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City of Sioux Falls launches Green Business Program
BY KAYLA PRASEK
The City of Sioux Falls, S.D., has launched a program to educate and encourage local businesses and organizations to promote sustainability and environmental initiatives.
The city’s Green Business Program is a free, voluntary program designed to help businesses promote sustainability and green practices, says Jessica Lantgen, sustainability coordinator for the City of Sioux Falls.
“The City of Sioux Falls’ Sustainability Program is guided by a document called the Sustainability Master Plan,” Lantgen says. “Within the master plan, there was a goal to develop a sustainable certification and business recognition program to allow businesses and organizations to certify that they have incorporated sustainability into their business practices.”
While the program was part of the city’s goals, the community was really the driver behind the program getting off the ground, Lantgen says.
“Over the years, we have focused much of our public education efforts on residents through our community events, our work in area schools, our residential guide to sustainability and all of our advertising,” Lantgen says. “In 2015, especially, we began hearing more and more from businesses that their customers were looking for businesses which reflect their values and ideals. This includes restaurants which use locally sourced ingredients to gas stations which offer recycling stations at the pumps.”
To be considered green, a business must adhere to eight core categories:
Mandatory general standards
Complying with recycling ordinance requirements
Waste and recycling
Decreasing the amount of waste generated
Environmentally preferred purchases
Using products that are environmentally friendly
Energy conservation
Becoming more energy efficient
Water conservation
Becoming more water efficient
Pollution prevention
Properly disposing of hazardous materials and stormwater runoff
Social sustainability
Treating all employees and customers equally
Transportation
Using alternative transportation methods such as public transit and bicycling
Benefits to a business for joining the Green Business Program include bottom-line cost savings, increased operational effectiveness, the ability to partner with local government and recognition and leadership, Lantgen says. The program is divided into two parts — free technical assistance from the City of Sioux Falls and free public recognition.
“The businesses know it will give them a competitive edge to show their customers what they are doing to incorporate sustainability into their business practices,” Lantgen says. “The businesses we’ve worked with so far have really supported this program because it gives their customers a clear, easy way to identify businesses who are incorporating sustainability into their business practices.”
Lantgen says businesses are also finding that by going through this process, they are becoming more efficient and