Green Chamber Marks Five-Year Milestone
In Phoenix, the Green Chamber’s membership is comprised of local businesses committed to environmental stewardship through business practices across a variety of industries. Companies represented include architectural firms, traditional and emerging energy source providers, recycling and waste management specialists, LEED certification specialists and professional service providers in accounting, marketing and law.
Assisting and incentivizing local businesses toward implementing environmentally responsible business practices is a key part of the Chamber’s mission. Educating people and businesses about environmental sustainability is essential.
“The Green Chamber concept is different in that it’s not geographically based, but rather founded on the idea of sustainability,” says Michael Grossman, chairman of the board. “We are the one place in the Valley where people understand what sustainability means—where you can safely talk about sustainability and your ideas.”
On the occasion of the group’s fifth anniversary, Grossman states, “We’ve survived and grown during Arizona’s worst economic performance since the Great Depression. What that says to me is there is a hunger for new ways of doing business and a desire to see a more diverse and sustainable local economy.
At the Green Chamber, forward-thinking entrepreneurs can talk about new ideas and practices with like-minded individuals that share the same passions and goals. It is a unique organization that focuses exclusively on discovering, promoting, advocating and networking for green businesses, regardless of where they are located in the Valley.
In 2011, the Green Chamber hosted a packed house at their first candidate forum for the Phoenix mayoral race. In 2012, they inaugurated the Great Green Business Search to discover promising businesses in the clean tech sector.
Grossman explains that the Green Chamber is always looking to increase their reach and voice in the community, whether that’s through partnering with other organizations to educate about how sustainability equals profitability, working with policy makers to show them how sustainability and green jobs are an important part of the local economy or connecting people and businesses to the resources that allow them to live and work more sustainably.
“To further those goals, we’ll be hosting Green Drinks in November for the first time with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,” says Grossman. “We’ll be unveiling monthly topics to connect our subscribers and members to experts in different fields and we’re looking forward to another Great Green Business Search to discover the next job-creating gem in the Valley.”
The future looks rosy. “We’ve grown our membership base throughout the economic downturn to include dozens of small businesses, as well as some larger corporations,” says Grossman. “I’m personally proud of all the work our volunteers do and the commitment from our board members, which is why we have been so successful.”
For more information, visit TheGreenChamber.org.
