You’ll also hear from Marc Pons, president of Chapel Hill Tire Car Care Center, and Libbie Hough, owner of Communication Matters, about how becoming more sustainable (and achieving Green Plus™ Certification!) helped them be more successful, grow their businesses, and better connect with their customers.

You’ll also learn how YOU can become a Green Plus™ member. Going green is good for your business and your community!  We hope to see you there.

The breakfast is free for Raleigh Chamber members and is $15 for non-members.

Registration is required — click here to register.

Seven Organizations in Three States Earn Green Plus Certification

Seven more enterprises complete the first stage of the Green Plus program

The Institute for Sustainable Development announced seven new organizations in three states have achieved Green Plus Certification.   Created by the NC Research Triangle-based Institute for Sustainable Development, Green Plus is modern business improvement program for smaller enterprises that focuses on triple bottom line sustainability.  This new group includes the first life science company to be Green Plus Certified as well as the first creative reuse center and the first chamber of commerce in Ohio.  Seven more businesses earned Green Plus Mover status, the first big step in the program.

“This newest Green Plus Certified class provides inspirational examples to other smaller enterprises,” said Chris Carmody, Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development.  ”Sustainability is about changing attitudes and making smart business decisions that in turn strengthen the local economy, environment, and community,” Carmody concluded.

New Certified Green Plus organizations include:

• Communication Matters (Hillsborough, NC)
• The Greater Cleveland Partnership / Council of Smaller Enterprises (Cleveland, OH)
• High Hotels (Lancaster, PA)
• HRW, Inc. (Raleigh, NC)
• MindWorks Multimedia (Durham, NC)
• Pharmaceutical Calibration and Instrumentation (Raleigh, NC)
• The Scrap Exchange (Durham, NC)

Including these organizations, a total of forty-three enterprises in five states have earned Green Plus Certification.

“Sustainability is a ‘hot topic’ in the business world,” said Joe Roman, President and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership. “A growing number of businesses of all sizes are incorporating internal sustainability practices. For some, it also includes exploring emerging opportunities in the development of sustainability products and systems. As a business organization, we’re ramping up our internal efforts that signal to our members that we’re engaged in this emerging business trend.”

Seven other organizations achieved Green Plus Mover status — the first major stage toward Green Plus Certification.  These organizations include:

• Controlling Barrier Insects (Lumberton, NC)
• DesignHammer Media Group (Durham, NC) — http://www.designhammer.com/
• Earth Stone Products (Greensboro, NC) — http://www.earthstoneproducts.net/
• Elliott Davis LLC (Greenville, SC) — http://www.elliottdavis.com/
• NRC (Willoughby, OH) — http://www.floralinedisplay.com/
• Tremont Electric (Cleveland, OH) — http://www.npowerpeg.com/about-us
• Waddler & Associates (Elizabeth City, NC) — http://waddlerandassociates.com/

New Green Plus Certified Organizations

HRW Inc. (http://www.hrw.net)

A community and associations management company, HRW Inc. (an Associa company) has been serving the Raleigh area since 1982.  HRW has shown its commitment to being a leader in its industry and has invested much time and effort into its sustainability practices since it achieved Green Plus Mover status in September 2010.

“The Green Plus certification process helped us immensely by providing tools, support and guidance that helped us to learn how to organize our resources better, and taught us to pay attention to details that collectively make a big difference in our organization’s environmental impact,” said HRW President, Cathy Wade.  ”The balanced approach (people, planet, performance) makes this a win-win process, not only for our company and staff, but for the greater community and our clients too.”

Communication Matters (http://www.cmatters.org)

A strategic marketing firm in Hillsborough, NC, Communications Matters has thoroughly embraced the Green Plus program and is setting an example for home based businesses across the country.  Libbie Hough, principle of Communication Matters, proves that even the sole proprietors exercise the triple bottom line. Hough has taken steps to reduce water consumption, energy consumption, travel (for herself and her contractors) and purchases renewable energy credits to offset her usage even more.  Hough is also heavily involved in the local community and volunteers on multiple boards as well as speaking at events for the American Heart Association.

“I’m honored to be among those businesses and organizations that have earned full certification,” said Libbie Hough. “And I see this as is another step in an ongoing process – determining how to better serve my clients, better serve my community, and building a successful business.”

