Society deems businesses "green"

Scott Barrett, vice president of the Society of Green Business, says Houston is at “the mezzanine level of greenness.”

“Houstonians”—as Barrret calls his city’s residents—“are becoming more ecologically conscious.” As a result, the opportunity for launching a green-seal business aimed at helping businesses become more “ecologically conscious,” has never been better. In August, Barrett began signing businesses up—and taking their money—to receive the “Eco Green Seal” that shows off their environmental awareness and efforts. So far, he has about a dozen clients.

After completing a “comprehensive checklist”—and paying a fee of somewhere between $150 and $375 a year—businesses can add the seal  to their company Web site and post signs in their storefronts that tout their environmental stewardship. They will also be listed on the Society of Green Business’ “Green Marketplace.” Barrett’s is one of many new businesses offering green labels—for a fee—that are cropping up [see “Are eco-labels doing the job,” sustainableindustries.com, Sept. 10, 2008]. But how “green” are the businesses groups such as Barrett’s certify?

Some green labels can help lead conscious consumers and business partners to a more environmentally aware business. Usually, the so-called “eco-labels” that provide reliable guidance come from organizations with a proven track record of transparency and  independence, such as the Marine Stewardship Council for seafood and Green-e labels for renewable energy credits. Such labels offer the kinds of assurances that the Federal Trade Commission in its “Green Guides” say are necessary: “A third party has certified the product, the certifying party must be truly independent from the advertiser and must have professional expertise in the area that is being certified.”

Melinda Cheel, executive director of the Green Chamber of Commerce in San Francisco, says upstart eco-label businesses such as Barrett’s can be a good thing too. It is an indication that the idea of “greening” one’s business is spreading and becoming more mainstream, she says. Cheel cautions that such businesses need to do more than give out a checklist and issue a seal or a “certification.” Ongoing education is also necessary.

“My concern with it is that companies take the steps that are necessary to get the certification to join the business network, and then they think that’s all they need to do,” she says. “When dues come up for renewal, we check in with them and help them take stock of what they’ve done and where they at with greening themselves so they don’t just get a sticker or label or certificate or whatever.”
 
Barrett, a lawyer with little background in sustainability, says the his company—which allows for self-certification with the possibility of a spot check—cobbled together “an amalgamation of what we thought were the best practices” and turned them into a checklist of arguably minor steps a business can take to become “green” such as changing the ballasts in lighting fixtures and buying re-usable cups for employee kitchens.

In other words, instead of developing standards through an open and public process with input from a variety of stakeholders, the Society for Green Business took its standards from “a myriad of places.” He says the fact that other organizations have open processes for standards development is enough for him to adopt pieces of them that he feels are most relevant.

“We’re not re-inventing the rule,” Barrett says. “We’re pulling from all these different areas that have already been vetted out there in public.”

Cheel says the Green Chamber of Congress is looking at other certification standards and will eventually build its checklist from those but will also include the input of its board members and membership in the final document. “There’s a huge amount of greenwashing and there’s people that are taking advantage of companies,” she says. “I think that there’s room for concern and that there should be some sort of overarching auditing system for that type of certification.”