California Green Business Network Sierra Chapter Coordinator & Climate Planning Technician
Sierra Business Council’s Small Business Development Center is thrilled to be spearheading the California Green Business Network’s Sierra Chapter!
The California Green Business Network (CAGBN) is a community of small to medium-sized businesses throughout the state that comply with environmental regulations in the areas of waste, energy, water, pollution prevention, and air quality. These businesses have undergone an extensive auditing process, implemented cost and resource-saving measures, and continue to use best practices even beyond certification.
Throughout California there is a very strong CAGBN presence, and we believe in the power of small measures adding up to impactful outcomes – which is why SBC has persistently pursued this endeavor. Now that the Sierra is emerging stronger out of the pandemic, we are finally able to offer the Truckee- North Lake Tahoe region a revamped Sierra Green Business program!
What does this mean for Truckee and North Lake Tahoe? As you can imagine, sustainability is already a core value of many local businesses, so it may be no surprise that we already have a very eager group of business owners who have started their audit process; from yoga studios, breweries, contractors, and even hotels! Our CAGBN team here at SBC will spend the remainder of the year working with our existing pool of businesses as well as recruiting new ones. In addition to technical assistance to become a certified Green Business, organizations will also have the opportunity to become clients of the Sierra SBDC, furthering access to vital resources. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but visitors and local residents can expect to see local shop windows adorned with the CAGBN member decal as early as June 2022.
Our goal with the Sierra Chapter is to help fund, motivate, and support local businesses in their “greening” efforts, as well as inspire everyone who walks into their storefronts or uses their services to be conscious of their own impact andaugment their individual actions to be more sustainable. The Sierra Region faces unique challenges and repercussions when it comes to climate change and the Sierra Chapter of the Green Business Network is yet another way SBC can contribute to bettering the local economy, environment, and community.
If you are a local Truckee/ North Lake Tahoe business owner, or know of one who would be interested in becoming a certified Green Business, please reach out to me at kford@sierrabusiness.org. I would love to connect!
Wildfire is the apex issue in our region, impacting the environment, economies, and public health of the Sierra. The severity of this problem is addressed by each of SBC’s three focus areas—our climate action, regional advocacy, and economic empowerment teams are each working on solutions that tackle the many challenges presented by severe wildfires.
Successful forest treatment projects over the last ten years (and the heroic work of firefighters) were what slowed the Caldor Fire enough to save homes and businesses in the Tahoe Basin, but often the threats posed to fire-impacted communities like mine are still only just beginning by the time containment is reached.
After fighting fires all over the West Coast – from Arizona to Alaska – I realized there was a tremendous amount of work to do off the firelines; I wanted to transition into climate adaptation planning and community resilience work, especially for underserved communities facing such climate threats firsthand. I began to think about work opportunities to prevent catastrophic wildfires or at least help communities better prepare for them.
