Danielle Staude and Dana Armanino. Want to save green by going green, and get applauded for doing so?
That was the pitch from officials from the County of Marin and the City of Mill Valley at a March 21st business seminar on sustainability, the latest in the Biz Essentials Series from the Mill Valley, San Rafael and Tiburon chambers of commerce, at the Acqua Hotel.
County Sustainability Planner Dana Armanino guided attendees through the California Green Business Program, which has recognized nearly 400 businesses in Marin since its launch in 2002. There are 51 Mill Valley businesses certified under the program, including stalwarts like Acqua Hotel, Goodman Building Supply, Bank of Marin, Body Kinetics, Grilly's, Mill Valley Car Wash, the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center, Mill Valley Inn, Mill Valley Market, Mountain Home Inn,Proof Lab and WIGT Printing, among others.
Those business have garnered recognition for demonstrating their "continuous compliance with applicable environmental regulations, conserve energy, water, and other materials, implement sound environmental practices that prevent pollution and waste generation, and share environmentally responsible practices with other businesses in our community."
The Green Business Program launched in Alameda and Contra Costa counties in 1996 with a specific focus on improving the waste reduction among the printing and auto repair businesses in those counties, and later expanded to all industries, including home-based businesses.
To garner certification, business owners must complete an application that contains 53 measures, some of which are required, including the use of energy efficient lighting and recycled paper. The online checklist lives here.
“For each industry, the program is skewed toward the opportunities and challenges of that industry,” Armanino said – for instance, “greening” amenities and laundry services for hotels, and kitchen and dishwashing processes at restaurants. “It allows you to pick measures that are appropriate and achievable for you.”
Just as importantly as the recognition gained from green business certification, businesses can gain access to money-saving opportunities to upgrade their buildings to be more energy-efficient, including cash rebates to help defray the cost of installing energy-efficient lighting, refrigeration products and HVAC measures.
The SmartLights program, for instance, is administered locally through the County, PG&E and MCE Clean Energy, providing business owners no-obligation, no-cost assessments of their lighting infrastructure, with approved contractors on hand to do the work if you want. Most importantly, rebates are available, and SmartLights “pays the rebate directly to the contractor so you don’t have to pay for it first and wait for the rebate,” she said, noting that most of the projects pay for themselves in less than three years.
There are also water conservation resources, transportation resources, waste reduction resources and renewable energy resources (see below for links).
City of Mill Valley Senior Planner Danielle Staude noted that the City and County have set aggressive waste reduction goals of between 15-25 percent by 2025 under the Zero Waste Marin banner. Mill Valley has targeted 15 percent reduction by 2020, and had achieved a 4 percent gain by 2010, primarily through energy efficiency and use of hybrid cars.
The City is also part of the Marin Climate and Energy Partnership, which is tracking a wide range of sustainability efforts, including energy, transportation, waste and water.
“Jurisdictions are really working together to coordinate and address similar approaches to reducing emissions,” she said. “Transportation is the key – it’s over half of our emissions in Mill Valley. We need to be very conscious of our vehicle use.”
Staude said the City’s Miller Avenue Streetscape Project, which promises to make the roadway much friendlier for bicyclists and pedestrians and hopefully reduce car trips in town. Staude also walked business owners through the City’s plastic bag ban and the continued reaction to it, including the sale of thicker plastic bags instead of paper bags at some stores.
Here are sustainability resources available to your business:
Marin Energy Watch Partnership
MCE Clean Energy
Marin County Green Building
SmartLights
Food Service Technology Center
PG&E Rebates
Marin Solar Program
Go Solar California
PG&E Net Metering ResourcesMarin Municipal Water District
WalkBikeMarin
Transportation Authority of Marin
Zero Waste Marin
Marin Green Business Program
City of Mill Valley - Sustainability Initiatives
City Plastic Bag Ban
Marin Climate and Energy Partnership
Marin Sustainability Tracker
That was the pitch from officials from the County of Marin and the City of Mill Valley at a March 21st business seminar on sustainability, the latest in the Biz Essentials Series from the Mill Valley, San Rafael and Tiburon chambers of commerce, at the Acqua Hotel.
County Sustainability Planner Dana Armanino guided attendees through the California Green Business Program, which has recognized nearly 400 businesses in Marin since its launch in 2002. There are 51 Mill Valley businesses certified under the program, including stalwarts like Acqua Hotel, Goodman Building Supply, Bank of Marin, Body Kinetics, Grilly's, Mill Valley Car Wash, the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center, Mill Valley Inn, Mill Valley Market, Mountain Home Inn,Proof Lab and WIGT Printing, among others.
Those business have garnered recognition for demonstrating their "continuous compliance with applicable environmental regulations, conserve energy, water, and other materials, implement sound environmental practices that prevent pollution and waste generation, and share environmentally responsible practices with other businesses in our community."
The Green Business Program launched in Alameda and Contra Costa counties in 1996 with a specific focus on improving the waste reduction among the printing and auto repair businesses in those counties, and later expanded to all industries, including home-based businesses.
To garner certification, business owners must complete an application that contains 53 measures, some of which are required, including the use of energy efficient lighting and recycled paper. The online checklist lives here.
“For each industry, the program is skewed toward the opportunities and challenges of that industry,” Armanino said – for instance, “greening” amenities and laundry services for hotels, and kitchen and dishwashing processes at restaurants. “It allows you to pick measures that are appropriate and achievable for you.”
Just as importantly as the recognition gained from green business certification, businesses can gain access to money-saving opportunities to upgrade their buildings to be more energy-efficient, including cash rebates to help defray the cost of installing energy-efficient lighting, refrigeration products and HVAC measures.
The SmartLights program, for instance, is administered locally through the County, PG&E and MCE Clean Energy, providing business owners no-obligation, no-cost assessments of their lighting infrastructure, with approved contractors on hand to do the work if you want. Most importantly, rebates are available, and SmartLights “pays the rebate directly to the contractor so you don’t have to pay for it first and wait for the rebate,” she said, noting that most of the projects pay for themselves in less than three years.
There are also water conservation resources, transportation resources, waste reduction resources and renewable energy resources (see below for links).
City of Mill Valley Senior Planner Danielle Staude noted that the City and County have set aggressive waste reduction goals of between 15-25 percent by 2025 under the Zero Waste Marin banner. Mill Valley has targeted 15 percent reduction by 2020, and had achieved a 4 percent gain by 2010, primarily through energy efficiency and use of hybrid cars.
The City is also part of the Marin Climate and Energy Partnership, which is tracking a wide range of sustainability efforts, including energy, transportation, waste and water.
“Jurisdictions are really working together to coordinate and address similar approaches to reducing emissions,” she said. “Transportation is the key – it’s over half of our emissions in Mill Valley. We need to be very conscious of our vehicle use.”
Staude said the City’s Miller Avenue Streetscape Project, which promises to make the roadway much friendlier for bicyclists and pedestrians and hopefully reduce car trips in town. Staude also walked business owners through the City’s plastic bag ban and the continued reaction to it, including the sale of thicker plastic bags instead of paper bags at some stores.
Here are sustainability resources available to your business:
Marin Energy Watch Partnership
MCE Clean Energy
Marin County Green Building
SmartLights
Food Service Technology Center
PG&E Rebates
Marin Solar Program
Go Solar California
PG&E Net Metering ResourcesMarin Municipal Water District
WalkBikeMarin
Transportation Authority of Marin
Zero Waste Marin
Marin Green Business Program
City of Mill Valley - Sustainability Initiatives
City Plastic Bag Ban
Marin Climate and Energy Partnership
Marin Sustainability Tracker