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Green Business Council: Green Business Council Meeting Jan 27, 3:30-5 pm

Green Omaha Coalition

Green Business Council Meeting Jan 27, 3:30-5 pm

Friday, December 11, 2009

Event Location: Whole Foods Education Room
10020 Regency Circle, Omaha

It's a great agenda. We're lucky to have Marcella Thompson, former chair of the Green Business Council in to speak to us in her capacity as the Director of Sustainability at ConAgra Foods. At that job she is responsible for managing the corporate greenhouse gas inventory, and will share her experience with us to provide an overview of Carbon Footprinting. The presentation will include key terms and concepts, what emissions sources are included, and free tools to assist you in calculating your emissions.
After that, the staff from P2RIC will offer the beta Green Business scorecard for use by members of the Green Business Council. This is a process that was developed in conjunction with the member of the GBC. As with any beta, we'll be looking for early adopters in the group to try the scorecard on for size and become the first businesses in town who can say they've met the criteria set by the Green Business Council to call themselves Green Businesses.
As I've mentioned before, the GBC is proud to announce it's new chair is Craig Moody, principal of Verdis Group, http://verdisgroup.com/ We're lucky to have his time - I very much look forward to his leadership.
There will be a Green Drinks at Whole Foods afterwards; please feel welcome to stay and talk with other members of the Green Omaha community.
The next meeting will be Weds, March 24. The City of Omaha's Sustainability Coordinator, Kristi Wamsted-Evans will be presenting.

posted by P2RIC @ 8:07 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.