What makes a business green? By far the most important factor is a commitment. That’s a commitment to do more with less, to lighten your operational footprint, conserve money and resources.
There are many ways to achieve that!
We’ve endeavored to create a simple Green Business Certification Program. We are not the eco-police but we are sustainability professionals eager to help you find new ways to save resources.
There are four key areas with required actions. Relax! They are not onerous. You may very well be practicing some of them already.
Under each focus area – general, waste, water and energy – we provide more action ideas. Lots of ideas! You may have your own. To become certified, you need to practice a few basic green actions then select – from lots of options – additional money saving tips that work for you.
Here’s what you have to do:
General
- You must designate a Green Business Leader for your organization – someone accountable and our point of contact.
- If you’re not already doing so, you need to set up a way to track waste production, water and energy usage on regular basis. This can be a simple spreadsheet updated every month or two. This one is important, as it’s how we measure success!
- Make a commitment! When you start we’ll ask for your signature to say nothing more than “we’re trying”. And we’d like you to communicate your commitment to saving to your customers, clients, staff and peers. Here are some ideas.
Waste
- As a business located in the City of Naples, you’re already required to recycle. We want to ensure your basic recycling program complies with the City’s ordinance.
- Then you need to implement at least three measures to reduce waste production and/or promote recycling. There are lots of ways to do this; you can choose what works best for your facility.
- Recycling is a circular process! It doesn’t work so well if we don’t use recycled products so we you’ll need to use at least one example of a recycled product.
Water
- Show us that you encourage participation in water conservation efforts with signage reminding people to save a drop. We’ll help with this one!
- Implement at least two other water conservation measures at your facility.
- If you are responsible for the maintenance of any natural areas (lawn and landscaping), ensure your irrigation system (if you have one) is working properly. You also need to implement at least two other water conservation practices for exterior areas.
Energy
- If you have not already done so, you’ll need to have an energy assessment of your facility conducted – Florida Power and Light may help. Then you do need to implement the recommendations! We’ll work with you on this
- Implement at least two measures - which may be the recommendations of your energy audit – to reduce the amount of energy used in your business operations.
