The Second Better Business Challenge officially kicked off last week with a happy hour at the Main Street Arena on Thursday, September 19. The Better Business Challenge, co-created by Better World Betty and LEAP, is a friendly points-based competition aimed at helping local businesses achieve greater efficiency and sustainability. At the heart of the program is an online scorecard where businesses can set goals and track their success throughout the 9-month competition. Participants also have access to free online resources and a series of free educational “Lunch ‘n Learn” seminars throughout the year where they receive guidance on how to best achieve new levels of sustainability.
The 100+ businesses that participated in the inaugural Challenge in 2011-2012 are saving thousands of dollars per year of energy, waste and water savings moving forward. The Challenge will not only help your business increase its bottom line, but it will also help boost your community stewardship and corporate responsibility, differentiating your business among competitors.
The impact of taking sustainable actions can be significant for both your costs and your environmental footprint. Successes from the first Challenge include:
• Wild Wing Café increased their recycling by 79% and reduced their trash by 45%, which saves them $1,600 per year in waste collection services.
• Woodard Properties went paperless! They save 1,500-2,000 sheets of paper per month and $3,000 worth of toner each year.
• Virginia Eagle Distributing implemented a cardboard six-pack recycling program and installed solar panels on 10 of their tractor-trailers to power lift gates. The panels for were nominated as a “best practice” for Anheuser Busch wholesalers, and the company has saved $33,000 as a result of their efforts.
Participants in this year’s Challenge already include Harvest Moon Catering, Apex Clean Energy, Darden School of Business, Batteries Plus Bulbs, Tandem Friends School, ReThreads, Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, Birch Studio, Natural Earth Laundry, Rivanna Natural Designs, Divine Play, Jaunt, Coxito, and Virginia Eagle Distributing.
Will you be on the list and join this year’s competition?
Find our more about the Challenge October 3, 2013 11-1pm at Cityspace for our Lunch n’ Learn (FREE lunch provided for registrants): “Light Up the Savings!” where we’ll focus on energy efficient LED lighting or to sign up, check out cvillebetterbiz.org or contact info@cvillebetterbiz.org.
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