If you’re wanting to green your business, one avenue you could take can be in the form of certification. A few local (and some national) organizations exist that will help you in greening your operations, and make sure you meet environmental standards.

One such outfit is the Bay Area Green Business Program. Through this program you make a pledge to conform to certain earth friendly metrics.

Below are some of the things you would pledge to do (or implement) to be certified as a green business in the Bay Area:

• To comply with all applicable environmental regulations and strive to exceed compliance
• To conserve energy, water, and other natural resources
• To develop and implement practices that prevent pollution and waste
• To be an environmentally responsible business within our community

Businesses that sign up with an organization (such as the BAGBP) geared towards meeting green status, signal to their customers and their community that they are an environmentally conscious company. It also sends a strong message to employees that you care about their health and well being, by instituting policies and procedures which reduce or eliminate carbon emissions, indoor air pollution, and workplace e-waste.

There is also financial assistance provided by state, city, and federal agencies to facilitate several green initiatives, such as starting a recycling program, converting your physical location into a green building, and much more.

You can start your research into certifying your business as green, by performing a search on Google Local under the term “green business certification” and the name of your city, for example, “green business certification chicago”. This should yield recent and revelant results specific to your area, within this topic.

Do provide your thoughts and ideas below.