WNC to launch Nevada green business program

Kaleb M. Roedel | kroedel@swiftcom.com

Regular light bulbs out, LED light bulbs in. Less paper printed, more documents emailed. Biodegradable cleaners. Solar panels. Recycling.

All across the Silver State, businesses are searching for more and more ways to go green. Not only because it’s good for the environment, it can boost sales, too. After all, 66 percent of global consumers say they are willing to pay more for sustainable brands, according to a 2015 Nielsen report.

Though Nevada businesses are taking major strides to lessen their carbon footprints, the state doesn’t have a way to fully measure and capture its eco-friendliness. What’s more, consumers don’t have an easy way to pinpoint which businesses use eco-friendly practices.

Until now, that is. Thanks to two Environmental Protection Agency grants, Western Nevada College in Carson City is launching a statewide green business program and a database for collecting outcomes that measure environmental performance for the state, WNC announced earlier this month.

The total amount for both grants is nearly $600,000, Dr. Georgia White, professional and applied technology director for WNC, said in an email to the Nevada Appeal.

“WCN’s interest in launching a green business program is based on a wider economic development concept of conservation economics,” White said. “Basically, the focus is to grow local economies while minimizing the impact on the overall environment.”

The program, White said, will allow students to participate in internships in which they work with businesses that are documenting and reporting on the implementation of the best practices of green businesses.

Added White: “This will provide students another context and framework on which to attach classroom education.”

Read the rest of the article at nevadaappeal.com.