To Our Amazing Members, Thank You!
Your sustainability efforts in 2021 helped create a greener business world. Covid-19 created so many challenges, but we all persevered. Despite the obstacles, 2021 was a record year for Green Business Bureau. We more than doubled our new members and number of employees. Together, GBB members completed more green initiatives than ever before. Here are some 2021 highlights and a preview of what’s to come in 2022.
Best of GBB Award Winners
Our members continue to amaze us with their commitment to sustainability and their innovative green and social responsibility initiatives. Every year we give out awards in recognition of your achievements.
Here are seven members who stood out in 2022: Watson Gloves, Canada’s largest manufacturer and distributor of gloves, Replate, a tech-driven nonprofit that combats food waste, Fjällräven, a Swedish outdoor clothing and gear company, Ginkgo Sustainability, a provider of living roofs and living walls, MASAMI, a premium hair care company, Concentric Advisors, a risk management firm, Garden Montessori School, a school offering a healthy and stimulating learning environment for students.
Previous winners in 2019 included CyberArk, School Specialty, Big Rig Wraps, Duro Cleaners and Web Hosting Canada.
2020 winners included Hit Promotional Products, Smog Armor, Martinrea International, Spectraforce and Impetus Digital.
NEW Feature: The GBB EcoProfile
We launched a new extended GBB EcoProfile (GBB online green business profile) that not only shares your certification level and EcoScore, but enables our members to share their Mission, Priorities, Commitments, and Accomplishments online.
The Green Business Bureau EcoProfile is made up of three elements: 1) The EcoProfile Green Story which includes your green mission statement and a list of your highest priority sustainability commitments 2) The GBB Certification Dashboard which includes your total number of EcoPoints(™), your GBB Certification level (Member, Aware, Gold, Platinum) and your list of completed green initiatives and 3) The EcoProfile Accomplishments section which enables you to highlight your sustainability accomplishments, including awards and recognition received, participation in 3rd Party environmental organizations, successful completion of major initiatives and commitments, or major milestones ESG like becoming “Zero Waste” or “Carbon Neutral”.
Member Advisory Council
In 2021, ten new members joined our Member Advisory Council. The GBB MAC is an executive and leadership collaboration forum that meets quarterly to discuss sustainable business, specifically ways for companies to become more sustainable and use their business as a force for good. Topics include: Establishing a company sustainability mission, creating a green culture, employee engagement, policies, programs, new green business initiatives, and setting GBB product direction. Please eMail me, tom@greenbusinessbureau.com if you’re interested in joining. We have a couple of spots still open for 2022.
New Chief Sustainability Officer
Julia Craighill joined GBB as our Chief Sustainability Officer. She is responsible for the company’s sustainability program and services. A frequent speaker and prolific author on issues of sustainability and resiliency, Julia is known for her solid, pragmatic guidance that helps organizations make the leap from good intentions to long-term, profitable performance. Since starting Ensight Consulting seven years ago, Julia has helped dozens of companies, from large multinational corporations to a two-person yoga studio, reduce their environmental impact and demonstrate corporate responsibility.
Coming in 2022
We are super excited about several new projects being launched in 2022. In Q1 we plan on launching our social responsibility initiatives which cover employee well-being, community giving & support, diversity, equity & inclusion and customer and partner support. We also plan on launching the Green Office Academy to provide affordable and flexible online courses on how to create a planet-worthy workplace. Later this summer, we will launch our new member directory. We also plan on launching new green initiatives each quarter and new levels beyond gold and platinum.
Let Us Know How We’re Doing
If you made it this far to the bottom of this long note, thank you. We’re committed to growing our green business community, but even more committed to adding valuable content, online tools and services to our offering to deliver more value to our members. If you’d like to see us do more or something specific, please reach out to me. tom@greenbusinessbureau.com I would love to hear your ideas.
Let’s create a greener business world together.
Sincerely,
Tom Permatteo
President, Green Business Bureau
