Sustainable Business
This semester the Environmental Center's Sustainable Business Team is working on a business plan for the Garden Cooperative, a partnership project of The Garden Project of Southwest Colorado, the Environmental Center, and Backyard Harvest, a business focused on urban agriculture.
They are also helping launch Local First, an association of locally-owned, independent businesses, and helping research the potential for creative a green business incubator for the City of Durango.
Our sustainable business program grew from a class project. In the spring of 2007, the EC staff worked with a small group of students from Professor Tina Evans’ Value of Place class to define criteria for sustainable and socially responsible business. As part of this project, students spoke with local business owners and read about sustainable business initiatives and reporting systems from around the world to come up with the six categories on the form. After sorting through all this information, the students identified the following ways that a business can contribute to sustainability.
· Cutting the Carbon Footprint - (e.g. increasing energy efficiency, using alternative fuels, buying green power...)
· Responsible Purchasing and Product Sourcing (e.g. products with recycled materials, sustainably-harvested lumber, organic and local produce...)
· Reduce, Re-use, Recycle (e.g. double-sided printing, office recycling, water conservation...)
· Enhancing the Environment (e.g. community clean-ups, habitat protection, on-site waste-water treatment...)
· Community Education & Investment (e.g. employee education programs, support of local community organizations, production of educational materials...)
· Fair and Healthy Workplace (e.g. living wages, health benefits, domestic partner benefits...)
Read more about the criteria and how your business can help create a more sustainable and just economy
In summer of 2007, the EC created the Sustainable Business List to allow businesses within the San Juan River watershed to highlight what they have accomplished in each of these areas. As a customer, you can use the list to compare what different businesses are doing to create a more sustainable world and shop accordingly. Each listing includes a short description of the business and contact information so customers can get in touch with businesses directly for more information. Find out how to get your business on the list!
In the future, local businesses addressing at least three of these areas will be listed in the next edition of the La Plata County Sustainability Resource Guide, a joint project of the EC and the Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado.
In addition to the Sustainable Business List, the EC also assists with planning the Green Business Roundtable hosted by the San Juan Citizens Alliance. The Roundtable is the third Wednesday of the month from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. in the Diamond Belle Theater of the Strater Hotel. The Roundtable runs from September to May. Contact the Alliance to make reservations.
In 2004, the Environmental Center also produced the Durango Green Map with support from the 1st National Bank of Durango.
Students at the EC have also been active promoting fair trade on campus and in the community. Students have worked with Sodexho to get fair trade coffee and teas on campus and for the past three years have attended United Students for Fair Trade conferences in Chicago, Denver, and Boston.
