Western Nevada College and greenUP! form network to help implement pollution prevention

Western Nevada College and greenUP! have formed a Nevada Green Business Network, part of a statewide effort to generate a green business certification program.

“Already, we have three businesses certified green in Douglas County including North Sails, Katherine Winans, and d’Terra Law,” said GreenACTnv President Katherine Winans. “We are working with the chamber and other organizations to help spread the word to Douglas businesses and manufacturers. Douglas County is a beautiful region and we will work together to keep it a Nevada treasure.”

The agencies and organizations goal is to work directly with businesses to reduce energy usage, solid and hazardous waste disposal, and the amount of water used during business operations.

“This will help make Nevada a cleaner state, reduce its direct impact on natural resources and achieve its climate action goals,” officials said on Tuesday.

Partners include greenUP!, WNC, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Incline Village General Improvement District, Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful, Envirolution, GreenACTnv and GRN Vision. Combined, these agencies and organizations support businesses across the state in becoming certified in the Nevada Green Business Program. The program utilizes the GreenBizTracker™ database to collect outcomes that measure the impact certified businesses are having toward resource conservation, pollution prevention and environmental protection goals. Through education, networking and collaboration, the Nevada Green Business Network will assist in finding new ways for businesses to be more efficient, healthy and attract new customers.

WNC was recently selected by the Environmental Protection Agency as a national grantee of the 2020-22 Pollution Prevention Grant Program. In addition, greenUP! received a Source Reduction Assistance grant for the same grant period. As part of the grant commitments, WNC and greenUP! will partner to train manufacturers in Pollution Prevention techniques.

The network has set a goal to certify 75 businesses and manufacturers by 2022, providing assistance to a wide range of sectors and creating a comprehensive directory of green businesses on the GreenBizTrackerTM database.

“The Nevada Green Business Program and Network will help assist businesses to improve their bottom lines while reducing the use of hazardous materials, water and energy,” said greenUP! Board President Donna Walden. “We are most grateful to EPA for providing continued funding and to our partners who will accelerate this important work and enhance environmental performance in Nevada.”

“Western Nevada College looks forward to working with our partners to prevent pollution through implementation of best practices,” said Dr. Georgia White, director of Professional and Applied Technology at WNC. “We are also funding internships to provide students with technical knowledge and work-based experience as WNC continues to document businesses and environmental results through GreenBizTracker™.”

GreenBizTracker™ is a web-based and mobile tool that motivates businesses to make voluntary behavior and facility changes that net positive and measurable environmental outcomes. Easy-to-use resources and tools, as well as one-on-one assistance from program partners, are provided to the businesses to help them along the way. As a business moves through an online checklist of verifiable environmental actions, metrics are calculated such as greenhouse gas emissions reduced, energy conserved, gallons of water saved, tons of waste diverted from the landfill and hazardous materials reduced. Once businesses have completed the checklist, they are green certified and added to an online, searchable directory, which the public can use to find and patronize these businesses. For more information on the Green Business Program and Network, visit NVGreenBusiness.org. Since the passage of the Pollution Prevention Act 30 years ago, industry, government and the public have been focused on reducing the amount of pollution through cost-effective changes in production, operation and raw materials use. WNC, greenUP! and the program partners of the Nevada Green Business Network are committed to helping Nevada make strides in becoming a leader in green operations.