The Green Chamber of Commerce Partners with B Corporation
Celebrate the Synergy September 8 in San Francisco

San Francisco — August 26, 2010 – Businesses that are searching for the best way to “go green” now have two easy ways to do it. A diverse group of Bay Area businesses are working with the Green Chamber of Commerce and B Corporation to help build sustainability into their business practices. They will share their experiences at an event on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 from 6:30-8:30 pm at Hub Soma located at 925 Mission Street in San Francisco, CA. 

Speakers at the event will include members from both organizations:  Brian Back (Sustainable Industries), Alexia Marcous (Dharma Merchant Services), Matt Bauer (BetterWorld Telecom), and Vince Siciliano (New Resource Bank).  

Organic and local light fare will be provided by Organic Chef Catering with beer donations provided by Social Kitchen & Brewery and wine by Parducci Wine Cellars and Paul Dolan Vineyards.  Tickets are: $10 for Green Chamber & B Corps members, $15 for non-members if they pre-register. $20 at the door (non-registered).

“We are thrilled to offer our B Corporation Impact Rating Systemto help the Green Chamber to promote corporate accountability and transparency within their membership base, as they expand nationally. The B Impact Rating System is a great tool for a rapidly growing sustainable business membership organization, such as the Green Chamber of Commerce, to measure potential members’ sustainability practices across all aspects of their business, because it provides a comprehensive evaluation of a company’s social and environmental impact on all of its stakeholders,” says Deborah Hirsh, director of B Lab’s San Francisco office. 

About the Green Chamber of Commerce
The Green Chamber of Commerce was created to strengthen a growing business movement that supports sustainable business practices, promote the success of its members, and advocate a green public policy. The Green Chamber provides its members with promotional opportunities, discounts, hosted events, a voice in national policy, and tools to become more environmentally and socially responsible. Some of the leading sponsors of the San Francisco Chapter include: Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP, Green Dentistry, and Dharma Merchant Services.

For more information about The Green Chamber of Commerce visit: http://greenchamberofcommerce.net/

For information about the event and to register visit:  http://greenchamberofcommerce.net/2010/08/12/celebrating-the-synergy/

Contact:
Janet Pomeroy
President
Green Chamber of Commerce
415.971.5460
Janet@greenchamberofcommerce.net 

###

According to The New York Times, Goddard Claussen, a public relations firm out of Sacramento has been hired to gather the 435,000 signatures necessary to put this measure on California’s November ballot.  The firm is ironically calling the campaign the California Jobs Initiative, arguing that there will be significant job losses if AB 32 should pass.  This recent Huffington Post blog gives a solid debunking of such claims, pointing out that in fact the New Green Economy has been doing quite the opposite – creating jobs, spurring innovation and improving Californians’ quality of life.  Using this tactic of pitting the economy against the environment, the goal of this ballot initiative is to delay AB 32 until California’s unemployment level drops from its current 12.5 rate to below six percent.

Until June, there is no certainty that this initiative will end up on November’s ballot.  However, be sure that this will be a bloody battle in the months ahead as the Governor’s race heats up around the issues of unemployment and climate change.  Stay tuned for updates and in the meantime check out these recent editorials:

Repealing AB 32 would be a disaster for California
AB 32 foes are slick – and predictable
Landmark California clean-air measure deserves fair chance to succeed

The chamber opposes current climate change legislation on the grounds that it would cause the loss of American jobs and make energy too expensive for business. The number of defectors continued to grow when the chamber recently questioned the scientific legitimacy of the EPA’s research on climate change. They have petitioned the EPA to hold a public debate justifying their findings on health and welfare endangerment caused by global warming. If the EPA does not agree to the trial, the chamber is threatening litigation.

Their senior vice president for Environment, Technology and Regulatory Affairs, William Kovacs, said the chamber is “unconvinced that EPA has demonstrated, as a matter of law, that greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles in the U.S. endanger public health or welfare.” Essentially, the chamber fears that if the endangerment argument is proven, the regulation of the Clean Air Act will adversely affect their business members.

This is the classic “either/or” argument, pitting the economy against the environment. The Green Chamber of Commerce’s extensive membership and success demonstrates that this dichotomy is false and misleading; you can indeed have thriving businesses and be working toward environmental sustainability at the same time. As shown by the multiplying list of companies dropping from the U.S. Chamber, the American business community is increasingly calling for a new approach to business leadership — one that is consistent with their values of environmental stewardship.

CleanTechies helps job seekers write winning green resumes. Our professional resume writers will identify the best of your experiences, skills, and accomplishments to get you attention and set you apart. We have special experience writing green resumes, including those targeting clean tech, renewable energy, environmental, and sustainable positions. Our expert writers can take your job search to the next level! Take $10 off today.

More Member-to-Member benefits »

Unfortunately, there’s too little attention being paid to energy conservation. Instead, the need “to meet increasing power demands” is repeated ad nauseam. We look expectantly and naively at techno-fixes like hybrid cars and solar panels and wind for salvation. These are wonderful tools if properly used, but they will NOT solve the energy and global warming problem unless there is also intense energy EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION. Conservation and efficiency don’t sound sexy enough for mass consumption yet they are the fastest and cleanest ways to reduce energy consumption.

