Sustainable Business Challenge 2022!
Contact Name: Brooke Wright
Attachment: SBC Flyer Spanish.png
The California Green Business Network and the Green Business Program of Santa Barbara County are pleased to present a Sustainable Business Challenge for businesses in Santa Barbara County! Businesses are eligible for $500 in incentives as long as they complete their certification between April 1st and June 30th, 2022. In addition to the $500, newly certified Green Businesses will receive free digital promotion, directory listing, a certificate, and a marketing toolkit upon completion.
Sign up for a free 30 minute info session here today! ¿Prefieres un taller en Español? Regístrese aquí.
Green Business Certification Celebration!
Location: zoom
Contact Name: Frances Gilliland
Attachment: Registration Flyer + Sponsors.png
Event Details:
Please join community leaders, organizations, partners, and previously certified businesses in recognizing our new Certified Green Businesses.
Please register here by March 23rd, 2021.
This online event is free to attend! Attendees automatically entered to win amazing prizes and experiences donated by our Green Businesses.
We can't be together to celebrate this year over lunch, but we CAN support local restaurants. Please consider ordering lunch directly from one of our Green Business certified restaurants here or those certified Clean Creeks restaurants here.
Program:
- Welcoming Remarks: Frances Gilliland, Program Director, Santa Barbara County Green Business Program; Glenn Morris, President & Chief Executive Officer, Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce
- Keynote Speaker: Kylie Wagner, Farmland Program Director, Kiss the Ground.
- Special Guest: Salud Carbajal, U.S. Representative for California's 24th Congressional District
- Prize Drawings
- Recognition of Certified Green Businesses
Luncheon Speakers
Special Guest:
Salud Carbajal, U.S. Representative, 24th Congressional District
Keynote Speaker:
Kylie Wagner, Farmland Program Director, Kiss the Ground
Kylie is a yogi, farmer, and community organizer connecting people through ritual and food. She believes in the power of change at the grassroots level; making conscious food choices that positively impact our health, our environment, and our local economy. Kylie lives in Santa Barbara, California, where she teaches yoga and volunteers on the White Buffalo Land Trust farm. Kylie earned her Bachelors of Science in Environmental Science from UCLA. Support your local farmers!
Sponsorship opportunities are still available!
Sponsors will receive special recognition during our celebration. We know this has been a difficult year for everyone in our community, and we appreciate your consideration. You can make a sponsorship donation here.
We look forward to seeing you online on March 24th! Schedule some extra time and join us for a virtual yoga class with Kylie Wagner (more details to come).
If you have any quesitons about the program or sponsorship opportunities, please contact us at Coordinator@GreenBizSBC.org
Helping Holidays!
Here at the Green Business Program we work all year long to spread the word about our certified Green Businesses. Now more than ever, it is important to support local and small businesses. Below are some ways you can help keep our vibrant local business community alive and well so we can enjoy them when we can be safely together again.
It is also important to minimize food waste and give back to organizations feeding our neighbors during this time. Check out the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network's "Stay Home and Eat Local for the Holiday's" and consider donating to the Santa Barbara County Foodbank, Food from the Heart, or charity of your choice working to address food insecurity.
Please, vote with your dollar this holiday season and shop at our local Green Businesses here: https://greenbusinessca.org/find-green-business/ Below are just a few of the many local Green Businesses you can support.
Le Reve Organic Spa & Boutique is the first and only green certified spa offering facial specials in Santa Barbara. They strive to use only the finest of organic products in our services. One reason why their skincare has been voted the best in the industry 10 years in a row!
"It is more important than ever to support your favorite green businesses and shop local. Investing in small business is investing in your community. Make it a happy holiday for our community! If things are tight this year you can still invest in your community and support your favorite small businesses by showing a little love online. Follow them on social media. Leave a great review including what you like about them. Repost their specials! Like their posts. Spread the love Santa Barbara. "
Le Rev is offering $25 in spa bucks with all gift card sales of $100 or more this holiday season. Additionally, they are offering a GWP(Free Gift w/Purchase) for all other spa or skincare sales.
Specials: https://le-reve.com/specials/
Shop: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/Pages/OnlineStore.aspx?studioid=2467&partnerID=0&catid=
"Thank you for helping our green business!"
"We are actively shipping orders and gifts of wine throughout the US for the holidays – let’s face it, everyone is drinking a little more wine this year, after all!"
Glittered Wine Bottles: Our custom gift bottles are a big hit. Put your request in your order notes or simply email us to add your choice of colored glitter to any bottle for $10.
Virtual Wine Tastings: Did you know that Riverbench can host a wine tasting with your friends, family or co-workers? Drop us a line to learn more.
