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Green Business Council: Message from NWF: Show Business Support for Climate Legislation

Green Omaha Coalition

Message from NWF: Show Business Support for Climate Legislation

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Nebraska businesses big and small can join the fight for strong climate legislation!
       • American Businesses for Clean Energy (ABCE) is a new initiative to support action on clean energy and climate change policies, by offering a platform for U.S. businesses to express their support for meaningful and effective solutions that will drive clean technology innovation, create jobs, and address the threat of global climate change.
       • ABCE shows the breadth of support among businesses of all sizes, from all states, for moving America forward with clean energy that will strengthen our economy, make us more secure and reduce pollution.
       • ABCE supports strong, comprehensive clean energy and climate policies will drive investment in cost-lowering and energy-saving technologies, create a new wave of industrial growth that is supported by millions of new business opportunities and jobs here in the United States, restore our technological edge and increase security here at home by reducing our dependence on energy sources from overseas.
       It doesn't matter what kind of business you have -- big, small, or sole proprietor -- or what business you are in -- doctor, lawyer, clean energy, chimney sweep, whatever -- you can add your name to the list of businesses supporting strong climate change legislation.
       Tell Duane Hovorka you are interested (HovorkaD@NWF.org) and he will send you the sign-on letter to review, and pdf of a poster you can put in your window showing your support for good legislation. The National Wildlife Federation is collecting names for the business sign-on to demonstrate support from the Nebraska business community for strong legislation -- add your business's name today!

posted by P2RIC @ 1:49 PM

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.