Designed for beginners and leaders alike, the Guide can help any organization participate in the "green revolution" and acquire the highest standard of excellence.

This Guide will help you get started by:

• Identifying steps you can take to be a ‘greener' business
• Create a baseline and determine short and long-term goals
• Develop concrete plans and action steps
• Get recognized as a ‘green' business at the highest national standard

Although the idea of making your business greener may seem difficult or costly, it does not need to be - in fact, going green can save you money.  SB NOW's Certifiably Green - The Essential Guide to Reducing Your Company's Environmental Impact© will help you identify cost-effective ways to become a deeper shade of green.

TIERED SYSTEM
Certification is measured on a four star rating system.  One Star representing the minimum requirements to get certified and Four Stars being the highest level of achievement.  A minimum percentage of available points must be earned for a business to be ‘Certified' or, in other words, to receive the basic level of certification.

POINT AND MEASURE ALLOCATION
Below is a breakdown of the number of points for each section of the Guide.

MINIMUM CRITERIA
Achieving the minimum criteria described in each section is mandatory for certification. In addition, if there are other measures that you believe will contribute to obtaining the point(s) in question, we encourage you to submit them. Many sections allows for ‘Innovative Measures' that can be submitted for consideration to fulfill the requirements.

PERFORMANCE-BASED LEADERSHIP LEVEL
Achieving four-star (****) level certification is a challenge. Frankly, it is meant to be challenging.  Organizations can achieve this standard only if they earn 75% of total points and meet the targets outlined in each section. Though this may require more work in the beginning, the savings achieved over time, as well as the lessened impact on the environment and increased recognition will outweigh the initial investment.
 

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
SB NOW will recognize the businesses that have achieved one of the above rating levels with a formal letter of certification, a program sticker that displays the SB NOW Green Business Certification seal, as well as a listing of the business on our website and in all program outreach materials. The stickers are designated so that additional stars can be added to the seal as the business moves forward in attaining higher levels of certification. 

Because each business's operations are unique, not all measures will apply to all businesses.  For example, some businesses have control over their water heating supply and distribution, while others do not.  Therefore, it is up to you to provide SB NOW with a list of available points from all of those presented in this Guide that are relevant to your business operations.   This is accomplished by completing the Certification Score Card, a process which requires the assistance of an SBNOW approved eco-assessor.  Upon completing this preliminary review, you will be able to establish the level of certification you are targeting based on an assessment of those points your company is already engaged in, those that would be easily obtained and those that you would like to pursue given your limited resources and time.  

MAINTAINING YOUR CERTIFICATION
Business conditions and operations can change over time.  Consequently, businesses that obtain the certification will be required to renew their certification one year after they have been certified and assuming that all is in good order, every two years thereafter.  The reason for this is that during the first year, certification is granted based on projected outcomes and commitments made at the time a Company is certified.   SBNOW recognizes that due to the specific business constraints and given the nature of the accounting and budgeting cycle, the certification period could be unmanageable and possibly delay the process of taking action all together.  

Accordingly, you must submit a ‘status update' form that lists any changes to the current state that may impact your Certification status. During this time, businesses can also apply for additional points to raise their certification status, if they have taken certain actions to meet additional criteria outlined in the Guide.  Certain key documents will need to be updated and a site visit will be required by SB NOW to verify maintenance and/or upgrading of certification level.

Because environmental impact of each of these actions differs by the type of business, size, and other factors, the various measures have not been weighed by total level of pollution created, level of local or global impact, etc.  Therefore, it is up to each business to examine current operations, and the resulting environmental impacts, and use this as input into deciding which measures are most appropriate for your business and will have the greatest return - for society and for your organization.

For more information