Greater Cleveland Partnership/Council of Smaller Enterprises (http://www.cose.org)

The Greater Cleveland (GCP) and the Council of Smaller Enterrpises (COSE) is the first chamber of commerce in Ohio to become Green Plus Certified.  Through COSE, the GCP is taking an active leadership role in encouraging small business sustainability in the Cleveland area.  Most recently, in October 2010, COSE launched an Energy Efficiency Guide with easy tips for improving energy efficiency and case studies from eight small businesses that successfully incorporated energy efficient practices into their companies.

“Helping small businesses understand how sustainable practices can have a positive impact on their businesses is an area of focus for us,” said Steve Millard, president and executive director of COSE.  ”Earning the Green Plus certification encourages us to continue to ensure we are walking the walk on sustainability.”

GCP/COSE is actively working to minimize the organization’s collective impact on the environment and reduce expenses. Staff-related activities, led by the GCP/COSE “Green Team,” include setting organizational metrics and goals, educating employees company-wide with green tips, increasing recycling, and incentivizing the use of public transportation through discounted rail and bus passes.

High Hotels Ltd (http://www.highhotels.com)

High Hotels are the first group of hotels to receive Green Plus Certification in Pennsylvania.

“High Hotels Ltd. has continued its progress along its sustainability journey by formalizing and championing our approach,” said Frank McCabe, President of High Hotels. “Going through the Green Plus Certification process was extremely valuable and helped us to expand our triple-bottom-line approach to sustainability.”

High Hotels has long been a sustainability advocate, and going through Green Plus has given the company a new way to organize their sustainability efforts and goals.  High Hotels has set goals to reduce energy and water consumption as well as formalizing their employee wellness and mentorship programs.

“Since the High companies’ inception 80 years ago, our organization has embraced a number of the guiding business principles related to sustainability including fostering a positive work environment for our employees and partners, being responsible stewards of the environment, and investing profits responsibly to secure our future in ways that are also good for our community,” said McCabe.

MindWorks Multimedia (http://www.mwmm.com/)

Based in Durham, NC, MindWorks Multimedia is an audio/visual production company that specializes in educational learning products and videos.  A community leader in terms of triple bottom line sustainability, MindWorks is newly located in a LEED certified building and provides a number of health and wellness programs to keep its employees engaged and productive.

“Going through the certification process allowed us to examine every area of our business and find additional ways our values and goals were in synch with those of the Institute for Sustainable Development,” said MindWorks Multimedia’s CEO Greg Rowland.  ”The Institute’s staff was a tremendous resource and the valuable information we learned through this process will help us reach future goals of becoming a leader in sustainability as well as supporting other businesses with a similar corporate culture and outlook.”

Pharmaceutical Calibration and Instrumentation (http://www.pci-llc.com)

The first organization in the life science industry to become Green Plus Certified, Pharmaceutical Calibration and Instrumentation (PCI) is located in Raleigh, NC.  PCI is an inspiring example for organizations looking to educate and engage their employees around triple bottom line issues.  Among other things, the company-wide newsletter shares not only green tips, but also opportunities for employees to become involved in the community and ways to get and stay healthy.

“The Green Plus diagnostic tool asked thought-provoking [and] the team at the Institute for Sustainable Development worked with me through the whole process, from my first question prior to taking the diagnostic tool, all the way through the verification process for certification,” said Kelly Hill, PCI representative.  ”PCI learned a great deal about how we can positively affect our triple bottom line and now we have a plan and a time-line for specific improvements.”

The Scrap Exchange (www.scrapexchange.org)

The Scrap Exchange is a creative reuse center in Durham, NC and the first of its kind to achieve Green Plus Certification.  Inherently green, the Scrap Exchange sells and recycles donated goods at its retails location and engages the local schools and community through workshops, parties, and other events meant to educate about reuse and creating art from recycled objects.

“Receiving the Green Plus Certification in our 20th year is a significant achievement; from vermicomposting to utilizing reusables as our office supplies, to promoting workplace sustainability, [we] endeavor to adhere to the standards set by the program, and looks forward to the next 20 years!” says Ann May Woodward, Executive Director of the Scrap Exchange.

