For the second year in a row, the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce has demonstrated that the color of business in the community is an optimistic shade of green. According to Bev Jorgensen, the Chamber's vice president of corporate and member relations, it is also the color of success and commercial longevity. “And it's getting greener every day,” Jorgensen said.
The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce welcomed more than 35 businesses to its second annual Business Is Green Expo March 17, co-hosted by the Windmill Banquet & Catering and TGI Friday's. Commercial ventures ranging from green building solutions to eco-friendly promotional items were on display as a steady, energetic crowd stopped by booths to gather information and energetic encouragement on ways to bring sustainability and mindful use of resources into the home and workplace.
Business is Green is a direct result of the hard work of the Chamber's Sustainability Committee, which implemented the Green Checklist nearly two years ago to give businesses a set of guidelines for operating in the green and with an eye toward long-term, sustainable practices. The Sustainability Committee created the Green Business Certificate Program to identify and reward businesses that learn about and implement a variety of green practices.
Throughout the year, the committee sponsors a series of workshops and informative seminars at the Chamber to help businesses work their way through the Green Checklist. Subjects such as Chemical Use and Pollution Prevention, Green Transportation, and Solid Waste and Purchasing are covered.
Any company that completes the workshops and meets the adopted-practices standards is awarded the Green Business Certificate, identifying them as a Green Business Advocate, a responsible corporate citizen dedicated to ensuring sustainability for current and future generations. The Green Business Advocate logo is attached to the qualifying business's online presence and is included in all marketing materials.
Jorgensen and the committee's current chair, Barbara Hamilton, are clearly energized by the steady participation in the committee's certificate program and the Business Is Green Expo. “This is so much greater than 'business is usual',” said Jorgensen, indicating the upbeat activity of the Expo. “Sustainability represents a steady, inexorable move forward in the evolution of business and in the evolution of our community.”
Hamilton shares her commitment as well as her optimism. “Businesses are really understanding that to move forward and to be more than just superficially successful, they have to be responsible and aware and walk the walk,” she said. “The Green Business Certificate program provides the terms of their commitment to the future.”
For more information on the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce's Sustainability Committee and the Green Checklist program, contact the Carlsbad Chamber at 760 931 8400 or visit www.carlsbad.org.