Small Business Green Certification 1-5 Employees Click Here Companies greater than 5 employees please visit GBcertified.com

In the spring of 2006, a small group of environmentally concerned business people met to develop a set of standards to use in certifying a business as a "Green Business". Previously, there were no uniform standards to evaluate the environmental practices of a business; nor was there an established accreditation process.

The group sought the counsel of an OSHA trained inspector, an EPA trained inspector, and a person who later became a LEED AP. (Leed is an organization that certifies buildings.) After months of discussion and extensive research, standards and criteria were developed and a checklist created, becoming the basis for the Institute for Green Business Certification (IGBC) environmental audit.

IGBC was formed to promote the following...

• Solid waste reduction, reuse and recycling
• Energy efficiency and reduced use of diminishing resources
• Water efficiency and reduced use
• Purchasing and packaging alternatives
• Reduction in "carbon footprint"
• Pollution prevention
• Reduced external air emissions and improved interior air quality
• Education of employees and customers about green business efforts
• Reduced operational costs
• Reduction in hazardous waste and proper handling
• Avoidance of additional user/mitigation permits and fees

IGBC and USGBC enable you to achieve "Green Business Certification" by working together, one business to another. From the beginning, we took our inspiration from the words in a 1961 speech by JFK, "...My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country".