savrcup & CGBN

SAVRcup is Green Business Certified!

Earlier this month, SAVRcup was officially certified and is now a California Green Business! We are over the moon about this accomplishment as this has always been a priority for us in terms of certifications! Another reason this is so important for us is that we aren’t only fighting for fewer (or no) disposable options, but for a more eco-friendly economy. The California Green Business Network leads the state and nation in working with small to medium-sized businesses to create a vibrant green economy. Led by a coalition of cities, counties, and nonprofits, they contribute by helping to make our communities healthier and more livable while also conserving resources and saving money.

Why is it such a big deal for us?

In short, because of the Planet, People and Profit.

Being a Certified Green Business is the clearest way to show our community and our customers that SAVRcup cares about sustainability. It shows them that we are committed to taking action to conserve resources and prevent pollution in both the facility and operations. It means that our business complies with environmental regulations in the areas of waste, energy, water, pollution prevention, and air quality. And as  we build a greener, more vibrant economy, communities thrive. When customers see that you are GREEN certified, they know you’re more than just a business. You are a solution to a real environmental challenge. That translates into dollars and good sense!

How was the process? And what were the costs?

Talking about the certification cost is easy as this is a completely free certification! Yes, that’s right!  The California Green Business Network received funds this year from the California Environmental Protection Agency and is supported by the participating member programs, like our own San Diego Regional Green Business Network, a program of the San Diego Green Building Council. As for the process, the Green Businesses certification is split into 7 categories: Energy, Pollution Prevention, Solid Waste, Transportation, Wastewater, Water, and Community. Within these categories, there are measures that your business has to check and get verified. Once certified, these measures will ultimately lead to cost savings in energy, water, and garbage bills and they provide free technical assistance to help businesses make lasting changes. Our help was Robert Carr, Education and Project Manager at the San Diego Green Building Council, who was incredibly helpful and guided us through the whole process, making it that much smoother and easier to navigate.

What is  The California Green Business Network?

The California Green Business Network is a 501c3 non-profit that helps local businesses conserve energy, water, minimize waste, prevent pollution, and shrink their carbon footprints through a voluntary certification available statewide. 4,000+ certified California Green Businesses combined to achieve some impressive environmental outcomes in 2019:

– Over 400,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions were reduced.

– Enough kilowatt-hours saved to power over 25,000 houses for an entire year.

– 100,000 metric tons of waste were diverted from the landfill. Almost 15,000 garbage trucks worth of waste.

– 742,000,000 gallons of water were saved.

– Over 20,000 gallons of hazardous waste were eliminated.

– $18 million dollars in utility bill savings.

Can you provide examples of the biggest learnings from the certification?

We at SAVRcup certainly learned a lot along the way, and here are some of the things we didn’t know we could do better:

• Water flow standards: 0.5 GPM lavatory sink aerators, 1.5 GPM showerheads, 1.5 GPM kitchen sink. This can mean a substantial reduction in your water bill and aerators can be bought for less than $20 on Amazon.
• Anyone is able to buy 100% renewable energy from your community choice energy (sometimes known as a CCA). The cost of upgrading to 100% renewable energy only costs an additional $.005-$.03 per kilowatt-hour.
• Light bulbs are a huge deal: Replace all halogen, incandescent, T-12, high-pressure sodium, and metal halide lighting with LEDs. T-8s should be replaced with T-8 LEDs/integrated LEDs as they burn out.
• Be sustainable and take better care of your skin and clothes and be sure to get certified non-toxic laundry, cleaning, and building maintenance products in non-aerosol containers such as Green Seal certified, Environmental Working Group with an ‘A’ or ‘B’ rating, US EPA Safer Choice, SF Approved, EcoLogo.
• Be sure your pest control uses IPM at your home (or facility). Check with your pest control operator to see if they offer IPM services or look for a provider at EcoWiseCertified.com, GreenShieldCertified.org, or WhatIsGreenPro.org.
• Sustainability also means donating previously used furniture, supplies or materials. Check out sites such as freecycle.org, craigslist.org, Facebook Marketplace, NextDoor, LetGo, OfferUp.

Where can I see some other companies that are Green Business Certified so I can do business with them?

Doing business with Green Business certified companies gives you the opportunity to know what that company stands for. Finding out some other Green certified companies is easy, just click here to find a Green Business near you!

I don’t own a company, is there anything I can do to help? Can I donate?

Absolutely, apart from doing business with SAVRcup and other Green Businesses and helping our community become greener, you can also donate to the California Green Business Network here.

We could not be more proud of this certification and thankful to Robert Carr, that made this process that much easier for us! With this article, we aim to inspire other companies to go ahead and get started with their certification. After all, 42% of companies that got certified reported an increase in business since receiving their recognition! So get out there and join us and become a California Green Business certified!