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Green Business Council: May 2009

Green Omaha Coalition

May Green Business Council Meeting Notes

Friday, May 29, 2009

1. Andy Noon PhD from Mutual of Omaha gave a great presentation on Organizational Culture Change. The highlights were:

*Definition of Organizational Change - "Norms of behavior and shared values among a group of people"
*How Culture is established - Derived from Senior Leadership and spread by stories, rituals, language, and material symbols.
*Resistance to Change - Reasons range from security, habit, fear of the unknown, etc.
*Establishing Successful Organization Change - Must come from the top or guided by an influencial person. Empowering the individuals in the workplace who implement the change is a good strategy to create successful change. Monitor short term wins between 3-5 years.


2. We need to create a questionairre to help establish guidelines for establishing best green business practices for organizations within the GOC.
- Energy Efficiency
- Water Conservation
- Materials Management
- Communications and Marketing

Rick at p2ric has some general categories that he will share with the group.

3. There was some small chatter related to meeting once a month for the GBC, but for next month we will plan on attending Wastecap Nebraska's meeting on June 9th and 10th. Information on these two events can be found here: http://www.wastecapne.org/events/jun/green-team-network.shtml

4. June 1st - 5th is World Environment Day in Omaha. To find out more information please visit: www.omahaenvironmentday.com

posted by Marcella Thompson @ 10:56 AM

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Join us for the next Green Business Council Meeting, Wednesday May 27, 3:30 at Whole Foods, 10020 Regency Circle. The agenda includes:

  • 3:30 - 4:00 Organizational Change - Andy Noon (Mutual of Omaha)
  • 4:00 - 4:!5 Draft Green Business Scorecard - Rick Yoder
  • 4:15 - 4:30 Green Business Council Leadership Transition - Marcella Thompson, Rick Yoder and Ryan McClure

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Notes from the March meeting...
Erin Bass, student and intern at the Pollution Prevention Regional Information Center, provided a great overview of "Greenwashing" and the Federal Trade Commission's Green Guidelines. The topic was so timely that since then, TerraChoice has added a seventh deadly sin:

  • Lack of proof
  • Vagueness
  • Irrelevance
  • Lesser of two evils
  • Hidden trade-off
  • Outright lying
  • Worship of false labels (New!)

There was great discussion around how to navigate marketing strategies, reaching your customers in a meaningful way, and avoiding greenwashing.

posted by Marcella Thompson @ 11:32 AM

Mission

Create a network of businesses interested in sharing sustainable practices and recognize leading green businesses in Omaha.

Background

In support of the Green Omaha Coalition (GOC),  an alliance of organizations pursuing a common goal of a “Green Omaha,” the Green Business Council (GBC) will establish a collaborative network of businesses implementing sustainability programs to improve the environmental performance of their operations.

Focus

The GBC will engage interested businesses from all industries to improve the sustainability of their operations.  The GBC will address a wide variety of environmental programs, including but not limited to: procurement, resource efficiency (energy and water), waste reduction (solid and hazardous), climate change, and green building.

The GBC seeks to involve two business groups: (1) those already implementing sustainability programs and (2) those interested but lacking the resources to pursue and implement sustainable strategies.  Ultimately, the GBC will become a centralized resource for businesses to share, learn, and promote sustainable business practices.

Alliances

The GBC recognizes the importance of collaborating with existing organizations to more effectively and efficiently reach businesses to provide educational and networking opportunities. The following provides a preliminary list of strategic alliances the GBC will pursue:

  • Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce (GOCOC)
  • Neighborhood Business Associations
  • Flatwater Chapter, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
  • WasteCap of Nebraska (WasteCap)
  • Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA)
  • International Facility Management Association (IFMA)
Objectives

The GBC has identified four primary objectives to establish a coalescing network of sustainable businesses to share environmental best practices and assist emerging green businesses in identifying better environmental strategies through education and networking with other businesses. A detailed description of the objectives described below are including on the following pages.

Interested in joining or learning more about Green Business Council email: greenbusiness@greenomahacoalition.org

Green Business Council Brochure (PDF)

Figure 1 | Objectives of the Green Business Council

Short Term Long Term
Objective 1
Establish a Framework for Ongoing Leadership of the Green Business Council. 		Objective 2
Provide Networking and Education Opportunities to Businesses. 		Objective 3
Develop, Maintain, and Distribute a Green Business Directory. 		Objective 4
Establish an Awards Program to Recognize Green Businesses.
Establish a leadership team and organizational guidance to manage day-to-day functions of the GBC Collaborate with alliance organizations to provide networking and training opportunities to Omaha-area businesses.  Compile a directory of individuals responsible for managing sustainability programs for Omaha-area businesses. Establish a framework for recognizing businesses for exceptional environmental performance.