Comment Log Display

On behalf of the California Green Business Network, a 501c.3
organization comprised of a partnership of local government
agencies, utilities, non-profits, and Certified Green Businesses,
we are submitting a comment to stress the importance of supporting
small- to medium-sized businesses with Cap-and-Trade proceed
Greenhouse Gas Reduction funds. 

Small businesses are the backbone of this State, consuming 45% of
the State’s utilities and employing over 50% of the State’s
workforce.  Yet these businesses do not have the in-house
expertise, nor the resources or capital to carry out  recommended
practices , like energy retrofits, that conserve resources and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They have trouble navigating the
myriad of public and private programs to make lasting and effective
changes, and rebate programs are nominal and lacking. Enter the
California Green Business Program, a one-stop shop for small to
medium sized businesses to go green and quantify their savings,
both monetary and and in terms of greenhouse gas emissions
reductions, among other metrics.

An effective Greenhouse Gas Reduction Investment Plan for the state
should have small businesses as a key element. The investment
strategy should include significant funding toward small business
greening programs, especially those that demonstrate significant,
measurable, and verifiable reductions in GHG. The California Green
Business Network, as it stands today, serves half of the State’s
population with 24 programs and nearly 3000 recognized businesses.
Collectively, the network is responsible for  the reduction of 
greenhouse gas emissions by 822,000 tons. We have a strategic
roadmap that sets a goal to reduce emissions by up to 10 million
metric tons by 2050. 
Businesses in the Green Business network also saved over 100
million gallons of water, $30 million in utility costs, and
diverted over 400,000 tons of waste from the landfill. We are
already demonstrating that small to medium sized businesses can
make a difference. Imagine what we could do if we could provide
rebates, fund more on-the-ground assistance to businesses, focus on
partnerships to even the playing field in disadvantaged
communities. This past year, the program was launched in the
Central Valley and the Inland Empire and we are ramping up efforts
to reach more businesses in disadvantaged communities.

Since we’re quantifying our greenhouse gas reductions as we do this
work, these successes could be readily highlighted in an investment
fund. We strongly encourage your Board, the Governor’s office, and
the State legislature to consider a small business element to your
investment plan. 

Thank you for your consideration,
Josephine Fleming, 
Director of the California Green Business Network