as a Certified Green Consultant for the Green Business League.  This New York native has been a successful stock broker with impressive credentials, and has now transitioned her energies to become a Green business consultant.  This lends credence to the growing need for trained, professional guidance for businesses considering a Green and Sustainable program.

Michele Moran of M and M Green Solutions, Inc proudly speaks of her life choices and the positive aspects of a career that provides a much needed service to the community.  Her services include a Green business assessment that validates all Green practices currently in place and a carefully mapped program (Sustainability Report) that details the needed steps to achieve an authentic Green business certification.  Area Green businesses are then linked together to create a business network designed to encourage business among those firms committed to a Green Supply Chain.

The GBL Green Business Certification is quickly becoming the premier certification program for businesses across America because it is the only audited certification program.  Various Internet certifications suggest that an audit can be self-assessed, but this is entirely misleading and disingenuous.  Trained professionals provide a service that cannot be effectively accomplished by amateurs.  The benefit of cost savings and substantial return on investment comes from a professional Green business application.

The Green Business League is proud to have consultants like Michele Moron as a part of the largest field force of Green Consultants anywhere.  There are more than 300 Green Consultants nationwide, in Canada, in Mexico and various countries providing Green certifications for business.  Businesses may request a free Green business assessment by applying at the Green Business league website.

Director of Dept of Environmentalism, Luis Bernal; R Michael Richmond fo GBL, Senator Roberto Arrango meet to discuss Green Business

A team from the Green Business League recently had the opportunity to visit Puerto Rico as an effort to develop working relationships to promote Green business certification for the businesses of this island commonwealth.  Puerto Rico is bustling economy anxious to improve life for its citizens and business processes for Puerto Rican businesses.   Business initiatives include a wide variety of government and privately sponsored programs, which seems to have a high priority in this island territory.

Puerto Rico presents unique environmental concerns because the geographic constraints, pro-business attitude, and the island’s natural resources are limited, unlike larger continental land masses.  There is less room or opportunity to absorb environmental mistakes, and resources are more easily stressed.  None seem more aware of the environmental concerns than the people, businesses, and leaders of this island economy.

Puerto Rico must produce electricity without the grid system to share the deficits and excesses like seen in the mainland states.   Water is a limited resource as well, and the prices paid by families and businesses for both electricity and water is much larger than the state-side versions.  Even the ability to get rid of trash creates difficult decisions that are both expensive and difficult.  Like other economies, Puerto Rican business leaders and politicians are seeking the right course in mapping out the future of this progressive community.

Certainly, business leaders and political leadership needs to engage this question in an aggressive fashion, but the environmental crisis is not just a leadership solution.  The environmental problems are pressing issues that started with the small practices of daily operations.  One piece of trash is multiplied millions and billions of times making the problem a massive concern of delayed appreciation.  The real challenge is getting broad participation in hundreds of Green Practices that are multiplied a million or billion times over.  Therefore, this is not just about passing laws, finding funding, or token efforts.

The Green Business League is the champion of Green Practices that allows for broad participation by businesses and families.  Unlike the LEED program that has a primary focus on Green buildings, the Green Business league emphasizes the operational, organizational, or the daily practices of businesses.  This means that “Going Green” is not a program only for building owners, but for every business, whether the business rents, leases, or owns the building.  Large or small, every business needs to participate in the greater environmental issue, and there seems no doubt that changing at the grassroots level is the very best way to create a broad impact on our world.

Rennie Rodriguez is the Green Business League director for Puerto Rico with tremendous experience in this wonderful part of the world.   Those interested in finding out more about the program in Puerto Rico can contact Rennie at rennie@greenonesource.com.  Rennie heads of team of Certified Green Consultants in Puerto Rico and has similar business efforts in the state of Florida.

Green Business League uses an audited system that rates all Green Practices according to a point system.  Unlike any other form of Green business certification, the Green Business League requires a live audit of all Green improvements.  Illegitimate Green business certifications offered over the Internet for a fee and a self-assessment are considered little more than a means of fooling the buying public and should be rejected.

The Green Business League is pleased to have held several important business meetings, worked with key political leaders, and addressed the news media about the process of integrating the GBL Green Point system in pilot projects in Puerto Rico.  I will be reporting more about the GBL progress in future posts.  The effort to provide Green certification for Puerto Rican businesses is a great solution for the island.