"It’s important to shop local and green this holiday season because it boosts our local economy while helping the planet. We hold a lot of power with our spending and it’s important to use it wisely to ensure they type of world we want to have. Santa Barbara is a unique and amazing community that has so many great businesses owned by our great community members. We need to support them, especially in a year like 2020, by keeping our spending local." -Lindsay Helmick, Chief Financial Officer
Learn more about their sustainable building: https://www.buildallen.com/sustainable-building
California Green Business Network:
Sustainable Gift Ideas
As the holidays quickly approach, the pressure is on to find gifts for loved ones. While we all want to spread joy, we don’t want our environmental footprint to spiral out of control in the process. Read more for tips on choosing thoughtful and green presents.
The Gift That Keeps Giving: Donate to Non-Profits This Season
This year, consider donating to CAGBN or a nonprofit of your choice. This is a tax-deductible way to support your community during this time. Click here to find certified Green Business non-profits across the state. You can even donate to the California Green Business Network by clicking here
How to Make Sustainable New Year's Resoluions
After an unprecedentedly challenging year, we are charging into 2021 with resilience. When honoring the tradition of making New Year’s Resolutions, we can incorporate our commitment to the environment. Read more for some inspiration for January 1st.
Tips for Healthy Dining
As we make adjustments to our holiday plans during the COVID-19 pandemic (and some of us host for the first time!) here are some tips for a more eco-friendly meal:
- Shop at local farmers markets
- Use home-grown fruits and veggies when you can
- Choose organic/fair trade produce from stores
- Have vegan/vegetarian options
- Avoid waste! SaveTheFood has a guest-imator tool that will take into account your number of guests, the type of meal and eaters, and how many leftover meals you want to have. It will then give you an estimated amount of each food type you would need for your holiday meal. Pretty cool!
Healthy Mind:
It has been a difficult year for all us, so it is especially important to take care of yourself. You can't fully help others until you help yourself! Below are links from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Mental Health America (MHA) that has tips for dealing with COVID during the holidays.
https://mhanational.org/preparing-holidays-during-covid-19
https://emergency.cdc.gov/coping/selfcare.asp
Resource Update for Businesses from the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce (SBSCCC):
Here is their COVID resource page with updates from standard links from the Small Business Administration (SBA), and US Chamber and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The SBSCCC have been really focusing more recently on advocating to move Santa Barbara County to a defined Tri-County Subregion in response to the Governor’s most recent stay-at-home order to address having our businesses be able to open outdoors. They see this as a primary need for our business community to not face additional economic hardships during this period.
The Chamber has a number of programs they have implemented to assist businesses in response to the Pandemic through their Chamber including their Roadmap to Recovery which can be found here. Findings from this work will be released starting in January and will be a continued throughout the 2021 year. They also host a monthly virtual B2B (Business-to-Business) networking event through Zoom where businesses can network and connect on a regular basis. Their next B2B event will be Thursday January 28th from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM. For more information on the event please contact Stephanie Armstrong at Stephanie@SBSCChamber.com
WEV also has a number of resources on their sites including loan opportunities.
There are also additional grant opportunities for Goleta based businesses through the Better Together fund in partnership with the City of Goleta. Those grants can be applied for here.
Have a healthy holidays!
Now offering virtual certification!
Want to demonstrate leadership and support of our community and environment? Want to gain access to rebates of up to $500?! These are just a couple of the benefits you will gain from our certification program. There is still time to join us for our introductory academy today!
Contact coordinator@greenbizsbc.org for more details!
Rebates Available!
Rebates available to help businesses!
Businesses often ask how much it costs to get certified as a Green Business. There are sometimes costs involved related to making upgrades. The California Green Business Network currently has funds available to help businesses offset these costs and receive Green Business Certification. Not only can a business get certified at no cost, but it can actually get money to help meet the program standards! This is a unique and time-sensitive opportunity.
How much is the rebate?
The rebate is up to $500 per business.
What does my business have to do to qualify for the rebate?
Your business will qualify for the rebate if it gets certified or recertified as a Green Business. This rebate is available to offset costs that a business may encounter in the course of meeting the Green Business standards.
What is covered by the rebate?
The costs must be related to a specific measure that is on the Green Business checklist. This may include a wide range of improvements such as upgrading lights, installing programmable thermostats and/or occupancy sensors, upgrading toilets, switching to reusables in the kitchen instead of disposables, and more.
What is the process for getting the rebate?
Contact the Green Business Coordinator before making a purchase to confirm that it will qualify for the rebate. Once the purchase has been approved, submit your receipts and the rebate form that the coordinator will provide. Your rebate will then be processed and you will be reimbursed for the expense.
How long will the rebate be available?
These funds are available on a first-come, first-served basis while they last. Act soon to take advantage of this unique opportunity!
Wondering if Green Business Certification is right for your business? Learn more about why you should get certified.
Contact the Santa Barbara County Green Business Director, Frances Gilliland here to learn how your business can get certified and access these funds.