Earth Equity News

San Francisco Bay Area Small Businesses Getting Green Certifications. By Ilana DeBare, SFChron, June 8, 2008. "A growing number of small businesses... are trying to become greener and more environmentally sensitive. These aren't just classic eco-focused businesses like organic food producers or solar power companies. They include everything from neighborhood delis and hardware stores to auto mechanics, law firms, bookkeepers and dentists. The Bay Area is at the forefront of this trend, thanks in part to a green business certification program coordinated by the Association of Bay Area Governments. One of the few such programs in the country, it has enrolled more than 1,300 small- and midsize businesses since its start in 1996. In San Francisco alone, applications rose from 136 businesses in 2006 to 312 in 2007. Other counties are seeing double-digit increases in applications, and cities such as Oakland and Berkeley now have long waiting lists of businesses seeking green certification."