Riley Life Logistics is founded on the values of Sustainability, Integrity, Passion, and Innovation. From the start, sustainability was one of their focuses and was a major point of emphasis.  They seek to work with businesses, partners, and people who have those same values, and they strive to develop a culture of sustainability in our workplace. Here are some examples of what Riley Life has done to promote a culture focused on sustainability, they:

• Recycle 100% of our aluminum, plastic, and cardboard products and most of the office paper.
• Use post-consumer recycled paper and recyclable bubble wrap for protective packaging instead of Styrofoam peanuts.
• Use GreenPrint to automatically format documents and conserve paper.
• Purchased a battery-powered forklift to move packages in the warehouse.
• Provide sales and executive staff use of a hybrid vehicle for travel.
• Purchase renewable energy credits to ensure that their electricity is generated from renewable sources.
• Set the default mode for all their computers to hibernate.
• Installed programmable thermostats to reduce the amount of air conditioning and heating in their facility.
• Specifically work with local suppliers to source products.
• Use ground transportation to ship products when possible and we encourage our suppliers to send shipments by ground transportation.
• Sponsor a health care program for all of our full time employees and their dependents.
• Provide employees with access to a corporate gym membership.
• Encourage employees to carpool by providing gasoline credits.
• Created a policy for their staff to complete 50 hours of volunteer work each month.
• Compensate employees for the time they spend volunteering.
• Encourage employees from organizations that we partner with to attend our volunteer events.
• Participate in programs to improve our knowledge about sustainability.
• Were awarded the Durham Chamber of Commerce’s Sustainable Business of the Year Award and the Triangle Business Journal’s Green Business of the Year Award.

Why did you get involved with Green Plus?

[We] attended a meeting of sustainable businesses held at the RTP Headquarters and run by Chris Carmody where they explained the program and its benefits.  After review, [we] felt that it was an important addition to our repertoire and a great opportunity for a road map toward our overall sustainability initiatives.

Cleveland, October 14, 2009-

Green Plus™ is a three-part program to help smaller enterprises improve their performance through becoming more sustainable. In the first stage, employers take an online assessment which evaluates their management, environmental, employee and community engagement practices. In the second stage, participants become part of an online network and can receive advice from other business owners and university-based content experts on how to improve their sustainability performance. Employers with exceptional scores across the Green Plus™ assessment’s People, Planet and Performance sections may be Certified Green Plus™, recognizing their specific efforts and providing exposure to their current and potential customers and business partners in communities throughout the U.S. and Canada.

“COSE’s endorsement and support of the Green Plus™ process, is focused on helping small businesses take the first steps to greater profitability through sustainability,” said Steve Millard, President and Executive Director of COSE.

Green Plus™ has been adopted as the official small and medium sized enterprise sustainability program of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). The program is available at a substantial discount through participating chambers of commerce throughout the U.S. and Canada in the 1,300 chamber ACCE network. The program costs $550, but will be available to COSE members with five or more employees for $350 and to COSE companies with four or fewer employees for $75.

“There are many great home-grown sustainability efforts already going on in our region,” said Millard. “Green Plus™ gives our members the opportunity to both learn new practices and share their own knowledge across North America – while also opening up new business opportunities,” he added.

For more than ten years, COSE has been a provider of electricity and natural gas savings options to small and mid-sized businesses, helping them to save money and becoming a stronger partner for small business energy management efforts.

Additionally, COSE has been designated by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio as the small business energy efficiency administrator for the First Energy Service territories.  In this role, COSE is working to find efficient and effective ways to improve and lower the energy demand of small businesses, resulting in additional profitability for small firms.

Green Plus™ was developed by the North Carolina Research Triangle based Institute for Sustainable Development — a combined effort of universities and chambers of commerce to provide smaller employers with affordable tools to improve their triple bottom line sustainability. The Green Plus™ model was developed by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler School of Business in 2007. UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University developed online sustainability tools for small business that were tested in Ohio and North Carolina throughout 2008. COSE was the Institute for Sustainable Development’s partner in beta testing the Green Plus™ program with Ohio businesses.

“Smaller enterprises employ most North Americans and are the key engine of new job creation,” said Chris Carmody, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development. “Large employers have benefited greatly from their sustainability efforts. Green Plus™ was created to give small employers the same opportunities to save and make money while going green and being sustainable,” Carmody continued. “COSE’s ongoing advocacy and innovative programs for smaller employers makes it the ideal Green Plus™ partner,” Carmody concluded.

