01 Feb Calling All Green Business Leaders

Have you completed your Austin Green Business Leaders scorecard? For most businesses it only takes a few hours  and is your ticket into the Austin Green Business Leaders (AGBL) program. The program is part of the City's Office of Sustainability efforts to support green businesses and help them connect with one another. The program is open to businesses of all types and sizes from hair salons to home-based consultants to multi-national companies with a facility in Austin. 

Besides being located in Austin, there are two main requirements to be recognized as a green business leader: 1.) a score of 30 points or higher and 2.) do at least one activity in each of seven categories. These categories are: Communication, Energy, Resource Management, Transportation, Water, Healthy Work Environment, and Community Stewardship. The scorecard may at first seem quite lengthy and daunting. I found the trick was to make a quick initial pass and then go back and look for  ways to pick up more points. Just going through scorecard may in itself help your business find issues & provide ideas for improvement (by introducing practices, technology & measurement tools you were previously  unaware of. After you submit your completed scorecard online, You'll be visited by the Office of Sustainability to verify the information on your scorecard.

The AGBL program is still  very young. It's first anniversary will be  at the end of March. As of last week, membership stood at just 64 participating businesses. You can still  be one of the first 100! Plus, the program is still evolving and member input will shape its future. This is a chance to be in the vanguard of Austin's developing green economy.