Greening Your Business Isn't Always Costly!

Here is a nice feel good story of a small vineyard taking the initiative to become a "certified green" business through Alameda County's (California) Green Business Program. To date, there are over 450 certified green businesses in the county. The Cedar Mountain Winery uses beneficial insects, a contained waste water system, and maintains owl boxes to keep rodent damage to a minimum. These and numerous other efforts have help them achieve this certification by using common sense much of the time. Sure you could spend a bunch of money on major renovations and new technologies. but most of the time, changing the way basic things are done is the best method to attack sustainability. After all, it is a journey!

To be certified by the Green Business Program, all businesses must meet set standards in energy conservation, environmental law compliance, water conservation, waste reduction and pollution prevention. I would love to take a look at their certification criteria to get a better idea as to what levels the issues are investigated and monitored.