Green Plus™ is not a product-specific certification program, but a broad small business sustainability certification. Employers currently participating comprise professional firms, restaurants, hotels, landscapers, printers, designers, small manufacturers and others. Green Plus™ is also designed to help non-profit organizations that want to improve their sustainability.

COSE member, The Taylor Companies was recently recognized as the first Ohio Certified Green Plus™ business on September 28, 2009 for its exceptional practices business, environmental and community practices. More on Taylor Chair’s certification can be found at www.gogreenplus.org. Other COSE members are beginning to participate in this program from the legal, landscaping and non-profit sectors.

For more information on Green Plus™, please see www.gogreenplus.org.

About COSE

COSE is one of Ohio’s largest small business support organizations, striving to help small businesses grow and maintain their independence. Comprised of more than 17,000 member companies, COSE has a long history of fighting for the rights of all small business owners through group purchasing programs for health care, workers’ compensation, or energy; advocating for specific changes in legislation or regulation to benefit small business;and, providing a forum and resource for small businesses to connect with and learn from each other. (www.cose.org)

(July 6, 2009 – North Carolina Research Triangle) The Institute for Sustainable Development appointed a new Director and announced its new staff, including two Senior Fellows.

Chris Carmody, a social entrepreneur who was hired by the Institute in 2008 to launch its Green Plus program, will direct the programs of the Institute overall. Carmody has an MBA from Case Western Reserve University and 20 years experience in non-profit management and public policy. As Director, he will oversee the development of public-private sustainability programs to share with communities in the U.S. and globally.

“In Green Plus, the Institute has done a great job in providing a sustainable small business certification and education process,” Carmody said. “Our vision moving forward is to make sustainability truly accessible to organizations regardless of their size or means, and to share the unique stories of business as they pursue the triple bottom line,”Carmody concluded.

Green Plus was created to help small employers – businesses and non-profits – assess their sustainability in terms of organizational performance, the environment, and their engagement of their employees and communities. Exceptional performers in across all three categories of People, Planet and Performance are recognized as Certified Green Plus businesses.

The Institute named two Senior Fellows: Aaron Nelson and Shana Starobin. “The North Carolina Research Triangle community should be very proud of its leadership role in helping businesses and communities toward triple bottom line sustainability,” said Aaron Nelson. “This is the right team to take the Green Plus effort to other regions and other countries,” Nelson concluded.

Nelson is currently the CEO of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of the Foundation for a Sustainable Community, which conceived of and incubated the Institute’s Green Plus program. In 2008, the Foundation was recognized with the National Siemens Sustainable Communities Award - an award of Siemens and the Business Civic Leadership Center. Nelson will provide advice on strategic partnerships between the Institute, chambers of commerce and other business membership organizations.

Shana Starobin, a social entrepreneur and PhD student at Duke University, was also named Senior Fellow. Starobin will coordinate the development of the Institute’s Sustainability Enterprise Clinic, its national Sustainability Fellows program, and will oversee the development of new online tools to educate smaller enterprises on issues of sustainability.

Kirsten Hausman, who served as a Program Director for the Foundation for a Sustainable Community, was named Director of Client Relations and Communications. Anne McKune, who served as Associate Director of the Foundation, will continue as Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships.

Green Plus is a green and sustainable small business certification and education program that gives employers affordable, practical support in succeeding financially while being good to their environment, employees and community. Green Plus gives chambers of commerce, trade associations, foundations and local governments a new way to support their small business and non-profit stakeholders.

Find out more about the Green Plus program and what it can do for your business here.

The Institute for Sustainable Development partners with chambers of commerce to offer Green Plus to their members, and licenses the program to philanthropic foundations and local government as a triple bottom line education tool for their grantees and small business constituents.

The Institute is comprised of public and private university partners, chambers of commerce, and philanthropic organizations dedicated to providing smaller employers affordable access to sustainability expertise. In 2008, the Institute’s partners received the national Business Civic Leadership Center’s  Siemens Sustainable Community Award for its effort to build a public-private coalition to advance sustainability.

If you are a chamber of commerce click here for a quick video  and information on Green Plus partnerships, or contact Chris Carmody, Director of the Sustainable Business Initiative, at ccarmody@sustainablefoundation.org.