SB NOW featured in Washington Business Journal

Friday, March 28, 2008

How green is your biz? New nonprofit can tell you

True green: Erik Hoffland, left, and Lee Boyle, of the Sustainable Business Network of Washington, are charged with deciphering which business operations are truly green, and which are just marketing.

Today, businesses can get a seal of environmental approval based on how their buildings are built. Next month, a nonprofit business network plans to test out a new green seal based on what goes on inside those buildings.

The Sustainable Business Network of Washington is creating a certification process for companies that are going green in their daily routines, from using recycled printer paper to switching to low-flow faucets -- essentially the internal operations equivalent to green building certifications such as the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system.

The nonprofit plans to test the program in at least six Washington-area offices and retailers, large and small, starting with the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District's headquarters on April 1.

SB NOW, working with an environmental consulting firm and other nonprofit and government agencies, is positioning its green business certificate as the regional standard for recognizing, measuring and verifying a company's green habits even if it doesn't own its building or control the basement heating-and-cooling units.