Helping small businesses in the U.S. go green
10th March 2008 by Sarah Whitworth
Although large companies continually grab the headlines with far-reaching announcements about carbon reduction, recycling and eco-friendly products, small businesses have just as much ability to affect the environment, Greenbiz reports.
In the United States, small businesses (defined by the U.S. Small Business Association as independent firms with less than 500 employees) employ half of the private sector workforce and use half of the electricity and natural gas consumed by the commercial and industrial sectors. In 2006, small businesses accounted for 99.9 percent of the 26.8 million businesses in the country.
Clearly we can’t expect only the largest businesses that make up the remaining .1 percent to take action. While it’s no groundbreaking revelation that everyone has to do their part to lessen their impact on the environment, the challenge lies in bringing the smaller players together and putting them all on the right track. The good news is that numerous groups have been set up to work on the issue, the leaders of which agree: what it all comes down to is working on the most local level possible.
One major group is, The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), an affiliation of 52 business networks spread across 22 states, Washington, D.C. and Canada. BALLE works with its member networks to share ideas, experiences and tools that those groups can then take home and spread within their own local communities. Because each network is focused only on a specific area, it’s able to work on region-specific needs and resources.
