CITY OF CHARLESTON & PARTNERS PROVIDE INFORMATION SESSION FOR GREEN BUSINESS CHALLENGE
June 5, 2010
CHARLESTON, SC – June 5, 2010 – The City of Charleston, with new partners, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce and Charleston County, along with several local non-profit organizations have joined together to launch The Green Business Challenge. The Green Business Challenge is designed to help local businesses who sign up for the voluntary program to save money and resources, support environmental stewardship, and to be recognized for sustainable business leadership. The City of Charleston was selected as one of five local governments nationwide to receive assistance to create a Green Business Challenge program from the organization ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability).
A meeting will take place to provide details about the program and provide scoring information to interested participants of the Green Office Challenge on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 at 8:00AM at the John Wesley United Methodist Church Gym, 626 Savannah Highway. Speakers will include Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Kim Brokhof with ICLEI USA, City of Charleston representatives, and representatives of partners including the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, The Sustainability Institute, Lowcountry Local First, Green Fair and Charleston County.
Mayor Riley said, “The Green Business Challenge is a positive and creative way to get the business community involved in sustainability efforts within the City of Charleston. The results of this year-long effort which will begin in August will be an excellent tool for showing local business how to save money through sustainable practices. We encourage businesses to participate in this program as a sensible solution for better business.”
“Charleston County is delighted to partner with the City by taking a lead on the waste reduction and recycling components of the Green Business Challenge” said Teddie E. Pryor, Sr. Chairman, County Council
“The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce is excited to be involved in the Green Business Challenge. Not only are sustainable practices becoming increasingly more important in modern-day business operations, but there are also significant cost savings to be gained by green investments. We will work to help educate businesses about how to adopt sustainable practices and positively impact their bottom line.” said David Maybank III, Chairman of the Board, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce.
This twelve month voluntary program encourages businesses to reduce waste and consumption and also support community involvement. Several local non-profit organizations have partnered to make this challenge possible: The Sustainability Institute will help participating businesses stay on track during the 12 month challenge and provide direction on ways to achieve individual goals. Lowcountry Local First will assist participating businesses by locating local resources. The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce will promote the Green Business Challenge to its members. Charleston County will be using the Green Business Challenge as an outreach opportunity for greater waste reduction and recycling accomplishments. The Green Fair will offer workshops covering elements of the Green Business Challenge.
The Green Business Challenge will officially launch on August 6, 2010. To reward businesses who have successfully completed the year-long challenge, the City of Charleston in partnership with the Charleston Green Fair, will host an awards recognition event during the 2011 Green Fair.
Companies located in the City of Charleston which are interested in participating can contact Carolee Williams, City of Charleston, 843 -724-3776 or [email protected] for sign up information.
(NOTE: Green Business Challenge was formerly referred to as the Green Office Challenge.)
