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GREEN PLUS
The Henderson-Henderson County Chamber of Commerce is the first organization in Kentucky to offer the Green Plus™ sustainability education and certification program to its members.
Green Plus™ is a three-part program to help smaller enterprises improve their performance through becoming more sustainable.
STEP 1: Employers take an online assessment which evaluates their management, environmental, employee and community engagement practices.
STEP 2: 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.
STEP 3: Employers with exceptional scores across the Green Plus™ assessment’s People, Planet and Performance sections become Certified Green Plus™ businesses, recognizing their specific efforts and providing exposure to their current and potential customers and business partners in communities throughout the U.S. and Canada.
COST: The program normally costs $550, but will be available to Henderson Chamber members with three or more employees for $350 and to companies or non-profit organizations with two or fewer employees for $150.
BENEFITS: By going through the Green Plus diagnostic survey, you will understand how a business can use sustainability to differentiate itself in a competitive marketplace, gain new customers and clients, and become a leader in your community. After your organization has submitted the diagnostic survey you will receive a customized evaluation of your organization’s sustainability performance and coaching from graduate student fellows. Organizations with exceptional scores in all three areas of sustainability are eligible for Green Plus Certification.
BACKGROUND: 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.
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.
WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY:
WHO'S IN: Abba Promotions, Galloway Electric, Subway Restaurants, Henderson Area Arts Alliance, First United Methodist Church, Fine & Hatfield P.C.
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