Sustainable Sandhills Programs

General - includes staff and customer awareness & education, purchasing, and transportation.
Solid waste reduction, reuse, and recycling.
Water conservation, efficiency, and reducing urban run-off.
Energy conservation and efficiency.

Some of the certification benefits are:

Recognition through press releases, quarterly newspaper ads, and in the Sustainable Sandhills' newsletters and on our website.
A Sustainable Sandhills Green Business Decal to display at your business, as well as electronic logos to use in your own advertising and promotions.
A free annual energy and water efficiency audit from your water and electric utility provider - a special offer for Green Business Program participants.
Eligibiliy for our annual Awards program, coordinated with Mayors, Higher Education Institutions and Chambers of Commerce in your community.
Participant in the Portfolio Manager energy use program.

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HOW IT WORKS

We're here to help you every step of the way, and have designed the program to work like this:

Identify the sector which fits your business best. If you don't find a perfect fit, we'll tailor one to fit!
Review the appropriate Business Sector Checklist below.
Schedule an on-site visit with one of our Green Business Coordinators, who will assist you in completing the checklist:
Celestine Raineri, 910.484.9098, representing Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke,Lee and Robeson Counties; or
Kea Meacham, 910.639.3983, representing Montgomery, Moore, Richmond and Scotland Counties.
When your checklist is ready and all your measures are in place, Heidi or Kea will return for an on-site verification.
Congratulations! You're a certified Green Business and can begin to enjoy the benefits of certification (See Program Details).

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BUSINESS SECTOR CHECKLISTS

Download our Green Business Program General Information checklist and one of the business sector checklists below.

We have developed certification checklists for the following sectors:

Office and Retail - This sector includes all traditional office environments and non-food retail locations.

Restaurants and Grocers- This sector includes restaurants, coffee shops and large- and small-scale grocers.

Entertainment and Recreation - This sector includes, but is not limited to, private and public sector locations dedicated to arts, entertainment and leisure.

Hotels and Motels - This sector includes hotels, motels, inns and Bed & Breakfasts.

Services - This sector includes cleaning companies, electricians, plumbers, and any other service-oriented business.

Institutions and Local Government -This sector includes large institutions such as hospitals and colleges, as well as local government offices.

Colleges and Universities - This sector includes colleges, universities, techinical schools, and other institutions of higher education.

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CERTIFIED GREEN BUSINESSES

Since the inception of the Green Business Program in 2008, with just a handful of businesses in Cumberland County, we are now celebrating success in other counties with more and more interest being generated throughout our region. See a list of our Certified Green Businesses.

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GREEN BUSINESS RESOURCES

Our Resource Page mirrors the structure of the Green Business Program Checklists to make it easy for participants to access resources for each checklist measure.

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TRACKING RESULTS

Our program metrics for reporting results are simple. We estimate the figures during our on-site verification visit, and confirm the results annually.

General: Pounds of styrofoam avoided. Volume of hazardous cleaning products avoided. Transportation fuel usage and CO2 emissions avoided.
Solid Waste: Tons of solid waste diverted.
Energy: Energy use (kilowatt-hours) conserved or avoided.
Water: Gallons of water conserved or avoided.

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AWARDS

Our Award Program Partners are different in each community served, but will include:

Local Chambers of Commerce.

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