There is one organization that thoroughly understands and is advocating for conservation and efficiency, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE). This group is calling for policies that will reduce electrical consumption by 15% by 2020 and natural gas consumption by 10%. The annual savings to business and residential consumers would be $168.6 billion. ACEEE estimates this would eliminate emissions of 222 million metric tons of greenhouse gas, which is the equivalent of taking 48 million cars off the road. (These and other findings are summed up in “Implementing a Federal Energy Efficiency Resource Standard,” which can be found at www.aceee.org/pubs/e091.htm)

ACEEE is leading a coalition of 60 businesses and environmental groups urging federal legislation to implement a national Energy Efficiency Resource Standard (EERS) that will enable the country to make the reductions. The proposed EERS bills (H.R. 889 and S.548) are sponsored by Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY). It is my hope that the Green Chamber of Commerce will join the coalition

If you would like to discuss this legislation and the Green Chamber’s involvement or are interested in joining the Green Chamber’s Political Action Committee, please contact Bob Schildgen at 510-219-2549 or bob.schildgen[at]gmail.com.

In the tradition of Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker, Berkeley’s own Bob Schildgen has an alter ego he regularly assumes to make the world a safer place. His moniker is Mr. Green, brainchild of Schildgen and his colleagues at Sierra magazine – the million-plus circulation monthly magazine published by the Sierra Club – who was created in 2003 to answer readers’ questions about sustainable living in a Q & A feature dubbed Hey Mr. Green.

Full article: ‘Hey Mr. Green’

• Join the Green Chamber movement
• Let us know what you think

As Executive Director, she will promote and support members, strengthen the green business community and actively engage in public policy to create a healthy and sustainable future.

Melinda has seven years of sustainable business experience in a variety of fields including building and design, brand development, event planning and business consulting. She received her MBA in Sustainable Enterprise from Dominican University of California where she worked collaboratively with local companies such as Traditional Medicinals and E. & J. Gallo Winery to implement measurable sustainability initiatives.

Prior to joining the Green Chamber of Commerce, Melinda worked as a designer and account manager for Jodi Riviera, Inc., assisting with an environmentally responsible bedding & bath brand. She also worked for four years at Environmental Home Center in Seattle and served as marketing manager on the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild’s Steering Committee.

Her dynamic and successful background complemented with her entrepreneurial spirit and relentless passion for sustainability offers a strong foundation for furthering the Green Chamber of Commerce’s mission.

• San Francisco Business Times: East Bay sprouts a Green Chamber of Commerce

EBMUD Director Andy Katz welcomed the crowd gathered there, an enthusiastic super-charged group that included fifteen business members — many firms represented by several individuals — and more than twenty other invited guests. Director Katz outlined the hard work being done by EBMUD to insure a clean water supply, as well as many innovative programs currently underway to treat waste and conserve water.

Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson strongly supported the formation of our Chamber, pointing to the great need to combat global warming, develop the next clean green generation of energy, and create green collar jobs. He outlined the many positive steps undertaken by the County of Alameda and City of Oakland to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint.

Supervisor Carson has been on the cutting edge of addressing the issues facing both residents and businesses in their efforts to reduce global warming and conserve natural resources. As one of the founders of StopWaste.org and past president of Economic Development Alliance for Business (EDAB) he has played a key leadership role in significant progress being achieved locally. Supervisor Carson enthusiastically endorsed efforts by the Green Chamber of Commerce (GCC) to help develop a partnership between business and government needed for success in creating a sustainable economy nationwide.

Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin outlined the challenges facing the green business movement in her city, and cited the growing success of efforts to attract sustainable businesses there. She pointed to the achievements of “Greening Richmond,” an event organized by our Chamber October 21st. 2007, as an example of how to successfully educate both the business community and the community at large about the challenges posed by global warming and conserving natural resources while promoting local green and sustainable businesses.

Mayor McLaughlin also pointed to successful efforts locally such as Solar Richmond, and the relocation of green businesses to that town – firms like Vetrazzo, another Chamber member.

Addressing the need for business and residents to address the international issue of global warming and the challenges it poses, she pointed out that the Chinese characters for difficulty also include a pictograph that translates into the word “opportunity.”

“Where there is difficulty there is also opportunity,” Mayor McLaughlin declared.

GCC Board member Olivia Teter described with passion her evolution as a designer to her current position as chief creative officer for Vetrazzo. Ms. Teter shared with the audience at our Founding Conference both her personal commitment – and that of our Chamber — to taking into careful account People, Planet and Profit. She stressed how essential it is that we do business in a socially responsible manner.

Berkeley City Council member Kriss Worthington spoke enthusiastically about the Green Chamber of Commerce. Councilman Worthington has attended every event staged by our young Chamber, including Greening Albany, Greening Richmond, and our four business mixers – quite a number of events for an organization that is less than eight months old.

Councilmember Worthington also pointed to the crucial work that lay ahead for environmentalists, green businesses, public servants and individuals.

Acting Chamber President James Carter said there were people and organizations in Portland, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Tampa who have expressed interested in forming chapters.

“This is just the beginning,” Carter said. “We’re going to grow like wildflowers now.”